Malachi 1:1-5

Introduction

Beginning a series in Malachi the final book of the Old testament.

Malachi is the author of the book. Written around the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. We know this because In 1:8 the Persian Governor is mentioned, the temple has been rebuilt and the sins of Israel are the same that Nehemiah had to contend with. Date for the book is roughly 455BC

The people have been in exile in Babylon. They have now returned to the land of Israel which is still under the rule of Persia but they are able to rebuild the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. At first the people serve the Lord with zeal. But as the book of Nehemiah shows us as time goes on the people begin to sin in various ways and their worship just becomes empty formality.

The Book of Malachi is a message calling the people to return to the Lord and he will turn to them.

In 1:1 the message of Malachi is referred to as the burden of the LORD. This was a message given to Malachi that he was compelled to give to the people. It was heavy on his heart, it had to be proclaimed.

The book is structured around six disputes between God and Israel. God is proving his loyalty to them and showing them their disloyalty to him. In each dispute he is calling them back to faithfulness.

Dispute 1- 1:2-5- They doubt God’s love

Dispute 2- 1:6-2:9 They despise God’s name and altar

Dispute 3- 2:10-16 They are unfaithful in marriage

Dispute 4: 2:17-3:5 They doubt God’s justice

Dispute 5- 3:6-12 They rob God through not tithing

Dispute 6- 3:13-4:6 They doubt God’s faithfulness

Today we are looking the the first dispute. Chapter 1:2-5

Have you ever doubted God’s love?

Sometimes we can doubt God’s love because of bad things we experience in our lives and we think to ourselves “If God loved me he wouldn’t let me go through this”. Or sometimes we can doubt God’s love because we feel unworthy of it. We have let him down again and surely he cannot still love me.

If a Christian doubts God’s love for them it can affect their Christian life in serious ways.

Is there a way that we can be convinced that God loves us?

Can we look at something he has done for us and know he loves us?

Of course one answer from the New Testament is ‘Look at the cross’ Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

In our passage we see another act of God that shows us his love for us. God is addressing Israel his Old Covenant people. However, what he says to them is true of us in a much greater way in Christ.

In this passage God declares his love for his people. But they respond by asking whether he really does love them. God shows them how he has loved them.

God loves his people. God showed them his love by choosing them. God showed them his love by blessing them.

I. God loves his people v.2a

a) God’s love declared

v.2 I have loved you Says the LORD

I have loved you and still do.

God says in Jeremiah 31:3 “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”

God’s love for his people is an eternal love. It is a faithful love. His love was demonstrated towards Israel by the fact that he brought them our from slavery into Egypt and gave them the land he promised to Abraham. He showed his love for them by his constant patience despite their constant unfaithfulness. He showed them his love by sending them prophets calling them to repent. Then after the punished them by sending them into exile he showed them his love by bringing them back to their land again.

God kept his covenant faithfulness towards them.

Let us try and grasp the wonder of these words. The eternal, infinite, Triune God declares to his people I love you.

He spoke everything into existence. He sustains the universe and everything in it every second of every day. The earth is his and everything in it. He has countless numbers of angels who worship before him and do his bidding.

Yet he says to this small, despised, down trodden people, I love you.

Deuteronomy 7:7–8 “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

Why did God remind them of his love for them? It was because of their sin, he loved them yet they were not loving him.

How did they respond to God’s love? With joy, with wonder, with awe with repentance?

No but with doubt.

b) God’s love doubted

The people of Israel doubted his love. They respond to God’s declaration of love by saying ‘How have you loved us?’

What caused this response?

Maybe they were looking at their current circumstances. Yes they were brought back and the temple was rebuilt. But it wasn’t as glorious as Solomon’s temple. Yes they are in their own land but they aren’t wealthy like they used to be and they are still under the rule of the Persians. The Messiah hasn’t yet come.

Application

Christian God loves you. Sometimes we can become so familiar with a truth that we lose the wonder of it. But this is a truth that should thrill our hearts.

God’s love is eternal and infinite. It never ends and has no bounds. Yet the immense love of God is set upon you.

 Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made, were ev’ry stalk on earth a quill and ev’ry man a scribe by trade, to write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry; nor could the scroll contain the whole, tho' stretched from sky to sky.

Your love will last forever It’s like a mighty river That flows and flows forever Never stopping

Sometimes when we look at our circumstances it can make us doubt the love of God. God declares his love for us in his word.

1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.”

Yet we can doubt whether this is true. This is what Israel did. But to doubt his love is to doubt his word. Its to doubt him.

