Malachi Sermon - 5

Malachi: A Call to Faithfulness

Malachi 2:10-16

1. Introduction – This morning we come to another difficult passage. We get uncomfortable any time the word divorce is mentioned in church.

a. It’s uncomfortable because its painful, and pretty much of all us here this morning have in some way been affected by it.

i. Children of divorced parents, divorced yourself, maybe friends or family members…

1. Most people, and maybe most preachers, when they come to this passage focus solely on the topic of divorce…

a. But a careful reading, a careful exposition of the text reveals that solely focusing on the break up of marriages doesn’t do justice to the subject matter of the entire passage.

ii. Standing up here and railing against divorce doesn’t serve the pastoral interest of the text.

1. There’s a lot more brokenness in this passage than simply broken marriages.

a. In fact, that is one of our key words this morning – broken.

b. But it’s a very narrow-sighted view of the passage to only focus on divorce.

i. I want us to pull back a little bit – look at other verses besides v.16, and I want us to get a wide-angle view of what this passage in Malachi is all about.

1. So, here’s my premise this morning…

a. A broken vertical relationship leads to broken horizontal relationships.

ii. Or put another way.

1. To put it positively – as God’s people we must love God and love other people – and this passage specifically calls us to love our fellow Christians and our spouse.

c. Two words that are key to our study this morning…

i. Broken – this passage is all about brokenness. It speaks of 3 instances of broken relationships.

1. With brothers, with a spouse and with God.

ii. If broken is the negative side…describing what is wrong,

1. What’s the charge? What’s the command? What can be done?

a. That’s where our second word comes in to play, because we are going to use brokenness as a call to be faithful.

i. We need faithfulness in our relationships – with our fellow Christians, with our spouse, with God.

d. When we take the broad view of this passage – it’s less about the singular subject of divorce, and more about relationships as a whole…both the horizontal relationships we have with each other, and the vertical relationship we have with God.

i. What we’re going to do is look at the brokenness described in the passage and see how we today can be faithful in those relationships.

2. Brothers – Look at v.10. Once again, we see the brilliant rhetorical style of Malachi on display.

a. The logical answer to the questions posed if “of course’ – but in answering these questions, the Israelites accuse themselves of not treating one another fairly.

i. The original hearers would have naturally agreed with the questions.

1. Of course, they have one father. This could be interpreted a couple different ways.

a. It could be referring to Abraham, the Father of the nation.

i. Father Abraham, had many sons…many sons had father Abraham…

ii. But more likely it is referring to Israel’s relationship to God – their heavenly Father.

1. Throughout the history of God’s relationships with his people, there’s always been this sense in which God was a father to his people – that they were God’s sons…and thus, all of God’s people were brothers and sisters.

iii. Or to put it another way, having a relationship with God automatically put you in a relationship with other humans who share the same heavenly father.

1. There’s has always been a sense in which God’s people must nurture both the vertical relationship with God as well as the horizontal relationship with family members.

b. Think about the 10 Commandments. They deal succinctly with both of these relationships.

i. Commandments 1-4 instruct regarding one’s relationship to God…

1. While commandments 5-10 instruct regarding relationships with each other.

c. We abide by this same principle. We believe that through our faith in the saving work of Jesus, we have entered into a relationship with God.

i. We believe that if we come to God through the saving work of Jesus, believe that his shed blood on the cross is sufficient to take away our sins, then we can rightfully come to God and call him Father…we just prayed it!

1. And if individually God is each of our father, then collectively this is also true – which makes us all siblings in the family of God.

a. And the crazy thing is – we are siblings with each and every believer around the world.

d. But look at the passage here – God condemns the people of Malachi’s day as being faithless…some English translations charge them with ‘breaking faith.’

i. Either way you put it, the covenant relationship that was supposed to exist among God’s people was broken.

1. We aren’t told exactly how it was broken, and it’s pointless to speculate.

a. What we need to take away from it is this…its an affront to God any time his covenant community fails in their horizontal relationships.

3. Faithfulness – If the passage is about broken relationships among family members – the challenge is to then to be faithful in those covenant community relationships.

a. So, first, we need to recognize the nature of relationship here.

i. We aren’t simply individuals who happen to gather in the same spot every Sunday, we are a covenant community.

1. We chose to gather around our common salvation in Jesus, we choose to gather around a common set of beliefs, and we choose to enter into a relationship with each other.

b. The issue in Malachi 2:10 is that some were breaking the foundational commands that govern their community.

i. I believe we can take this passage, one that is about brokenness, we can flip it on its head, and we can use to the strengthen our community.

1. We can remind ourselves of the commands which govern our community.

a. We are governed by the 59 ‘one anothers’ of the NT.

i. Love, build up, encourage, bear burdens, confess sins, out do in hospitality.

2. These are what govern our church community, and when we fail to up hold and fulfill these one another commands…we break faith, we break fellowship.

c. We must remain faithful to each other. Guard, protect, nurture and build up this relationship.

i. We do this through our Bible studies, our potlucks, fellowship times, but also in our own time as we invite each other into our homes to build up and encourage each other.

1. This passage is about broken relationships, so the lesson to learn is about being faithful in the horizontal relationships with our Christian brothers and sisters.

4. Broken Marital Relationships – Then we come to the part of the passage where most people focus – the divorce that’s happening in Judah.

a. If we want to understand and properly apply this passage, we need to know the historical context of what is happening in Judah at the time.

i. To put it bluntly – husbands were trading in for a newer model.

1. The phrase ‘wife of your youth’ suggests that these were long established marriages – it suggests that, as per cultural tradition, these man and woman were married at a young age…

a. But now, in the days of Malachi the prophet, these marriages were breaking.

b. But it’s the reason for these divorces that needs to be focused on.

i. Husbands were ending marriages in order to marry foreign women.

