Malachi 1 Devotional

Our Best for a Loving God

““I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved,”Malachi 1:2 (BSB)

Malachi opens with God declaring his love and the people answering with a challenge: how has he loved them (1:2)? God points to Jacob and Esau. He chose Jacob, and Esau's land of Edom lies in ruins however hard it tries to rebuild (1:2-4). Israel's place as God's beloved was never their idea. It began with his choice.

That love makes the next charge sharper. God is a father and a master, yet the priests despise his name (1:6). They lay blind, lame, and sick animals on his altar, gifts they would never dare offer their governor (1:8). They sniff at worship as a tiresome chore (1:13). Meanwhile God declares that his name will be great among the nations, from sunrise to sunset (1:11). Paul cites God's choice of Jacob to show that his saving purpose rests on his own calling, not on human works (Romans 9:11-13). Being loved first by God is no reason to offer him leftovers. It is the very reason to bring him your best.

To think about: Where have you been giving God your leftovers, and how might remembering his love move you to offer him your best?