Questions:

1. Fill in the blanks below from Malachi 1:2-3: “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “____ have you loved us?” “Is not ____ Jacob's brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved _____ 3 but Esau I have hated. I have laid _____ his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.”
2. TRUE or FALSE:  The temple rebuilt after exile was more glorious than Solomon’s temple. 
3. In love, God chose His people ________ the foundation of the world.
4. The phrase 'Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be' best describes:
5. The glory of Solomon’s temple
6. The hope of Israel’s restoration
7. The disillusionment of God’s people in Malachi’s day
8. The triumph of King Darius
9. TRUE or FALSE:  Gratitude is presented as a key response to God’s saving love. 
10. Match the Person/Concept with the description: Malachi, Jeremiah 3:1, Haggai 2:7, Jacob, Esau, Colossians 2:13-15, Ephesians 1:4-5, Heidelberg Catechism.
11. Teaches believers to know sin, salvation, and gratitude
12. God's eternal choice and adoption of believers
13. Passage describing Christ's triumph over sin and death
14. Prophet who declared 'I have loved you,' says the Lord
15. Represents Edom, a nation judged for violence against Israel
16. Promise of restoration and blessing upon the holy hill
17. Chosen recipient of God's covenant love
18. Prophecy that God will fill His house with glory
19. When God says “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated,” this means:
20. God felt anger toward Esau
21. God chose Jacob in covenant love
22. Esau sinned more than Jacob
23. God preferred Israel’s beauty
24. TRUE or FALSE:  God’s love for His people is rooted in His own character, not their performance.  

Discussion:

1. Read Malachi 1:1-5 and discuss the following questions:
2. What statements or questions do you notice from both God and the people?
3. What repeated or emphasized words or ideas stand out to you when you are reading this passage?
4. What contrasts are present in the passage? What are these contrasts meant to communicate to us as readers of the Word?
5. What did “I have loved you” mean to Israel in their historical situation?
6. Why did the people of Malachi’s day doubt God’s love, even though He had brought them back from exile?
7. How does God respond to their doubt in Malachi 1:2–3?
8. What does His answer reveal about the nature of His love?
9. Read John 3:16, Romans 5:8, and Jeremiah 31:3 and discuss the different aspects of God’s love.
10. Discuss how Malachi 1:2-3 connects with the bigger story of the Bible of God’s love to us?
11. How might we relate to the Israelites’ question, “How have You loved us?” in our own lives today?
12. When have you, like Israel, asked God, 'How have You loved me?'
13. What past experiences remind you that God’s love is steadfast even when life circumstances feel uncertain?
14. How can remembering God’s covenant love change how you respond to frustration or doubt?
15. How can you practically remind yourself of God’s love this week?
16. Discuss how Christians can be a light expressing confidence and trust in God’s love in today’s world of strife and anxiety.
17. When we encounter doubt and animosity in ourselves or others, do we demonstrate God’s love and rest in contentment in God’s gifts?
18. Discuss in your groups the power of the Gospel to breakthrough the momentary difficulty of circumstances and the eternal truth of God’s love in His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Sermon Outline

We’re beginning a new sermon series from one of the Minor Prophets—Malachi—titled Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be. That phrase perfectly captures the experience of God’s people in Malachi’s day. Their dreams had been shattered, their expectations unmet, and their hearts were filled with questions and disillusionment as they looked around and thought, “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.”

Malachi lived in the final days of the prophetic era, after the people of Judah had returned from exile. The Babylonians had once destroyed Jerusalem and carried the people away, but under the Persians—first under King Cyrus and now a generation later under King Darius—they had come back to their land. Yet the reality of their return fell far short of what they had imagined. They expected renewal and glory, but instead they faced hardship and spiritual darkness. Their hopes were bright because of what God had promised through prophets like Jeremiah, but what they were living felt like a dim reflection of those promises.

Jeremiah 31:23-25 – ²³“Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I restore their fortunes: “‘The Lord bless you, O habitation of righteousness, O holy hill!’.

There was a great expectation among the people—when we return, God will restore our fortunes, and His blessing will rest upon the holy hill. But what is this holy hill? It’s the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the very heart of Israel’s worship. Yet when the people returned from Persia, that expectation quickly fell flat. The territory of Judah was now so small it could fit within the size of Livingston County, and from the very beginning, they faced organized resistance to rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple itself.

