The speakers voice their frustration to justify their spiritual apathy and to challenge whether covenant faithfulness brings any tangible benefit. By framing their complaint as a question, they express doubt about God’s justice while justifying their unfaithfulness.

God responded through Malachi by distinguishing between the faithless complainers and the faithful remnant who feared the Lord and spoke with one another about Him. He declared that a book of remembrance was written for those who honored Him, promising they would be His treasured possession in the day He acts. God assured them that the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve Him and those who do not, would be made clear (Malachi 3:16-18).

The question reveals Israel’s transactional view of their relationship with God, where obedience was investment expecting immediate return. The Hebrew construction places emphatic stress on the futility they perceived, with shav (vain, empty) suggesting complete worthlessness rather than mere unprofitability. They asked this question rather than making a flat statement because it invited agreement from fellow sufferers and put God in the position of defendant, demanding He justify His covenant terms. The phrase ‘kept his ordinance’ (mishmeret) refers to priestly service and careful observance, while ‘walked mournfully’ describes their dutiful participation in fasts and penitential practices. Their error lay in measuring profit by earthly standards while missing the intrinsic value of knowing God, a blindness that still tempts believers when obedience costs more than it seems to yield.