And this evening our text will be chapter one, verses one through five. Malachi 1, one through five. Listen to this. This is the very word of God. The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, says the Lord. But you say, how have you loved us? Is not Esau Jacob's brother, declares the Lord? Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert. If Edom says, we are shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins, the Lord of hosts says, they may build, but I will tear down. And they will be called the wicked country and the people with whom the Lord is angry forever. Your own eyes shall see this and you shall say great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel. And that's the reading of God's word. Let's pray together. Lord, as we come to this final book of the Old Testament, and as we begin our consideration of the prophecy that you gave, that you breathed out through Malachi, we ask that you give us understanding. We ask that your spirit would be our instructor tonight, and that he would magnify Christ Jesus in our midst. And we ask these things, and pray for your help now, in Jesus' name, amen. I forgot to go back and check when it was exactly that I started preaching through Hosea, but it was sometime in 2020, not too far into 2020. And even then, when I began this series, when we began this series in the Minor Prophets, I was looking forward to getting to Malachi. Not because I was looking forward to being done with it, but mainly because I really, really love especially the book of Malachi, and I've been eager to consider it together with you. Part of the reason is it, I guess because of its position in scripture. I think of plays, stage plays, and operas, you know, dramatic productions of that kind are often divided into sections called acts, right? And it's pretty normal for a play to have three acts. An opera will normally have three acts. It's interesting though, American musical theater, what we sort of informally or loosely call Broadway musicals, they tend to have two acts. Most of them have just two. And in that respect, well, okay, they have two acts and they're usually separated by an intermission. So when act one comes to a close, the curtain is drawn closed and the lights in the theater come up and people can get up and go get refreshments or go to the restroom or whatever. There's a pause in the dramatic action, in other words. And you have the same kind of thing even in some movies. I don't know if any of you have seen some of these older movies that are lengthier, but there sometimes were intermissions even in motion pictures back in the day. And I think of Malachi as the final scene in act one of God's revelation, his special revelation. Malachi to me is like the final scene in act one of God's word. And there's a break. There's a break textually, and then of course there's a break historically. Because Malachi is God's last word, we might say, in the Old Testament. It's his last word in terms of its position in the Bible. It's, you know, next thing is the New Testament and you come to Matthew's gospel. But it was also God's last word in the Old Testament in terms of the writings of the prophets. Malachi was the last writing prophet. He came a number of years after Haggai and Zechariah. And then once Malachi's prophecy was concluded, in a certain sense, God goes silent. And there's a certain solemnity to that, that God didn't send any more prophets for 400 years. Now. God's people from the time of Malachi until the. Arrival of John the Baptist, they still had natural revelation. Which we read about in Psalm 19 verse two. It says the heavens declare the glory of God. In other words, all the things around us. Everything that God has made declares it shouts to us of God and of his glory or in Romans chapter one. Verse 20, where Paul is speaking of sinful man and his rejection of God and the wrath of God abiding on sinful man. And in Romans 1.20, he says, God's invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made, so they are without excuse. So God's people, even after Malachi's prophecy ended and there were no more prophets for 400 years, they still had natural revelation. And they also had what had been written. Let us not forget that. They had the scriptures. They had the Torah, the books of Moses. They had the Psalms. They had the prophets, including and up to Malachi. So they had those things. Once they entered into that span of 400 or so years that we call the intertestamental period, God's people were in a setting very much like ours. I think that's another reason why I cherish Malachi so much. Because after Malachi, God's people had to carry on in much the same way you and I do. After Malachi, there were no more prophets calling down fire from heaven. There were no more bodies of water partying. The earth wasn't swallowing up rebels. Dead weren't being restored to life. So the people in those days had the testimony of natural revelation, and they had the scriptures just like we do. And they carried on in faith just like we do. But what this opening oracle, this opening prophecy of Malachi tells us is that God extends his sovereign love to undeserving sinners. Malachi 1, 1-5 teaches us that God extends His sovereign love to undeserving sinners. His love is sovereign, and He lavishes it upon people that don't deserve it whatsoever. So we're going to consider tonight, first of all, God's sovereign love. And secondly, we're going to look at what this text teaches us about man's ingratitude and unbelief, And then finally, God's sovereign justice. Because just as God's love is sovereign, his justice is sovereign as well. First of all, God's sovereign love. In verse two, God begins by saying, I have loved you. Speaking to his people, speaking to the remnant of the people of Israel. And he tells them that he loves them. Now, in my family growing up, we often said I love you to one another. My parents said that to my sister and me and we learned to say it to them. And we said it frequently when we were saying goodnight and we were retiring to our rooms for the evening. We'd say goodnight and say I love you. We'd talk on the phone at the conclusion of, of a telephone conversation when we were getting ready to hang up. When we were saying goodbye, we'd say, I love you. When someone was leaving for the day, going to work or to school, and so on. And the thing is, my parents were always so careful to say it, but it was obvious that they loved me. It was obvious that they loved my sister. They provided for us. They protected us. They encouraged us. They were patient with us when we were rebellious. It's clear that they loved us, but they still said it. Now 1000 years before Malachi. God had made his love for Israel obvious. In so many ways. He delivered them out of bondage in Egypt. They were slaves and he brought them out of slavery. He