✎ The most famous play in Rose Bowl history occurs in 1929 when Georgia Tech beats California 8 to 7. Anyone who knows anything about football will tell you that something unusual must have happened for Georgia Tech to have scored 8 points. It wasn’t a two point conversion after Georgia Tech’s touchdown; Tech missed their PAT and would have lost the game if not for one play that made all the difference in the outcome of the game. Cal’s center Roy Riegels recovered a quarterback fumble and ran 65 yards before being tackled at the one yard line by his teammate Benny Lom. Lom says, “I shouted but he couldn’t hear me because of the crowd noise.” What do you think Benny was shouting as the two players ran towards the goal line? “TURN AROUND! YOU’RE GOING THE WRONG WAY” would be a pretty good guess. “Wrong way Roy” forced his team to have to punt from their end zone. Tech blocked the punt scoring a 2 point safety that secured their victory.
As we run through the game of life we too can find ourselves “running the wrong way.” The Bible says, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes” (Proverbs 12:15 KJV). God sees when we start to “run the wrong way.” God doesn’t just watch us run toward death and destruction, but in His great love God will send us a message.
Which brings us to Malachi. Today we begin a series of messages drawn from the last book of the Old Testament “The Final Prophet–Godly Insight for Daily Life.”
Malachi, whose name means “my messenger,” was sent by God to the nation of Israel who was again headed the wrong direction. Malachi’s message was like those God had sent to His people before. “Repent! Repent!” Literally Malachi told God’s people “Turn around! You’re going the wrong way.”
Malachi delivered God’s timeless message of repentance; it is a message which is needed just as much today as when Malachi first spoke these words to a nation who had lost their way. Through His messenger, God reveals the wayward condition of the heart of man calling them to repent and turn back to God.
1. Malachi delivers the message of repentance upon the foundation of God’s unfailing love.
+ Malachi 1:1-2 1An oracle [the burden (KJV) the message (NLT)]: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi. 2“I have loved you,” says the Lord. (NIV)
Right from the start Malachi makes God’s love known. Too many people today picture God like the angry Zeus sitting high above us with lightning bolts in hand to destroy us. If you hear only one thing today, I pray it is this. God is not angry with you; God loves you. God is our loving heavenly Father with open arms waiting to embrace all who will turn around and come back to Him.
God has made His love know right from the beginning; His love is woven throughout the tapestry of scripture.
+ Exodus 34:6 [God] said, "I am the Lord, I am the Lord, the merciful and gracious God. I am slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness. (NLT)
The Bible tells us simply, “GOD IS LOVE” (1 John 4:8,16). The character and nature of God is love. God’s love isn’t fickle; His love is not dependent upon us. God is love.
+ 2 Timothy 2:13 If we give up on him, he does not give up—for there’s no way he can be false to himself. (MsgB)
Perhaps we should say, “When we give up on God” instead of “If.” Let’s be honest with ourselves; when we face hardship we often question God’s love for us.
2. God’s love is often questioned.
+ Malachi 1:2 But you ask, “How have you loved us?” (NIV)
“You don’t love me anymore!” “If you loved me, then you wouldn’t treat me like this.” What child has not said–or at least thought–something like that?
✎ I remember a time when I was about 12 years old when I didn’t think my parents were treating me fairly. I hastily grabbed some things; put my dog, Heidi on her leash (she was the only one who really loved and understood me), and the two of us started off down the street. We were running away. I didn’t get far before we turned around and came back home (it may have even been Heidi tugging on her leash). Mom and Dad were there to welcome us back home. Even though the circumstances had not changed; deep in my heart I knew they loved me.
God’s people were questioning God’s love; “How have you loved us?” “Hey God, if this is what it’s like to be loved by You, then why don’t you go show your love to someone else.”
✎ Imagine what it was like for the people living in Jerusalem. Nearly 100 years earlier their nation had been judged by God and taken into exile by the Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar had shown Israel no mercy; the city of Jerusalem and the Temple had been destroyed. Then after 70 years of captivity, the nation of Israel was allowed to return to their homeland. . . a pile of ruins. Although the walls of the city and the temple had been rebuilt, things were not the same. The city of Jerusalem and the Temple were not what they once had been. The greatest humiliation was that Israel still was not really free. The nation was still under the control of Persia. So much for God’s promises to restore Israel.
