Malachi 2:7 Study Bible: For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

◄ Malachi 2:7 ►

For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.

Study Bible

For the lips of a priest
The Hebrew word for "priest" is "kohen," which denotes someone who serves in a sacred capacity. In ancient Israel, priests were intermediaries between God and the people, responsible for teaching the law and maintaining the spiritual welfare of the nation. The "lips" symbolize communication and the dissemination of divine truth. This phrase underscores the priest's role as a conduit of God's wisdom, emphasizing the importance of their speech in guiding the community.

should preserve knowledge
The Hebrew term for "knowledge" is "da'ath," which implies a deep, intimate understanding of God's will and law. To "preserve" suggests safeguarding and maintaining the purity of this knowledge. Priests were entrusted with the sacred duty of ensuring that the teachings of God remained untainted and were accurately conveyed to the people. This preservation is not passive but an active, ongoing responsibility to uphold the integrity of divine instruction.

and men should seek instruction from his mouth
The phrase "seek instruction" indicates a proactive pursuit of wisdom and guidance. The Hebrew word for "instruction" is "torah," often translated as "law" but more broadly encompassing teaching and direction. This highlights the expectation that the community would turn to the priest for understanding and application of God's commandments. The priest's mouth, as the source of this instruction, signifies the authority and reliability of their teaching.

because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts
The term "messenger" is translated from the Hebrew "mal'ak," which can also mean "angel" or "envoy." This designation elevates the priest's role to that of a divine representative, tasked with delivering God's messages to His people. "The LORD of Hosts" is a title that emphasizes God's sovereignty and command over the heavenly armies, underscoring the weight and authority behind the priest's words. This phrase serves as a reminder of the priest's sacred duty to faithfully convey God's will, reflecting the divine authority they represent.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Malachi
The prophet who delivered God's message to the Israelites. His name means "my messenger" in Hebrew, emphasizing his role as a conduit of divine communication.

2. Priests
Religious leaders in Israel responsible for teaching the law and maintaining the spiritual well-being of the people. They were expected to be knowledgeable and faithful in their duties.

3. The LORD of Hosts
A title for God that emphasizes His sovereignty and command over the heavenly armies. It underscores His authority and power.

4. Israelites
The people of God to whom Malachi was sent. They were in a period of spiritual decline and needed correction and guidance.

5. Temple Worship
The context in which the priests operated, serving as mediators between God and the people through sacrifices and teaching.

Teaching Points

The Role of the Priest
Priests are called to be custodians of divine knowledge. Their primary duty is to preserve and communicate God's truth to the people.

The Importance of Knowledge
Knowledge of God's Word is crucial for spiritual health. Without it, people are prone to error and spiritual decline.

Seeking Instruction
Believers should actively seek instruction from those who are knowledgeable in the Word, valuing sound teaching and guidance.

The Responsibility of Leaders
Spiritual leaders today, like the priests of old, have a responsibility to faithfully teach and live out the truths of Scripture.

Every Believer's Role
As part of the royal priesthood, every Christian is called to know God's Word and share it with others, acting as messengers of God's truth.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does the role of the priest in Malachi 2:7 compare to the role of spiritual leaders in the church today?

2. In what ways can we ensure that we are preserving and growing in our knowledge of God's Word?

3. How can we actively seek instruction and wisdom from those who are knowledgeable in Scripture?

4. What are some practical ways we can fulfill our role as part of the "royal priesthood" mentioned in 1 Peter 2:9?

5. How does understanding the original Hebrew context of "messenger" in Malachi 2:7 enhance our view of the priestly role and our own responsibilities as believers?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Leviticus 10:11
This verse highlights the priestly duty to teach the Israelites all the decrees given by the LORD through Moses, reinforcing the role of priests as instructors in God's law.

Hosea 4:6
This passage speaks about the destruction that comes from a lack of knowledge, emphasizing the importance of priests preserving and imparting knowledge to prevent spiritual decay.

