Malachi review

First, the book speaks of the burden of the word of the LORD.  God is burdened when His people do not listen to His word, and so should we be as followers of Christ.  God spoke of His love for Jacob, because Jacob was sincere in his relationship to God.  God also said He hated Esau, or I believe more accurately Esau's actions.  Esau had concern only for the material things of life and not his God given heritage.  Though God loves everyone, He expects people to be obedient to His will and value their relationship with Him.  God also said that Esau's descendants refused to turn to Him in obedience.  They were not the only ones though, as even the descendants of Jacob, through Isaac or Israel, many times refused to acknowledge God as their Father and give Him the respect that He deserved.  God does not accept us as His children simply because of where we were born or who are parents are.  The people of Israel had polluted their worship of God and He said that He would reach out to the Gentiles with His gift of salvation.   The people of Israel were supposed to reach the world with the message of God, but they chose to ignore His commands.  We as followers of Christ are now commissioned to reach the world with the gospel, and we need to remain true to that calling.  God then directed His disappointment to the priests, who had totally failed in their calling.  As followers of Christ, we are a part of the priesthood of believers, and we need to be dedicated to doing what God calls us to do.  God said that empty worship was useless.  We may go through the motions and show all the emotions, but if they are not sincere, then they mean nothing to God.  God then said that the people of Israel were robbing Him by offering less than the best that they had to Him.  He also called on them to bring all the tithes into the storehouse.  We need to give God our best today and not just what we have no real use for or need of.  This includes our time, talents, and material possessions.   God then concluded by saying that He was sending a Redeemer to those who would accept Him.  Jesus Christ has already brought salvation to everyone, but we can either accept it or reject it.