Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 435
MAL ACHI
This is the message that the Lord gave to Israel through the prophet
Malac hi.
“I have always loved you,” says the Lord.
But you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?”
And the Lord replies, “This is how I showed my love for you: I loved
your ancestor Jacob, but I rejected his brother, Esau, and devastated his hill
country. I turned Esau’s inheritance into a desert for jackals.”
Esau’s descendants in Edom may say, “We have been shattered, but we
will rebuild the ruins.”
But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies replies, “They may try to rebuild,
but I will demolish them again. Their country will be known as ‘The
Land of Wickedness,’ and their people will be called ‘The People with
Whom the Lord Is Forever Angry.’ When you see the destruction for
yourselves, you will say, ‘Truly, the Lord’s greatness reaches far beyond
Israel’s borders!’”
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his fa
ther, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master,
where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt
for my name!
“But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’
“You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar.
“Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?’
“You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect.
When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it
wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts
like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of
Heaven’s Armies.
“Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that
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