Malachi 2:10-17

Broken promises and broken covenants were rampant among the Israelites in Malachi’s day. The permanence of God’s covenant with Israel’s fathers is threatened by this pervasive faithlessness. God was the Father of the Hebrew people not only as their Creator, but also as their Covenantor. Because of their common membership in the wide family of the Father, they should have had special concern for each other’s welfare. 

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself'.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40 (NIV) 

They were a chosen people yet they were breaking God’s covenant and dealing treacherously with one another. They themselves were not right with God therefore they were not right with each other. In present day, there is nothing that hurt’s a church’s witness more than conflicts within her walls. Nothing hurts the cause of Christ more than a church fight, conflicts in the church, and leaders who are at each other’s throats. Enemies from outside Rome’s gates did not cause her to stumble. It was entirely forces from within its walls. The enemy was the decay of religion and the degradation of the home, a result of rampant divorce. For those of us who live in the West today, this truth should raise a few alams.  

God, through the pen of Paul, lays out for us the proper behavior for believers in Colossians:

1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:1-14 (NIV) 

He also states in Romans 12:10

10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10 (NIV) 

Malachi calls Israel to reflect on her capricious strife between tribes. He points to the fact that they share a common Father. God’s choosing and calling of His people was to be the unifying factor between them. The Lord is effectively saying: “The only reason you exist as a nation is because of Me.” Every time the word create is used in the Old Testament it refers to God’s sovereign authority and power.

Malachi’s message is simple: Don’t forget where you came from, and don’t forget Who called you. A point for us to ponder as well: Forgetfulness that we are a child of the King (and with that comes responsibilities) will lead us to faithlessness. God rebukes their ill-treatment of each other within the community of faith. It is the same for us. Again, like we previously stated in Colossians:    
  
13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:13-14

Peter also writes:

7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:7-10 (NIV)

The uniform, the badge, that testifies to one’s salvation in God is unity with other believers. In the Old Testament this community of faith was the nation of Israel. In the New Testament, it is the church. The badge that proves you are a believer of the Lord Jesus Christ is your love for others, particularly for the community of faith – no matter the race, nationality, or ethnicity of them.

“It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and good people who have learned the great secret of life. They have found a joy and a wisdom which is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians…and I am one of them.” St. Cyprian, 200-258 

Jesus said that we would be recognized as His disciples by our love for one another. By implication, a lost world will question whether you are a disciple of Christ if you lack love for one another. Malachi’s point is that the children of God must be characterized by their love for one another, not hatred. They will know we are Christians by our love.

The disregard for brotherly love had led to some severe social sins. Malachi next looks at their sinful marriages. Judah’s faithlessness was “detestable” to the Lord. When we study Old Testament passages like Leviticus 18:29, we can discover the severity of “detestable things” in God’s eyes:

29  “Everyone who does any of these detestable things--such persons must be cut off from their people.” Leviticus 18:29 (NIV)

The “detestable thing” deserved destruction and ultimately death. God is saying, “You have committed the unimaginable act of profaning My sanctuary.” God is holy and He desires holiness from His people. This is still true for us today:

14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)

They had profaned the Lord through their actions and worst of all, they had chased after false gods – the ultimate betrayal of their covenantal relationship with Him. When the Jews left Egypt, there was a “mixed multitude” that left with them (Exodus 12:37-38):

37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. Exodus 12:37-38 (NIV)

This suggests that some Jews had married Egyptian spouses (Leviticus 24:10; Numbers 11:4):

10 Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. 11 The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse; so they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.) 12 They put him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them. 13 Then the LORD said to Moses: 14 “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. 15 Say to the Israelites: If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible. Leviticus 24:10-15 (NIV)

4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat!” Numbers 11:4 (NIV)

