God Loves You
Malachi 1v1-2a
9th October 2020
Malachi 1v1
An oracle: the word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.
The last 12 books of the Old Testament are known as the "Minor Prophets", not as if they're unimportant but because their books are shorter than Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The first 9 of the 12 minor prophets all lived before the exile in Babylon, but the last three – Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi – all lived after the return from exile which occurred in 539 BC. For that reason, they're known as the "postexilic prophets".
We don't know who Malachi was, but his name means "my messenger". It may or may not have been his birth name. We also can't be certain when he prophesied, but it seems very likely that he prophesied after Haggai and Zechariah, and so after the temple had been rebuilt. His ministry was probably somewhere around 450 BC, so he was the last prophet in the Old Testament.
The book of Malachi is a series of prophecies, several of which are in the form of a dialogue with the structure, "The Lord says this but you say that". It has the feel of a courtroom, in which God is cross-examining the defendants. God had rescued his people from captivity in Babylon, brought them home to Judea, and called them to rebuild His temple and live godly lives. Even though they would have been doomed to servitude in a foreign land without His rescue, they still largely refused to live up to their calling.
At the time Malachi prophesied, the new temple was nothing like as glorious as the original temple. God's people had done just about the bare minimum required for it to be considered a temple at all. They'd had no real passion for the work, and no real passions for godly living. Their commitment to God was just enough to give the surface impression of discipleship, while they were far more interested in their own lives, families and homes, as the earlier prophet Haggai made clear.
Perhaps we can relate. Without God's rescue, without Jesus Christ dying on the cross to pay for our sins so we could be redeemed from slavery to sin and doomed to eternal destruction, we would still be lost, without hope and without God in the world, as Paul says in Ephesians 2:12. Now God calls us to rebuild his temple and live godly lives, but are we living up to our calling?
Malachi begins with his first cross-examination:
Malachi 1:2a
"I have loved you," says the Lord.
"But you ask, 'How have you loved us?'"
God reminds His people of the most fundamental fact about His relationship with them – and with us. God loves us. He has always loved us, He loves us now, and He will always love us. They – and we – are God's chosen people. The fact that God loves each one of us, and loves us as a community, really, really shouldn't be in doubt. Should it?
That held true for them. God had rescued their ancestors from slavery in Egypt, and had rescued them again just 90 years or so ago, from slavery in Babylon. He had given them His holy Law, sent them prophets, judges and kings, fought for them in battle, and forgiven them time after time.
And it holds true for us. God sent Jesus to die to rescue us from sin and death. He adopted us as His children. He gave us His Holy Spirit. He continues to forgive our sins. He's healed many of us. He's taught, led and protected us. He's guaranteed us an eternal destiny with Him in glory.
But I suspect that most of us have, at some time, doubted that God loves us. We may not have been bold to tell Him so, or to admit it to each other. But when things get really tough, it's tempting, isn't it, to doubt that God loves us? We ask the age-old question, "If God loves me, why is my life so painful?"
There is no completely satisfying answer to that question, although I do have some answers, but we can be certain that God does love us. The perfect heavenly Father will always love His children.
When Malachi's generation asked God, "How have you loved us" I think they were really thinking "What have you done for us recently?" If they knew their history, they'd be very aware that God had loved them ever since the days of Abraham.
And you and I, if we take time to remember our personal histories with God, can call to mind the times God has spoken to us, comforted us, healed us, forgiven us, provided for us, taught us and led us forward. Can you remember the time you first believed? The day you were baptised in water? The day you were baptised in the Holy Spirit? The times you were filled with conviction of sin, went to God and knew His forgiveness and love? The times he provided for you? The times He felt so very close?
I still remember the time, 40 years ago, when my wife and I had no money, precious little food, and bills to pay. Martine opened her Bible and found £20 inside. We had no idea how it got there, but it came just when we needed it. We have many small but wonderful stories like that, but we forget most of them.
There are times when God seems far away. There are times when we long for God to do something. And knowing as we do that God is all powerful, it can be bewildering when God doesn't act. But we have enough history with God to know that He loves us. As Hebrew 13:8 tells us, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. He will always love us.