Malachi 1:1-5 "Awakening from Disenchantment"

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We're beginning, finishing up this series of the Minor Prophets by going through the

last of the prophets, the last book of the Old Testament.

And I get the privilege of introducing us to this prophecy.

Follow with me as we read from Malachi 1, verses 1 through 5.

Malachi 1:1–5

The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.

I have loved you, says the Lord.

But you say, how have you loved us?

Is not Esau Jacob's brother, declares the Lord.

Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated.

I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.

If Edom says, we are shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins.

The Lord of hosts says, they may build, but I will tear down.

And they will be called the wicked country and the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.

Your own eyes shall see this.

And you shall say, great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel.

Let's pray together as we enter into this study.

Father, would you grant us grace that we might hear your voice by the working of your Holy Spirit.

That we might comprehend what you would say to us.

Father, would you make something weak and very ordinary like this sermon into something marvelous and supernatural.

Would you visit us and draw us to you in a new and fresh way.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

You know, I've said before, I love the prophets.

I love the minor prophets.

And I know that too often we think we avoid the minor prophets or even the major prophets.

Because we think maybe that these messages are for times past.

For people who were still bowing in temples with pagan idols.

And they were offering goats and sheep on altars to foreign gods.

And God was angry with them because of that.

And besides, Jesus has come.

We're now in the age of grace.

And so God's anger is spent.

And we just don't need to hear that much about this anymore.

Well, if that's what we think, we're missing something of very high value for us.

Because the times might change.

And the outward expressions of things might change.

But God does not change.

And the heart of man does not change.

We might dress differently.

We might do things that look a little differently.

But we are still the same today in this room as the Israelites were back then.

We're still wrestling with the same issues, the same idolatries, the same unbelief.

And so what the prophets spoke to Israel, they speak to us.

So as we get into this prophecy of Malachi, which I hope is going to be very valuable for us.

Let's get a look at the historical context.

Malachi was, well, let's back up.

Israel had been, because of their idolatry, their unbelief, their disobedience,

in God's anger and judgment, sent them off into exile in Babylon for 70 years.

But now they've returned.

And there were probably about three, two or three waves of returnees coming back from Babylon to Jerusalem

to restart their life there.

Ezra led a group back.

And under his leadership, they rebuilt the temple that the Babylonians had torn down to the ground.

And then a little bit later, Nehemiah comes to a city that's wall was still torn down,

every stone torn away.

And so he led them in rebuilding the wall around the city.

And Nehemiah probably spent about 13 years there with the Israelites in Jerusalem,

not only leading the construction of this wall, but also leading a whole series of reforms,

of spiritual reforms.

Because one of the things that we find is that you would think that after the exile

and all that Israel had been through, they would have gotten clued in to what was going on.

But they didn't.

And so as soon as they come back, they are reverting to some of their lifestyle of unbelief, of neglect,

and so forth.

So Nehemiah is bringing a bunch of reforms that have to do with the Sabbath,

with intermarriage, with a lot of things.

Well, but Nehemiah's got a day job back in Susa, the capital of the Persian Empire.

And so he has to return.

And he does return and goes back for several years, quite a few years.

Well, while he's gone, all of those important critical reforms begin to fade away.

And so now, what we have in Jerusalem is, again, the people falling back into deep-seated unbelief.

Because you see, in Jerusalem, during that time, life was hard.

It was not what they thought it was going to be.

They had heard all these promises about the kingdom coming.

They had heard all of these promises about Messiah and all that God was going to do.

But yet, they were still under the strong thumb of a pagan ruler.

The city, the glorious temple that used to be under Solomon, was now, though it was rebuilt,

it's just a shadow of what it used to be.

Economically, it was still hard.

Life was not what they expected.

And so their religious fervor that they had initially, where they stood and declared again their allegiance to the covenant,

it was just kind of fading away.

And what we see happening in Jerusalem was that the people just got disenchanted.

All they saw was hardness.

And then that disenchantment turned to cynicism.

So what about all these promises?

What about this covenant?

What about all that you said that you were going to do?

What about these prophecies of glory?

What about...

They didn't think they saw any of it.

