“They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in the day that I shall make them: and I will spare them, as a man spares his son that serveth him.” (Malachi 3:17)
The prophet Malachi worked in evil days. But even in those days there were people who feared God and served Him. God promised these faithful people that He would protect them. He illustrated His considerate behavior very vividly: just as a father spares his son who brings him joy, God would spare them. On the other hand, those who did not want to serve God had to reckon with the unyielding and devouring judgment of God (Mal 3:19). In this way, the difference would become visible between the righteous and the lawless, between the one who serves God and the one who does not (Mal 3:18).
When the Lord Jesus lived on earth, God found in His Son one who served Him perfectly. And what did God do with this righteous man? Did He treat Him gently?
In Romans 8:32 we read that God did not spare His Son, but gave Him up for us all. God deviated from His rule here and did not spare the one who served Him! He allowed the full force of wrath against sin to hit Him on the cross and took no account of the fact that it was His unique Son. The divine judgment on the guilt of others was carried out mercilessly on the obedient Son.
“What shall we say to this? If God for us, who against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not with him also give us all things?” (Rom 8:31, 32).
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