Malachi moves from the priests to the people in this third dispute. What is the core purpose of humanity? What did God create man to be and do? If these questions can be answered, then it will lead to an understanding of why God had gone to such an extent to preserve his fallen progeny. We see man's mandate is an understanding of Genesis 1:26, when God stated, "Let us make man to be our image bearer." Far from simply being like God or looking like God, man was to be the reflector of God's communicable attributes: love, goodness, truthfulness, and faithfulness.
After the fall, God chose Israel to be a people who would again reflect these characteristics of His being. Yet, again and again they failed, falling into the grip of their sinful nature and failing to be God's image bearers. In his covenant enforcement, Malachi points to the faithfulness of God and the faithlessness of Israel as they have again and again broken faith with their Father and God. Even though their sins are great, the prophet continues to drive home the bright light of God's plan for His people – the Lord cares more for our future than for our present or past. This is the voice of grace to a faithless people.
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What similarities have you seen in Malachi's disputes to our current day and are his remedies equally practical for 21st century Christians?
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