God’s Love
I loved you, said the Lord. The people had sinned, but God opens his words of rebuke with a declaration of his love. God was not saying, “I loved you in the past but love you no longer”. He spoke of his love in the past to show the force of his love in the present. He loved Israel, and he proved his love in the course of history. Unlike many declarations of undying love people give one another, only to be forgotten in moments of difficulty or weakness, God’s love has stood the test of time.
True love is unconditional. Malachi spoke of the love of God because he wanted to draw the peoples’ attention to God’s love for them in their contemporary situation. He loved them then, and he loves them now – in spite of their sin. The covenant of love which God made with Israel is as valid as is his undying love. True, Israel proved itself unworthy, but God’s love is never earned. It is stubborn, undeserved, irrevocable. It does not depend on anything but his unchanging nature. Nothing, but nothing, can separate those whom God loves from the love he has for them.
In light of God’s complaints against Israel, of which we will learn as we study Malachi, this declaration is as encouraging as it is surprising. The returnees were unfaithful. They made light of the worship of God and therefore of God himself. Still, God declares, I loved you!
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The order of Things
A son honors his father and slave his master. There is an order in human society. Sons honor their fathers and slaves their masters. Society cannot exist without structure, and structure cannot be functional in a constructive way unless sons honor their fathers and slaves their masters. There is nothing inherently wrong with structure, although modern thinking often views structure as a limitation. Structure is for our good. Where anarchy reigns human society breaks down.
God has created us with an inherent need for structure. So it was in the Garden of Eden. God stood above all. His law was the guide of Adam and Eve’s lives, informing them of their role in the world, according privileges, imposing duties and setting necessary, protective boundaries within which they would be secure , free and happy.
Adam was appointed over the rest of the creatures. He was to watch over it, tend it and use it for God’s appointed purposes. Creation was subject to Adam. Its’ welfare was his responsibility and its’ fate was determined to a significant extent by his adhering to the structure God determined.
Adam was created first. Eve was created for him, to be his complement, his friend and his partner. Together, they were to rule creation for God. Disruption came when Adam, by eating of the tree God had forbidden him, overstepped the limitations.
So it is with Israel. God established himself as their king, and his Law as their guide. They were to love and honor him by obeying him. His Law informed them of their role, accorded privileges, imposed duties and set necessary boundaries within which they would be secure, free and happy.
So it is with us. We too are appointed, guided, informed, blessed, and warned. Our security , freedom and happiness are protected by his Law, which is a reflection of his eternal majesty. God is king of all mankind, and all are bound to love and honor him. A son honors his father and slave his master. That is the order of things.
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Marrtiage
Malachi describes the relationship between marriage partners in warm terms. The woman is described as the wife of your youth … your friend. The prophet does not subscribe to the modern view, according to which a woman passes from one man to another until she finds Mr. Wonderful. Malachi has no room for trial experiences. When she was young, in the height of her beauty, he says, your wife left her father’s home and commenced a shared life with you. She became your friend, a partner to your struggles, disappointments, efforts and successes. She gave birth to your children and managed the affairs of your home. When you were sad, she gave you comfort. When you encountered difficulties, she encouraged you. When you were happy, she was the first to share your joy.
Scripture paints a delightful picture of marriage and of familial relations: loyalty and friendship, intimacy and mutuality, kindness and appreciation, giving and receiving that stand the test of time and are not jaded by circumstances or years. In a proper marriage, husband and wife are friends, true and full partners in the adventure that is life. They have no secrets. They act with complete transparency toward each other. They are forever laughing together, working together, playing and crying together building together and celebrating with one heart the life that God gave them. He consults her and she consults him. He teaches her and she teaches him.
Marriage is meant to provide the husband with a helper suited to him (Gen.