Passage Overview · Free · Malachi 2:17
Where Is the God of Judgment?
One verse functions as the hinge of the book. The people weary the Lord by claiming that evildoers are pleasing to him or by asking, “Where is the God of judgment?” The complaint sounds like a crisis of divine justice: if wickedness prospers, is God really paying attention?
Where this fits in the story: Psalms such as Psalm 73 and prophets such as Habakkuk wrestle with the same problem of apparent wicked prosperity and delayed judgment. Malachi does not shame the question by ignoring it; he answers it.