1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,520 Okay we're reading from Malachi chapter 1 verses 1 to 5. 2 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:22,440 A prophecy, the word of the Lord is to Israel from Malachi. 3 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:28,360 I have loved you says the Lord, but you asked how have you loved us? 4 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:35,840 It's not Esau, Jacob's brother declares the Lord, yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have 5 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:42,280 hated and I have turned his hill country into wasteland and left his inheritance to the 6 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,320 desert jackals. 7 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:51,400 Edom may say though we have been crushed we will rebuild the ruins, but this is what the 8 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:53,880 Lord Almighty says. 9 00:00:53,880 --> 00:01:01,120 They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the wicked land, a people always 10 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:03,200 under the wrath of the Lord. 11 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:10,400 You will see it will with your own eyes and say great is the Lord even beyond the borders 12 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:15,400 of Israel. 13 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:24,160 Good morning on this lovely rainy day. 14 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:30,080 Before we get into this wonderful text of ours this morning would you please join me 15 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,080 in prayer. 16 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:40,400 Father God we thank you for the words of eternal life. 17 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:46,640 This morning as we your people, your covenant people come around your word we would ask 18 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:54,560 that you give us ears to hear, hearts to understand that we would be built up and edified in our 19 00:01:54,560 --> 00:02:01,120 most holy faith by the work of your spirit in our midst and that Jesus would be glorified 20 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:02,280 in this sermon. 21 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,320 We ask for this in his name. 22 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:06,320 Amen. 23 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:13,200 Good morning if we haven't met before my name is Michael and I'm a pastor here at Grace 24 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:14,920 Christian Church. 25 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:22,680 This morning we're starting a new series in the book of Malachi and we'll be looking at 26 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:30,720 how God is presented to us as our great covenant keeper. 27 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:37,160 This will be a series that will be in for the next seven weeks and we'll be going through 28 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:41,320 the entire book verse by verse. 29 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:46,000 So if you miss out on anything please do make sure that you head to our website that you 30 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:53,160 jump onto the podcast to catch up with anything that you might miss out on because this book 31 00:02:53,160 --> 00:03:00,840 beautifully builds, it will beautifully build through the weeks a case of just how steadfast 32 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:08,560 our God is to his covenant and how he keeps it despite our faithlessness. 33 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:14,440 And that's certainly the big picture of the book of Malachi. 34 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:21,600 You see by the time Malachi the prophet was sent to Israel it was in a mess. 35 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:30,800 They were offering blemished sacrifices, the priests didn't care about how they represented 36 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:38,440 God to the people and the strongest expression of the covenant marriage was thrown to the 37 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:40,080 wayside. 38 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:47,120 Not to mention that God's people didn't care about justice or looking after people in need 39 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:48,120 among them. 40 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:57,120 In a sentence they were a people who had fallen out of love with God and so God sent his prophet 41 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:03,960 not to just make them aware of their sin but to make them aware yet again of his great 42 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:11,840 love for them and how he hadn't forgotten them or forgotten the things that he had promised 43 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:13,960 to do for them. 44 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,160 That's what we're going to be looking at over the next few weeks. 45 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:21,680 So with that said let's get into the passage that we have before us this morning which 46 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:27,760 will set us up well for these great themes that we'll be looking at in this series. 47 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:31,880 If you have your Bibles with you this morning that will be helpful because we will be in 48 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:34,240 our text quite a bit. 49 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,400 So look with me just at verse 1 there. 50 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:45,320 We read a prophecy, the word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi. 51 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:51,200 Okay so the first thing that I want you to notice here, if you've never worked your way 52 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:59,200 through a book of a prophet it might come as a bit of a surprise to you to hear that 53 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:04,480 they did so much more than just speak into the future. 54 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:10,440 In fact the work of a prophet wasn't so much a role where one would speak of future things 55 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:18,040 though that was certainly very much part of their ministry but on how the covenant that 56 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:25,920 God made with Israel at Sinai and the law was to be understood and applied to their 57 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:28,520 immediate audience. 58 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:35,040 Again I want you to notice it, this was the word of the Lord to Israel. 