led them through the wilderness. And the whole time they were in the wilderness, He provided them, He provided for them. He caused manna to come every single day so they would have something to eat. They never lacked in all those years in the wilderness. God protected them. He gave them the gospel. He gave them the gospel. I'm the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Then he gave them the commandments. That's good news. He had already saved them. He had already delivered them. Then he gave his commandments for their direction, for their guidance in life. They heard good news from him. He gave them the land. He conquered all their enemies. He was patient with them in their almost constant rebellion and grumbling and disobedience. Generation after generation, when they were oppressed and they called out to him for help, finally, he always sent a deliverer. When they demanded a king, he granted them a king. It's obvious that Yahweh loved his people. But he still told them that he loved them. When he describes himself to Moses in Exodus 34 six when he declares his glory. He tells Moses and through Moses he told the people of Israel that he's abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Isaiah 43 verse four. He tells his people you are precious in my eyes and honored and I love you. Jeremiah 31 three I have loved you with an everlasting love. God's love was and is sovereign love. We see that in verse 2 of our text. I have loved you says the Lord. And the answer from Israel is. How have you loved us? And he replies by saying is not Esau Jacob's brother declares the Lord yet. I have loved Jacob. Now Paul cites this passage in Romans. So if you want to keep your finger in Malachi and turn with me to Romans 9. Verse 13. As it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. God loved because he chose to love. He loved not because of anything lovely in them. In fact, in Deuteronomy 7-7, God makes that so clear. This is before the people go into the land. This is while the people are still in the wilderness, and yet God is expressing his love for them, and he tells them in Deuteronomy 7-7, it was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all people. So he's just there talking about their numerical greatness, but by extension it goes to every other attribute you could imagine. There was nothing in Israel that caused him to love them. He loved them because he loved them. He loved them with a sovereign love. God's love is sovereign. In response. Man. Is ungrateful and unbelieving that brings us to our second point. There's this response from Israel where God says I have loved you says the Lord, but you say in other words, the people you say how have you loved us? This is a pattern we see throughout the book of Malachi. God makes a statement. He makes a declaration about his character, about what he's done for the people, or some such thing. And then there's a response from the people, and we're not really sure if this was actually something the people were saying back to the prophet in response to his revelation, or if this is simply God's word expressing what was in the hearts of the people in response to God's declaration. But whatever the case, the answer that comes from the people of Israel, the answer that comes from the remnant when God says, I have loved you is, how have you loved us? It's almost as if they're dismissive of his love. They doubt it. They doubt his faithfulness. They doubt the covenant promises. But these words, whether they're actually uttered or whether they're simply a reflection of the hearts of the people, demonstrate a wretched refusal to acknowledge God's goodness, to acknowledge his mercy. They show disregard of his blessings. They had been sent away into exile and they deserve to stay there and to rot in Babylon, but he brought them back. They disregarded his blessings. How have you loved us? Is a denial of God's wondrous works and his gracious provision for them. They were a small remnant there in the land now, and yes, they were. They were not wealthy. But God had provided for them Mankind has a sordid history of this kind of unbelief and ingratitude. It goes all the way back to the garden, really, even before the fall, when Satan came and tempted the man and the woman. In the garden that God had created for them and put them there, it was the perfect existence. They had everything they needed. They were happy. They were holy. And yet, through the temptation of Satan, their hearts were turned and they became convinced that God was somehow holding out on them. He was withholding something good. Word about at the city of Babel. This is after the flood. God had destroyed the whole earth and the whole human race by the flood. Only eight survivors, Noah, his three sons, Noah's wife and his son's wives. They come out of the ark and they begin to repopulate the earth. And then by chapter 11 of Genesis, you've got the people who had been commanded by God to fill the earth and to basically to disperse and to populate the earth. No, they decided they were gonna hunker down and they're gonna stick together and they're gonna build a city and they're gonna build a tower that reached to the heavens and make a name for themselves. Or what about the wilderness? Israel who had been liberated from slavery and God was leading them through the wilderness, guiding them by this supernatural pillar of cloud that shaded them by day and by night, provided protection of fire. And every morning when they got up, there was manna on the ground. They were able to gather that. It was food for them. He was giving them water out of the rock. And what were they doing? Grumbling, complaining, Sinful man is forever saying to God, what have you done for me lately? And that's the spirit of what this verse says in Malachi. What have you done for me lately, God? You can really see it in Psalm 78. Keep your finger in Malachi and turn with me to Psalm 78. Except for the fact that it illustrates and put on puts on bright display shines as brilliant spotlight. On God's grace and mercy and his patience and his compassion, Psalm 78 is pretty depressing because it's just a rehearsal of all the history of rebellion and ingratitude and unbelief of the people of God throughout the ages. And so if you just look with me starting at verse 13. of Psalm 78, he divided the sea and let them pass through it and made the water stand like a heap. In the daytime he led them with a cloud and all the night with a fiery light. He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers. Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. They spoke against God, saying, can God spread a table in the wilderness? He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people? That was their history, a history of ingratitude and unbelief. That's the history of sinful man. Even in the presence of Jesus and of his power, And his ministry, people were unbelieving and ungrateful. John tells us so in chapter 12 of his gospel. John 12, verses 37 and 38. