Lesson 12 - Mal. 2:10-17 - SIN IN THE FAMILY
LAST WEEK: In Mal. 1:1-11, we heard from Malachi, the last OT prophet. His prophecies, made in the 435-430 B.C. timeframe, were followed by 400 years of silence. He prophesied at a time when the Temple and the walls around Jerusalem had been rebuilt, and Judah was being ruled as a province within the Persian Empire. Although many Jews had returned to Judah by this time, the people had become very apathetic in their worship of God and obedience to the Mosaic Law, in terms of both their worship practices and the way the were living their lives. To make matters worse, the Temple priests were doing nothing to correct the people's disobedience in keeping the Law. One of the truths we learned was that God chooses to bless certain individuals, like Jacob over Esau, not because they deserved it, but because of God's sovereign control of history. Malachi's first point was that the Jewish remnant in Judah owed their current existence to the fact that YHWH still protected them under the covenant He made with their fathers. Malachi's second point was that YHWH kept His promises and planned to restore them beyond the border of Israel (an end-time reference to Christ when He returns to establish His kingdom on earth). Malachi's third point, aimed at the Temple priests, was that the deplorable quality of the ritual sacrifices they were allowing at the Temple insulted God and showed that they, in effect, "despised" Him. The principle for us is that we must never offer God anything that is "second-best." Malachi's final point was that the people and the priests had made a mockery of His Temple, and they would be better off just to lock the doors. The principle for us is that God only honors believers who worship Him in Spirit and truth-for who He is.
THIS WEEK: In Mal. 2:10-17, we'll hear the prophet address, not only the priests, but the entire nation regarding their responsibilities toward one another as a covenant people. They were blaming their social and economic problems on YHWH's supposed lack of concern for them; but, at the same time they were being unfaithful to one another, especially their Hebrew wives, whom the husbands were "putting away" so they could marry pagan women. In reponse, we'll hear Malachi explain how their attitudes and behavior had profaned the Temple and violated their covenant with a holy God.
Read Malachi 2:10-12- TREACHERY TOWARD HIS BROTHER
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? 11 Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 As for the man who does this, may the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers, or who presents an offering to the LORD of hosts.
v. 10a: "Do we not all have one father? Has not one God created us?" - All Hebrew people-Israel- shared a common bond as brothers and sisters in the family of God, with YHWH as their Father.
v. 10b: "Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?" - Using the term "treacherously" (Heb. bagad [baw-gad'] lit. dishonest and disloyal), generally, Malachi accused the Israelite people of treating one other like enemies, rather than as brothers (Lev. 19:18). By acting this way toward each other, they had caused the covenant God made with their forefathers to be practically worthless, a joke. By this time, many Jews saw the Mosaic covenant as an archaic set of rules that were far too restrictive to be taken seriously. Ironically, we see the same attitude toward the Bible expressed today in virtually all the Western societies, including the U.S. From this general criticism, the prophet follows-up with two specific sins: (1) divorces and (2) marriages to foreign women who worship pagan gods.
APPLICATION 1: People who belong to the family of God should never treat one another as adversaries or enemies. Like the Jews of antiquity, Christians share a special brother-sister relationship with one another that obligates us to demonstrate love to other believers, whether or not they deserve it. We should also show respect to our fellow Christians and be willing to go out of our way to avoid conflicts and make every effort to settle our differences peaceably.
v. 11a: "Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; " - Moving from a general description, the prophet now identifies the specific problem: They were profaning God and His sacred Temple by marrying foreign woman who worshipped other gods. YHWH established Israel to be one nation and established the marriage laws to make certain that His holy line (Jacob) in the nation would be preserved.
v. 11b: "for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god." - By marrying these "foreign woman," Hebrew men were breaking their covenant relationship with God because they had corrupted the holy line of the nation with idol-worshiping pagans, and men who did this were profaning God's "sanctuary," His Temple.
v. 12: "As for the man who does this, may the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers, or who presents an offering to the LORD of hosts." - The verb "cut off" identifies this verse as a curse formula; specifically, that the family line of any Israelite who married one of these idol-worshiping women would cease to exist: his offspring would not be Israelites, and in addition, any offering that he attempted to make to appease the LORD would be rejected, a waste.
APPLICATION 2: Christians who marry non-believers allow themselves to be mismatched. This was true of ancient Jews who married pagan women in Malachi's time and is still true for Christians who marry non-Christians. A Christian who does this is essentially entering into the most intimate of human relationships with a person who does not share his or her love for Jesus Christ as Savior.
