As with many of the minor prophets, the book of Malachi is a message from God rebuking Israel for turning away from him. In the time of Malachi, the problem that the Israelites have is that they are not taking the worship of God seriously. Because of that, God has become very angry with them and demands that they need to change.

Malachi 1:10 (ESV)“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.”

As the book goes on, we find out that one of the causes for this problem was that the Israelites of the time had a poor understanding of who God is, and many doubts about whether God would do what he claimed he would do. They did not believe that God would actually reward those who served him, and they thought that there would be no punishment for disobedience.

Malachi 2:17 (ESV)“You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, ‘How have we wearied him?’ By saying, ‘Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.’ Or by asking, ‘Where is the God of justice?’”

Malachi 3:13-15 (ESV)“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”

These were people who looked around and saw the wicked prospering without any apparent judgment from God. Because of this, they believed that God did not actually care about what they were doing, and so they did not care to bring their actions into line with God’s commandments. Their worship became lax, and their sacrifices to God were halfhearted.

What the Israelites failed to understand is that when God allowed evildoers to continue on in their deeds, he was not condoning their behavior, but instead was giving time and opportunity for them to repent. In fact, what these Israelites truly failed to understand was that they themselves were people who had sinned against God. If God did come down to render the justice that they wanted, they would have been among the recipients of God’s wrath.

Despite all their disobedience, their provocation of God, and their failure to understand their spiritual condition, God still gave them an opportunity to repent.

Malachi 3:7, 3:12 (ESV) “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. (…) Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.”

Consider the attitude of these Israelites and ask yourself this: do we have the same mindset as they did? Are we people who ignore our own sins and then get angry that God does not punish the wicked? Even the most faithful of Christians can fall into the trap of thinking that, because we are trying to be better than the world, the world does not deserve the same mercy from God that we have received. Neither are we immune to the danger of seeing other people doing worse evil than ourselves, and thinking that we are absolved just because there is someone worse than we are.

Our attitude towards those who are in sin should not be one of anger or disgust. Instead, like Christ, we should be people who see the world and are filled with compassion and with a desire to help them become right with God. We were all once people who were evildoers and enemies of God, but too often we forget about the mercy and grace that we received and think that we are inherently more righteous than those in the world.

Despite containing a harsh admonishment for the Israelites, Malachi concludes with a statement that was a great encouragement to them and still is for us today.

Malachi 3:16-18 (ESV) “Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. ‘They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.’”

God has promised us that one day he will return, and that although it may seem like the wicked prosper and escape, God knows the names of those who are faithful to him, and they will receive a great reward for that faith. We want to be certain that our names are in that book of remembrance, and that we are truly faithful to God, not neglecting him or angering him with a hard heart.