When the temple was finally completed, it was a faint shadow of Solomon’s former glory, nothing like the magnificent vision described by Ezekiel in chapters 40 through 48. And even as the people returned under King Cyrus, the prophet Haggai began to speak, reminding them that what they saw before them was not yet the fullness of God’s promise.

Haggai 2:7 – ⁷And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.

That’s a glorious promise—but the reality for the people in Malachi’s day was far from glorious. They were living in poverty, struggling under drought, pestilence, and blight that crippled any hope of economic recovery. And yet, even amid their hardship, they remembered the words of Ezekiel—the priestly prophet who had spoken from Babylon—promising that when they returned, God Himself would come to rescue and restore them.

Ezekiel 34:22-23 – ²²I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey...²³And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.

To no longer be prey meant that God’s people would one day have a true king—a shepherd-king from the line of David—who would care for them, feed them, and protect them. But in the days of Malachi, that promise still felt far away. They remained under Persian rule, governed by foreign officials, burdened by taxes, tolls, and tributes. And through it all, the people carried a deep sense that this is not the way it’s supposed to be.

It’s into that very place of disappointment and disillusionment that God speaks. He spoke a word to His people in Malachi’s day, and He still wants to speak a word to us today. What do you think God said to them in the midst of their discouragement? God said…

Malachi 1:2 – ²“I have loved you,” says the Lord.

This was God’s Word to His people—in the midst of their disillusionment, in the midst of their despair, when all their hopeful expectations had come crashing down: “I have loved you.”

But how did the people respond to that declaration of love? The same way many of us might respond when we feel trapped in disappointment or surrounded by the tomb of despair. When life feels broken and God says, “I love you,” it can be hard to believe. And that’s exactly how Israel responded. Here was their reply…

Malachi 1:2 – ²But you say, “How have you loved us?”.

“If You really loved me, God, I wouldn’t be going through this.” That’s the sentiment behind the people’s question. And God answers them in two powerful ways.

First, He says, “I have loved you because I have set My love upon you.” In other words, His love isn’t based on who they are or what they’ve done, it’s rooted in who He is. God’s love flows from His very nature.

Second, He says, “I have loved you because I am the Lord who delivered you from your oppressor.” His love is not only steadfast; it’s active. He proves it by fighting for His people and defeating their enemies in a way that they can never rise again.

God Has Set His Love Upon Us

First, God says, “I have set My love upon you.” And notice how He answers their question—it’s the same way He often speaks to us. He invites His people to lift their eyes off their present circumstances and to look back, to remember. Scripture does this again and again: when we lose perspective, God calls us to remember His faithfulness.

So that’s exactly what He does here. He takes Israel back to their collective memory—to the patriarchs, to their very beginning. “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?” God says. Then He brings them to Isaac and Rebekah, to the birth of their twin sons, Jacob and Esau. And there, in that story, God reminds them of something foundational: “I have set My love upon you.”

Malachi 1:2-3 – ²“Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob ³but Esau I have hated.”

Now, when we read something like this, it can sound a bit unsettling to our modern ears. “You’re declaring Your love, God, by saying You loved one and not another?” But in the fifth century B.C., this truth would have deeply comforted God’s people. Their world—and their values—were quite different from ours.

So why does God speak this way? What’s comforting about it? When God says He set His love upon Jacob, it’s not about favoritism or cruelty—it’s about covenant faithfulness. The language of “love” and “hate” was a common way of expressing choice and priority. We see the same wording in Genesis 29, describing Jacob’s relationship with Rachel and Leah. The text says Jacob “loved Rachel but hated Leah.” That doesn’t mean he despised Leah—it means his affection, his covenantal love, was set upon Rachel, and it passed over Leah.

In the same way, God is saying, “I have set My steadfast, covenant love upon Jacob—upon My people.” Through Jacob’s line would come the nation of Israel, and through that nation would come the Redeemer. God’s love, first set upon Jacob, has continued faithfully through the generations and now rests upon us.

The Apostle Paul takes this very passage in Romans 9:13, quoting Malachi: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” Paul uses it to show that God’s love is not random—it’s purposeful. It’s His sovereign choice to redeem, to fulfill His promises, and to work His purposes through those He calls His own.