1. It has nothing to do with nationality and everything to do with religion.

a. These men were linking themselves with women who worshipped and served other gods.

i. Something the Israelites were commanded NOT to do.

c. God brought men and women together in Israel so they could raise the next generation of God’s people…

i. But if one spouse was worshipping and serving another god – the house would be divided.

1. What was so heinous here was that there was no legitimate reason for divorce, men were marrying women from outside the camp, and they also defiled God’s house through these unions…

a. And through carrying on with religion and ritual as usual even though they allowed a false god into their house.

5. Faithfulness – I don’t want to get into a discussion about marriage and divorce this morning…I don’t think it’s serves the pastoral interest of the passage.

a. Let’s acknowledge, it’s messy, its painful, sometimes it’s necessary – the Bible even states legitimate reasons for it to happen.

i. What’s so outrageous and despicable in this passage is that the divorces were happening for no legitimate reason at all.

1. But instead of focusing on the broken of this passage – I want to use this as a reminder for those of us who are married – to honour the covenant commitment we have made to our spouses.

a. The spouse of our youth, or the spouse of our not-so youth.

b. There’s a phrase that is said at weddings, I say it at weddings I officiate – “We are gather here today in the presence of…who??? God…and this company.”

i. And after the bride and groom exchange vows and just before the big kiss, most pastors quote the words of Jesus… “What God has joined let no one separate.”

1. It’s a remind that marriage is a holy and sacred union; something instituted by God himself.

a. It is entered into for the mutual edification and growth of each partner.

ii. So, while the passage speaks of brokenness, it’s a challenger and reminder for us to be faithful to our covenant marriage relationship.

1. Or if God has called you to a life of singleness, to be faithful to that calling.

c. Being faithful starts with the obvious, not cheat on each other.

i. Don’t be physically unfaithful to your spouse. Don’t be emotionally unfaithful.

1. No matter how long or short you’ve been married – that relationship must be nurtured, guarded and protected – whatever that looks like for you.

ii. If that’s gardening together, then have at it.

1. Regularly getting away – then go away. Talking instead of watching TV – talk away.

a. The relationships you have with your spouse is precious and sacred…witnessed by God himself – guard it at all costs.

6. With God – But what this passage really points to is that Israel has a broken relationship with God.

a. Yes, there were broken societal relations, horizontal relationships were fracturing, but it pointed to a broken relationship with God.

i. It was a lack of love for God that resulted in a lack of love for one’s neighbour.

b. What we saw in previous weeks was an indictment on the priesthood.

i. They failed to administer public worship properly, they failed in teaching God’s laws to God’s people.

1. Last week we saw a serious statement – “You have caused people to stumble…” the priests, instead of leading people away from sin, lead them into it.

c. And here in these verses, we see the mess their society was in because they weren’t adhering to God’s laws.

i. Broken fellowship with brothers, broken marriages…all stemming from the fact that they broke covenant with God.

1. Fellowship among brothers was broken because they priests failed to teach that a responsibility to God carries with it a responsibility towards others.

a. Marriages were torn apart because its sanctity wasn’t upheld.

ii. But what these broken human relationships revealed was that ultimately – God’s people have a broken relationship with God himself.

7. Faithfulness – So if the indictment was brokenness in regards to the vertical relationships with God – then the challenge is for us to be utterly faithful to him.

a. We must make sure we are taking care of the vertical relationship.

i. As we have seen in previous weeks, we have a responsibility to worship God properly.

1. We have a responsibility to bring God our best.

b. As important as our horizontal relationships are – we must make sure we are nurturing and caring for our relationship with God.

i. Commandments 1-4 first deal with God, only then do commandments 5-10 deal with other humans.

1. God is first, our relationship with him is first…then we can properly relate to others.

a. No one and no thing must ever go in front our God.

ii. Make sure we are spending regular and consistent time in God’s Word and talking and listening to God in prayer.

1. Make it a priority to come to God’s house and be with God’s people to worship him.

c. Taking care of the vertical relationship with God will help us in our horizontal relationships.

i. Now, we are still human with a propensity to sin, so this isn’t an absolute.

1. But taking care of the vertical will allow us to be better equipped to handle the horizontal.

8. Our Society – And as we close – I want us to think about our society.

a. I said before that Israel’s society was a mess because they weren’t nurturing a relationship with God.

i. Well, I can’t help but see this today. A broken relationship with God leading to broken relationships in society.

1. So, what do we do about?

b. Well, I want us to remember that this section in Malachi wasn’t written to a group of unchurched, ignorant, godless pagans.

i. It was written to God’s people – wayward, yes, forgetful yes, but God’s people nonetheless.

1. It was calling them back – calling them to repentance.

a. It was stating an example and charging them with a command.

i. There’s another famous passage that speaks specifically to God’s people about healing and restoration.

c. Look at 2 Chronicles 7:14 – who is this written to? If who? MY PEOPLE, the ones who are called by my name….

i. And what should they do in order to have their land restored? In order to have their society restored???

1. Humble themselves, seek God’s face, turn from evil…and pray.

a. This was written to God’s people – not godless pagans. So, for us today, as God’s people – chosen and called – adopted sons of God…

ii. As we look around at our society, what do we do? We pray.

1. We don’t grumble and complain about how bad things are going. We don’t put our hopes in a new government or new spending or new legislation to fix our societal problems.

a. We put our hopes in God.

d. We pray, we strengthen relationships.

i. We strengthen our horizontal relationships – with each other as Christian brothers and sisters.

1. We strengthen our marital relationships, if we have one.

a. We do this so we can be the city on a hill that Jesus speaks of.

i. And we strengthen our vertical relationship with God our heavenly Father.

e. In a world of brokenness, we as God’s peoples, must model faithfulness.