And so their hope just faded away.

And enter Malachi.

He comes at this point to again call them back to hope.

We don't know that the writer of this prophecy, we don't know if his name was Malachi.

That name was not known really before then.

But Malachi means my messenger.

So this may be more of just a description of this messenger that has come to once again call Israel back to their covenant God.

But he comes to awaken God's people out of their disenchantment and their cynicism.

So I want us to look here at the struggle of disenchantment.

Let me explain what I mean by disenchantment.

Disenchantment happens when the wonder and the mystery, the mystery of God, it just fades into normalcy.

The normal state of life, in that normal state of life, is simply what I see, what I can touch, what I feel,

what is confronting me, this is life, this is normal, and this is all there is.

This moment, and a lot of times it's difficulty that leads us into such disenchantment,

because difficulty kind of focuses our attention and our eyes on the here and now.

Because this is where we struggle, this is where we hurt, this is where we're frustrated.

And so all that we see is all there is.

So how many of us this morning live in this kind of world?

You know, with struggles at work, we've got struggles with our families, we've got struggles with financial stress,

we've got struggles with chronic illness.

All of these things can contribute to this sense of disenchantment,

because we get overwhelmed with life.

This life, what we see, what we're facing.

And it can consume us.

And I actually think in our modern culture, we are even far more susceptible to disenchantment,

because we are led to believe, and we think, that through science or through technology,

we can come up with a solution to answer and take care of all of those problems.

We are enough.

All it takes is a new technological advance, a new app on the phone.

All it takes is something like that, and we can fix whatever is ailing us.

And so we are, our whole culture helps us or pushes us to focus on just what's here now.

What is material?

What can be felt?

What can be tasted?

What can be touched?

Just give us enough time, and we can fix it.

And so with that kind of approach to life, the mystery and the wonder of all that God is,

and all that he has said, this kind of fades away into the normal of life.

But with this disenchantment can often come cynicism.

And what cynicism is, is just that belief that because I have all this struggle,

and I've struggled for so long, that I just start losing hope that anything could ever be different.

And we just give up hoping.

Don't hang on to promises because, well, I mean, if they're true, and maybe they are,

but they're probably true for somebody else, but I haven't seen it.

And I might profess belief in the promise,

but down inside, there is just not much hope.

And so in that cynicism, I turn to that which I can trust, and that's me.

I will make things work.

I will make things happen.

I will.

I will.

I will.

And so forget the commands of God.

I got to do what works.

Why bother with what he says?

This is where Israel is.

And you can see it in the very first question,

the way that Malachi introduces this prophecy,

and this is kind of the formula he's going to use all the way through.

He says, the Lord says, I have loved you.

But you say, how have you loved us?

Hear the voice of cynicism?

If God loves us, then why are we where we are?

If God loves us, why are his promises still not fulfilled?

If God loved us, why are we still enslaved to these pagans?

Cynicism.

The problem with cynicism

is really rooted in a very deep-seated unbelief.

That unbelief

begins with this determination

that we are going to design life.

We are going to determine what is valuable,

what is good, what is right.

We are going to say how life should go.

My life should be happy.

My kids should be beautiful and successful.

You know, all of these things,

we determine how life is supposed to be.

And when God doesn't work according to the plan,

we immediately turn on him

and say, you have been unfaithful.

You have not fulfilled your promise.

You are not good.

Because if you were,

life would be different.

And so when our picture does not align with God's design,

we turn on him

all this abundant life stuff

that he has promised

in our mind is just a crock.

We basically end up then calling God

a liar.

because what he said,

obviously,

just look at our life,

is not true.

I don't know if you are cynical this morning.

I don't know if you've ever been that way.

This is,

in a lot of ways,

in so many ways,

a description of the way I approach life.

I go so easily here

because,

honestly,

I think I have good plans for my life.

I think I know how to make it work.

I think I know what is good.

I think I know the way it should be.

And very often,

the way I think it should be

and the way God thinks it should be

collide.

And so,

I have a hard time

when finances are threatened,

life struggles just become long

and persistent.

My immediate reaction

is not to run to God

to ask him for help.

