“I have loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved;”
‭‭Malachi‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬

Malachi’s message begins where every departure from God begins—in the heart. The people of Judah had lost their appreciation for God’s love toward them. Moses had reminded them, “You are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth … because the Lord loves you” (Deut. 7:6–8). Later, Jeremiah assured them of God’s enduring love: “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3).

God had demonstrated His love in tangible ways—by choosing them over Esau’s descendants, by helping them return from exile and rebuild desolate places, and by allowing them to witness His greatness displayed beyond Israel’s borders (Mal. 1:2–5). Yet, despite all this, they still questioned Him, asking, “In what way have You loved us?”

We are not so different today. Our hearts can easily grow callous to His love, and we forget that “in this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). When we lose sight of His great love for us, our hearts slowly drift toward other things. This is exactly what happened to the church at Ephesus—they left their first love (Rev. 2:4). Though busy with many good activities, their affection for Christ had grown cold.

The same was true for Judah in Malachi’s day. They began to look for material prosperity as proof of God’s love and became blind to all He had already done for them. As believers today, we must allow the Word of God to continually refresh our hearts and remind us of His steadfast, unchanging love for us.

Anchor For Today:
Consider the greatness and the steadfastness of the love that the Lord has set upon His own.