Malachi 3-4

“Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight” (3:12).  Malachi said that God was coming against sin, “against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner” (3:5).  These sins – involving God, marriages, work and business dealings, the poor, and foreigners – destroyed the community, and God wanted Israel to be “a land of delight.” 

The earth was created to be “a delight” in which humans reflected God’s glory and took care of each other and the world.  When we “return to God” (3:7), He helps us recover our original purpose.