59 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:43,400 So with that said you might think of Malachi as both a theologian and a lawyer sent by 60 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:49,920 God with God's words to pull God's people back into line. 61 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:56,200 That's what prophets were, they were theologian lawyers, mouthpieces that spoke on behalf 62 00:05:56,200 --> 00:06:03,600 of God and who preached into the spiritual state of the nation in whom God had made a 63 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:13,360 covenant with so that they might realise their ways, repent of what they were doing and experience 64 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:18,480 spiritual revival in their nation. 65 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:25,600 And so what was the spiritual state of Israel when Malachi ministered there? 66 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:30,280 Well we'll look at this in a bit of detail in just a moment but for now it's as we heard 67 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:37,480 before the root of the tree wasn't producing fruit that was good. 68 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:44,120 It showed that the people didn't love their God with all of their heart, mind, soul and 69 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:48,560 strength like the covenant they were in demanded of them. 70 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:54,600 And we know this because they didn't honour God with the things that he had instructed 71 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,880 them to do out of the law. 72 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:04,000 And so God sent his man to tell his people his words. 73 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:08,600 So what was the words that Malachi was to bring? 74 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:15,680 Well God begins by reminding his people of his great love for them. 75 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,280 Look with me at verse 2. 76 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:22,640 I've loved you says the Lord. 77 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:24,360 How beautiful is that? 78 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:31,440 The very first words of God to his wayward people weren't hey knock it off, what on earth 79 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:33,480 are you doing? 80 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:35,720 But he loves them. 81 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:39,920 That is always love them. 82 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:46,760 Now to fully comprehend what God is saying here we have to understand the word that underlies 83 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:51,560 our English translation of this word love. 84 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:57,600 Because it goes so much more deeper than just an emotional feeling. 85 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:05,640 You see love as it's used here was a word God specifically chose to remind Israel that 86 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:09,960 they had a deep personal relationship with him. 87 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:18,080 That God had a deep personal affection for these people because they belonged to him. 88 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:24,720 In other words he loved them because they were his chosen covenant people. 89 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:30,120 To put it simply they were so much more to him than just a nation. 90 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:37,320 No they were his people whom he'd set apart from all people on the earth, from all other 91 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:44,120 people on the earth and he loved them deeply and he wanted to remind his people of that 92 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:49,160 great unwavering love. 93 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:52,760 So it's interesting what we read here next. 94 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:59,800 Malachi writes the Lord wants you to know he loves you, he's always loved you but you 95 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:05,240 ask how has he loved us? 96 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:10,960 Now if you've been a parent for any amount of time you'll know exactly what that rhetoric 97 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:12,480 feels like. 98 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:20,120 You work hard for your children, you sacrifice for your children, you protect your children, 99 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:26,120 you do all these things that they might not even know about for their best, for their 100 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:31,600 well-being and safety but then when they don't get their way or they don't get that thing 101 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:37,960 that they want all of a sudden in the midst of that little tantrum you hear those four 102 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:42,120 horrid little words that cut to the core. 103 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:46,320 You don't love me. 104 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:51,640 Well very much in the same way that's what's happening here. 105 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:59,600 Israel had a God that deeply loved them who was their father but they didn't feel like 106 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:01,560 he loved them anymore. 107 00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:05,760 So we might ask why? 108 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:09,920 Why did Israel not feel loved by God? 109 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:15,640 Well this is where our immediate context is going to help us here. 110 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:24,160 You see Israel was a nation of people that was notoriously famous for forgetting what 111 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:31,400 their God did for them time and time again and thus they would lose trust in him. 112 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:37,120 You just need to read the first few books of the Bible and you see that God chose and 113 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:41,960 made a great nation from just one man. 114 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:48,880 From Abraham came the nation of Israel and though that nation was at one point enslaved 115 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:59,160 to Egypt, God rescued them because he promised to give them a country and to be their God. 116 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:04,680 So it's so interesting what Moses warned the generation that was rescued and going into 117 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:06,600 the promised land. 118 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:14,360 He warned them all the way back in Deuteronomy 8 that they had to be very careful not to 119 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:22,400 forget what God had done for them because he warned when they forgot his great work 120 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:28,960 on their behalf, how he had chosen them from all the people of the earth and how he had 121 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:36,080 rescued them against all the odds then they would cease to love and trust him with all 122 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:37,680 that they were. 123 00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:46,240 Now dear ones it would be a complete understatement to say that forgetting God, casting off his 124 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:56,360 law and losing trust in God defined much of Israel's history which we can read about in 125 00:11:56,360 --> 00:12:00,960 our Bibles particularly there in the Old Testament. 