Malachi: God Still Loves You

Malachi is the final book of the 12 Minor Prophets (called "minor" because they are shorter, not less important). God loves his people, but because of their sins, his people (specifically the tribes of Judah and Benjamin) are taken into captivity by the Babylonians and Jerusalem, along with the temple, are destroyed in 586 BCE.

Malachi's teaching on the loving nature of God remains vital and relevant for us today. We see the depravity of man in the cold expressions of dead religion; the people have a general knowledge of God but there is a great decline of godliness in all areas of life. Spiritual blindness is expressed with every accusation that questions the goodness of God. In a sense, the theology of Malachi takes us back to Eden, when the serpent caused Adam and Eve to doubt God's loving nature. "Has God really said?" (Gen 3:1) is still the question on the lips of God's people in Malachi's day. God patiently explains his love to his disobedient people (1:2), and the rest of the book explains the realities of those who have genuine love for YHWH.

Malachi's message, and that of all Scripture, is of God's grace to sinners. He will save believing sinners (the righteous) and forsake unrepentant sinners (the wicked) when Jesus the Messiah consummates judgment on the world (3:18; 4:1-3; cf Mt 25:31-33). Ultimately, Malachi is saying this: "God loves you, but do you love him?" It is a wakeup call and invitation to be blessed and transformed by God's love.