Israel’s question was not innocent curiosity. It was the language of ingratitude. God had loved them, preserved them, restored them, and kept covenant mercy toward them. Yet they looked at their circumstances and rashly concluded that His love was absent.
God answered by pointing to Jacob and Esau. Jacob was not chosen because he was stronger, wiser, or more deserving. God’s love rested on him by sovereign mercy. Esau, by contrast, became a testimony of judgment. His land was left desolate. His prideful rebuilding would not overturn the judgment of God.
Israel should have seen their own survival as evidence of God’s faithful love. They had sinned, been disciplined, and suffered exile. Yet they were still a people. Their worship continued. God had not cast them away. Today, some may bemoan “God has not been good to me,” while standing in a life full of mercy. They possess food, shelter, a Bible, a church, forgiveness, and another day to repent. Yet because some perceived burdens remain, they speak as though God has done nothing.
Malachi warns us against measuring God’s love only by present comfort. The Lord’s love is not disproved by hardship, correction, delay, or disappointment. His faithful dealings are often clearer when we look back and see what He has preserved, forgiven, restored, and withheld from destroying us.
To doubt God’s love or mercy is dangerous. Israel’s question should prompt us to examine our own hearts. God’s people must not answer His covenant faithfulness with doubt. His love is not always apparent in ease, but it is surely seen in mercy.
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