1 An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi. [1]
Jacob Loved, Esau Hated
2 "I have loved you," says the LORD .
"But you ask, 'How have you loved us?'
"Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals."
4 Edom may say, "Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins."
But this is what the LORD Almighty says: "They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the LORD . 5 You will see it with your own eyes and say, 'Great is the LORD -even beyond the borders of Israel!'
We are quickly introduced to the first of six disputations recorded in Malachi, as the Lord
declares His love for His people, and they respond with the question, “How have You loved us?” The people
claim to see no evidence of God’s love for them! Do we in our generation not often declare the same heresy
with our questioning of God? To think that God doesn’t love His creation is practical blasphemy, and all are
guilty of that at some level and in some instances.
God answers the insolent question with gentle reproof, pointing to His electing love of Jacob and righteous
hatred of Esau (Romans 9; Deuteronomy 10:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:13). Often this gentle reproof brings utmost
disdain from those who hear it, for they fail to consider the mercy and grace shown to Jacob and instead focus
solely on the hatred of Esau. But even then they fail to see that it was right, for Esau – like Jacob – was a
sinner. Charles Spurgeon was confronted by an attendee at one of his sermons with the seemingly despicable
doctrine of God’s hatred for Esau, and Spurgeon replied with amazement that God would stoop to love Jacob.
We can get into the weeds when considering the doctrines of election and reprobation, but suffice it to say
here that God’s hatred of Esau is rejection. He did not choose Esau, and that was the right choice. He did
choose Jacob, and that was done solely out of mercy.
When we read in v4-6 about Edom’s response to God’s rejection, we must remember that Edom represents the
descendants of Esau. Their destruction is evidence of God’s faithfulness to His own promises. The Persian
Empire conquered Edom in 552 BC, and any Edomite remnant was destroyed in 312 BC by the Nabataeans. So this
prophecy of Malachi written in between these conquests fits well to say, “You’ve seen the Edomites be conquered,
and you will see them be destroyed in the near future.” The Lord reigns over all nations. That’s evidence of God’s
love for His people!
Blemished Sacrifices
6 "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name.
"But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?'
7 "You place defiled food on my altar.
"But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?'
"By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. 8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.
9 "Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?"-says the LORD Almighty.
10 "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands. 11 My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty.
12 "But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, 'It is defiled,' and of its food, 'It is contemptible.' 13 And you say, 'What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously," says the LORD Almighty.
"When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the LORD . 14 "Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king," says the LORD Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations.
God raises the issue in the remainder of chapter 1, provoking the people to think about this a bit
more. In this second dispute, He notes that a son honors his father, and a slave honors his master, but God is not
respected by His people! Specifically, He says that the priests – the leaders of the people of God – are showing
contempt for His name. And of course, the priests – and the people as a whole – are taken aback by this claim of
God. They say, “How is that possible? What leads You to think that we despise the name of the Lord?” God points
out that they offer defiled food on His altar, and they respond by asking, “How have we defiled You” (v7a)?
The people rightly see the link between their offerings and what that necessarily implies about their understanding
of God’s identity. Making an offering says something important about the one to whom the offering is made. But they
fail to recognize their own offerings were tarnished, both physically and spiritually. In v8-10, God shows them that
their offerings were shamefully unacceptable.
In v11-12, God declares both the magnificence of His name and reality that His people despise His blessings with
their discontentment of His provision in their circumstances. And these declarations astonishingly bring the people
to claim that they are weary of serving God in routine monotony (v13-14). If nothing else, you have to appreciate
the honesty of Malachi in reporting this hypothetical dialog. Let’s be honest. There are likely times when we feel
this way toward God, discontented and weary of the routine. But as was the case with Malachi’s audience, it’s
certainly the case for us. We are probably not giving our best to the Lord, and He’s totally worthy!
Why should the Lord provide more for the people, when the people aren’t providing more for Him? Their love for
Him is shallow, and He would prefer that they not even bother with the rituals if it’s not real. He is a great
King, and He will be revered by all. Therefore, all people should honor God rightly and out of gratitude and
repent, which is the call we will get in chapter 2.
Footnotes
- 1:1 Malachi means my messenger .
Bible text from
Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by
International Bible Society.