Faithfulness in Covenant Relationships

Malachi 2:10-16

Summary: In this passage, the prophet Malachi confronts the people of Judah for violating the covenant they made with God, specifically by being unfaithful in their marriages and relationships. Malachi emphasizes the seriousness of covenant fidelity and the consequences of breaking such a sacred bond.

Big Idea: Faithfulness in our relationships mirrors God’s covenant loyalty, revealing both the importance of our commitments and the possibility of restoration through Christ.

Recommended Study: As you prepare this sermon, consider utilizing Logos to explore the historical context of Malachi's message, particularly how marital fidelity was connected to covenant faithfulness in ancient Israel. Look into commentaries that discuss the socio-cultural implications of Malachi’s indictment. You might also want to examine the Hebrew text for specific nuances in terms like 'covenant' and 'faithfulness' that could deepen your understanding of the intended message.

1. Covenant of Common Unity

Malachi 2:10-12

v. 10 - In this context, God is the Father because He formed the people into the nation at Sinai. He set His people apart to Himself, yet they have over and over again forgotten that. They went after those things that were not gods, neglecting the relationship with their redeemer, their provider, and protector.

Malachi asks why, when we are family in the LORD, do we continue to deal treacherously with each other? This should not be! Their treachery has resulted in the profaning of the covenant they made with the LORD and with each other as a nation.

v. 11 - Malachi speaks of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem here to the emphasize the region where the people of the nation lived, as a whole, who are guilty of profaning the covenant, Not just one region, city, or person, which suggests that this was a wider problem in the life of the nation at this time.

Judah has profaned the “the sanctuary”; the word used is a noun which could be translated “the holiness (of the LORD).” It is a word used of the sanctuary (they did ruin worship there), the covenant of marriage, or the nature of the LORD Himself. It may be that Malachi had all three in mind, but emphasizes in the context the sanctuary and the marriage covenant, which the LORD loves.

The word “profane” is the antonym of “holy.” Holy is everything profane is not; emphasis here is that the people’s practice and God’s design are poles apart. The verb “profaned” covers all the related sins, in contrast to God’s design.

How did Judah “profane” holiness? Many married (and are presently still married) the daughter of a foreign god (who is not your Father)!

There is here implied comparisons between family relationships and spiritual alliances. These women were active devotees of another god and religion.

Why would the nation do this? One commentator suggests that this might include marrying Samaritans in order to reclaim lands that were abandoned.

It was not illegal to marry a foreign woman if she became a part of Israel’s faith (like Ruth). But if her loyalties remained to her own gods (like Jezebel), them the Law prohibited this because there would be serious complications for the faith. Note too that even if the marriage was permissible, it would likely be viewed with suspicion by people.

V. 12 - This word from Malachi, as the LORD’s messenger, is probably stronger than a wish or a prayer. It is close to an oracle, as in the blessing given by Isaac to Jacob. The oracle would certainly come to pass eventually, but Malachi is simply asking God to do soon what he knows will be done. This is comparable to the statement, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus” in the New Testament.

Like their forefather Jacob when he was younger, this generation does not deserve blessing, but needs divine grace.

“”everyone who awakes and answers” points to the entire population being under God’s scrutiny. Then there are those who are hypothetical worshippers, who bring an offering to the LORD of Hosts. This offering is a peace offering, a thanks offering, or a dedication offering that accompanied the animal sacrifice. But if they violated the Law, no ritual would be acceptable to God. They had openly sinned, dealt treacherously, committed an abomination, yet they bring a thanksgiving offering or a dedication offering. They forget that any and every act of thanksgiving or dedication to the LORD is nullified by their sin. They will receive no peace from the LORD of hosts.

The passage challenges us to recognize that betraying commitments, whether spiritual or relational, tears apart the unity God intended. This is a call for the church to uphold its promise to God and one another, aligning with Christ's faithfulness. How are we doing in maintaining unity and faithfulness to God and each other?

2. Commitment Over Ceremony

Malachi 2:13-14

v. 13 - Malachi warns the people that ritualistic devotion is of no interest to God, because it lacks true heart commitment. They cover the altar with tears, weeping, and groaning (a figure of speech).