My immediate reaction can be,

I run at God

and say,

what are you doing?

And then I run away

because he's no help at all.

If he was help,

he would have fixed this a lot better than he did.

Instead of running to the scriptures

to see what is true,

I often just read the scriptures

and laugh and say,

that's not true.

Instead of running to God in prayer

of asking him for help,

I turn away from him

because I said,

what good is it going to do?

cynicism.

What?

Cynicism.

The problem is not with God,

if that's where you find yourself.

it's not him.

It's us.

Because we have taken on,

we have taken this approach to life

that is built on our own arrogance

where we think

we can determine everything on our own.

when I think that God has failed

and I'm tempted to run away

in anger

at what he has done

instead of

judging him for injustice

and his unfaithfulness,

what I really should do

is run to him

and get a readjustment.

He's not the one

that needs a readjustment.

I am.

I need to get a heart adjustment.

And when we become,

when we feel ourselves

getting into the cynicism,

we need to be very careful

that this self-determined,

self-centered view of reality

and the way it should be

becomes the reason

why we would reject God

and say he's not worth following.

Because the problem

is not his faithfulness

to his promise.

The problem is

we have a very distorted view

of what life is supposed to be.

And we need to,

instead of running away from him,

to run to him

and let him readjust

our perspective.

And here in Malachi,

that's exactly what he does.

He is giving them

a heart readjustment.

Because what he does here

in these verses,

before he calls them

to task on anything

that they,

else that they have been doing wrong,

look at what he gives them.

He gives them

the gospel.

He gives them

a reminder.

He said,

wait a minute.

I've loved you.

What you think

is evidence to the contrary,

you have grossly misinterpreted.

Because actually

that evidence

should say to you

how much

I love you.

He said,

you're not abandoned.

Far from it.

Let's look at the evidence.

Let's compare you

and your cousin Esau.

Let's compare the two.

Where is Esau?

Where are the Edomites?

Are they here?

Are they still around?

Try to find them.

They're gone.

They've been wiped out.

Now they might say,

oh, we'll rebuild.

But as you watch,

they are not there.

They will not be there.

And where are you?

You are back

in your home.

Right in the place

where I promised

I would be with you.

You have,

you have not deserved

anything more

than the Edomites.

Maybe less

because you had the law.

You had all this stuff.

And look at what you did.

Look at what you really deserve.

And what if you get?

I brought you home.

I put you back

in your city.

I put,

the temple is here.

My presence is here.

I haven't abandoned you.

I've loved you.

And it's on the basis

of this evidence

of God's love

for his covenant people.

and the evidence

that backs it up.

He will now call them

to a new obedience.

He doesn't call them

to an obedience

to gain love from him.

He says,

I want you to obey

because I love you.

And here is

probably one of the most

basic truths

that we have to

be clear on

is that all of our obedience

before God

and his word,

all of our faithful

waiting until his promise

is fulfilled,

all of our resistance

to temptations,

all of that

stands

or falls

on our believing

at a functional level

of two truths.

That God

is

and that he loves.

Everything

flows

out of that.

That God is there

and God

loves me.

It's not

that he is

this great authority

that commands

my obedience.

I mean,

that's true.

It's the fact

that I'm loved.

Because

I will never

trust

someone

if I don't think

they love me.

I will never

put myself

in the hands

of someone

that I don't think

is working

for

my

good.

All the Christian life

is built

on that belief

that I am

loved.

look how

the writer

of Hebrews

puts it.

He puts it

in Hebrews 11

6.

He says,

without faith

it is impossible

to please him

for everyone

who would

draw near

to God

must believe

that he

exists

and that he

rewards

those who

seek him.

do you hear

the old

traditional

table blessing

that is

full

of rich

good theology?

God is

great.

God is

good.

That's it.

If you learn

nothing else

that is

it.

God is

capable

of fulfilling

his love

and he

desires

to fulfill

his love.

Because I'm

only going to

trust somebody

who's working

for my good.

Imagine

you are

a little

kid

and you've

been left

at let's

say daycare.

You're only

about five

or six

years old

but your

mom

has promised

you that

she would

come

and get

you.