We are just like the people of Israel. The Bible says, “these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us” (1 Corinthians 10:11 NIV). You and I should learn from Israel’s example. When they questioned God’s love for them, He was ready to reassure them of His unfailing love.
We’re no different than they are; when bad things happen we begin to question God’s love. “What have I done to deserve this? I thought you loved me!”
Our questions don’t cause God to love us less; He doesn’t turn His back on us when we pout and blame Him for all of our troubles. God is not threatened by our questions. He is waiting for us to bring our uncertainty, fear and doubt to Him.
3. God answers our questions with His love.
God is ready to strengthen our weakness, provide peace for our fear, and give faith to overcome our doubt. God will answer our questions according to His unfailing love!
God uses Malachi to show us how much He really loves us. Would you like to better understand God’s love for you? However, our goal is not just head knowledge; I don’t want us to just be able to say, “God’s love is this and this and that.”
With the knowledge of what God’s love is like, I want us to gain wisdom. Wisdom is the proper use of knowledge. Therefore, knowing how much God really loves me should affect the way I live.
With a right understand of how God loves me, I’m going to respond to the circumstances of life differently. I won’t question God, or become angry. Instead I will live with the strength of His love evident in everything I do and say.
First, GOD’S LOVE IS SOVEREIGN.
+ Malachi 1:2-5 2. . .“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?" the Lord says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, 3but Esau I have hated. (NIV)
Bells, whistles, alarms, red flags, flashing lights and sirens just sounded in many of our minds. How can God say, “I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau?” It’s not God loving Jacob that we have difficulty with; our problem lies with God saying He has hated Esau.
Malachi opens with statement from God that is one of the hardest passages in the Bible for us to understand. Let’s take it slow and see if we can begin to understand what it means.
Malachi is showing us that God’s love is sovereign. Sovereign means to have absolute authority and control; it is to be preeminent or superior to all others. God’s love is the ultimate love above all others.
As much as you may love your family or a friend, God’s love is far greater. Everything that God does is motivated by love. Remember the Bible tells us “GOD IS LOVE” (1 John 4:8, 16).
Therefore when God says, “I have love Jacob, but Esau I have hated” it demonstrates God’s sovereign love in all that God does. How? Let me show you.
Notice first what God does not say. God is not saying, “I love Jacob, but I hate Esau.” God is not displaying some childish emotion of choosing who will be his friends and enemies. God is not making a statement about His present affection or dislike for these brothers. Rather God is speaking about His past dealings with them; “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”
Also, God is not saying, “I have loved Jacob and picked him to live in heaven, but I have hated Esau and assigned him to hell.” God is not like that!
The theology that says God assigns some to heaven and others to hell is called UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION, or “double predestination.” Choice is fully under God’s control; you and I have no choice to make about our eternal destiny.
✎ It’s all just fate, or chance because only God knows the outcome. Flip a coin; heads you go to heaven and tails you go to hell (sorry no best 2 out of three). Or try this instead. If your birth date is even you get to go to heaven; if it’s odd too bad for you! (Now I picked even because that sends me to heaven, but what if God choose odd birthdays?!?)
Unconditional election undermines the need for evangelism and missions. If God picks who will be saved and who won’t, then why worry about telling others how to be saved?
The Bible does not portray God as loving some and hating others. The Bible shows God loving everyone.
+ 1 Timothy 2:4 for [God] wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. (NLT)
God doesn’t pick and choose; He wants everyone to be saved. The NIV says, “God wants ALL men (and women too) to be saved.” ALL means ALL, no exceptions. If God wants everyone to be saved and He picks then no one will go to hell right? No; we have a choice too.
+ John 1:12 Yet TO ALL who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (NIV)
+ John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)
+ Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (NIV)
So what are we to do with Jacob and Esau? Why does God say He has loved Jacob, but hated Esau?
