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The Scottish preacher, George Matheson, was one of the most
poetic and eloquent preachers of his time. It was at the age of 19 while he was
studying for the ministry that he lost his eyesight. The story is told that his
heart was broken when his fiancée broke their engagement, returned his ring, and
said to him, 'I cannot see my way clear to go through life bound by the chains
of marriage to a blind man." Matheson never married, but in 1882, at the age of
40, when one of his sisters married, her wedding brought back memories of his
heartbreak and personal tragedy. From the depths of despair he reached out in
faith and laid hold of the unchanging love of God. In that dark hour of his
heart he penned the words of the great hymn:
O
Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths it flow
May richer, fuller be.
In the opening verses of Malachi, we are reminded that God's
love is permanent, perpetual, and persistent. We are reminded that God's love
will never let us go. There is no greater thought in all the Bible than that God
loves us.
It was a realization of God's great loved that changed the heart and ministry of D.L. Moody. While in England in 1867, D.L. Moody met Harry Moorhouse. Moody said
to Moorhouse, "If you ever
come to Chicago, I want you to preach for me." One day Moody received a
telegram from Moorhouse that he was going to be in Chicago. Moody scheduled him
to preach a week for him while he was away in a meeting. When he returned he
asked his wife, "How is the young man from England?"
His wife answered, "Oh, he's wonderful." Moody asked, "What did
he preach on Sunday night?" She answered, "Sunday night he took John
3:16 and preached on God's love." He asked, "What about Monday
night?" "It was the same text but a different sermon" she said.
Moody asked about Tuesday and Wednesday night. His wife said, "It was the
same text but a different sermon. Moody said, "That's taking one attribute
of God and emphasizing it out of proportion." His wife did not argue with
him but told him to go and hear him for your self.
Moody went to the services
that night and when Moorhouse got up to preach, he said, "I have been
looking through all 66 books of the Bible, but if you'll forgive me, it will be
the Gospel according to John. I've looked at the 21 chapters, and I could preach
on any one of them, but it will be the third chapter. I've studied the 36
verses, and I could comment on any one of them, but if you don't mind, it will
be the 16th verse." Moody said he just about had a coronary as he sat
there. He was so agitated and irritated. But he said as the service went on, the
love of God melted his heart. His life was changed. He said "I took the
word love, and I do not know how many weeks I spent in studying the passages in
which it occurs. I had been feeding on the love of God so long that. . . I got
full of God's love. It ran out my fingers. You take up the subject of love in
the Bible and you will get so full of it that all you have to do is open your
lips and a flow of God's love will flow forth."
The love of God ought to be overflowing out of the heart and
overwhelming to the heart of every believer.
5.
Now let's look at the subject of God's love in the opening verses of Malachi.
First, we see,
1.
A GLORIOUS DECLARATION OF GOD'S LOVE!
Charles and Mary Lamb were brother and sister. Both were English writers. The
story of Charles love and devotion to his sister is 2 wonderful story of one's
love for another. At times Mary suffered bouts of temporary insanity. In 1796,
while Charles and Mary were still living at home, their lives were darkened by a
terrible tragedy. In a moment of insanity, Mary picked up a kitchen knife and
stabbed their mother to death. The court understood Mary's mental problems and
put her in the custody of Charles, and she
lived with him most of the time until he died in 1834.
Dr. George W. Truett, writing about Charles Lamb's love for his sister Mary
said, "I think there is nothing in history more touching than the behavior
of Charles Lamb, the brilliant British essayist and critic, who devoted his best
hours to his sister, Mary, who had recurring spells of insanity. He was to be
seen many times in the morning, ere the sun came up, traversing the lanes of
England, talking with Mary, telling her about the singing birds, and the smiling
flowers, seeking to keep back that encroaching wave of insanity as it persisted
in coming again and again." Dr. Truett used one word to describe Charles
love and devotion to Mary. It was the word "Glorious!"
There is only one word to describe God's love to man and that
is the word glorious!
Verse 2 begins with the wonderful declaration, "I
have loved you."
What a glorious statement! What a glorious announcement! What a glorious
truth! Notice the statement.
