The prophet expresses God's displeasure because, once the people returned to their homeland and enjoyed better times, they grew lax in their religious practices.
Near the end of the Book of Malachi (whose name means "messenger"), the prophet also speaks of the coming great "day of the Lord," when the wicked will be punished, and the righteous rewarded. But he also preached that a messenger would precede the Lord's coming. Today's passage describes these comings.
In a sense, Malachi (the last book in the Old Testament in the Protestant Bible) is like a bridge into the New Testament.
- Little Blue Book, Diocese of Saginaw