126 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:06,440 And there's a lot that we could have a look at here this morning but for time's sake Israel 127 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:08,960 forgot God. 128 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:15,520 They forgot his covenant, they cast his law off time and time again so much so that it 129 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:22,000 got to a point that they were eventually kicked out of the promised land. 130 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:29,920 Now as it's already been pointed out this morning, God loved his people and his love 131 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:36,960 never wavered for them and so though they were in exile, God's promises of having a 132 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:40,720 people in this world never ceased. 133 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:47,040 And so while his people were at this time in Babylon, he started sending prophets to 134 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:55,200 them, theologian lawyers, mouthpieces, the likes of Daniel and Ezekiel that spoke on 135 00:12:55,200 --> 00:13:00,600 behalf of God and who proclaimed that God wasn't done with his people and that there 136 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:06,280 would come a day when he would bring them back to the promised land, that they would 137 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:13,720 rebuild the temple and that they would be the people that God would again use to impact 138 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:18,240 this world for his glory. 139 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:21,480 That indeed started to happen. 140 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:28,360 God indeed started to make a way, he used various circumstances on the world stage for 141 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:36,640 his beloved people to have a way made so that they could rebuild and return to Israel and 142 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:40,600 be used of God again. 143 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:41,600 This was the problem. 144 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:49,880 Though they'd come back, though God had settled them back in the land, though they had rebuilt 145 00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:55,600 the temple, things weren't turning out the way that they had thought. 146 00:13:55,600 --> 00:14:03,400 I mean if you read through Ezra and Nehemiah who give us a wonderful backdrop to the words 147 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:09,680 that we're looking at this morning, we quickly see that these people were still a nation 148 00:14:09,680 --> 00:14:17,040 with a leash around their neck from the Persian Empire and financially crippled and the temple 149 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:18,040 that they rebuilt. 150 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:25,440 Well it was nothing like what they read about in the days of Solomon. 151 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:33,640 And so many of the people who were aware of the great promises of God from prophets like 152 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:41,000 Haggai and Zechariah, well they looked around them and they felt like it didn't quite live 153 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,880 up to what they had hoped for. 154 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:52,120 In other words, it was a time of religious cynicism. 155 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:56,400 They were back in the land just like God had promised. 156 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:03,280 They'd rebuilt the temple just like God had promised, but God they felt wasn't making 157 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:07,040 them the nation that they thought that they should be. 158 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:14,280 And so yet again they started to forget what God had done for them and yet again started 159 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:20,440 to lose trust in his promises. 160 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:28,680 And church this is why the ministry of Malachi is so brilliant, because he speaks into something 161 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:32,040 so subtle in all of us. 162 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:39,800 You see many of the prophets throughout Israel's history were sent to Israel when they were 163 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:45,000 in a pattern of idolatry or pagan worship. 164 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:50,240 Yet as we notice here Israel wasn't worshipping pagan gods. 165 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:57,640 Now they were actually still engaged in doing the things that pertained to the worship of 166 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:00,200 the true God. 167 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:04,920 They were in a way following the law, but this is the thing. 168 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:10,720 They had become cynical and were losing trust in the promises of God. 169 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:17,960 Their outward worship was becoming ritualistic and rote rather than from the heart and a 170 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:22,320 deep sense of love for their God. 171 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:27,600 And God, he could see right through it. 172 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:35,880 We must confess that's not something that is unique to the people in this context only. 173 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:41,960 I mean trust and love and worship they all go hand in hand. 174 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:49,040 God has always looked for his people to worship him in spirit and in truth. 