1. MALACHI SERIES 2: GOD’S LOVE FOR JACOB (Mal 1:1-5) I. GENERAL OUTLINE I. INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES II. GOD’S LOVE FOR JACOB (1:1-5) III. GOD’S FIRST CHARGE OF SIN (1:6-2:9) IV. GOD’S SECOND CHARGE OF SIN (2:10-17) V. GOD’S SENDING OF HIS MESSENGER (3:1-7)

2. VI. GOD’S THIRD CHARGE OF SIN (3:8-18) VII. FINAL ADMONITION (4:1-6) II. GOD’S LOVE FOR JACOB (1:1-5) A. INTRODUCTION (1:1) B. JACOB CHOSEN (1:2) C. ESAU REJECTED (1:3-5) A. INTRODUCTION (1:1)  Read Mal 1:1.

3.  We are told that this was an “oracle”  We are told that this was an “oracle”. ~ Hebrew term – literally “burden”  “Word of the Lord” is a claim of authority.  So, in the opening words to this book, we are told that the Lord was about to declare a message that was a burden to Him through His prophet Malachi.  This was originally “the oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel.”

4. B. JACOB CHOSEN (1:2)  Read Mal 1:2.  God begins by declaring His love for Israel: “‘I have loved you,’ says the Lord.” ~ God’s loving Israel was and is a completed act that will remain true forever!  Israel responds with a question that sounds more like a challenge.

5. ~ The root of their sin was insensitivity to the love of God, and to their own wickedness. ~ They look at what God had taken away, not at what God had left behind. ~ WE MUST NOT THINK THAT GOD DOES NOT LOVE US BECAUSE HE AFFLICTS US. ~ God, in His holy and perfect love for us, will not hesitate to afflict us if He knows this will cleanse us or deepen us.

6. ~ God’s higher priority for us is not our happiness but our holiness, our likeness to the image of His Son; and therein must lie our happiness: when we see ourselves looking more like Jesus.  To answer Israel’s question, God refers to His electing love. ~ Gen 25:21ff ~ Paul, Rom 9:9-12

7.  Lest we think that God chose Israel because they were better than everybody else, the Lord clarified this in Deut 7:6-8. ~ God’s gracious love in contrast to Israel’s unworthiness, Hos 11:1-4.  This is also the picture of God’s choosing to love us in spite of our sinfulness. ~ Rom 5:8

8. C. ESAU REJECTED (1:3-5)  Read Mal 1:3. ~ “How can God hate?” ~ See Gen 25:23 ~ See Gen 25:23. ~ Therefore, the context of “hate” here shows this is technical covenant vocabulary in which “love” and “hate” are synonymous with “choose” and “reject” respectively.

9.  In answer to the possible question, “But why Jacob? Why not Esau? Is there favoritism with God?”, see Paul in Rom 9:14-16.  Read Mal 1:3b. ~ Malachi’s words echo those of the earlier prophets ( Amos 1:11-12; Ezek 25:12-14; Obadiah).  Who was Edom? ~ Edom is the name given to Esau after he bartered his birthright (Gen 25:30).

10. ~ The reason for God cursing them, see Num 20:14-21.  Read Mal 1:4. ~ Here we see further why God was bent on destroying Edom. ~ Even a God of love will act in judgment against an evil nation (see Ex 34:5-7).  Was Edom’s behavior any worse than Israel’s?

11. ~ God judged Edom as he would have judged Israel had Israel not periodically repented. ~ Malachi wanted Israel to grasp how undeserved was God’s love for Israel.  Read Mal 1:5. ~ When she sees the ultimate fate of Edom, doubting Israel will acknowledge that the Lord is the great Ruler over all the nations (see Ps 47:2; 96:10; 97:1, 9).