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him. so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? And thinking again of Romans chapter one, the indictment against fallen man in Romans one verse 21 is that they didn't give thanks. It was ingratitude. Romans 121 for although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. With strong condemnation, there's another one. A few verses before that in verse 18, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. If there's anything. That uniformly characterizes fallen man in every age. It would be these two headliner sins in gratitude and unbelief. That brings us to our final point, God's sovereign justice, and that's what we see in verses halfway through verse 2 and on through verse 4 when we read about Edom. I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert. If Edom says we are shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins the Lord of hosts says they may build. But I will tear down. And they will be called the wicked country and the people with whom the Lord is angry forever. Verse 4 shows Edom's stubborn, willful defiance and self-reliance. And God is saying their efforts would be futile because God had already determined to judge them. They can go ahead and build them. Do their best. They may build. But God says I will tear down. Now does that seem unfair? Does it sound unfair to your ears? If so, remember this. There is no injustice with God. Take another look at verses three and four. Read what God says about Edom. About the descendants of Esau. And consider this. Jacob. deserved the same thing and more. Yet God had mercy on Jacob. Why? Because he chose to. There's no other answer. And I know some people wrestle with this. So let me ask a couple of questions that I'd like for you to consider as you wrestle with it. Question number one, is it wrong for God to show mercy? I sure hope not. Is it wrong for God to show mercy? No, of course it's not wrong for God to show mercy. Question number two, does God owe anyone mercy? I heard someone say once correctly, so I think that mercy that's deserved isn't mercy, is it? Does God owe anyone mercy? No, he certainly does not. And if he's going to be merciful to some, does that mean he is required somehow to be merciful to all? Ask that question. One more question. Is it unjust for a judge to punish crime? I think the answer there is obvious as well. No, it's not unjust for a judge to punish crime. That's exactly what a judge is supposed to do. Sin is crime. God has to judge sin. He ought to. It's what he does as The judge. See, God is the great judge of the nations and he always judges uprightly. And at the same time, God is the great king of the nations. And he shows mercy. And he's glorified in both. That's one point that scripture labors for us. God is glorified in the destruction of the wicked as well as in the salvation of his elect. He gets glory for his judgment and his justice, and he gets glory for his grace and mercy. And that's what verse five really is all about. Your own eyes shall see this, the Lord says, and you shall say, great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel. He's saying to his people that at some point in the future, you're going to see my judgment on the wicked, and you're gonna see my deliverance of my people, and I'm gonna get glory for it. And you're gonna say, great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel. So as we Conclude this and. Begin to approach the Lord's table. Consider. God says I have loved Jacob. And the significance of this expression of his love is explained more fully for us in the New Testament. In that letter of Paul to the Romans, we we read a verse from it a moment ago. Let's go back and consider a little bit more extended portion of that. So if you'll turn with me to Romans 9 again. Romans 9. And we'll start in verse 10. And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing, either good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls. She was told, the older will serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means. 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. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. There's the sovereignty of God's grace and of his love. And here is the sovereignty of his judgment and of his justice. Verse 17, for the scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I have raised you up that I might show my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills and he hardens whoever he wills. So whether we're talking about Jacob Or whether we're talking about us, it's the same. God doesn't love because we're lovely. God doesn't love because we're worthy. God doesn't love us because we're desirable in any way. God extends his love in a sovereign manner to undeserving sinners like me and like you. We weren't lovely. There's nothing in us that would make us desirable to God, but in his grace he's making us lovely. As he forms Christ in us. God's love is sovereign and his sovereign love is expressed fully and finally in the Lord Jesus Christ. When God sent his son to Earth. To save sinners. He was saying, I love you. When we respond to Christ in repentance and faith and obedience, we're saying, I love you too. But it was God who initiated the relationship. He's the one who started it. He's the one who reached down to rebellious people. We were dead in sins and trespasses. He made us alive in Christ. We love, as the Apostle John said, we love because he first loved us. And as we come to the Lord's Supper now. Remember the words of John's Gospel. Where he recorded the words of our Savior Jesus Christ. Greater love has no one than this. That someone lay down his life for his friends. Jesus did that for us. Lay down his life. For sinners. I began by saying that Malachi is the final scene in Act one of God's special revelation or. God's word. I put it that way because even when God's special revelation stops, the drama of Redemption goes on. So I didn't say it's the final scene in the first act of his drama of redemption because his drama of redemption carried on in the intertestamental period and it carries on now as Christ continues to build his church. So thanks be to God for our Savior Jesus Christ and that he is building his church and he calls his people to this table. So as we prepare to come to the Lord's Supper, let's pray and then we're going to sing a hymn of preparation. Lord God, we don't know why But you have manifested your love for us, and we thank you for it. We thank you for loving us. We pray you'd give us greater love for you, and we pray you'd be with us now as we sing once again and as we come to the table. We pray all these things in Jesus' name.