And you

are convinced

that your

mom loves

you and

your mom

hey your

mom is big

and strong

and she

is going

to be able

to come

back and

get you.

And so

every other

offer for

someone to

take you home

with them or

every other

suggestion that

maybe she's not

coming or

whatever you

just say no.

I believe

that my

mom loves

me.

And I'm

waiting.

If you

didn't believe

that.

If you

weren't sure

that she

loved you.

If you

weren't sure

that she

was capable

of even

getting back

or if

once she

came back

if you

would be

ill-treated

or abused

if another

better opportunity

came along

you might

take it.

Because hey

you need

help you

got to get

help somehow.

But her

willingness to

wait your

willingness to

wait on mom

is all

based

on if

she

loves you.

love you.

So in

my life

you know

my sexual

purity

my financial

integrity

my

willingness

to

worship

regularly

and faithfully

all of

that rests

on this

truth

if I

am loved.

So

sin

issues

temptation

issues

they're

really

not

based

upon

how

disciplined

we

are

they're

not

really

based

on

our

behavior

at all

they're

faith

issues

what do

I

believe

because

what I

really

believe

is going

to drive

what I

do

and if

I

don't

believe

that

I'm

loved

and I

then who

have I

got to

trust

I've

got to

make

things

happen

on my

own

this

is

what

orphans

do

orphans

are

fiercely

independent

self

dependent

because

they have

nobody

else

they don't

have anybody

they can

trust

they don't

have anybody

that cares

for them

and so

if it's

going to

happen

they've

got to

make it

happen

we're

not

orphans

we're

sons

we're

daughters

what do

I believe

what do

I believe

about his

love

and do

I believe

it to

the point

that I

will say

no

to all

other

offers

or that I

will say

no

to all

other

temptations

or I

will say

no to

cynicism

do I

believe

it enough

to rest

and wait

in his

coming

for me

so what

evidence

do you

have

what

evidence

do we

have

that

this

love

is

going to

be

fulfilled

well

Israel

was shown

right there

before their

eyes

what

happened

to Edom

and where

God says

you know

I have

hated Esau

and that

phrase

is basically

saying them

and it

says look

what I've

done with

you

compared to

what I've

done with

them

what I did

with them

appears to

be hate

because you

I should

have hated

but I

didn't

I've

loved

but for

us

the evidence

is even

greater

because it's

not Esau

that we

see God

hated

it was

Jesus

his own

son

his own

beloved

Isaiah

said

it

pleased

him

to

crush

him

he

poured

out

his

unmitigated

hatred

of

sin

in our

idolatry

in our

unbelief

all of

that

he poured

out

on

Jesus

not you

not us

instead

he brought

us

home

we

don't

receive

that

judgment

instead

we

because he

treated

Jesus

this way

instead

we get

his

smile

look how

Paul put

it in

Romans 8

32

he who

did not

spare

his own

son

that gave

him up

for us

all

how will

he not

now

with him

graciously

give us

all

things

does God

love you

here's the

evidence

if he

wasn't

willing to

stop

there

why would

he stop

anywhere

the

Christian

life is

a radical

life

we are

called to

a strict

obedience

we are

called to

wait and

say no

to all

this world

offers

and that

evidence

we're

given

he

will

encourage

us

to do

that

so we

have a

savior

who was

hated

and given

what you

deserve

and in

turn we

were loved

and given

what he

deserved

and this

is the

evidence

as we

come here

to the

table

this

morning

this

is why

we do

this

it is

to remind

you

that

you

are

loved

to this

degree

so as

we

celebrate

the

sacrament

we

come

and

remember

we

look at

the

evidence

we

look at

what he

was

willing

to do

and

once

again

say

I've

seen

your

love

for

me

I

believe

it

I

have

tasted

it

and

I

will

stand

on

it

let's

pray

together

father

why

is

it

so

difficult

for us

to

grasp

this

but

maybe

it's

just

the

hardness

of

our

own

hearts

father

would

you

melt

that

hardness

and

would

you

again

make

this

a

fresh

feeding

a

feast

of

your

love

and

grace

we

come

in the

name

of

Jesus

amen

for

for

more

information

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us

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at

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