God is serious about His holiness. The Jews sinned greatly when they mixed with the women of Midian at Baal Peor and God judged them severely. Yet, in Malachi’s times these Israelites continued this detestable practice to their own harm. Whenever we go against God’s revealed will it is to our own harm. Their marriages were not with Jewish proselytes, but with women who were practicing temple-worshipers of pagan gods. They all were fully aware of what happened to Solomon when he went down that road. Israel was to be a holy nation. God states in Exodus and in Jeremiah:

5 “‘Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” Exodus 19:5-6 (NIV)  

3 “‘Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,’ declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 2:3 (NIV)

Further, believers are to be a holy nation as well. Peter tells us:

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV)

The Israelites were not to be worshippers of graven images or foreigner gods (who were no gods at all!) – they were to be holy. To prevent any compromises with idolatry, the law of Moses expressly prohibited marriages with the heathen. As stated earlier, through Solomon’s pathetic example as well as from the history of their nation, breaking this law was abysmal folly. Also, in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah stern measures had been taken to put an end to this renewed tendency to marry into pagan families yet now the practice was again widespread. These men were divorcing the Jewish wives of their youth and marrying outside the community of faith. The sons of God were marrying the daughters of pagans. They would break their vows to God and to their Jewish wives profaning God’s covenant and treating it a nothings. We never seem to learn – the one thing we do learn from history is that we don’t learn from history – Amen? On this side of the cross, we are given a similar command:

14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. 17 Therefore come out from them and be separate,” says the Lord. “Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 (NIV)

This would deal specifically with your marriage partner, closest friends and business partners. They do not hold to the same values and when oil and water is mixed there will be terrible conflict. The problem with marrying someone who is an unbeliever isn’t merely that they belong to a different religious organization. The problem with marrying an unbeliever is the different worldview through which they view all things. They perceive the world differently than a believer does. Christians have the lens of the Word of God through which they view the world. An unbeliever does not look through that same lens. Christians have a framework based on Christ by which we love, give, and live. It shapes how we spend our time, our talents, and our investments. It molds the way we raise our kids. It shapes the way we participate in organizations. It shapes our discipline and our dedication. And to unite oneself in marriage with someone who has a contradictory worldview creates a tremendous temptation to abandon the one true God for worldly, unbiblical pursuits. This was not only true for the Israelites in Malachi’s day, it is still so very true for us today. Marriage under the best of circumstances can be difficult – two big fat sinners living under the same roof wanting their own way, but add to this the mixture of unbelief, and we are just asking for trouble upon trouble.

The heathen marriages were causing misery. The Israelites having had callously divorced their Jewish wives, then made marital alliances with the families of influential heathen neighbors. It appears that the guilty parties thought than an offering or two on the altar would square their accounts with God yet God indignantly refused to accept the offerings though the offerings were drenched with their tears. The guilty men raised their hands and their voices in horror, crying out to God confused that He refused to accept their hypocritical offerings. Their questions revealed how eroded their moral sense was and how corroded their consciences. They had divorced belief from behavior as certainly as they had divorced their wives from themselves. 

Let me interject here. I want to be as gentle and as loving in speaking on this as I can. Every one in this room has most likely been affected by divorce of someone we hold dear and love – be it grandparents, parents, children or close friends. Divorce is so rampant in our day and age that it is a rare family that has not been touched by its tentacles. My thoughts are to make us more aware of the severity of it in God’s eyes; as well as to encourage us to work hard on our marriages and not give ourselves an out. None of us are perfect and there is always something that we can be working on in our own lives that would benefit our marriages. I realize that not all things can be fixed. Yet, I believe that our marriages are so worth fighting for – even when we have very legitimate reasons to flee. Certainly God will bless our sincere efforts in this area. Also, God forgives the repentant heart if you discover yourself looking at divorce in the rear-view mirror for no Biblical reason. A broken and contrite heart God never despises. Also, failure is not final in your life.

