Faithfulness In Relationships God's Call to Covenant Loyalty

Introduction

In chapter one we covered God affirming His love for Israel but the people questioning as to how He has shown that Love. The Lord responds by contrasting the treatment of Jacob and Esau choosing Jacob to bless and leaving Esau (Edom) desolate. God has sovereignly chosen Israel and God remainds them of His faithfulness and His greatness even beyond Israel

We saw God confront the priests and people for their disrespect for Him as Father and Master, and criticized them for offering defiled sacrifices such as blind, lame, sick, and even stolen animals that that ever would have been acceptable to human governors. God expresses His displeasure and states that He would rather no sacrifices at all and just shut down the temple than to receive such dishonorable offeri

God declares the universality of proper worship that will one day take place as His Name will be great among the nations. This underscores the fact that God is worthy of sincere worship and His plans for global reverence.

God rebukes the priest for treating His name with contempt viewing their duties as burdensome which is the reason for their careless and thoughtless offerings. In bringing substandard offerings they demonstrate their lack of reverence. God pronounces a curse on people who cheat by promising a good offering but giving a blemished one instead. The passage end with a declaration of God’s greatness as thg of all and His worthiness of respect and honor.

In chapter two, the first 10 verses God continues to rebuke the priests for their failure to honor God and fulfill their duties properly. He warns the priests to listen and set it in their hearts to honor Him. If they do not, He will send curses upon them and even turning blessings into curses as a result of their disobedience. This has gotten so bad listen to what God says in vs 3

Malachi 2:3 (NIV)

3 “Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will smear on your faces the dung from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.

Since they have made His table unclean, He will make them unclean. MacArthur comments that this very graphic language shows how God viewed unfaithful priests as worthy of the most unthinkable disgrace.

Then in vs 4-6 God reminds the priests of His covenant with Levi from who proceed the entire levitical priesthood which was supposed to be a covenant of life, and peace and reverence because Levi served God faithfully.

But these priests are condemned for straying away from the covenant and worse yet, causing others to stumble by their poor teaching and corrupt behavior. Instead of guarding the knowledge of God and serving as His messengers, they have failed their role.

James 3:1 (LSB)

1 Do not, many of you, become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment.

As a result of their unfaithfulness and partiality in applying the law. God declares that they will be despised and humiliated before all people. And so we pick up our study on vs 10 to the end of the chapter. Here Malachi calls out the unfaithfulness of Israel towards God and one another, highlighting the importance of integrity in relationships, especially in marriage.

Your faithfulness to God is not divorced from your faithfulness to one another. This is why Jesus said,

Matthew 22:37–40 (LSB)

37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.

39 “And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

40 “On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”

1 John 4:20 (LSB)

20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

But like I said especially as it relates to marriage which is why Peter says,

1 Peter 3:7 (LSB)

7 You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

Go back to Malchi

Malachi 2:10 (LSB)

10 “Do we not all have one father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?

Notice that the style of Malachi changes here. The indictment is pronounced in the voice of Malachi who includes himself as part of the problem, as part of the people.

The betrayal of one another was a betrayal against God. This is because all of them where the creation of one God, one Father. And here is part of the problem which Malachi called a betrayal:

Malachi 2:11–12 (LSB)

11 “Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of Yahweh which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god.

12 “As for the man who does this, may Yahweh cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers or who presents an offering to Yahweh of hosts.

What was stated in the form of a question is now explained. The unfaithfulness that Malachi is referring to is called a detestable thing lit “an abomination”, something abhorrent to God. This abominable unfaithfulness is the profaning of that which is holy. Remember what holy means?

One commentator points out that the worshiper of an idol was considered to be its child. So unless they became true proselytes to Judaism, pagan women would lead their Hebrew husbands into idolatry and in so doing contaminated Israelite worship. This is the reason why such marriages were forbidden.

Deuteronomy 18:9–13 (LSB)

9 “When you enter the land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the abominations of those nations.

10 “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices soothsaying or one who interprets omens or a sorcerer,

11 or one who is an enchanter or a medium or a spiritist or one who inquires of the dead.

12 “For whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh; and because of these abominations Yahweh your God will dispossess them from before you.

13 “You shall be blameless before Yahweh your God.

When you marry, you take on characteristics of the person you marry. This is unavoidable.

2 Corinthians 6:14–15 (LSB)

14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

1 Corinthians 7:39 (LSB)

39 A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband has fallen asleep, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.

The people that were committing these idolatrous atrocities where the people of God (covenant). And they committed then in the land of promise, they where desecrating the place where God met them.

God makes clear that marriage is a holy and binding covenant that reflects his nature and glory, not a temporal arrangement for personal convenience. You cannot unite yourself with just anyone.

This is so big an infraction that in vs. 12 Malachi prays for the excommunication of such individuals from the assembly of God’s people. And when they bring offerings to God, it emphasizes the hypocrisy of those who where committing the sin of intermarrying.

