Malachi 1

“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have you loved us?” (2). Malachi’s prophecies open with God’s declaration that Israel did not value His great love for them. Because of this, led by the priests, they disrespected His altar (‘table’) by offering polluted, worthless, throw-away sacrifices (7,8). They had forgotten how God had rescued them from Egypt and then rescued them again from exile in Babylon. Restored to their own land, they viewed worship as a boring duty: “What weariness this is” (13).

“For my name will be great among the nations” (11). God looks for those who eagerly and humbly receive Him. He will be praised among “the nations” – outsiders who rejoice in His grace.