First, think of:
A.
It Is A Glorious Affirming Of His Personal Love.
God says, "l HAVE LOVED YOU." God is affirming His love to
His people.
There is no truer fact than that expressed by the children's song:
Jesus
loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so."
It is hard to believe that a Mother would not love her child,
but it is so in some cases. It is hard to believe that a child would not love
their parent, but it has been known. It is hard to believe that a spouse would
not love their mate, but it happens regularly. But one thing is for certain and
never to happen, and that is that God would not love His children.
Charles Spurgeon commenting on John 3:16 and the words, "God
so loved" says, "Come, ye surveyors, bring your chains, and try to make a survey
of this word 'so.' Nay, that is not enough. Come hither, ye that make our
national surveys, and lay down charts for all nations. Come ye, who map the sea
and land, and make a chart of this word 'so.' Nay, I must go further. Come
hither, ye astronomers, that with your optic glasses spy out spaces before which
imagination staggers, come hither and encounter calculations worthy of all your
powers. When ye have measured between the horns and space, here is a task that
will defy you -'God SO loved the world."'
God's love is affirmed in what He says to us in His Word.
God's love is affirmed in what He did for us on the Cross. God's love is
affirmed when He saved us. God's love is affirmed in His daily presence, help,
and kindness.
Each of us can sing with the greatest of confidence:
He
loves me, He loves me,
He loves me this I know.
He gave Himself to die for me,
That is why l love Him so.
Secondly, we see that:
B.
It Is A Glorious Assuring Of His Perpetual Love.
Notice carefully that God says, "I have loved you." The words
are in the perfect tense that means that God had loved them in the past and He
loves them in the present. God's love is not only an undeniable love, but also
an unending love. In the words of Matheson, it is an "love that wilt not let me
go."
We read in Jeremiah 31:3 "Yea, I have loved thee
with an everlasting love."
One of the great hymns of our faith is the song, "The Love of
God." The last stanza of the song was found written on a cell wall in a prison
by an unknown prisoner:
Could
we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade.
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
The
second stanza, which is rarely sung is equally as stirring:
When
years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call.
God's love so sure shall still endure,
All measureless and strong:
Redeeming grace to Adam's race,
The saints and angels song.
Then
there is the wonderful chorus:
O
love of God,
How rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure,
The saints and angels song.
God will love us in spite of the length of our life, the
depth of our sin, and the breadth of our misfortunes. There has never been a
time when God did not love us. There will never be time when God will not love
us. There was a time when others began to love us. But there never was a time
when God began to love, for He has always loved us. There may be a time when
others will cease to love us, but there will never be time when God will cease
to love us.
R.L. Moyer, in his book John 3:16 writes: "You may go back beyond the time
when a wave beat upon the beach, or a star shone in the sky, or the leaf of a
tree fluttered in the breeze, or an angel worshipped before the throne, and when
you get back as far as the mind can reach, you will be no nearer the beginning
of God's love for you than you are now. If you project your mind into the future
to the time when the mountains have molded down into dust, or out beyond the
time when the sun has grown cold, and the stars are old, and the leaves of the
judgment book unfold, you will no nearer to the end of God's love than you are
now."
Secondly, notice,
2.
A GRIEVOUS DELIBERATION OF GOD'S LOVE!
God declares His love and the people debate his love. The
people respond to God's statement, "I have loved you" by saying, "Wherein hast
Thou loved us." The people were saying, "We are not so sure about Your love. How
have you loved us? In what way have you loved us."
We might say, "How could anyone doubt that God loved them?"
Yet, we are often guilty of the same. Some problem comes along and we say, "If
God really loved me, He wouldn't have let this happen." etc.
What does this deliberation of God's love reveal about this
people? First, it reveals,
A.
They Were An Unaffected People.
It revealed the coldness and indifference of their hearts.
God had loved them but they were totally indifferent to that love.
We as God's people are the recipients of His love day by day, but that love has
little meaning in our life and has little affect on our life. Love acknowledged
leads to a life affected. A husband can say he loves his wife, but that love
will be more than what one says with their lips. It will be shown in their life.
