Word of Salvation – Vol.52 No.38 – October 2007

 

The Electing Love Of God

Text: Malachi 1:1-5

Other Reading: Romans 9:1-16

Songs Used: BOW 115, 380, 392, 117, REJ2 337, 523

 

Introduction.

Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,

(This opening paragraph should be omitted if this sermon is being used as a one off)

Today we are going to begin a series of sermons from the prophecy of Malachi. Today and in the weeks ahead we are going to look at these 4 chapters together and we’re going to see what God teaches us in this book. But before we can do that we need to understand a little bit about the context. We need to understand what was going on at the time that Malachi wrote these words.

1. Putting It In Context.

The Old Testament records the history of God’s dealings with the nation of Israel. But when we read it we soon realize that this history is full of ups and downs, full of good times and bad times.

There were periods when things were going very well for Israel. We can think of the time of Abraham and how God blessed him with offspring who would eventually become a great nation. We can think of the time of Moses as he led his people to freedom and of Joshua as they conquered the land. We can think of the time of David and how the nation prospered under this king who served the Lord and how they further prospered under Solomon. And we can think of the revivals under Hezekiah and Josiah.

But then we know that there were many other times when things did not go so well. There were many times when God’s people rebelled against him and as a result they suffered hardship and misery. There was the captivity in Egypt and then the 40 years of wandering in the desert. There was the division of the kingdom and the years spent under leaders who did not serve the Lord. There was the fall of the northern kingdom as they went into exile in Assyria never to return. And finally in 586BC there was the fall of the southern kingdom as they too went into exile in Babylon.

So where then does the book of Malachi fit in? Well this book comes right at the end of this history. That’s why it has been placed as the last of the Minor Prophets and at the end of the Old Testament. You see even though the entire nation had gone into exile, there was still another period of blessing to come. For in 539BC the Persians defeated the Babylonians and at that time the remaining Israelites were allowed to go back to their own country. The Lord had preserved a remnant of his people and now he was returning them to the Promised Land. And on top of that they were able to rebuild the temple that had previously been destroyed. And they were again able to live as God’s people and to worship him.

The problem was that over time things began to go sour again. God had returned his people to their land, brought them back from exile, and he had given them back their beloved temple. But the people were not satisfied and they began to become despondent. Years passed and not much happened. And so the Israelites became discouraged and disappointed. And as a result they began to have doubts about God and they began to fall back into their old sinful ways. And it was in this context in about 450BC that God sent the prophet Malachi.

Congregation, I think we can all relate to the situation that the Israelites were in. In our Christian lives there are times when things go so very well. We’re on a spiritual high, we feel close to the Lord, and we’re ready to do anything we can to serve him. But then there are other times when we get despondent. God seems to be far away, he doesn’t seem to be active in our lives, and we become discouraged. Our Christianity becomes nominal, it takes second place to other things. At times like that we begin to have doubts. And at times like that we begin to fall into sinful behavior.

And that is why the book of Malachi is still a book for us today. For in this book God confronts his people about their doubts and their rebellion. In this book he seeks to reignite their faith and set them back on the path of obedience and service. And that is something we need to hear just as much today as they did back then.

2. God’s Love Declared and Questioned.

Today we’re looking at the first 5 verses of chapter 1. And here we find God’s first message to his discouraged people. Verse 1 tells us that this is an oracle, it’s an important message. But the word ‘oracle’ could also be translated by the word ‘burden’. This is not just any message but it’s a difficult message. It’s a burden because it is a warning that must be listened to, and if it is ignored then it will bring trouble. And we are also told that this oracle is a word from the Lord himself, to his own people, the people of Israel. And he is giving this message through his prophet Malachi.

Then in verse 2 God begins by making a glorious statement. It’s a short and simple statement, but yet it is profound. For in verse 2 it says, “I have loved you, says the Lord.” Here God proclaims in no uncertain terms the affection that he has for his people. Some people like to tell us that the love of God is something we only find in the New Testament. But nothing could be further from the truth. The love of God can be seen on every page of the Bible from the beginning to the end. And here in this verse he couldn’t make it any clearer. “I have loved you, says the Lord.”

But in the next line we discover what the problem was. The problem was not with God, but the problem was with the people. Because even though God loved them, they did not believe it. The problem was that through their present circumstances, in this time hard time of discontentment and frustration, they had begun to doubt the love of God. And so the Lord puts their attitude into words. He says, “But you ask, How have you loved us?”

Congregation, don’t we feel exactly the same way sometimes? If we read our Bibles, if we come to church, if spend time in Christian circles then we know about God’s love. We know his love in creation. We know his love to his people Israel. We know his love in sending Jesus to die for our sins. And we know his love in our own lives. But yet sometimes things happen and we begin to doubt.

We can go through a period of hardship or frustration or sickness and we can ask God, how have you loved us? We experience a tragedy and we think, how have you loved us? Things don’t go the way we want at home or at work or at church, and we get downhearted and depressed, and we wonder, how have you loved us? Just like Israel we begin to think that God doesn’t really care, that he has forgotten and forsaken us. And so like them we ask the Lord, how have you loved us?

We are no better than the people of Israel 2500 years ago. This is something that we all experience, something that we all go through. But God does not ignore the question. Rather he hears the doubts of his people. And what is important is that we listen to his reply.

3. God’s Love Proven in Election.

So in the second half of verse 2 God proves his love to his people, he explains to them just how much he loves them. And he does this by pointing them back to 2 people who lived many years earlier. God says, “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Well the people knew the answer. Of course they were brothers, in fact they were twin brothers, the sons of Isaac. But even though they were 2 brothers born at the same time, God did not treat them the same way.