In spite of this practical denial of the true faith, the Jews were making a hypocritical attempt to keep up the appearance of orthodoxy – which, quite frankly, as we have stated before, makes God sick. Their sin of mockery had to have had nauseated Him. They continued to bring offerings to the Lord of hosts but the Lord threatened to cut off anyone who thought he could deceive God in this brazen way. We never fool God – never! Further, no matter who the hypocrite was - master or scholar – God would not tolerate such mockery.  

They were seeking His blessings yet all the while wallowing in sin. Their hypocritical worship had nothing to do with a changed heart. Perhaps they had the wrong idea that they could continue to sin blatantly with the intention of coming to God for forgiveness. Of course, God will never turn the truly repentant sinner away but repentance means turning from sin to Him and they merely wanted forgiveness and blessings and yet remain in their squalor. Their hypocritical worship had nothing to do with a changed heart. It is reminiscent of Esau’s plea in Hebrews 12 as well as Saul in His disobedience recorded in 1 Samuel:

16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears. Hebrews 12:16-17 (NIV) 

22 But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.” 1 Samuel 15:22-23 (NIV)

In matters of ethics and morals, there are many things in society that are legal but are not biblical. Brides and grooms would do well to realize that God is an unseen witness at every wedding. He also witnesses those who live together and are not married - to Him all sexual sin is wrong. Also, as far as God is concerned, marriage is sacred. No one but Christ spoke more highly of marriage. The marriage covenant is binding. The wife of a man’s youth is to be his companion throughout life and the friend of his in old age. Scripture states that in God’s eyes the two become one flesh:

22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Genesis 2:22-24 (NIV)

Both participants are to leave the influence of their past and create, together, a new union under the guidance of a holy God. Jesus affirms this in the New Testament:

1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” 4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” 7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” 10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.” Matthew 19:1-10 (NIV) 

Note the disciples reaction to what Jesus just said! They understood that God meant business here. Evidentially, divorce was so rampant for “any and every reason” that they thought it better not to marry! Also, polygamy was not in God’s plan any more than divorce was. His plan was one man, one wife – two people made one and growing together in mutual love and respect as long as they lived.

One Puritan commentator gives a good description of what was happening in Malachi’s day:

“The woman whom you have wronged was the companion of those earlier and brighter days of your life when, in the bloom of her young beauty she left her father’s house and shared in your early struggles and rejoiced in your later success, who walked arm in arm with you along the pilgrimage of your life cheering you in its trials by her gentle ministry. And now when the bloom of her youth has faded and the friends of her youth have gone, when her father and mother whom she left for you are in the grave, then you cruelly cast her off as a worn-out worthless thing and insult her holiest affections by putting an idolater and a heathen in her place.”

Neglecting God’s clear commands by chasing after foreign wives resulted in their offerings being rejected. Apparently, the priests in Malachi’s day had not learned this lesson from Israel’s history. What a high price to pay for selfish gain. That is the insidious nature of sin – before we know it we are caught up in its far-reaching tentacles and it is never worth the price we have to pay. Obedience to God’s commands is always for our best. We are the ultimate losers. Never forget that and guard yourselves against sin – any sin!   

God states that His divine plan of making the husband and wife one was that He was seeking Godly offspring. He had the children of the marriage covenant in view. In a sin-cursed world, monogamous marriage in itself does not guarantee children who love the Lord – “Godly offspring”- but it is a far more conducive environment than a marriage spoiled by polygamy or divorce.  

What a message this is for today’s divorce-prone society! We live in a day and age where divorce is not the last resort, but the first. Broadly speaking, marriage used to be a commitment and divorce was not an option. Now people think separation would be easier for their situation, though more often than not, it only causes more problems. What is most terrible is that the true casualties of divorce are the children. They are the bystanders of separation and yet they are the ones who feel it the most. 

Let me challenge you – before a Christian should ever divorce, they should do everything in their power to make it work. Remember that your marriage agreement is not just with your wife or husband, it is with God. God states that He hates divorce. It is about as clear a statement that God can make. He so abhors it that we should do all we can in our power to heal the marriage. Divorce pulls apart what God has joined together. It is like an act of violence in an area where there ought to be tenderness. 