Their story is told in the book of Genesis. Jacob and Esau were twin brothers who before their birth were fighting with each other in their mother’s womb. The boys mother, Rebekah pondered the struggle going on between her unborn children, and God spoke to her.
+ Genesis 25:23 The Lord said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." (NIV)
Now fast forward some 1500 years to the days of Malachi. No longer does Jacob and Esau refer to the individual boys born to Isaac and Rebekah but to the nations they represent: Jacob is the nation of Israel, Esau is the nation of Edom.
Through out those 1500 years God had dealt with both Jacob and Esau (both as individuals and then as nations) in the same way. God loved both Jacob and Esau and called them both to Himself. However, only Jacob answered God’s call; Esau rebelled against the Lord.
Through out history the sovereign love of God was at work of both Jacob and Esau. God’s love is still sovereign; with absolute authority and power the love of God calls men and women into fellowship with Him. God reaches out, but some refuse to come to the Lord.
Within the context of God’s sovereign love the word “hate” is used to describe how the Lord dealt with Esau. Again “hate” does not represent a childish hostility; rather it describes the justice of God being exercised to Esau and his descendants.
Yes, God hated Esau. God dealt with Esau according to the sin and rebellion of Esau and the Edomites. The sovereign love of God established justice.
And God loved Jacob. Now if we stop and think about it for just a moment, that should amaze us. HOW COULD GOD LOVE JACOB?
As an individual, Jacob was a schemer and manipulator. As a nation, Israel was at best fickle; the people would at times serve God only to later rebel and worship idols. Why would God want to love Jacob?
Stop for a moment. Why should God want to love you or me? God’s nature and character is to love us; it’s His sovereign love. GOD DOES NOT SEE US FOR WHAT WE ARE, BUT FOR WHAT WE CAN BE THROUGH HIS LOVE.
APPLICATION: When God says, “I love you” it refers to His character and nature; “God is love.” Love defines who God is. The nation of Israel looked at their circumstances and said, “How have you loved us God?” They doubted God’s love because of the hardship they saw around them.
We do the same thing. How have you doubted God’s love for you? Can you stop blaming God for just a moment and see how God is drawing you to Himself through your difficulty? Don’t run from God; run to Him. The love of God is not circumstantial. His is a sovereign love which endures forever.
Second, GOD’S LOVE IS STRONG.
+ Malachi 1:3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals. (NIV)
God hates evil.
+ Proverbs 6:16-19 16There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17haughty eyes [pride],a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18a heart that devises wicked [evil] schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. (NIV)
Think with me for a moment about “hate.” We think of it as a negative emotion–hate is a deep antagonism, to dislike intensely, or to detest. Hate is the opposite of love. When we feel hatred toward someone it makes our “blood boil.”
However, in the context of Malachi 1 and Proverbs 6 “hate” should be more properly interpreted “to be in opposition to.”
✎ Millions of people will gather in stadiums and around their TVs to watch a football game this afternoon. Many may say that they “hate” certain players or teams. For instance Cleveland Browns fans “hate” the Pittsburgh Steelers. Does that mean they have an animosity towards the team or player? For most no; they simply mean they are “opposed” to seeing that team win.
✎ Doctors want to see their patients get well. A good doctor will “hate” any disease that brings harm to their patient. Doctors and nurses are in opposition to sickness and do all they can to fight it.
God “hates” evil. God stands in opposition to the evil that would destroy our lives. THEREFORE, BECAUSE GOD HATES EVIL, HE WON’T IGNORE IT–God opposes evil.
Esau and the nation of Edom continually rebelled against the Lord; therefore, God placed them under His judgement. His mountains were made a wasteland.
When God judges evil, it is a powerful demonstration of His love. God’s love will not ignore sin and rebellion.
+ Hebrews 12:5-6 5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." (NIV)
APPLICATION: When we begin to understand that God loves us we should respond with a greater love for Christ. Our response to God’s love should motivate us to be obedient to His Word. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John14:15 NIV). Where are you compromising? In what area of your life does God require obedience?
