Malachi 1

Let’s start with some background on Malachi:
Malachi means “My Messenger” and the commentary community is divided on whether Malachi’s parents had some amazing forethought when they named him or if Malachi is a pseudonym that someone chose to write under. Either way, the book of Malachi contains a message from God to His people.

The message was written after the return of the exiles from captivity AND after the returned exiles completed the restoration of the Temple. The spiritual, ethical, and moral tone of the nation was low, and Malachi’s purpose was to confront the people with their sins and to encourage them to pursue holiness.

Malachi Chapter 1
Right off the bat Malachi challenges our theology - ‘but I have hated Esau’ vs 3. We’re not going to spend a lot of time on this section, but what we need to know is that this love/hate thing is really covenant language. What God is reminding the people through Malachi is that He chose Jacob for the blessing. These people are descendants of Jacob and are in covenant with God, but they have forgotten the covenant. They arrogantly ask God, “How have you loved us?” His answer to them is that because He is God and for no other reason, He chose to bless Jacob. The ways of God are beyond us.

The rest of the chapter is an indictment of the priests. They had been offering sacrifices that were not acceptable to God. They brought things to God that they would not have given to a local politician. The animals they were bringing were blind and sick and they even brought things before God that had been stolen. Talk about going through the motions – they had returned to their homeland, they had restored the Temple, they were making sacrifices; but they were only God’s people in name. Their hearts were far from Him. God had Malachi deliver a message to His people begging them to remember His blessing, to remember that they were in covenant with Him and that He loved them. We sometimes put God in the same situation. We do our thing: church, small groups, a check in the offering plate or some cash to the homeless guy on the corner. With us, like the Israelites, God is not interested in our outward acts of sacrifice — He wants our hearts. He wants us to remember that we are in covenant with Him, that He has loved us with an unfailing love, and then He wants our lives to reflect Him. He gets our first fruits, we love each other, and are generous, extravagant givers. If He had our hearts, imagine how the world would see His people.

--Natalie West, Summer Camp Director