God loves his people but they doubted his love. God responds to their objection by telling then how he has loved them.

II. God’s love is shown because he chose them v.2b-3

God tells Israel I have loved you by choosing you for myself instead of others.

a) Jacob is loved v.2b

Malachi 1:2–3 Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved; But Esau I have hated...

Jacob I have loved means God chose him. This was a choice that God made even before they were born.

Genesis 25:23 “And the Lord said to Rebekah: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.””

Romans 9:10–12 “And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.””

Paul quotes from this verse to prove the point that God chooses people not because of anything good in them, or anything he can foresee they will do but simply because of his love for him. So that his purpose according to election might stand.

b) Esau is hated v.3a

Hated means rejected. It is in the context of a covenant. Jacob was chosen. Esau was rejected.

Esau and the Edomites were not part of God’s covenant. They were not chosen.

God says I love you. The people of Israel say How have you loved us?

God says because I chose you for myself. God’s election is proof of his love. He loved them therefore he chose them. He didn’t love them and choose them because of anything good in them. But he chose them because of grace, because of his love, because of his good pleasure.

Application

Election is a truth that runs through out the whole of the Bible.

Jesus taught it- John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”

Peter taught it- 1 Peter 1:1–2 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.”

Luke taught it- Acts 13:48 “Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.”

Paul taught it- Ephesians 1:3–4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,”

All of these words are God inspired words. These are God’s word. Election is taught by God because it is what God does. He chooses people for himself. Not because of anything good in them but because of his own love and grace.

What does this mean for us?

The Bible’s teaching of election is often used by Christians as something to debate about. But in the NT its used as a source of encouragement for believers. It assures us of God’s love.

John Kent was an 18th century hymn writer. He wrote a hymn about election. Verse 1 is about God’s sovereign grace, v2 is about being eternally secure, v3 is about being chosen by God. Then v4 is a response to these truths it says;

 On such love, my soul, still ponder, Love so great, so rich, so free; Say, whilst lost in holy wonder, Why, O Lord, such love to me? Hallelujah! Grace shall reign eternally.

Christian you are loved by God. How do you know? He chose you in Christ before the foundation of the world. Before you were born he knew you and he set his love upon you. He knew you would sin but he planned to save you.

How do you know you’re chosen? Its simple if you believe in Jesus Christ you know you were chosen before the foundation of the world.

1 Thessalonians 1:4–5 “knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.” -

How did Paul know the Thessalonians were chosen by God? because they believed the Gospel.

Again all this means You weren’t an after thought. God knew you and chose you before the world was made. He sent his Son to save you. He then awakened you out of your sin by His Spirit and worked repentance and faith in you. He has not just planned your conversion but your eternal salvation.

God says I have loved you. You may respond How have you loved me? God says because I chose you for myself.

Whatever your circumstances. Whatever your suffering. What ever is causing you to doubt God’s love look beyond what your experience to the electing love of God. God chose you. He loves you.

III. God’s love is shown because he blessed them v.3-5

a) Esau has been laid waste v.3b

Esau refers to the Edomites.

This took place when the Nabateans invaded and took control of Edom. Forcing the Edomites to settle elsewhere.

i) They will not rebuild v.4

ii) They will have a bad reputation v.4b

Why is God talking about judging Edom in order to show his love for Israel?

b) Israel has experienced the opposite

They had been brought back from Exile in Babylon. They have rebuilt the temple. They have rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. They still had precious promises from God.

Their restoration contrasts with Esau’s destruction and further highlights God’s love for them and his judgement upon those who hated them.

c) Their response should be praise v.5

They were to respond not with doubt but with praise.

Application

Israel could see God’s love for them because he blessed them and not others.

We see God’s love for us in the favour he shows us.

What blessings we have received as God’s children.

We have been adopted as children- made co heirs with Christ.

We have been forgiven for our sins

We have been born again

We have been given the Holy Spirit

God hears and answers our prayers.

God makes everything work together for our good

How can we doubt God’s love for us?

What should our response be? The same as the Israelites we should respond with praise.

If you are an unbeliever let me challenge you by saying look what you are missing out on. The Bible describes someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus as being Without God and With out hope in this world.

But if today you were to turn to Jesus Christ you would have an eternal hope in heaven. You will receive all of these blessings that believers enjoy in Jesus.

Conclusion

Have you ever doubted God’s love? Maybe you are doubting God’s love at the moment. You look at your circumstances and you ask does God really love me?

God loves his people. God has shown you his love by choosing you. God has shown you his love by blessing you.

Christian God loves you. He chose you before the world was made. He has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Christ.