The prophet Malachi ministered to the Jews who returned from exile. In 586 B.C., Jerusalem was utterly destroyed (see Lamentations), and the final deportations of captives were taken to Babylon. Some captives (about 50,000) began to return under the leadership of Zerubbabel (see Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah). However, the 70-year captivity was not over until the temple was rebuilt and worship resumed in Jerusalem, in 516 B.C. (see 1Ki 8:46–53; Jer 32:36–37; Dan 6:1–17). Many of the sins cited by Malachi were already prominent in the time of Nehemiah (cf. Nehemiah 13) and were corrected by his reforms.
These notes are from the February 2011 conference on Malachi held in Florida.
Malachi – The Choice of a Nation – Florida 2011