Malachi 1v1-5

Electing Love

John Bradford was an English Christian in the 1500’s who was burned for his

faith.

And perhaps he’s most famous today as the man who coined the phrase: “But

for the grace of God, there go I.”

According to him, seeing the wickedness in other people is an opportunity for

examine and confess the wickedness in our own lives.

If he saw a drunken person, he’d confess: Lord, I have a drunken head.

If he saw a swearing person, he’d confess: Lord, I have a swearing heart.

And if he saw a criminal being led away to be executed for his crimes, he would

exclaim: “but for the grace of God, there go I.” And that phrase is still often

used today.

Well today we begin a series on the book of Malachi. And if you know this

book, you might be saying to yourself: “I know why Kyle has chosen to do a

series on Malachi.” Its because there’s that section on tithing in chapter 3. Kyle

wants us to tithe! That’s why he’s chosen this book. But let me assure you: I

am excited about that passage. But that’s not why chose this book..

Part of the reason why I’v chosen to do a series on Malachi is because I want us

to understand God’s Word in its fullness. If ur a visitor this morning, let me tell

you our practice at St James is to work through whole books in the Bible. And

that helps us to understand each passage in its context and it forces us to deal

with all of God’s Word. We can’t avoid the difficult sections. It prevents me

from only speaking about my hobby horses.

But what I do get to choose is which books we work through. And so what I

need to ensure is that we covering the different sections of God’s Word.

You’ve got OT history. You’ve got poetry. You’ve got the prophets. You’ve got

the gospels. You’ve got the letters. And since I arrived at St James, the one

major section we haven’t looked at are the prophets. And so its about time we

did a prophet. And the Prophet I’v chosen is Malachi.

But there’s an even bigger reason why we need to study Malachi. And that’s

because of its message.

I dunno about you, but often life feels like a burden. It’s a burden to wake up.

It’s a burden to go to work. It’s a burden just getting through each day.

And I think if we honest, even serving God can sometimes feel like a burden.

It’s a burden to read our Bibles. It’s a burden to go to church. It’s a burden to

fight sin. It’s a burden to be faithful in our various ministries. It’s a burden to

try and reach our unbelieving friends.

And that’s not how it should be.

God is the Great King of the Universe. Serving Him is the greatest privilege in

the world.

And so that’s why I’m really excited about this book. This book is written for

people who have lost their sense of awe.

Look at Malachi 1 verse 13. This is Israel speaking. And they talking about their

worship of God in the temple. Look at how they describe it: Verse 13. And you

say: “What a burden!”

You see for Israel, the worship of God has become a burden. They’ve lost their

excitement. They’ve lost their motivation. The service of God has become a

burden.

And so that’s what Malachi’s dealing with. And his main purpose is to restore

their sense of awe. If you wanna summarize the main message of Malachi. I’d

summarize it like this: “He’s calling us to tremble before the greatness of God”.

(x2)

Just reading through the book, this is what jumps out at you.

20 times in this book God is described as the LORD Almighty. It’s the most

common name that’s used to describe God. It emphasizes His power and His

greatness.

13 times you see words like fear or reverence or respect or honour. That’s the

response this book is calling for.

And if I had to choose a key verse to capture the main theme in this book, Id

choose the last sentence of verse 14. Chapter 1 verse 14. This is worth

memorizing. Stick it on your fridge, teach it to your kids.

“For I am a great King,” says the LORD Almighty, “and my name is to be feared

among the nations.”

And so I’m really excited to get into this book.

And my main prayer is that each of us will have a new sense of the greatness of

God: And that it’ll drive out any complacency and lukewarm devotion to God.

That we’ll tremble before His greatness.

So lets get into our passage.

Verse 1 emphasizes that this is direct revelation from God.

“an oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.”

An oracle refers to direct revelation from God. and the name Malachi literally

means “my messenger”. That’s all Malachi is. He’s received direct revelation

from God. And He’s simply delivering it to Israel.

And so you wanna hear the voice of God? Here we have direct revelation from

God.

But the book is broken up into six arguments or debates between God and

Israel. God makes a statement. Israel responds. God comes back at them again.

And the first debate is all about God’s love. Notice God’s opening statement in

verse 2

“I have loved you,” says the LORD.

And so that’s our theme this morning. This is the first point about the

greatness of God that should make as tremble. It’s the fact that He loves us if

we are one of His people.

I wonder if the love of God causes you tremble?

The message of God’s love has become very common in our world today.

Its often emphasized. Its used to make us feel good about ourselves. To give us

comfort and a sense of value and security.