God also states that He hates a man’s “covering himself with violence as well as with his garment”. In our society, a man puts an engagement ring on a woman’s finger to propose marriage, but in ancient Israel, he placed a corner of his garment over her which symbolized his love and protection. Back then, if a man divorced his wife, instead of having a garment symbolizing love and protection he had a garment that symbolized violence. He wrenched apart that which God said is one; by his infidelity, he made the marriage bed a place of violence. These men put themselves on public display as iniquitous men capable of any kind of violence.      

In marriage, a man and a woman become one flesh, and God is a partner in that union. Through marriage, the Lord is seeking a Godly seed that will carry on His work on earth. Marriage is a physical union (“one flesh”) and can be broken by physical causes:

Death - Romans 7:1-3:

1 Do you not know, brothers--for I am speaking to men who know the law--that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. 3 So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man. Romans 7:1-3 (NIV)

Sexual Sin – Matthew 19:9:

9 “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” Matthew 19:9 (NIV) 

Desertion – 1 Corinthians 7:12-16:

12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? 17 Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 1 Corinthians 7:12-17 (NIV) 

Nevertheless, as stated prior, it was God’s original intent that one man and one woman be devoted to each other in marriage for one lifetime. Divorce for reasons other than those given in Scripture, even though legal, would grieve the heart of God. We mustn’t be people “looking for loopholes” in God’s Word to justify our actions or desires.

In its “Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” the United Nations describes the family as “the natural and fundamental unit of society.” Historians Will and Ariel Durant call the family “the nucleus of civilization.” Strong families begin with strong marriages, a man and a woman who love each other and want to live each for the other and both for the Lord. Anything less than that is less than God’s will. We are to guard ourselves regarding this. The wording actually meaning: “The careful attention paid to the obligations of a covenant, to laws, or to statutes.” It is a means of protection, a practical command for us to monitor the negative, unspiritual information that we receive from unbelievers. Interestingly, a study from the University of Chicago found that couples in the midst of struggle had a significant chance of staying together when married friends encouraged them to remain together contrasting to couples in turmoil who had a higher risk of divorce when their divorced friends expressed bitter anger toward their own ex-husbands or ex-wives. Bad company will corrupt good character as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:33. Let us be the encouragers to help others to finish the race well.

Read: Encouragement On The Run – Greg Laurie (1)

Lastly, in verse 17, we discover the Jews once again complaining, attacking the providence of God by bringing up the worn-out argument of the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous. Malachi’s response indicated that God was sick of hearing the same old slanders served up by immoral people to justify their evil lifestyles. He was wearied by it all. Resisting God’s Truth, they had already argued with him about God’s love (1:2); God’s name (1:6); and God’s teaching about marriage and divorce (2:14) and now they are about to argue about the justice of God (2:17). People who argue with God rarely receive blessings from God. It is when our mouth is stopped and we submit to His will that we can experience the grace of God. Paul tells us in Romans:

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Romans 3:19 (NIV)
   
The hypocritical people had wearied God with their iniquities and had wearied Him with their words. Their words were both cynical and skeptical. Yet these skeptical Jews had conveniently forgotten the terms of the covenant and the conditions laid down by the prophets: If the people obeyed God’s law,  

God would bless them with all they needed. But they were divorcing their wives, marrying pagan women, offering defiled sacrifices, robbing God of tithes and offerings, and complaining about having to serve the Lord! For God to bless people like that would mean He was approving of their sins. These Jews, like us, didn’t need justice, they needed mercy. We are to be very careful about sitting in judgment upon the apparent inaction of God in our contemporary society. God deals with people in His own timing and in His own way. Because God does not always judge immediately, man interprets this to mean that God will not judge him at all. But that is simply not true. I am reminded of Paul’s words in Colossians which we can figuratively take to the bank:

25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism. Colossians 3:25 (NIV)

These are Beth’s personal notes, due to this fact sources are not often stated.