For the Lord goes on to say, “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated”. That’s right, “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated”. What God is doing here is he is using covenant language. When he says that he loved Jacob what is saying is that he chose Jacob. God chose Jacob to be his own, to be in relationship with him. He chose him to receive all his glorious promises. And Jacob had 12 sons who would grow to be the 12 tribes of Israel, they would grow to become God’s chosen people.

And so what God is saying here to the Israelites is if you are not sure whether or not I love you, then remember that I have chosen you. Way back when Jacob and Esau were born I chose Jacob. And because I did I also chose Jacob’s descendants. And that means that I chose you, the people of Israel, to be my own, to be my special people, to live in relationship with me and receive all of my blessings.

But then God goes on to emphasize this by reminding the Israelites of what happened to the other brother, to Esau. For while God loved Jacob, we are also told that he hated Esau. And what that means is that God did not choose Esau, he rejected him. And by so doing he also rejected Esau’s descendants, the nation of Edom. And so God says, “I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.” History records that around this time the Edomites were attacked by other nations and were eventually forced out of their homeland.

The people of Edom thought they could resist the Lord’s judgment, but God proclaimed that they could not. 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. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the LORD. You will see it with your own eyes and say, Great is the LORD – even beyond the borders of Israel!”

God did not choose Esau or his descendants the Edomites. And as a result they were not in a special relationship with God and they did not receive his blessings. Instead they came under God’s judgment and ultimately they were destroyed. But this verse also reminds us that Edom was not judged and condemned for no reason. No these things happened because they were an evil and wicked people. Edom was well known to be an especially harsh enemy of God’s people and to be particularly rebellious against the Lord himself.

But now we need to ask a question. We need to ask why does God mention these things? Why is it that in proving his love to Israel, God says so much about his judgment of Edom? It doesn’t seem to make sense. Here is the reason: The judgment of Edom is the judgment that the Israelites deserved themselves! Jacob was no better than Esau, they were 2 brothers and they were just as sinful as each other. And Jacob’s descendants were no better than Esau’s descendants. Both of these nations were rebellious.

What God is saying to his people here is that if you ever doubt my love, then remember that I chose you to be my people, to receive all my richest blessings. And remember that I did so even though you in no way deserved it.

This is the same message that we must listen to today. There are times in our lives when we doubt the love of God. But when we do then God tells us to look at the proof of his love. For if we put our trust in Jesus Christ, then we are spiritual descendants of Jacob, we are part of the new Israel. And so the Lord says to us remember that I have chosen you. You were no better than anyone else, you did not deserve it, you did not earn it. But in my mercy I have chosen you to be my own, I have chosen you to be saved, I have chosen you to receive my richest blessings both now and in eternity. This is the proof of my love.

Congregation, this is what we call election. The doctrine of election states a Biblical truth. And that truth is that in his divine wisdom, already before the creation of the world, God chose those who would be saved. And he chose them not because of any merit in them, not because they were better. But he chose them only because of his good pleasure, only because of his mercy, only because of his love.

It’s exactly what Paul speaks about in Romans 9. In that passage he makes reference to these words of Malachi and he speaks about the way that God chose Jacob but did not choose Esau. From verse 10 he says, “Not only that, but Rebekah’s children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or 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 loved, but Esau I hated.”

God’s purpose in election was to choose those who would be saved, those who would be his people, not because of their works, but because of his mercy.

But of course that leaves us with a big question, the question that everyone asks when they hear about election. Isn’t the doctrine of election unfair? Isn’t it unjust of God to choose some people to be saved and leave others in their sin to face his condemnation? Well God knew that we would ask that question and so in Romans 9 he goes on to answer it. In verse 14 Paul writes, “What then shall we say? Is God unjust?” He asks, could it be that God is unfair in his election of some and not of others?

Well the answer he gives is clear. In asking if God is unjust he says, “Not at all! For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I 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.”

The point is that if God was going to be completely fair, then he would not save anyone. If God was going to be completely fair then we would all be subject to his judgment and his eternal punishment. For as we are told earlier in the book of Romans, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God”, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. And “the wages of sin is death”.

But that helps us to understand just how amazing the grace of God really is. For no one deserves to be saved, but yet in his mercy he has chosen to save some. It is his sovereign right to have compassion on those people who he has selected. Before the world began God chose those who would be his and he gives them the gift of faith and he redeems them from their sin. It does not depend on our desire or effort, for if it did we would all be lost. But it depends only on God’s mercy towards us.

Conclusion.

Brothers and sisters, the Bible tells us over and over again that God loves us. He loved us so much that he gave his own Son as a sacrifice for all who believe. He loved us so much that he sent Jesus to bear our punishment and save us from our sin and all its terrible consequences. Yet there are times when we have doubts. Like Israel we go through hard times, times when the Lord seems to be so very far away. And then we ask, how have you loved us?

Well my friends let us hear God’s answer to our question today. He says if we want to know how great his love for us is, then remember that he has chosen us, he has selected us and elected us to be his children. He has set us aside to receive his greatest blessings of forgiveness, redemption and eternal life.

We did not deserve it. Our sins make us worthy only of his judgment and his punishment. We did not earn it. It was not because of our good works, our efforts, or even our faith. It was not because we are better than anyone else. The only reason God has chosen us to be his own people is because of his mercy towards us. We deserved the fate of Esau but instead we have been given the blessings of Jacob. And that is why he has planted faith in our hearts and promised us the most wonderful things we could ever imagine. That is how great his love for us is.

When you go through the valley of doubts, remember this truth. Remember that God has chosen you, he has loved you and he has given you the glorious gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. And when God chooses you, he never ever changes his mind. Amen.