God consistently tells His people that He loves them. Once again the people question God’s prophetic assertion. 

God chose Israel to be His people and gave them a sacred mission. Their job was to live under their covenant/agreement with the LORD to love and serve one another. 

This was diametrically opposed to the surrounding pagan cultures that were based on the strong exploiting the weak. The result is a violent and oppressive society. 

God’s people were given the task to be a priestly nation and show the world a better way. They were to govern themselves under the rule of law – God’s law. There was to be no exploitation of strong men. The strong were to serve the weak. Each person was to love their neighbors as themselves. 

God loved them by giving them this awesome stewardship, but that did not please the people. They wanted God to do their bidding. Hence the question “In what way have you loved us?” 

Most parents recognize this ploy. Children seem to come pre-installed with this manipulation device: “If you really loved me then you would give me what I want”. We as parents sometimes fall for this because we fear rejection. Which is to say that when we give in we are actually being self-seeking. We have stopped seeking the child’s best interest and are now concerned with our own. 

God never does this. He tells His people the truth, for it is the truth that will set them free. He promises that if they will return to Him, He will return to them. 

Similarly, if we will trust Him, and follow His ways, He will seek our best. It will likely not be the path we would have chosen. As Jesus says, it will be a difficult path with a narrow gate. But it is the path that leads to LIFE. What greater display of love could there be than to show us the way to life? If only we could see it for what it is.

God loves us enough to tell us the truth and lead us in difficult ways. When we choose a perspective that He actually loves us and trust His commands are for our best, we are choosing a mental model that is true and will lead to life. 

“I have loved you,” says the LORD. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’
Malachi 1:2