| MALACHI |
| Explanatory Footnotes |
| 2:17 What Difference Does Serving God Make? Here and in 3:14 people harshly complained they could see no point in serving God, when you got no special reward. In responding, God did not try to convince them that the righteous were, in fact, better off. He told them that he keeps a "scroll of remembrance," on which he records those who fear him, and that sometime in the future he will come as judge, destroying the wicked and preserving those who fear him. The value of serving him will be obvious someday, even if it is not today. 4:5 The Second Elijah The prophet Elijah, Malachi predicted, would precede the Lord. This prophecy was carefully noted in the New Testament. Jesus identified John the Baptist as the one predicted (Matthew 11:14; 17:9-13). |