Introduction:     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 of the Bible than that God loves us. The love of God ought to be overflowing out of the heart and overwhelming to the heart of every believer. Now let's look at the subject of God's love in the opening verses of Malachi.

I.          A DECLARATION OF GOD'S LOVE!

"I have loved you; "What a glorious statement! What a glorious announcement! What a glorious truth! Notice the statement.

             A.        God’s Love Affirmed Personally.

"I 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."  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.  

             B.         God’s Love Assured Perpetually.

"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. (Jeremiah 31:3) "Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love." 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 may be a time when others will cease to love us, but there will never be time when God will cease to love us (Rom.8:38-39). 

II.         A DELIBERATION OF GOD'S LOVE!

God declares His love and the people debate his love. The people were saying, how have you loved us? In what way have you loved us?" 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?

             A.        They Were Unaffected.

It revealed the coldness and indifference of their hearts. God had loved them but they were totally indifferent to that love. Love acknowledged leads to a life affected. It will be more their lips. It will be shown in their life. When one will not… it reveals they have not been affected by God's love. Only a cold, indifferent, and unaffected heart would question the love of God.

             B.         They Were Unappreciative.

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 loved 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.

III.       A 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.

             A.        The Designation Of A Special People.

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. 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. But God had chosen Jacob as the one who would receive that birthright and blessing. The truth is, if we had been making the choice, we would no doubt chosen Esau, the natural heir. Not only because he was the firstborn, but because 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. 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 this love 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.

             B.         The Destroying 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."  

Conclusion:       Well, God's love is not without multiple signs of affection, and for certain, He will never change His mind.