Ezra 4:6-23; Malachi 1-4
Offering up second-rate (or worse) sacrifices to the LORD. Begrudging the LORD His due. Treating the LORD as wearisome. Cozying up to the world. Breaking promises and covenants. Calling evil good. Swearing falsely. Oppressing the weak and disadvantaged. Skimping on tithes to the LORD. Considering serving the LORD to be wasted effort.
These are some of the charges that Malachi levels against the people and priests of ancient Judah. We could do tremendous academic study of the historical context to root out the details of these problems for that time. We could go back to Leviticus and dig through the details of the Law, and we could review Judah’s history and their current circumstances to explain what is going on. All of that might be quite useful. And we could still miss the point, because Malachi might just be speaking to us…