175 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:56,240 And so to not trust God and his promises but still engage in a life of outward ritual, 176 00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:02,960 we might fool the people around us but to the one we're meant to be worshipping, he 177 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:06,080 sees right through it. 178 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:10,440 And brothers and sisters let me just say life gets hard. 179 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:12,000 We do get disappointed. 180 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:19,000 Our faith wavers and our trust is tested no doubt. 181 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:26,440 We can sometimes feel like we've been forgotten. 182 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,440 Does God love us? 183 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:35,320 Well our Lord doesn't want to leave his people in that place. 184 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:42,200 And so as we see here, God saw all of this and he did something about it. 185 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:47,720 He sent his prophet to his people to give them his word, to tell them that he loves 186 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:54,360 them, that he's always loved them, that they are his precious covenant people. 187 00:17:54,360 --> 00:18:00,360 And though they had the audacity to respond after everything that God had done for them 188 00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:02,520 with how have you loved us? 189 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:04,720 Well notice it. 190 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:15,600 God doesn't smack them down but he gently reminds them of his covenantal love and he 191 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,600 points them to his word. 192 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:20,800 Look with me at verses 2 and 3. 193 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:28,360 It was not Esau, Jacob's brother declares the Lord, yet I've loved Jacob but Esau I've 194 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:29,360 hated. 195 00:18:29,360 --> 00:18:39,120 Now to be clear here, as God used the word love to represent a particular nuance to the 196 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:44,800 covenant he had made with Israel, we must understand that he's using the word hate in 197 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:49,240 a very similar fashion. 198 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:52,280 It's not like God is being completely emotional here. 199 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:58,320 It's not like Esau had done things to God and he ended up hating him for it. 200 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:07,120 This is the interesting thing, before either of these men were born, God rejected Esau 201 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:10,280 and he chose Jacob. 202 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:13,000 That's what's being communicated here. 203 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:20,880 Love and hate are being used in the context of covenantal categories, in the context of 204 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:25,760 election and rejection. 205 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:32,920 Now for Israel, like us, to fully comprehend what's going on here, they had to think back 206 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:36,720 about this story in their Bibles. 207 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:44,600 It's a Genesis where this very real historical account had taken place and been recorded 208 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:45,600 for them. 209 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:53,520 You see their father Abraham had a son Isaac, a miracle in itself, but when the third generation 210 00:19:53,520 --> 00:20:00,640 of this chosen family came along, when Isaac and Rebekah went to have children, they actually 211 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:04,080 conceived twins. 212 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:12,480 Now in that context, the younger would always serve the older, as in the wealth of the family 213 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:17,360 would fall to Esau naturally because he came out first. 214 00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:26,680 This is the thing, though he indeed come first, God had already told their mum Rebekah that 215 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,720 the older would serve the younger. 216 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:38,200 Whereas God puts it here, he loved Jacob, he chose Jacob. 217 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:43,320 What are we to make of this? 218 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:49,520 Well God is reminding his people, before these two were even born, he chose Jacob. 219 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:58,520 In other words, Jacob did nothing to earn or deserve God's love. 220 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:05,040 Think about it, he didn't even know how to breathe or eat or cry before God had set his 221 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:11,640 covenant love on him and chose him to be his. 222 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:18,760 And so by God pointing his people back to this event, back to his word asking them the 223 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:30,040 question, he's focusing them on the fact that before they, before they like Jacob, well 224 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:34,800 God had already, and we need to notice the language here, notice the language here in 225 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:45,520 verse 2, he had loved them, he had loved them with the same covenantal love. 226 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:54,120 Now for anyone who knew their Bibles, this would have been incredibly encouraging because 227 00:21:54,120 --> 00:22:03,840 they knew that when God had chosen, when God had set his love on someone, it was unshakable. 228 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:12,120 Think about the life of Jacob, he grew up to rip off his brother, deceive his dad, he 229 00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:17,000 favored a son and he played his other sons against one another. 230 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:23,320 This wasn't exactly a guy that you would say was a prime candidate for God's love. 231 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:28,920 But that's the thing God wanted his people to think about here. 232 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:36,440 He chose them and despite their waywardness, despite their faithlessness, his covenantal 233 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:49,600 love and purposes stood, no matter how they perceived things, God loved them, God chose 234 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:54,760 them, he has proven himself trustworthy. 235 00:22:54,760 --> 00:23:00,040 This is where things get really interesting. 