1 Peter 2:9
This New Testament verse describes believers as a royal priesthood, connecting the priestly role to all Christians and their responsibility to declare God's praises.

Sermons

A Minister's Responsibility	A. J. Gordon, D. D.	Malachi 2:7
An Unobtrusive Minister		Malachi 2:7
Reasonable Expectations of God's Ministers	R. Tuck	Malachi 2:7
The Duty of the Church in Modern Times	E. L. Hicks.	Malachi 2:7
The Priest's Lips Should Keep Knowledge	W. Nicholson, M. A.	Malachi 2:7
The Minister of Divine Truth	D. Thomas	Malachi 2:4-9
The Minister of Divine Truth	Homilist	Malachi 2:4-17
Making a Covenant with God	W. Adamson.	Malachi 2:5-7
Priestly Influence		Malachi 2:5-7
The Blessngs of God's Ministry in His Church	Emanuel Strickland, M. A.	Malachi 2:5-7
The Character and Work of God's Ministers	George Hutcheson.	Malachi 2:5-7
The Covenant of Life and Peace	Joseph Irons.	Malachi 2:5-7
The Eloquence of Unobtrusive Piety	Homiletic Magazine	Malachi 2:5-7
The Heaviest Charge of All	Joseph Parker, D. D.	Malachi 2:5-7
The Pastor's Walk with God	H. C. G. Moule, M. A.	Malachi 2:5-7
The Secret of Success in the Ministry	T. De Witt Talmage.	Malachi 2:5-7
True Priestly Work	W. Osborne Lilley.	Malachi 2:5-7
Unspeakable Blessings	W. Osborne Lilley.	Malachi 2:5-7

People

Jacob, Levi, Malachi

Places

Jerusalem

Topics

Almighty, Armies, Guard, Hosts, Instruction, Law, Lips, Messenger, Mouth, Ought, Preserve, Priest, Priest's, Seek, Servant, Waiting

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Malachi 2:7

     5408   messenger
     5433   occupations
     7734   leaders, spiritual

Malachi 2:4-7

7793 teachers

Malachi 2:6-7

     1155   God, truthfulness
     5164   lips
     5549   speech, positive
     8130   guidance, from godly people

Malachi 2:7-8

8749 false teachers
8840 unfaithfulness, to God

Malachi 2:7-9

5973 unreliability

Malachi 2:7-10

8807 profanity

Library

The Covenant of an Everlasting Priesthood
"That My covenant might be with Levi. My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared Me, and was afraid before My name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips; he walked with Me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity."--MAL. ii. 4-6. ISRAEL was meant by God to be a nation of priests. In the first making of the Covenant this was distinctly stipulated. "If ye will obey My voice, and keep My covenant, …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants

