Malachi 1:2-5

GOD LOVES ISRAEL. Malachi 1:2-5

RV. I have loved you, saith Jehovah. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith Jehovah: yet I loved Jacob; but Esau I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his heritage to the jackals of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are beaten down but we will return and build the waste places; thus saith Jehovah of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and men shall call them The border of wickedness, and The people against whom Jehovah hath indignation for ever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, Jehovah be magnified beyond the border of Israel. -
LXX. I have loved you, saith the Lord. And ye said, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, and hated Esau, and laid waste his borders, and made his heritage as dwellings of the wilderness? Because one will say, Idumea has been Overthrown, but let us return and rebuild the desolate places; thus saith the Lord Almighty, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall be called The borders of wickedness, and, The people against whom the Lord has set himself for ever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The Lord has been magnified upon the borders of Israel.

COMMENTS

In these verses Israel is charged with being insensible to God's love. To overcome this insensitivity, He says emphatically, I have loved you. It is not the first time He has declared His love. (cp. Jeremiah 31:3-4) All of His dealings, from the initial establishment of the covenant, have been the result of this love.

In answer to the anticipated question Wherein hast thou loved us? Jehovah answers specifically in terms of His preference for Jacob over Esau.
The Jews were prone to think of themselves as superior to other races. Here God reminds them He has shown His love to them, not just in preference to other races, but in preference over those of their own race. Jacob and Esau were twin brothers, yet God established His covenant with Jacob, father of all Israelites, rather than with Esau, father of the Edomites. I loved Jacob. I hated Esau.

God does not, of course, unequivocally, hate any man or race of men. (cf. Acts 10:34-35) This statement must be kept in context. It is in contrast to His great love for His covenant people that His love for others seems hatred by comparison. Much in the same vein, Jesus demands that we hate father, mother, brother, sister, wife and even self. (Luke 14:26) We know He does not want us to literally hate anyone. (cp. Matthew 5:43-48) Neither does He hate anyone, excepting in comparison to His love for His chosen people.

The evidence of His preferential love for Israel over Edom is pictured in contrast of Edom's homeland to the land flowing with milk and honey into which He led His people. Edom lies southeast of the Dead Sea in the Arabian desert. Its capital, Petra, was cut out of solid red limestone cliffs. The surrounding area is desolate and barren.

Paul set upon the contrast between Jacob and Esau in establishing God's love for His covenant people. (Romans 9:13) The apostle points out the contrast is not between two nations per se, for they are not all Israel that are of Israel. (Romans 9:6) The real contrast is between the covenant people and the non-covenant people for this is a word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. (Romans 9:9-13)

Since it was His promise to redeem all mankind that was the heart of His covenant, His preferential treatment of Israel is ultimately evidence of His love even for Edom!
Nevertheless, in the years before Christ, He could point with justification to His treatment of His people in comparison to others as evidence of His love.

Chapter XLIVQuestions

Denunciation of Unfaithfulness

1.

The prophet ______________ is considered by Jewish tradition as the seal of prophecy.

2.

The traditional Christian view is that Malachi is the bridge between the

_____________ and the _______________.

3.

Malachi probably wrote about _______________.B.C.

4.

Malachi means _______________.

5.

Malachi's prophecy coincides with the _______________ period of Daniel's seventy weeks.

6.

Malachi's central concern is _______________.

7.

Discuss the corruption of the priesthood as addressed by Malachi and show its effect upon the people.

8.

Why does Malachi immediately precede the New Testament in our English versions of the Bible?

9.

Outline the book of Malachi.

10.

The next word from Jehovah to His people after Malachi would be spoken by_______________.