But in the process its lost much of its meaning. Its been sentimentalized. Its

lost its depth. Its become common. Of course God loves me. So what?

And so its very difficult to find people today who tremble at the message of

God’s love.

But that’s what God wants. He’s given us this book to make us tremble at His

greatness. And the first statement from His mouth is

“I have loved you,” says the LORD.

This is the first thing that should bring us to our knees before Him saying,

“Wow, God is great!” Worthy of my reverence and my awe.

And so that’s my aim this morning: to help us grasp God’s love in a way that

makes us tremble.

And there three main points this morning: Firstly the proof of God’s love.

Secondly, a picture of God’s hatred. Thirdly, the purpose of God’s grace

(Repeat)

So firstly, the proof of God’s love.

God starts be saying, I have loved you in verse 2. But Israel responds by asking:

“How have you loved us?”

Israel are struggling to believe God’s love. Most commentators think that

Malachi was written at about 460 BC. That’s about 80 years after Israel

returned from exile. They had been taken off as prisoners into Babylon. And

then in about 540 BC God brought them back. And through the preaching of

Haggai and Zechariah, God predicted that He’d rebuild the temple and restore

the city. And so those who had came back had returned with hope. There were

just a few of them. But they were hopeful. Hopeful that God would re-establish

Israel. And make them great. Even greater than during the times of David and

Solomon. That they would become the great kingdom in the world.

But now Malachi is writing 80 years later. And those hopes have dashed. The

temple’s been rebuilt. But it doesn’t compare to the glory of Solomon’s

temple. The city still lies in ruins. There just small groups of people living

amongst the ruins like squatters.

And so into this situations God says: I have loved you. And the people respond:

“How have you loved us?”

look around God. Look at our circumstances. Look how we living? Is this what

you call love?

And still today we are tempted to doubt God’s love because of our

circumstances. We sick. We grieving. We struggling to get through life.

How can God say that He loves us. Prove it God. How have you loved us?

And so that’s what God does. He proves His love. But He does it in a very

surprizing way.

I wonder how would you prove God’s love? If you were trying to assure

yourself God loves you. Or trying to prove it to a friend? How would you prove

it?

Well Maybe you’d go to Romans 5 verse 8. “But God demonstrates His love for

us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Surely that’s the greatest proof of God’s love. That He died to save us from our

sins.

Well in the Old Testament the great proof of God’s love was the Exodus. God

saved Israel from slavery in Egypt. And so you might expect him here to refer

to that.

“How have you loved us?” “Just think about the Exodus.”

But that’s not what God does. Look at verse 2. Notice how God proves His love.

Verse 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, but

Esau I have hated”

Now in case you don’t know Jacob and Esau are the founding fathers of two

nations: Israel comes from Jacob. Edom comes from Esau.

And so often in the Bible when God wants to refer to these two nations, He

just refers to their founding fathers.

When He says Jacob, He’s talking about Israel. When He says, Esau. He’s talking

about Edom.

And so Israel ask:

How have you loved us?

And God says: I loved Jacob. I didn’t love Esau.

Now what kind of answer is that?

Isn’t that just a restatement of His love? A repetition of what He’s already said?

“I loved you.”

“How did you love us?”

“I loved you.”

How’s that a proof of God’s love?

Is God actually stumped by this question? He can’t answer and so He simply

repeats His love?

Well no! look carefully, God doesn’t just restate His love.

Before He restates His love for Jacob, He asks a crucial question:

How have you loved us?

(SLOW) “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?”

That’s the key question. If you can understand that question. And the answer

to that question. Then you’ll begin to grasp God’s love for His people.

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?”

And of course the answer to that question is yes! In fact Esau was Jacob’s twin

brother. Not only that, he was the older twin which in that culture mean that

he rather than Jacob should have received the blessing and the inheritance.

And so this is God’s point:

Israel asks: how have you loved us? God says, “think about your brother.” Is

there any reason why I should have chosen you rather than Him. Couldn’t I

just as easily have chosen Him and rejected You? I had every right to do that.

But I didn’t. I chose you Jacob.

That’s the proof of my love.

In other words, God’s love for Israel is an unconditional love. Not based on

anything about Jacob. But only upon the mercy of God.

Romans 9v10 quotes from this verse. And it makes it very clear.

It should be up on the screen. Romans 9v10

“Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac.

(So Esau and Jacob had the same parents: Rebekah and Isaac)

Yet, before the twins had done anything good or bad – in order that God’s

purpose in election might stand: not by works but by Him Who calls – she was

told, “the older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written: “Jacob I have

loved, but Esau I have hated.”

What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For He says to Moses,

“I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on

whom I have compassion.”