And just as God called His people in Malachi’s day to look back and remember His covenant love, we are invited to do the same. On this side of the resurrection, we look back and see that same steadfast love fully revealed in Christ.

Ephesians 1:4-5 – ⁴He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

This is the same word God spoke through Malachi, and it’s the same word He speaks to us today through Christ: “I have chosen you. I have set My love upon you.”

When did God choose you? Was it when you reached a certain age? When you made a decision? No — Scripture says He chose you before the foundation of the world. Before Genesis 1:1, before God ever said, “Let there be light,” He already knew you. He called you by name. You belong to Him because, from eternity past, He purposed that you would be His — redeemed through Jesus Christ.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 1 that we were chosen in Christ to be forgiven, adopted, and made His own — “in love.” God says, “I have set My love upon you in My Son. Before the foundation of the world, I united you to Him — to His cross, to His work, to His victory.”

It’s not about you. And that’s hard for us to understand in our culture, isn’t it? We’re so used to thinking everything depends on our choice, our effort, our will. But Scripture says salvation begins and ends with God’s choice — His grace, His initiative.

If it were up to me, and I said, “God, give me what I deserve,” I wouldn’t receive love. None of us would. But God says, “It’s not about what you deserve; it’s about what I have done. It’s about what My Son has done.”

In love, He knew you. In love, He chose you. In love, before the foundation of the world, He joined you to His Son — to be adopted into His family as a son or daughter through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will.

That’s why it’s a comfort. My assurance doesn’t rest on me — it rests on Him. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.” You belong to Christ because the Father gave you to the Son. And Jesus said, “You are in My hand, and My Father is greater than all — no one can snatch you out of My Father’s hand.”

That’s security. That’s assurance. Eternal life is sure because it rests not on us, but on Him. As the Apostle John writes...

1 John 4:10 (NIV) – ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

The Bible doesn’t leave us any wiggle room here—it’s not about your love for God; it’s about His love for you. Do you love God this morning? Then ask yourself—why? You love Him because He first loved you. He awakened that love within you. He called you to Himself because He had already done a work in your heart.

From before the foundation of the world, He set His love upon you so that you would belong to Him—holy and blameless in His sight. It’s not about what you’ve done; it’s about what He has done. You respond only because He moved first.

And how much, then, can we boast? None. This truth should humble us to the ground. Every morning we ought to rise with this confession: “I deserve nothing, yet You have given me everything.”

Praise be to the Father, praise be to the Son, praise be to the Holy Spirit—three in one. Only God could do this, and only His love would. Because if God gave us what we truly deserved, we’d be gone in an instant. But instead—He has set His love upon you, and that should humble us to worship.

God Defeats All His and Our Enemies

The second thing God says is this: Not only have I set My love upon you, but I have defeated your enemies. I have brought down those who stood against you—because I am the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

But notice how God says it. He speaks in a way that made perfect sense to the people of Malachi’s day—but to us, it might sound a bit confusing. He says…

Malachi 1:3 – ³I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.

Why does God suddenly start talking about Edom? He says, “I have loved you because I laid waste to Edom’s hill country.”

To understand that, we need to remember the story. When Jacob grew older, God changed his name to Israel. And those two brothers—Jacob and Esau—became two nations. Jacob became Israel; Esau became Edom. From the very beginning, their relationship was tense. The struggle that began in Rebekah’s womb continued for generations.

Throughout their history, Israel and Edom were often at odds, but during the Babylonian exile that hostility turned cruel. When Nebuchadnezzar’s army invaded and destroyed Jerusalem, the Edomites joined in the devastation and mocked Judah’s downfall. The prophet Obadiah records this treachery in vivid detail. Here’s what Obadiah says…

Obadiah 1:10 – ¹⁰Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.

What did Edom do? Obadiah tells us.

• Edom gloated over Judah's disaster.
• They looted and plundered Jerusalem.
• When the Israelites were trying to escape, they cut off the escape routes.
• Betrayed refugees by selling them back into the hands of the Babylonians.

The Edomites had always been enemies of God’s people. But God says, “I am for you. Those who rose up against you—I have brought them down.” And He goes even further: “If they try to rebuild, if your enemies attempt to rise again, they will not succeed.”

Malachi 1:4 – ⁴If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down.”

In other words, God is saying, “I have brought your enemies low, and if they ever try to rebuild, they will not stand. They will never threaten you again.”

