Malachi 1-4 Malachi, Malachi, what are you telling me? You are telling me the same thing Jeremiah has told me in chapter 3 of his book. People are sinful and unrepentant. They are told that simple statement and reject it. Both authors use the Socratic method of God asking a question and the people responding. God presents His case, and the petulant Israelites ask how or, why, or when. God asks why do you refute the evidence I am presenting to you? The people say You can’t really be angry with me because I go to the temple and get my ticket punched for being on time, bringing my sacrifice as prescribed by Moses, and I tithe. And audaciously, God says He loves me; how can that be? And so, for four simple chapters and many more chapters in Jeremiah, the message is clear: God loves His unrepentant children. He will move heaven and earth to help them see this truth, yet as the Apostle John said, men love darkness rather than light. They love their sin.
Century after century has passed, exile has come and gone. The temple has been rebuilt, but men’s hearts have not changed. The utter futility of sin is before them, and yet they refuse to change. It is into that scene that God does one more thing: He sends His messenger to clear the way for Christ to come.
Will we accept him? Will we listen to him? Will we resoundingly repent and be restored? Today is the day of salvation. Will you accept God?
