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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Malachi 1:1-5

The prophecy of this book is entitled, The burden of the word of the Lord (Mal. 1:1), which intimates, 1. That it was of great weight and importance; what the false prophets said was light as the chaff, what the true prophets said was ponderous as the wheat, Jer. 23:38. 2. That it ought to be often repeated to them and by them, as the burden of a song. 3. That there were those to whom it was a burden and a reproach; they were weary of it, and found themselves so aggrieved by it that they were... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Malachi 1:3

And I hated Esau ,.... Or, "rejected" him, as the Targum; did not love him as Jacob: this was a negative, not positive hatred; it is true of him, personally considered; not only by taking away the birthright and blessing from him, which he despised; but by denying him his special grace, leaving him in his sins, and to his lusts, so that he became a profane person; shared not in the grace of God here, and had no part in the eternal inheritance with the saints in light; and likewise it is true... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Malachi 1:3

And I hated Esau - I have shown him less love; Genesis 29:30 , Genesis 29:31 . I comparatively hated him by giving him an inferior lot. And now, I have not only laid waste the dwelling-place of the Edomites, by the incursions of their enemies; but ( Malachi 1:4 ;) they shall remain the perpetual monuments of my vengeance. On the subject of loving Jacob and hating Esau, see the notes on Genesis 27 (note), and Romans 9:13 ; (note). Let it be remembered, That there is not a word... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Malachi 1:3

Verse 3 We now see what I have just referred to, — that the Jews are reminded of God’s gratuitous covenant, that they might cease to excuse their wickedness in having misused this singular favor. He does not then upbraid them here, because they had been as other men created by God, because God caused his sun to shine on them, because they were supplied with food from the earth; but he says, that they had been preferred to other people, not on account of their own merit, but because it had... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 1:1-5

The sovereignty of God in relation to man's secular condition of life. "The burden of the word of the Lord," etc. Malachi—which means "Messenger" the last of the Hebrew prophets, is a man whose personal history is wrapped in utter obscurity. He is supposed to have lived after Haggai and Zechariah, and to be contemporary with Nehemiah. It is likely that he occupied a relationship to Nehemiah somewhat analogous to that which Haggai and Zechariah sustained to Zerubbabel. The general opinion... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 1:2-3

The Lord's love for his people. The Lord had chosen Israel as his peculiar people, out of pure love and kindness, without any antecedent merit on their side. This love is strikingly exhibited by contrasting the Divine dealings with the two nations, Edom and Israel. Both came into Divine judgment for sin, and love triumphed in the restoration of Israel; but because of Edom's treatment of Israel, it was left, to its desolations. The word "hate" is employed, but South properly explains that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 1:2-5

§ 2. The prophet declares God's special love for Israel read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 1:2-5

The sovereign love of God. Remembering that the scriptural sense of "hate" in this and corresponding passages is to love less in comparison, or to reject when there is a competition of claims, we nevertheless learn from this passage— I. THAT GOD 'S LOVE TO INDIVIDUALS AND TO NATIONS IS A SOVEREIGN LOVE . By this we mean that it is a love which bestows special favours, for reasons which cannot be discovered in those that enjoy them, but in the gracious purpose of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 1:3

And I hated Esau. St. Paul quotes these words ( Romans 9:13 ) in order to illustrate his position, "that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth." Even before his birth Jacob was the chosen one, and Esau, the elder, was to serve the younger. This mystery of Divine election has seemed to some to be stated so harshly that they have thought that the words of the text need to be softened, or to be modified by their explanation. Thus they give... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Malachi 1:3

And I made his mountains a waste, and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness - oMalachi attests the first stage of fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (Joel 3:19, vol. i. pp. 214, 215), “Edom shall be a desolate wilderness.” In temporal things, Esau’s blessing was identical with Jacob’s; “the fatness of the earth and of the dew of heaven from above;” and the rich soil on the terraces of its mountain-sides, though yielding nothing now except a wild beautiful vegetation, and its deep glens,... read more

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