And just as we’re reminded that God chose us before the foundation of the world in Christ, we’re also reminded of what Christ accomplished on the cross. There, Jesus defeated His enemies—and ours.

But who are our enemies? What exactly did Jesus conquer? Because, how we define our enemies’ shapes how we understand His victory. Sometimes, as believers, we get that part wrong—we fight the wrong battles or see the wrong foes.

So how does Scripture describe this victory? Paul, writing in Colossians, reveals what Jesus truly accomplished through His death on the cross.

Colossians 2:13-15 – ¹³You who were dead in your trespasses, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Here’s the first enemy—death. Could you defeat death? No. But Jesus did what you could not do. He conquered death once and for all. And now, because you are united with Him, death no longer has any hold on you.

But Paul doesn’t stop there. He reminds us that not only has Jesus defeated death—He has also defeated sin.

Colossians 2:13-15 – ¹³You who were dead in your trespasses, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Jesus not only conquered death—He also conquered sin. The power of sin, the record of every transgression that stood against us, has been canceled. The enemy’s list of accusations, with all its legal demands, has been nailed to the cross. Jesus has taken it away.

God no longer looks upon our sin; He has removed it as far as the east is from the west.

So what are your enemies? The first is death. The second is sin. And the third—the final enemy Jesus defeated on the cross—is the power of demonic forces and evil itself.

Colossians 2:13-15 – ¹³You who were dead in your trespasses, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

These are the spiritual forces of darkness that hold people in bondage. But Jesus has disarmed them. He has put them to open shame and triumphed over them through His cross.

In Christ, every power of evil that keeps the world in darkness has been defeated, disarmed, and disgraced. Just as God reminded His people in Malachi’s day that their enemies would never rise again, He reminds us today that ours are just as powerless.

Sin may try to rise up in your life again. It may whisper shame or guilt. But you don’t have to live under that shadow—because your sin was nailed to the cross. Jesus has died for it. You are forgiven. Sometimes the hardest faith to exercise is the faith to believe you’re truly forgiven—and to walk in that freedom.

We no longer live in the fear of death. Death is a defeated enemy. For the believer, the end of this life is not a wall; it’s a doorway into eternal life.

And when Scripture says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” it’s not because you or I are so fearsome. It’s because he’s already been disarmed. He flees because Christ has crushed him beneath His heel.

God has loved you with an everlasting love—a love He set upon you before time began. And because it’s not about you, you can live with confidence: it’s all about Jesus. That truth brings assurance, faithfulness, and gratitude.

I heard this week that the number one predictor of a lasting marriage is simple gratitude—when couples stop criticizing and start thanking one another. Isn’t that also true in our walk with Christ? When we remember what He’s done for us, our perspective shifts. Gratitude changes how we see our circumstances.

The eternal Son of God—whose worth is infinite—died in your place. That truth has the power to reshape how you see everything you’re facing right now.

Because our enemies—sin, death, and evil—have been defeated. That’s the gospel. Jesus Christ did what you could not do. You were dead—but in Christ, you have been made alive.

The Heidelberg Catechism asks, “How can you live and die in the joy of knowing that you belong to Jesus?” It says, “There are three things you must know…”

1. To know how great your sin and misery are. Until we grasp the true weight of our sin, we will never grasp the greatness of our Savior. If we don’t understand what our sin actually deserves, we can’t fully appreciate what Jesus accomplished on the cross. The more we see the depth of our sin, the more we marvel at the depth of His mercy.
2. To know how you are set free from all your sin. Not by your effort, not by your goodness, not by your resolve—but by the death of Jesus Christ. It is His cross that breaks the chains. His blood that covers every transgression. His sacrifice that sets you free completely.
3. To know how to thank God for such deliverance. Gratitude is the natural response of a redeemed heart. When you realize the depth of your sin and the greatness of Christ’s salvation, thanksgiving flows freely. To thank God is not merely to say the words—it’s to live a life shaped by awe, obedience, and worship. Every act of faithfulness, every prayer of praise, every moment of humility is a way of saying, “Thank You, Lord, for setting me free.”

We have an opportunity every single day to live grateful, thankful of what Jesus has done, even in the midst of our present trials. In fact, our present trials can put the light of the salvation of Christ in even greater display that the world would see and know and hear of the salvation of Christ.

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