malachi: 1:1-1:5

1. god seems to allow circumstances that make it 'easy' to doubt his love

the situation judah was in was allowed by god.
in fact...there are lots of similar situations.
(note: these are not necessarily situations of sin or rightousness. just situations that would make it easy to doubt the love of god.)

go back to exodus...exodus 16:3...israel is in the desert, where god has led them. they say:

"would that we had died by the lord's hand in the land of egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

god's people in the desert had difficult circumstances that made them doubt god's love.

ruth...after losing her husband and sons...says (ruth 1:20):

"Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?"

job...after losing his cattle, sheep, camels, sons, daughters, and his health by the explicit will of god...has his wife tell him (job 2:9)

"do you still hold fast your integrity? curse god and die."

2. as a result, god's people were doubting his love of them.

same happens for us -
difficult times mean that we often start to forget god's goodness.
e.g....

i especially forget it when circumstances don't seem to work out.
esp...when i'm trying to figure out a major decision or determine 'what to do.'

this seems to be (unfortunately) somewhat normal

i do it - israel did it, judah did it.

to summarize: recognize that god allows circumstances that can make it easy to forget his love.

- god does allow circumstances that make it difficult for us (in our sin) to doubt his love.
- the presence of difficult circumstances does not mean that god doesn't love you.
- different people have difference circumstances (some easy, some hard). but gods love stays constant.

*** in response to judah's question about god's love, god reassures them that he does love them...and that he choose them, not esau.

- is esau a rival to judah right now?

the post-exilic times were tough for judah; there were surrounded by people who wanted them to fail.
were the edomites part of this threat? don't know.
obadiah records a polemic against edom, cursing them for their role in jerusalems plunder, so we know there was plenty of hostility.

it is possible that this is an affirmation of the fact that god is in fact on their side against edom.

1. jacob, not esau

the biggest proof god gives of his love focuses on the fact that jacob is his, not esau.

- god emphasizes that this was his choice, not jacobs

v2,3

2. "I have loved you," says the LORD. But you say, "How have You loved us?" "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the LORD. "Yet I have loved Jacob;
3. but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness."

god declared that 'the older will serve the younger' before they were born (gen 25)

in genesis it seems more predictive than declarative.
here...god is emphasizing his role much more, holding up his side more than anything.

- as for the rejection of esau...

awkward for us, huh?
we don't tend to like to acknowledge the control of god.

paul quotes this section to prove the point that god chooses his people, not vice versa in romans 9:10-18

10. And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac;
11. for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, 12. it was said to her, "THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER."
13. Just as it is written, "JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED."
14. What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!
15. For He says to Moses, "I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION."
16. So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
17. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH."
18. So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

- interpretations...

- some folks read this hypothetically - that god could have this right (not me).
- some folks read this that god makes this choice based on what he knows mankind will do (not me).
- some folks read this that god chooses who he is going to save (me).

caveat...my theology is rather tangled here - i'll affirm that it was god's action and mans actions both.
and leave it there.

the bullk of this section focuses

2. this is presented as a comfort to gods people

- god rejects the enemies of his people

when people line up against judah, or israel, or etc...
be confident that god is not on their side.

revelation is probably the clearest expression of this anywhere...

- god's people were chosen by him

- god's choice is one of love
- end result is god's being magnified for his choice.

so...to summarize:

(regardless of how you take calvinism/arminianism)

- you, as one of god's people, were chosen by god.
- he choose you because he loves you.
- combining with situation one...difficult situations don't change this.

struggles to believe this:

- remember that god choose you - your identity in christ is a result of his loving choice.
- remember in prayer, reading...discipline your thoughts to purge other thoughts and feelings)

"of course i love you, i married you didn't i?"

why would things have changed? i thought we settled this?
not exactly a parallel with what we have with god ince god doesnt act like a jerk on a regular basis...but...

1. god reveals his love in history and expects us to remember it.

- god refers to an event over 1000 years ago at the time of writing to demonstate his love to his people.
- god wanted israel to keep remembering history to show his character.

exodus 12:25-27

25. "When you enter the land which the LORD will give you, as He has promised, you shall observe this rite.
26. "And when your children say to you, `What does this rite mean to you?'
27. you shall say, `It is a Passover sacrifice to the LORD who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.' " And the people bowed low and worshiped.

josh 4:4-7

4. So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe;
5. and Joshua said to them, "Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel.
6. "Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, `What do these stones mean to you?'
7. then you shall say to them, `Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.' So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever."

etc...

2. prime example? the cross

romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

- we are responsible to remember the cross as god's demonsration of love
- we need to recall it as a personal act of love (jesus died for me)

so...to summarize:

- god has revealed himself in history.
- he expects us to know what he has done and to form our beliefs accordingly.

this is easy to forget.

we don't like history...
we want god to show us his love for us by doing something for us that we can see directly.
further...we don't hold onto truth very well. we have constant demands.

how do we remember?

- you need to make sure you believe this wholly. think it through.
- you need to remind yourself; read the bible, pray, spend time with believers.
- form mental habits.

- take communion.