<description>Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts continue their series in Malachi, working through the second half of chapter one (verses 6–14). The conversation opens by revisiting the Jacob/Esau passage and the question of whether Paul's use of Malachi in Romans 9 is a systematic proof text for election or an evocation of Malachi's broader historical context. From there the discussion moves to Israel's defiled sacrifices, the priestly failure to guard the altar, and the frightening logic of bringing an unworthy gift before a holy God.
____________

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Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, James Bejon, and Ala…

Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts continue their series in Malachi, working through the second half of chapter one (verses 6–14). The conversation opens by revisiting the Jacob/Esau passage and the question of whether Paul's use of Malachi in Romans 9 is a systematic proof text for election or an evocation of Malachi's broader historical context. From there the discussion moves to Israel's defiled sacrifices, the priestly failure to guard the altar, and the frightening logic of bringing an unworthy gift before a holy God.
____________

This episode is sponsored by Audio Deacon.
Audio Deacon is a curated music streaming app for families and thoughtful listeners — built around music that is good, true, and beautiful. New artists added every week.

👉 Get your first 3 months free: 
https://app.audio-deacon.com/menu
Use code audiodeacon3 at checkout, 
or audiofamily3 for the 3 months FREE on a family account.
Also worth exploring:

📖 Substack — album reviews, listening guides, and essays on music and the Christian life: audiodeacon.substack.com

🎙️ Podcast — new albums, artist interviews, and what it means to listen well: audiodeacon.buzzsprout.com

_______

GIVE TO THEOPOLIS!
theopolisinstitute.com/give/

Get the Theopolis App!
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Sign up for In Medias Res
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Episode 866: The Biography of a Sacrifice (Book of Malachi)

<description>Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts dive into the text of Malachi itself, beginning with the book's distinctive structure — a series of dialogues in which Yahweh voices both his own declarations and Israel's skeptical objections. The team explores how this rhetorical form shapes the entire book, and how Malachi fits into the broader literary sequence of the Book of the Twelve. From there, the conversation moves into Malachi 1:2–5 and the Lord's declaration of love for Jacob over Esau — unpacking the history of Edom as a prototype nation, the nature of God's jealous love and wrath, and the famous "Jacob I loved, Esau I hated" quotation as it appears in Romans 9. The discussion raises sharp questions about predestination, the election of peoples versus individuals, and whether Paul's use of Malachi is best read as a statement about sovereign predestination or as a confirmation that God's prior choice has worked itself out in the long history of two nations.

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Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free!

Sign up for In Medias Res
mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres</description>

Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts dive into the text of Malachi itself, beginning with the book's distinctive structure — a series of dialogues in which Yahweh voices both his own declarations and Israel's skeptical objections. The team explores how this rhetorical form shapes the entire book, and how Malachi fits into the broader literary sequence of the Book of the Twelve. From there, the conversation moves into Malachi 1:2–5 and the Lord's declaration of love for Jacob over Esau — unpacking the history of Edom as a prototype nation, the nature of God's jealous love and wrath, and the famous "Jacob I loved, Esau I hated" quotation as it appears in Romans 9. The discussion raises sharp questions about predestination, the election of peoples versus individuals, and whether Paul's use of Malachi is best read as a statement about sovereign predestination or as a confirmation that God's prior choice has worked itself out in the long history of two nations.

GIVE TO THEOPOLIS!
theopolisinstitute.com/give/

Get the Theopolis App!
app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu
Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free!

Sign up for In Medias Res
mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres

Episode 865: Jacob, Esau, and the Jealousy of God (Book of Malachi)

<description>James Jordan continues his walk through the Book of Revelation.

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James Jordan continues his walk through the Book …

James Jordan continues his walk through the Book of Revelation.

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Use the code "theopolitan" to get your first month for FREE.

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Episode 864: The Mystery of God, Part 1 (Revelation 10:7), with James Jordan

<description>Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts kick off a new series on the book of Malachi, beginning with a wide-angle look at the restoration era in which Malachi prophesied. Rather than treating this period as a mere gap between covenants - a so-called "intertestamental" silence - the team argues it represents a distinct and dynamic phase of covenant history, with its own new arrangements for the priesthood, the temple, the city of Jerusalem, and Israel's relationship to the Gentile nations. The conversation ranges from Ezra and Nehemiah's narrative logic to the dating of Malachi, the myth of 400 years of divine silence, and the ways Malachi's concerns anticipate the New Testament world Jesus enters.