To attempt to come to the assembly to worship God while at the same time holding on to what you know to be sin with absolutely no intentions of repentance, not even a hint of remorse, no attempt at abandoning your sin is an abominable.

Coming to worship God with everything from same gender sexual encounters, to fornication, to adulteries which you have no intentions of forsaking puts you in a really bad position with God.

Malachi 2:13–14 (LSB)

13 “And this is a second thing you do: you cover the altar of Yahweh with tears, with weeping, and with groaning because He no longer regards the offering or receives it as acceptable from your hand.

14 “But you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because Yahweh has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

This double disloyalty of going after idols and violating their marriage vows a hypocritical mockery.

The next verse is admittedly hard to translate.

Malachi 2:15 (LSB)

15 “But not one has done so, even one who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while he was seeking a godly seed? Be careful then to keep your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth.

One commentator said,

The Bible Knowledge Commentary (2:15)

This is the most difficult verse in Malachi to translate. The first phrase could be either, “Did not One make them?” or “Did not He [the LORD] make one?” The first rendering emphasizes the creative and sovereign work of the one God (v. 10). The second has several possibilities. It may refer to one wife, one child of Abraham (Isaac), one flesh (man and woman made one in marriage), or one covenant nation.

The second sentence in verse 15 is even more difficult. Literally it reads, “And a remnant of the Spirit [or spirit] to him.”

Because the first part of the verse alludes to Genesis 2:24 which speaks of man and woman becoming one in marriage. I favor the NIV translation of this passage, it is much more coherent.

Malachi 2:15 (NIV)

15 Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.

Marriage is a covenant that is instituted by God as a picture of his promise to love, protect, and provide for his people—his bride. However, in the time of Malachi, God’s people were casually entering into marriages that did not honor or reflect the purity God intended. In addition, many were abandoning their marriages in pursuit of personal gain or convenience (v. 14). Malachi sharply points out their faithlessness to their spouse, which was ultimately a reflection of their faithlessness to God.

One way we show our love for God is by faithfully loving our spouse in the same way that God loves his people. Biblical marriage is not merely a contract between two people, but a covenant between a husband, a wife, and God.

God is calling his people to return to him by returning to “the wife of [their] youth” (v. 14). Their bride is a gift from God to enjoy and love as a reminder of the unending fidelity and mercy that God shows toward them. Those who claim to be followers of Jesus should take seriously their calling together with the whole church to live married to the glory of God. The way you love your spouse is one of the greatest testimonies to your love for God.

Ephesians 5:28–32 (LSB)

28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;

29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,

30 because we are members of His body.

31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

32 This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

The Church must take seriously the covenant of marriage in a way that brings glory to God and joy to every husband and wife. God’s warns his people to be “on guard” regarding their faithfulness in marriage

Malachi 2:16 (LSB)

16 “For I hate divorce,” says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says Yahweh of hosts. “Be careful then to keep your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

People who claim to be Christians have no problems marrying and divorcing and since this is no longer in the hands of the church, the state has made it easy. If you just don’t like each other, well get a divorce.

Matthew 19:8–9 (LSB)

8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.

9 “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

It is not good, it is evil in the sight of the Lord. Yet people say it is ok to get a divorce. People have all sorts of opinions concerning this. Christians have all sorts of opinions and justifications that they do not even try to substantiate biblically because the Bible does not allow you a justified reason beyond the fidelity betrayal. Yet in our midst there are even divorce parties and celebrations.

Malachi 2:17 (LSB)

17 You have wearied Yahweh with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of Yahweh, and He delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”

This oracle has a striking contrast between its first and last verses. Though the people had changed in their views on God’s justice (2:17) God Himself had not changed (3:6). Because He does not change, neither do His covenant promises. Therefore Israel’s faith and hope should have been stabilized. However, she was acting and talking as if she had no God to believe in or hope for. Therefore, ironically, the God whose word to people of faith is that He does not change or grow weary (cf. Isa. 40:28) is now said to be wearied with this people’s faithless and hopeless words (cf. Isa. 43:24

The Jews in Malachi’s day had failed to learn such hope from the Scriptures. They questioned God’s justice by saying that He delights in evil people and by asking, Where is the God of justice? Yet they were the guilty ones; they were the ones who were unfaithful to Him. And twisting what is good from what is evil.

Isaiah 5:20 (LSB)

20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

God’s warns his people to be “on guard” regarding their faithfulness in marriage (v. 16). Marriage isn’t magic. Nobody accidentally remains faithful to their spouse. It requires the daily vigilance of both parties to make their marriage a pure reflection of the great reality of God’s faithful provision for his people.

In your home, there might be tension or conflict, such as arguments over finances or parenting styles that test your marriage covenant. To address this, set aside time each week for a 'check-in' where you can openly discuss frustrations and gratitude. Use this time to pray together, seeking God’s guidance and wisdom. This practice reinforces your commitment to each other and serves as a testament to your faith in God’s ability to restore peace in your marriage.