Whether a Believer Can Marry an Unbeliever?
Objection 1: It would seem that a believer can marry an unbeliever. For Joseph married an Egyptian woman, and Esther married Assuerus: and in both marriages there was disparity of worship, since one was an unbeliever and the other a believer. Therefore disparity of worship previous to marriage is not an impediment thereto. Objection 2: Further, the Old Law teaches the same faith as the New. But according to the Old Law there could be marriage between a believer and an unbeliever, as evidenced by …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether it was Lawful to Divorce a Wife under the Mosaic Law?
Objection 1: It would seem that it was lawful to divorce a wife under the Mosaic law. For one way of giving consent is to refrain from prohibiting when one can prohibit. It is also unlawful to consent to what is unlawful. Since then the Mosaic law did not forbid the putting away of a wife and did no wrong by not forbidding it, for "the law . . . is holy" (Rom. 7:12), it would seem that divorce was at one time lawful. Objection 2: Further, the prophets spoke inspired by the Holy Ghost, according to …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether the Reason for Divorce was Hatred for the Wife?
Objection 1: It would seem that the reason for divorce was hatred for the wife. For it is written (Malachi 2:16): "When thou shalt hate her put her away." Therefore, etc. Objection 2: Further, it is written (Dt. 24:1): "If . . . she find not favor in his eyes, for some uncleanness," etc. Therefore the same conclusion follows as before. Objection 3: On the contrary, Barrenness and fornication are more opposed to marriage than hatred. Therefore they ought to have been reasons for divorce rather than …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether a Wicked Priest Can Consecrate the Eucharist?
Objection 1: It seems that a wicked priest cannot consecrate the Eucharist. For Jerome, commenting on Sophon. iii, 4, says: "The priests who perform the Eucharist, and who distribute our Lord's blood to the people, act wickedly against Christ's law, in deeming that the Eucharist is consecrated by a prayer rather than by a good life; and that only the solemn prayer is requisite, and not the priest's merits: of whom it is said: 'Let not the priest, in whatever defilement he may be, approach to offer …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether the Precepts Referring to Knowledge and Understanding were Fittingly Set Down in the Old Law?
Objection 1: It would seem that the precepts referring to knowledge and understanding were unfittingly set down in the Old Law. For knowledge and understanding pertain to cognition. Now cognition precedes and directs action. Therefore the precepts referring to knowledge and understanding should precede the precepts of the Law referring to action. Since, then, the first precepts of the Law are those of the decalogue, it seems that precepts of knowledge and understanding should have been given a place …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether it is Fitting that Christ Should be a Priest?
Objection 1: It would seem unfitting that Christ should be a priest. For a priest is less than an angel; whence it is written (Zech. 3:1): "The Lord showed me the high-priest standing before the angel of the Lord." But Christ is greater than the angels, according to Heb. 1:4: "Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath inherited a more excellent name than they." Therefore it is unfitting that Christ should be a priest. Objection 2: Further, things which were in the Old Testament were figures …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Knowledge of all Holy Writ is Required?
Objection 1: It would seem that knowledge of all Holy Writ is required. For one from whose lips we seek the law, should have knowledge of the law. Now the laity seek the law at the mouth of the priest (Malachi 2:7). Therefore he should have knowledge of the whole law. Objection 2: Further, "being always ready to satisfy everyone that asketh you a reason of that faith and hope in you [*Vulg.: 'Of that hope which is in you; St. Thomas apparently took his reading from Bede]." Now to give a reason for …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

A Dialogue with God
'The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this ... out of the tents of Jacob, ... 14. Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth.'--MALACHI ii. 12, 14 (R.V.). It is obvious from the whole context that divorce and foreign inter-marriage were becoming increasingly prevalent in Malachi's time. The conditions in these respects were nearly similar to that prevailing in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah. It is these sins which the Prophet is here vehemently …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Of Orders.
Of this sacrament the Church of Christ knows nothing; it was invented by the church of the Pope. It not only has no promise of grace, anywhere declared, but not a word is said about it in the whole of the New Testament. Now it is ridiculous to set up as a sacrament of God that which can nowhere be proved to have been instituted by God. Not that I consider that a rite practised for so many ages is to be condemned; but I would not have human inventions established in sacred things, nor should it be …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

The Development of the Earlier Old Testament Laws
[Sidenote: First the principle, and then the detailed laws] If the canon of the New Testament had remained open as long as did that of the Old, there is little doubt that it also would have contained many laws, legal precedents, and ecclesiastical histories. From the writings of the Church Fathers and the records of the Catholic Church it is possible to conjecture what these in general would have been. The early history of Christianity illustrates the universal fact that the broad principles are …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

The Secret Walk with God (ii).
He that would to others give Let him take from Jesus still; They who deepest in Him live Flow furthest at His will. I resume the rich subject of Secret Devotion, Secret Communion with God. Not that I wish to enter in detail on either the theory or the practice of prayer in secret; as I have attempted to do already in a little book which I may venture here to mention, Secret Prayer. My aim at present, as I talk to my younger Brethren in the Ministry, is far rather to lay all possible stress on …
Handley C. G. Moule—To My Younger Brethren