236 00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:07,160 God doesn't just point them to his word, but he goes on to tell them just how serious he 237 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:15,600 is about these things by pointing them to how things have worked out on the world stage. 238 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:19,840 Back in verse 3 and we'll look at verse 4 as well. 239 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:27,400 I've turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals. 240 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:34,720 Adam or Edom may say, though we've been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins. 241 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:41,240 But this is what the Lord Almighty says, they may build, but I'll demolish. 242 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:46,920 They will be called the wicked land of people always under the wrath of the Lord. 243 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:54,320 You'll see it with your own eyes and say, great is the Lord, even beyond the borders 244 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:56,840 of Israel. 245 00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:05,440 Now to help us understand what's being said here, from Esau came the nation of Edom. 246 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:12,200 They were essentially next door neighbours and brothers of the Israelites. 247 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:18,640 Now to say that they had a rocky relationship would be a complete understatement. 248 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:21,800 For years they've been struggling with one another. 249 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:27,280 When Israel fled Egypt and needed help, Edom refused. 250 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,920 When David took to the throne, Edom rebelled. 251 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:37,080 When different kings came along, they would battle and fight with one another. 252 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:45,920 God continually warned the Edomites of their wickedness by prophets such as Amos and Obadiah. 253 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:51,160 But the thing that really hit hard and brought them into divine judgement was when Israel 254 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,520 was forced into exile by Babylon. 255 00:24:54,520 --> 00:25:01,200 And the Edomites celebrated and then sacked Jerusalem with a great joy that their kindred 256 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:05,160 had been ravaged. 257 00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:11,320 Kind of came back on them as God then used smaller tribes to totally take them off the 258 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:13,680 scene as well. 259 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:21,680 And though there were attempts to rebuild through the years, unlike Israel, the Edomites 260 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:27,600 never recovered. 261 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:30,880 What's going on here? 262 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:32,880 What are we to make of this? 263 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:38,400 Well church, God is doing something here for His people. 264 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:46,120 By using Esau and Jacob, Israel, Edom as the backdrop to this question, He's saying to 265 00:25:46,120 --> 00:25:50,840 them by way of contrast, I've loved you. 266 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:52,440 I've chosen you. 267 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:57,720 I've made promises to you that I never made to anyone else. 268 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:02,880 And now that you're back in the land that I gave you, look around you. 269 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:08,760 The people I didn't choose, the people I rejected, the people I pronounced judgement 270 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:13,600 on, these things have really come to pass. 271 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:19,960 So take heart, how much more will I fulfil the promises that I've made to you, my beloved 272 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:28,640 people, those whom I have chosen as my precious people, the people I love and have always 273 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:35,200 loved, the people in whom I have great plans for. 274 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:45,320 You see, despite Israel's audacious reply and moping like a spoiled child in the text 275 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:54,280 that we find before us this morning, God did indeed use these people for the most amazing, 276 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:57,480 awesome purposes, just like He promised them. 277 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:05,040 As it was through Israel that He eventually sent His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. 278 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:12,480 And by a small remnant of Israelites, against all odds, God established what we now know 279 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:13,480 as the Church. 280 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:17,920 This was always God's promise. 281 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:24,160 He was always going to use His people for this great honour and His glory, as He had 282 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:29,600 always planned to bring the Messiah through them. 283 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:38,080 Not because they deserved it, but because God chose to use them in this world for His 284 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:40,920 glory. 285 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:48,080 Point being, brothers and sisters, God loves His people more than we could possibly imagine. 286 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:55,480 And His love, His choice doesn't hinge on our innate goodness. 287 00:27:55,480 --> 00:28:05,800 But rather, the blessing of His people reflects on God's covenant faithfulness. 288 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:09,120 That's something that I want you to take note of this morning. 289 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:15,880 Indeed because of God's covenant faithfulness towards His people, we might now proclaim, 290 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:21,400 Great is the Lord, even beyond the borders of Israel. 291 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:31,320 Because Jesus Christ, though He came by Israel, He didn't come just for Israel. 292 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:35,720 No, He came for His people, both Jew and Gentile. 293 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:40,680 He came for His people from every tribe, nation, tongue and people group. 