It does not therefore depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”

Now I know this is a controversial doctrine. Last time I preached on election,

there was one man who walked out and vowed to never return to this church.

But I wanna suggest that the reason this is controversial isn’t because its

unclear in the Bible. This doctrine is clearly taught throughout Scripture.

The reason this is so controversial is because it clashes with our pride. You see

the message of this doctrine is: You cannot boast before God! If you are loved

by God, its not because of anything about you.

And so this is a wonderful doctrine: for the humbling of the proud.

But its also a wonderful doctrine for the assurance of God’s elect.

If you are a Christian who struggles with assurance, then this is what you need

to understand.

You see if God’s love depends upon you. If it depends on your performance.

Then moment by moment you need to live up to His love. And we know, if we

honest: We are unreliable. Unfaithful. Undeserving. Sinful people. If God’s love

depends on us, then we are condemned to a life of doubt and despair.

But if God’s love depends on Him. Then there is assurance. For He is

unchanging. Faithful. True. And so if He has chosen to love you, then nothing

will separate you from His love.

Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? Yet Jacob I have loved. But Esau I have hated.

That’s the proof of God’s love.

But now God takes it even further. He wants Israel to tremble at His love. And

so in verses 3-4, He highlights his love by contrasting it with His hatred. In

other words, He gives them a picture of what they would be apart from His

love. A picture of his hatred.

Now as soon as I use that word, “hatred” it raises difficult questions in our

minds. How can hatred be associated with God?

Doesn’t the Bible say, “God is love.” How can hatred come from Him?

Well the way some people try to get around this is by saying: God hates the

sin, but He loves the sinner.

And there is a little bit of truth in that.

But clearly the Bible’s prepared to go even further. Verse 3 doesn’t say: God

hated Esau’s sin. It says God hated Esau. If you read the Psalms, it often talks

about God hating sinners. Not just their sin.

And so what we need to do here is to understand how God’s hatred is aroused.

Where does it come from?

We need to know it isn’t one of the intrinsic perfections of God. In other

words, It doesn’t define Him. That’s why you’ll never read a verse in the Bible

that says: God is hatred. Or God is anger. Those aren’t attributes that define

God in Himself.

The love of God is different. The Bible does say, “God is love. That’s Who He is

in Himself. That’s why He can love us in spite of our ugliness and our sin. Its

because love is aroused from within Him, in spite of who we are.

And so God is love. He isn’t hatred or anger.

And so again, where does the hatred come from?

Well Another attribute that also defines God is holiness. The Bible often says:

God is holy. That’s another one of His intrinsic percfections. And so that’s

where the hatred of God is aroused. God’s hatred is the holy response to the

wickedness of man.

You see, God is passionate about holiness. And those who rebel against Him

arouse a holy and pure a fierce hatred.

And so just look down to verse 4. You can even see this in our verses. Notice

how Edom are described at the end of verse 4.

“They will be called the Wicked land, a people always under the wrath of the

LORD.”

You see, Esau is not an innocent nation seeking after God and receiving unjust

punishment. Simply because God has decided to hate them. No. They are a

wicked people. They are receiving what they deserve.

In the words of John Piper: “when God passed over Esau and chose Jacob, He

did not decree that an innocent Esau would be judged. Rather what God

decreed was to pass Esau by. To withhold His electing love which He owes to

no one. And to give Him up to wickedness.”

Now of course there is mystery here. Deuteronomy 29 verse 29 says: ‘the

secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us

and to our children.”

There are things here we can’t understand. But what we can say is this: God’s

hatred is the just response to our wickedness. God’s love is the undeserved

response of God’s grace.

And so that’s why God gives Israel this picture of His hatred. He’s showing

them what they themselves deserve. This is where they could so easily be. If

not for God’s undeserved love.

And so just notice two things about God’s hatred. Two things that happen to

Esau.

Firstly, their prosperity gets destroyed. Verse 3.

“but Esau I have hated and have turned His mountains into a wasteland and

left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

Destruction has come upon this nation. Their prosperity has been wiped out.

And this will be true of all the wicked. Apart from God’s love. They might

prosper in this life. We do see wicked people prospering in the world. But soon

their prosperity will be gone. Wiped out by God.

Secondly, their attempts to rebuild will be futile. Look at verse 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.’”

You see, when God’s face is set against you. You’ve got no chance.

Let me just ask you: Is there anyone here who has actually gone to Edom?

Maybe you visited there on a holiday or a family trip? Anyone?

No, I didn’t think so. That’s because it doesn’t exist. Its been wiped out. Edom’s

attempts to rebuild were in vain. And that’s a picture of life for the wicked.