Timestamps (Aproximate) 
0:00 — Welcome and introduction; transitioning from Hebrews to a new series on Malachi
1:00 — Overview of the restoration era; why "intertestamental" is a misleading term
3:00 — Jim Jordan's "Through New Eyes" and the idea that Israel never goes backward in covenant history
4:30 — "Latter days" / "last days" language; the 70 Weeks of Daniel as a framework for this period
5:30 — New features of the restoration era: the elevated role of the high priest
6:30 — A new temple, new geopolitical arrangements, and Israel's changed relationship with Gentile powers
8:30 — The holiness of Jerusalem extended to the city walls; Ezekiel's vision of the sacred territory
10:30 — Continuity with the law of Moses through Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi
12:00 — Ezra's role as teacher of the law; rebuilding the people alongside the house
13:00 — Malachi's focus on hypocrisy and priestly failure rather than open idolatry; anticipating New Testament concerns
15:00 — The sequence in Deuteronomy 30, Jeremiah 31, and Ezekiel 36 — scattering, regathering, new covenant, outpouring of the Spirit
17:00 — A partial outpouring of the Spirit in the restoration era; Zechariah's lampstand vision
18:30 — The spread of Judaism through the diaspora as a stage in Israel's mission to the Gentiles
19:30 — Why did the exiles not bring back idolatry from Babylon and Persia?
21:30 — Exile as the moment the law became an existential lifeline for Jewish identity
23:30 — The legacy of Daniel, Esther, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as a unifying memory
25:00 — The restoration era as both the birth of the new covenant and the "thinning out" of the old
27:30 — Malachi's final word — cherem (curse of utter destruction) — and the doom hanging over the old covenant order
29:00 — The three phases of Ezra-Nehemiah — temple, people, city — as one unified project; the role of Haggai and Zechariah
37:00 — Dating Malachi: most likely during or after Nehemiah's absence from Jerusalem
40:30 — Malachi 3:1 ("I send my messenger") as potentially having a near fulfillment in Nehemiah's return
41:30 — The significance of Malachi's name meaning "my messenger"
42:30 — The chronology of Ezra-Nehemiah and the 70 Weeks; arguing for a compressed (~50-year) timeframe
45:30 — Debunking the "400 years of silence" myth — gaps in the canon are not gaps in God's speech
47:00 — 99% of God's people never witnessed a theophany; scrolls were always the ordinary means
48:30 — Daniel's visions as a prophetic bridge connecting the restoration era to the New Testament
49:30 — The rise of the synagogue and lay scriptural literacy in the diaspora; parallels to the Reformation
50:30 — Malachi 2 and the priests' neglected teaching vocation</description>

Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts kick off a new series on the book of Malachi, beginning with a wide-angle look at the restoration era in which Malachi prophesied. Rather than treating this period as a mere gap between covenants - a so-called "intertestamental" silence - the team argues it represents a distinct and dynamic phase of covenant history, with its own new arrangements for the priesthood, the temple, the city of Jerusalem, and Israel's relationship to the Gentile nations. The conversation ranges from Ezra and Nehemiah's narrative logic to the dating of Malachi, the myth of 400 years of divine silence, and the ways Malachi's concerns anticipate the New Testament world Jesus enters.

Timestamps (Aproximate) 
0:00 — Welcome and introduction; transitioning from Hebrews to a new series on Malachi
1:00 — Overview of the restoration era; why "intertestamental" is a misleading term
3:00 — Jim Jordan's "Through New Eyes" and the idea that Israel never goes backward in covenant history
4:30 — "Latter days" / "last days" language; the 70 Weeks of Daniel as a framework for this period
5:30 — New features of the restoration era: the elevated role of the high priest
6:30 — A new temple, new geopolitical arrangements, and Israel's changed relationship with Gentile powers
8:30 — The holiness of Jerusalem extended to the city walls; Ezekiel's vision of the sacred territory
10:30 — Continuity with the law of Moses through Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi
12:00 — Ezra's role as teacher of the law; rebuilding the people alongside the house
13:00 — Malachi's focus on hypocrisy and priestly failure rather than open idolatry; anticipating New Testament concerns
15:00 — The sequence in Deuteronomy 30, Jeremiah 31, and Ezekiel 36 — scattering, regathering, new covenant, outpouring of the Spirit
17:00 — A partial outpouring of the Spirit in the restoration era; Zechariah's lampstand vision
18:30 — The spread of Judaism through the diaspora as a stage in Israel's mission to the Gentiles
19:30 — Why did the exiles not bring back idolatry from Babylon and Persia?
21:30 — Exile as the moment the law became an existential lifeline for Jewish identity
23:30 — The legacy of Daniel, Esther, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as a unifying memory
25:00 — The restoration era as both the birth of the new covenant and the "thinning out" of the old
27:30 — Malachi's final word — cherem (curse of utter destruction) — and the doom hanging over the old covenant order
29:00 — The three phases of Ezra-Nehemiah — temple, people, city — as one unified project; the role of Haggai and Zechariah
37:00 — Dating Malachi: most likely during or after Nehemiah's absence from Jerusalem
40:30 — Malachi 3:1 ("I send my messenger") as potentially having a near fulfillment in Nehemiah's return
41:30 — The significance of Malachi's name meaning "my messenger"
42:30 — The chronology of Ezra-Nehemiah and the 70 Weeks; arguing for a compressed (~50-year) timeframe
45:30 — Debunking the "400 years of silence" myth — gaps in the canon are not gaps in God's speech
47:00 — 99% of God's people never witnessed a theophany; scrolls were always the ordinary means
48:30 — Daniel's visions as a prophetic bridge connecting the restoration era to the New Testament
49:30 — The rise of the synagogue and lay scriptural literacy in the diaspora; parallels to the Reformation
50:30 — Malachi 2 and the priests' neglected teaching vocation

Episode 863: After the Exile - The Restoration Era and the Prophet Malachi (New Series!)

Episode 862: No More Delay (Revelation 10:5-6), with James Jordan

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