294 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:48,760 And the blessings of Christ's life is applied to anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord. 295 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:56,240 And like we've seen here this morning, His love for His chosen people doesn't waver. 296 00:28:56,240 --> 00:29:01,080 His electing purposes are sure. 297 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:06,080 And His covenant is steadfast. 298 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:07,880 What are we to make of this? 299 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:14,360 Well for one thing, God's love for His people is unquestionably evident in history. 300 00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:18,320 But it's a love that demands a response. 301 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:22,760 God doesn't drag anyone into heaven kicking and screaming. 302 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:27,120 No, we must respond to the gospel. 303 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:36,120 And that response must come from a deep trust in God's promises about His Son, Jesus Christ. 304 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:42,640 And so I might ask, have you responded to the good news of Jesus? 305 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:48,480 God rejects no one who comes to Him. 306 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:54,240 There's a warning in this as well for the church. 307 00:29:54,240 --> 00:30:01,880 You see the problem in Malachi's day was that God had done incredible things for His people. 308 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:08,760 And for the people right there and then, it wasn't what they had hoped for. 309 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:12,520 And they thought that God didn't love them anymore. 310 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:21,320 And that type of attitude must still be guarded against by the people of God here and now. 311 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:27,520 And so how might we defend ourselves against thinking that God has forgotten us or that 312 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:31,840 He doesn't love us anymore? 313 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:37,840 Well we see the answer in the book of Malachi this morning. 314 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:45,720 The prophet came and stirred God's people by reminding them of good news. 315 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:52,440 Good news that God had chosen them and that God's blessing towards them was irrefutable 316 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:54,960 because He had elected them. 317 00:30:54,960 --> 00:31:00,720 Church, that's the same truth that we need to remind ourselves of this morning. 318 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:07,760 God has irrefutably demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son into this world 319 00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:10,640 to rescue His people. 320 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:17,600 We have by faith already received the ultimate gift and blessing from God. 321 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:25,520 We have really and truly passed from death into eternal life and been adopted into the 322 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:28,920 family of God. 323 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:31,560 Not because we deserved it. 324 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:34,320 Not because we earned it. 325 00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:41,080 But because God from eternity past chose to lavish these blessings on His people. 326 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:45,760 Does that mean we'll always feel loved? 327 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:51,880 Does it mean we'll always feel warm and fuzzy? 328 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:53,880 No. 329 00:31:53,880 --> 00:32:01,120 The simple fact of the matter is we're not saved by our feelings. 330 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:10,960 No, we're saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and what He's done for us. 331 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:20,200 And so when doubt creeps in, when trouble arises, and it will, when faithlessness knocks, 332 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:28,480 when temptation calls, the scripture reminds us not to base facts on feelings and accuse 333 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:31,080 God of not loving us. 334 00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:39,640 But to stop and recall what God has done for His church. 335 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:43,040 What God has done for you and me. 336 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:49,400 Brothers and sisters, while feelings are real, they can be misleading. 337 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:56,000 And so like our prophet proclaims here, might we understand and base who and what we are, 338 00:32:56,000 --> 00:33:06,360 not on how we feel, but see ourselves in the truth and the light of who God is and His 339 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:11,840 covenant-keeping love that He has towards all His children. 340 00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:20,600 Let's pray. 341 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:25,240 Father God, we thank you for this time that you've given us this morning to be reminded 342 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:26,680 of the good news. 343 00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:35,400 Father, as it's already been said this morning, we don't need to look that far back to see 344 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:45,440 where we've fallen short, where we've sinned in things that we've done or even left undone. 345 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:50,360 Father, we thank you that we are able to come to you. 346 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:56,600 We are able to confess to you and know that your love for us is steadfast, not because 347 00:33:56,600 --> 00:34:04,440 of us, but because of our Lord Jesus Christ who you have sent in our place. 348 00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:13,800 We ask Father that as we go on into our weeks, this coming week, that when our feelings fail 349 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:20,680 us that we might indeed be reminded of the gospel, that we might stand in awe of the 350 00:34:20,680 --> 00:34:26,800 truth of who and what you are and what you have done for us. 351 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:32,640 We ask that you would strengthen us by your most Holy Spirit and that our faith would 352 00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:40,400 go from strength to strength and that you would use us to tell your good news to others. 353 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:42,400 We ask for this in Jesus' name. 354 00:34:42,400 --> 00:35:03,440 Amen.