▸ Faith–are you neglecting personal time in prayer and Bible study?
▸ Family–are you neglecting spending time with your family? Are you not being sensitive to their emotional needs?
▸ Friends–are you holding on to bitterness or resentment from the past?
▸ Finances–are you being faithful to God in giving your tithes? Are you burying yourself in debt? Are you cheating your employer by not giving them an honest day’s work?
Is there another area that God requires obedience? What steps do you need to take to obey God? Let me encourage you to obey the Lord–not to try to earn His favor; God loves you, period. Obey the Lord as an expression of love and thanksgiving for His unfailing love to you.
Third, GOD’S LOVE IS STEADFAST.
+ Malachi 1:4 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.” (NIV)
These may sound like such harsh words. Where is the God of mercy and grace? He is right there to faithfully uphold his righteous judgements.
God’s love is STEADFAST; His love is faithful.
Because of their sin the strong love of God brought Edom to ruin. Having executed His judgement, God will not let Edom rebuild an idolatrous and sinful nation. The steadfast love of God will see that it remains destroyed forever!
The same spiritual dynamic of the steadfast and faithful love of God is at work in our lives today. Jesus destroyed the works of Satan on His cross; Satan has been defeated!
+ Colossians 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (NIV)
How many of you have found out that Satan is a poor loser? You have given your life to Christ and have been given the victory over Satan, but the enemy continues to come back and rebuild his influence and control within your life. Old habits and desires try to pull you away from God.
GOD’S LOVE IS STEADFAST! He won’t allow Satan to rebuild his evil kingdom in your life. God will continually work to destroy and cast down every work of the enemy in your life. God’s steadfast love is present within your life; Satan is doomed!
APPLICATION: You may say, but pastor Satan continues to tell me I can’t serve God. The devil always is right there to lead me astray; and time and again I give in to temptation. I feel defeated; Satan tells me, “why don’t you just give up and stop trying to live a lie?”
If that’s you this morning, then you need to stop trying to live the Christian life in your own strength. This is one time the devil is right–you can’t live a Christian life; only the devil is holding out on you and not telling you the whole truth.
Here’s the good news; the whole truth. You can’t do it in your strength, but you can live a victorious life through the power of the Holy Spirit IN YOU! Stop relying on your own strength and let the power of God’s Spirit be effective in your life each day.
If you have not been baptized in the Holy Spirt with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, then you need to be. If your baptism was years ago, but you don’t continue to be filled with the Spirit, then you need to be refilled. You don’t need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit to get into heaven, Jesus made that possible for you at the cross. You need the baptism in the Holy Spirit to live a victorious Christian life today!
Fourth, GOD’S LOVE IS SEEKING.
+ Malachi 1:5 You will see it with your own eyes and say, ’Great is the Lord--even beyond the borders of Israel! (NIV)
The nation of Israel thought God’s love was just for them; they were “God’s chosen people.” God’s love was reaching out to every tribe, nation, and tongue. The love of God is not exclusive; it’s inclusive. God’s love is seeking.
+ Malachi 1:11 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. (NIV)
In perhaps the most quoted verse in the Bible, Jesus said it like this, “God so loved the world.” Jesus said that the reason He had come was “to seek and to save the lost.”
God is not interested in just reaching a few; He is seeking the world. With over 6 billion people living in the world today not one is unimportant to God. God knows each one by name, and is calling to them to come to Him. Each one matters to God. God’s love is seeking.
APPLICATION: Who is God wanting to reach through you? Jesus has made you His ambassador in your world. Are there those that you are ignoring or turning your back on?
Begin to pray and ask God to open your eyes to the harvest that is around you. Let the Holy Spirit empower you to be a witness.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE BOOK OF MALACHI IS THE LOVE OF GOD. IT IS GOD’S LOVE THAT WILL HELP US IN OUR EVERYDAY LIFE.
GOD’S LOVE IS SOVEREIGN.
GOD’S LOVE IS STRONG.
GOD’S LOVE IS STEADFAST.
GOD’S LOVE IS SEEKING.
