Malachi 1:2-5. [2] “I have always loved you,” says the LORD. But you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?” And the LORD replies, “This is how I showed my love for you: I loved your ancestor Jacob, [3] but I rejected his brother, Esau, and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau’s inheritance into a desert for jackals.” [4] Esau’s descendants in Edom may say, “We have been shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins.” But the LORD of Heaven’s Armies replies, “They may try to rebuild, but I will demolish them again. Their country will be known as ‘The Land of Wickedness,’ and their people will be called ‘The People with Whom the LORD Is Forever Angry.’ [5] When you see the destruction for yourselves, you will say, ‘Truly, the LORD’s greatness reaches far beyond Israel’s borders!'”
The book of Malachi utilizes an interesting system for presenting its message to Israel. In most of the first three chapters, God makes a statement, the people respond with a question, and then God replies by pointing out how the statement applies to them. This literary tool becomes evident in Verses 2–5 of Chapter 1.
God tells the people He has always loved them. The people respond with, “Really? How have you loved us?”
Allow me to make an observation here. The people do not take God at His word when He tells them He loves them. They essentially are saying to God, “Prove what you just said, because we don’t believe you.” Their questioning response reveals a lack of faith in God and His relationship to them. They have apparently forgotten all He did for them in bringing them back to their homeland and providing for them in the process. What a sad set of circumstances when the people of God question His integrity.
God answers their question by reminding them of how He chose their ancestor Jacob and his descendants over his brother Esau and his family. Both Jacob and Esau were sons of Isaac, Abraham’s “son of promise.” God had also chosen Isaac over Ishmael, his half-brother. He is pointing out to the people that they were especially chosen by God to be His special nation, and that act proved His love for them.
God further explains that the very land of the children of Esau, which was called Edom, was not blessed like Israel had been blessed. God plainly states the land of Edom had become a desert inhabited by jackals.
And God goes even deeper in His description of how Esau’s descendants had been rejected by stating that if they decided to rebuild their nation, He would destroy them again. God’s rejection of Edom was so profound that He pronounces the land would be known as a place of wickedness.
The next statement could bring a feeling of despair to anyone descended from Esau. God says those people would become known as the people with whom the Lord is forever angry. That is a serious declaration to place on the posterity of a nation. God demonstrates throughout the Bible that those who incur His wrath will be cursed and not blessed. His wrath against Esau’s descendants would be an indicator to the people of Israel that His power extended far beyond the land of Israel.
We’ll continue “Ten Minutes with Malachi” in the next video as we look at Chapter 1, Verses 6-10 & 12-14. Remember you can find other lessons from the “Ten Minutes with…” series on this YouTube channel by searching for the series title. Notes for the lessons can be found at westvilleag.org. Allow me to encourage you to subscribe to my channel. You are welcome to leave prayer requests or questions in the comments. God bless until next time.