It is the men who are charged with covering the altar with such things. Yet it is unlikely that these are tears of remorse, but refers to the pain caused to the wives of their youth. Any weeping done by the men is hypocritical at best They were not tears of repentance nor the groanings of remorse. They wonder why God does not respond to them through prayers that they offer, yet what they have done (and continue in) renders any offering they bring unacceptable and makes their prayers of no effect. God was no longer responding to their attempts to worship. In fact, He strongly rejects it.

vs. 14 - Their belligerent question reveals their heart. They did not know why God was no longer accepting their offerings, so Malachi will spell it out to them.

The LORD has witnessed and continues to witness between you and the wife of your youth. This expression will be part of the point that marriage was a covenant because they took an oath; and God witnessed it, and in so doing he gave His approval of the marriage. Its dissolution would break the covenant that God witnessed. Therein is the treachery.

Their heartless sin was the cause of God regarding their offering to receive it with pleasure from their hands. They brought their offering, but all God could see was the pain they caused by their treachery against the wives of their youth.

God is not interested in ritualistic devotion that lacks true heart commitment. He seeks authentic worship, rooted in sincerity. He knows both hypocrisy and genuine devotion.

3. Christlike Covenant Care

Malachi 2:15-16

V. 15 - There would be no individual Israelite, who benefitted from even a small amount of the Holy Spirit’s influence, would break such a covenant as the marriage covenant, just as God Himself would not break His covenant with Israel, nor Christ His new covenant with the church.

God Himself provided woman to man and made the pronouncement, Gen 2:24

Genesis 2:24 NASB95

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

Marriage is a picture of faithful love. God made that man and that woman in the way that they would produce godly children. A holy marriage within the covenant could do that, not a marriage to a pagan. Jesus implied that in His words: “What God has joined together ...”

The person who wanted godly offspring should not violate his or her marriage covenant. The welfare of the children is still a common and legitimate reason for keeping a marriage intact. The first divine command given to Adam and Eve [and later repeated to Noah; Gen 9:7] was “to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it ...” (Gen 1:28). God intended that a man’s purpose in departing from his father and mother and in joining himself to a wife by covenant, thus becoming one with her in flesh (Gen. 2:24) should be fruitfulness. By that means were God’s people to spread His rule throughout the whole earth, producing and discipling children who would manifest the divine glory in their obedient lives and continue the process

King Ahab married Jezebel, a zealot of Baal worship. She proceeded to kill the true prophets, replacing them with her own in an effort to change the state religion. Another example is Athaliah who married the king of Judah and tried to exterminate the Davidic line. The marriage was made worse in these cases because the women (though at times it would be the men) were devoted to their false gods.

“Take heed” has the force of a command or an action that continues. It is the man who is the responsible party in the text, because in Israel only husbands could conveniently divorce their wives, as the context implies. Wives divorcing their husbands was less common in Jewish patriarchal society.

v. 16 - Israelites were not to break their marriage covenants. The one who divorces his mate to marry an unbeliever brings disgrace upon himself. It constitutes covenant unfaithfulness by breaking a covenant that God Himself witnessed. To break a covenant (a formal promise) is to do something that God Himself does not do.

To divorce in order to marry an unbeliever constitutes covering oneself with violence, a word play on a Hebrew euphemism for marriage, namely: covering oneself with a garment. For these Jews, divorce in this case was similar to wearing soiled garments; it was a disgrace. The Nelson Study Bible makes this observation in its annotation on verse 16:

“To the Lord, attitudes of indifference to marriage vows and duties are the actions of a traitor,”

The passage here should not be understood as an absolute condemnation of divorce under any circumstances; it deals with a specific situation in the lives of the Jews post-exile where the first wife has done nothing that would precipitate this action on behalf of her husband, but he divorces to take for his own “the daughter of a foreign god!”

Divorce reflects relational breakdown and covenant unfaithfulness to the marriage. In light of Christ’s unwavering love, restoration is possible through Him. He invites us to mirror such steadfastness in our relationships with our spouses, family, and others, seeking reconciliation wherever possible. As the church does this, we will embody the faithful love that Christ shows to His Church.