If God is your enemy, what chance do you have? You cannot win against God.

And so this is the picture of God’s hatred. But its given to God’s people to

highlight His love.

And so you Christian Person. Think for yourself. Think of that brother or sister

of yours. Who grew up in the same home. same parents. the same teaching.

Or think of that childhood friend. In the same Sunday school and from the

same church.

Or think of that high school buddy: the same group of friends. The same

influences. The same interests.

And here you are today sitting under the teaching of God. Under His grace.

Headed for heaven.

While he or she is hard against God. Living in sin. Headed for judgment.

Consider this: Why did God choose you?

Do you tremble at His love?

Don Carson has written an excellent book called the difficult doctrine of the

love of God. Its one of the best books Iv read.

And in it he uses the following illustration.

Picture Charles and Susan walking down a beach hand in hand at the end of

the academic year. The pressure of the term has faded. There’s a warm

evening breeze. They kick off their sandals. The wet sand squishes between

their toes. Charles turns to Susan. Gazes deeply into her large hazel eyes. And

says: “Susan, I love you.”

What does he mean?

Well in today’s world he might mean nothing more than he feels like

testosterone on legs and all he can think about is getting her in bed.

But if we assume he has a small amount of decency and Christian virtue, at

least he means something like this:

“Susan, you mean everything to me. I can’t live without you. Your smile knocks

me out from 50 metres. Your sparkling good humour, your beautiful eyes, the

scent of your hair – everything about you transfixes me. I love you!

What he certainly does not mean is something like this: “Susan you have such a

bad breath it would embarrass a herd of unwashed, garlic eating elephants.

Your nose is so big you belong in the cartoons. Your hair is so greasy it could

lubricate a tractor. Your knees are so wobbly, you make a camel look elegant.

Your personality makes Adolf hitless seem like a wimp. But I love you.

Now picture God. He comes to us and He says: “I love you.” What does He

mean?

Does He mean something like this?

“you mean everything to me. I can’t live without you. your personality, your

witty conversation, your beauty, your smile – everything about you transfixes

me. Heaven would be boring without you. I love you!

That’s how many people seem to think of God’s love. We must be pretty

special to be loved by God.

But that’s far removed from the Biblical picture of God’s love.

When God says He loves us, does He not rather mean something like this?

Morally speaking you are the people of the bad breath, the big nose, the

greasy hair, the wobbly knees and detestable personality. Your sins have made

you disgustingly ugly. But I love you anyway, not because you are attractive,

but because it is my nature to love. And I have set my affection on you from

before the foundation of the world, not because you are wiser or better or

stronger than others but because in grace I chose to love you. You are mine

and nothing in all creation can separate you from my love.”

As Tim Keller puts it: “the gospel says you are more sinful and flawed than you

ever dared believe, but more accepted and loved than you ever dared to

hope.”

Now we getting closer to a Biblical understanding of love.

Was not Esau Jacob’s brother. Yet Jacob I have loved. But Esau I have hated.

And then finally…, we’ve seen the proof of God’s love. We’ve seen the picture

of God’s hatred.

Now finally we see the purpose of God’s grace. Why does God reveal this to

Israel? Why does He show them His judgment on Esau? Well He tells us why in

verse 5. Israel will see the judgment on Edom and then look at what they’ll say.

Verse 5.

“You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great is the LORD – even beyond

the borders of Israel.”

God’s purpose in revealing this to Israel is that they will see that He is great.

According to the common thinking of those days, the gods of the different

nations only had power over the nations where they were worshiped.

So the God of the Jews had power over Israel. The god of the Assyrians had

power over Assyria. The god of the Egyptians had power over Egypt. And so on.

And still today we might be tempted to think like that. We might doubt God’s

power in places where He is not worshiped.

Yes God is great and powerful here at St James. Or yes God is powerful in

Christian lands.

But in places like Iraq and North Korea, In those places, he seems to be losing

control.

Well here we read: God is great beyond the borders of Israel.

God is great in Nice. God is great in North Korea. God is great in Iraq. He is

great in the headquarters of ISIS.

We might not be able to see how He is working out His purposes. But one day

we will witness the judgment on the wicked.

And then our overwhelming response will not be to question His justice or to

pity the wicked?

Instead we will be overwhelmed by His greatness. God is great! He is mighty.

He is good. He is righteous. He is just.

And most of all we will praise Him for the greatness of His love. This

unconditional love. This amazing grace.

We will look upon the judgment of the wicked and with John Bradford we will

say: “But for the grace of God, there go I.”

Lets pray