When one will not be regular attendee of the House of God it reveals they have
not been affected by God's love. When one will not be a regular reader of the
Word of God it reveals they have not been affected by God's love. When
one will not be a regular worshipper at the Throne of God it reveals they have
not been affected by God's love. When one will not be a regular seeker of the
Face of God it reveals they have not been affected by God's love. When one will
not be a regular server in the Work of God it reveals they have not been
affected by God's love. When one will not obey the
Commands of God it reveals they have not been affected by God's love.
Only a cold, indifferent, and unaffected heart would question
the love of God. Furthermore, we see,
B.
They Were An Unappreciative People.
An ungrateful heart is often blind to the blessings God
bestows upon them. Where it is most manifested it is often most unappreciated.
God had love them, but they were unappreciative of that love.
Often in life, we that are the daily recipients of God's love are not only
unaffected by His love, but also unappreciative of that love.
Thirdly, notice:
3.
A GRACIOUS DEMONSTRATION OF GOD'S LOVE!
God refuted their charge by giving them 2 examples of His
love for them. They doubted God's love. God demonstrated His love.
First, we see:
A.
How God Designated A Special People.
We see in verses 2-3 God's love demonstrated. The first
demonstration of God's love involved Jacob and Esau. By them God was reminding
Israel of how He had shown a special love toward them. Concerning Jacob, God
says, "I have loved Jacob." Concerning Esau, God says, "I hated Esau."
These words do not indicate a denial of love for Esau, but a demonstration of
love for Jacob. The statement that God hated Esau is used to contrast the great
love God had for Israel.
In Gen.29:30-33, we read that Leah was hated by Jacob and
Rachel was loved by Jacob. Does that mean that Jacob hated his first wife Leah?
No! It simply means that he loved Rachel much more. He had a deep and special
love for her.
In Luke 14:26 God says that a disciple must 'hate" his family, himself, or
he could not be a disciple. This truth is clarified in Matt.10:37, "He that loveth father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loveth
son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me."
God was saying to Israel, You debate My love for you. You
doubt My love for you. I have loved you with a special love. I have loved you
more than anyone else."
That special love is seen in the fact, that Esau was the firstborn and the
natural heir to the birthright and blessing. But God had chosen Jacob as the one
who would receive that birthright and blessing.
Now, the truth is, if we had been making the choice, we would no doubt had
chosen Esau, the natural heir. Not only because he was the firstborn, but seemed
the better candidate for the blessing. Jacob was a crook, a cheat, and con
artist. Someone has said, "The
difficult question is not why God said He hated Esau, but how could He love
Jacob?"
God was saying, "I have loved you love. I have made you My
people. I have chosen you to reveal myself, to give My law and word through, to
give My Son through, a people through which to carry out My spiritual purposes."
God reminds them that is a love that is undeserved. They did not earn His love.
He chose to love them.
The truth is, God's love is undeserved in all our
lives. It is a story of grace. The amazing truth of it all is that he
loves us. But why does He love us? In the words of Isaac Watts:
Amazing
pity, grace unknown,
And love beyond degree.
Secondly, we see:
B.
How God Destroyed A Sinful People.
In verses 3b-5, the term "mountains" refers to the land of the Edomites, who were Esau's descendants. The Edomites were a godless and immoral
people who continually oppressed Israel. God describes how He destroyed them
because of their sinfulness and hatefulness of Israel.
God says, "You doubt My love. Look at how I have cared for you, protected
you, destroyed your enemies."
God's Word not only demonstrates His love for us, but also
His works demonstrate His love for us. God was saying to them and to us as well,
"There is no reason at all why you should doubt My love for you."
Ole and Olga lived on a farm in Iowa. Olga was living on a
starvation diet of affection. Ole never gave her any signs of love, and Olga's
need to be appreciated went unfulfilled. At her wit's end, Olga blurted out,
"Ole, why don't you ever tell me that you love me?" Ole stoically responded,
"Olga, when we were married I told you that I loved you, and if I ever change my
mind I will let you know."
Well, God's love is not without multiple signs of affection,
and for certain, He will never change His mind.
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