Lessons for Worship and for Work
'Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. 2. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few. 3. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words. 4. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for He hath …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Apostolic Traditions Generally in Abeyance.
1. Washing of feet. St. John xiii. 4-14. 2. Anointing of sick with prayer for healing. St. James v. 14, 15. 3. Anointing with Oil and Muron in Baptism. 4. Anointing with Muron for Consecration. 5. Trine immersion in Baptism. 6. Incense offered to God's Holy Name. Malachi ii. 11. …
Dionysius—Ecclesiastical Hierarchy

The Cities of the Levites.
Concerning them, see Numbers, chapter 35, and Joshua chapter 21. "The suburbs of the cities of the Levites were three thousand cubits on every side; viz. from the walls of the city, and outwards; as it is said, 'From the walls of the city and outwards a thousand cubits: and thou shalt measure from without the city two thousand cubits' (Num 35:4,5). The former thousand were the suburbs, and the latter two thousand were for fields and vineyards. They appointed the place of burial to every one of those …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Fourth Commandment
Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it. Exod 20: 8-11. This …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Thirtieth Lesson. An Holy Priesthood;'
An holy priesthood;' Or, The Ministry of Intercession. An holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.'--I Peter ii. 5. Ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord.'--Isaiah lxi. 6. THE Spirit of the Lord God is upon me: because the Lord hath anointed me.' These are the words of Jesus in Isaiah. As the fruit of His work all redeemed ones are priests, fellow-partakers with Him of His anointing with the Spirit as High Priest. Like the precious ointment upon …
Andrew Murray—With Christ in the School of Prayer

The Writings of Israel's Philosophers
[Sidenote: Discussions the problem of evil] An intense interest in man led certain of Israel's sages in time to devote their attention to more general philosophical problems, such as the moral order of the universe. In the earlier proverbs, prophetic histories, and laws, the doctrine that sin was always punished by suffering or misfortune, and conversely that calamity and misfortune were sure evidence of the guilt of the one affected, had been reiterated until it had become a dogma. In nine out …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

Pastor in Parish (ii. ).
Work on in hope; the plough, the sickle wield; Thy Master is the harvest's Master too; He gives the golden seed, He owns the field, And does Himself what His true servants do. I take up again the all-important subject of Pastoral Visitation, for the same sort of informal and fragmentary treatment as that attempted in the last chapter, and with the same feeling that the subject is practically inexhaustible. LET THE VISITOR BE A TEACHER, WATCHING FOR OPPORTUNITIES. One object which the visitor will …
Handley C. G. Moule—To My Younger Brethren

Mothers, Daughters, and Wives in Israel
In order accurately to understand the position of woman in Israel, it is only necessary carefully to peruse the New Testament. The picture of social life there presented gives a full view of the place which she held in private and in public life. Here we do not find that separation, so common among Orientals at all times, but a woman mingles freely with others both at home and abroad. So far from suffering under social inferiority, she takes influential and often leading part in all movements, specially …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

The Holy Spirit in Relation to the Father and the Son. ...
The Holy Spirit in relation to the Father and the Son. Under this heading we began by considering Justin's remarkable words, in which he declares that "we worship and adore the Father, and the Son who came from Him and taught us these things, and the host of the other good angels that attend Him and are made like unto Him, and the prophetic Spirit." Hardly less remarkable, though in a very different way, is the following passage from the Demonstration (c. 10); and it has a special interest from the …
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

The Fifth Commandment
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.' Exod 20: 12. Having done with the first table, I am next to speak of the duties of the second table. The commandments may be likened to Jacob's ladder: the first table respects God, and is the top of the ladder that reaches to heaven; the second respects superiors and inferiors, and is the foot of the ladder that rests on the earth. By the first table, we walk religiously towards God; by …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

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