Malachi – Week 1 – Day 1

I Have Always Loved You 

READ 

Malachi 1:1-3 

1 This is the message that the LORD gave to Israel through the prophet Malachi. 2 “I have always loved you,” says the LORD. But you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?” And the LORD replies, “This is how I showed my love for you: I loved your ancestor Jacob, 3 but I rejected his brother, Esau, and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau’s inheritance into a desert for jackals.” 

Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament. The Jewish Scriptures arrange the books differently but the books are the same. This passage has caused many to wonder. Some translations have God saying, “Esau I have hated.” The Hebrew language used contrasts. In contrast to the way God loved Jacob it seemed He hated Esau, but in actuality God only chose Jacob instead of Esau. God loves everyone but chooses some for special service and not others. The all caps for LORD indicate the word refers to the name “Jehovah.” 

REFLECT  

Even though you may feel Jesus loves others more than you, do you realize He gave His life for you so no one could love you more? 

RESPOND 

To see other contrasts of God’s love in Scripture, read Proverbs 12:10 and Luke 14:26. One’s love for God should be so great that one’s love for anyone or anything else seems like hate by comparison. For an example of what the Lord hates see Proverbs 6:16-19.