Read Mal. 2:13-16 - FOR I HATE DIVORCE
13 "This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 Yet you say, 'For what reason?' Because the LORD 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. 15 But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while he was seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth. 16 For I hate divorce," says the LORD , the God of Israel, "and him who covers his garment with wrong," says the Lord of hosts. "So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously."
v. 13a: "This is another thing you do:" - The prophet now moves to his second specification: divorce. The second sin was a spin-off of the first. When the Hebrew men married the foreign pagan women, they routinely "put away" (dumped) their Hebrew wives by divorce. Marrying an idolatrous women was a bad thing, but dumping a legitimate wife in the process made it twice as bad.
v. 13b: "you cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand." - This paints a sad picture of the Hebrew wives who had been put away. These wives were suffering great sorrow, and when they came to the altar to pray, their prayers were intermingled with the tears they were shedding. So, in effect, when the men brought their sacrifices, God only saw the tears of their wives rather than their offerings. Because these men were hypocrites, God totally rejected their attempts to worship Him.
v. 14a: "Yet you say, 'For what reason?'" - The response of the men who had divorced their Hebrew wives was to challenge the Word of the prophet. They had justified their sin in their own eyes. They thought if they continued to follow the rituals and give generously, surely they would be blessed.
v. 14b: "Because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously," - The prophet replied with a stinging rebuke. He takes them back to the marriage of their youth, a marriage covenant which had been witnessed and sealed by God Himself, an eternal contract. Thus, to dissolve the marriage was to break the covenant with God. Added to that, these men had acted "treacherously." They were traitors not only to the wives they had discarded but were traitors to the covenant they had made with God. Very, very bad.
v. 14c: "though she is your companion and your wife by covenant." - A wife wasn't mere chattel or a slave to be discarded, but a companion (partner) bound together in the eyes of God. The point the prophet makes in this passage is clear: God planned that a man and a women would become one under their covenant with God and each other. They would be partners, sharing everything in life to please God. Their personal blessings depended on preserving their marriage covenant and indeed, the continued well-being of the nation of Israel depended on sanctity of these marriages.
v. 15a "But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while he was seeking a godly offspring?" - Malachi isn't finished. Scholars regard this as the most difficult verse in the Book, so please bear with me. This verse and the next comprise the prophet's final warning to any Israelite who is already in a marriage: The key word here is "one." In the Beginning, God chose "one" wife for "one" man, who would become "one flesh" in order to produce godly offspring. And from the godly offspring, God chose "one" nation-Israel. Thus, God would form a righteous people as a means through which "all the families of the earth will be blessed" (Gen. 12:3).
v. 15b: "Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth." - This could be rephrased to say: YHWH commands all of you Hebrew husbands to take notice of your God-given responsibility to protect and preserve your marriage to "the wife of your youth," and you can't allow anything to damage God's creative purpose in your life.
v. 16a: "For I hate divorce," says the Lord, the God of Israel," - The sense of the verb "hate" in this context (as distinct from sense of choosing Jacob over Esau in Mal 1:1-5 last week) is personal and emotional. God really loathes and is revolted by divorce on a personal level. God hates it when people destroy their marriages for two significant reasons: (1) He knows the pain and sorrow it will cause within the entire family and (2) the long-term negative effect it will have on those families.
v. 16b: "and him who covers his garment with wrong," says the LORD of hosts." - The word used here for "wrong" (Heb. chamas [khaw-mawce']) means social violence and injustice. To paraphrase, Hebrew men who divorce their Hebrew wives are attempting to throw a "garment"-a covering-over the violence (emotional and/or physical) that they are inflicting on the wife of their youth.
v. 16c: "So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously." - As with v. 15b, any men who are contemplating divorcing their Hebrew wives needed to know that God hates it because it makes them traitors within their own families, traitors within to their nation, and traitors to a covenant which God loves. And God promises to cut them off from the house of Jacob (v. 12).
APPLICATION 3: God hates divorce for very good reasons. God hates it when people destroy their marriages for two significant reasons: (a) He knows the pain and sorrow it will cause within the entire family and (b) the long-term effect it will have on those families. Even today, Christians who seek to divorce their lawful Christian spouse are traitors to their spouse, traitors to their family, traitors to their church, and traitors to the Christian denomination they represent. Sadly, the divorce rate in America today-about 50%-is approximately the same for both Christian and non-Christian households.
Read Mal 2:17 - WHERE IS THE GOD OF JUSTICE?
17 You have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet you say, "How have we wearied Him?" In that you say, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD , and He delights in them," or, "Where is the God of justice?"
Note: The problem raised by this verse is that the people have been complaining. Why? It's been a century since they returned to Jerusalem from exile, and life in their homeland has failed to meet their expectations. They have, with great effort, rebuilt the Temple and the walls. The LORD GOD promised to return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem on the Holy Mountain (Zech. 8:3). But they claim to see no evidence of that having taken place. Furthermore, they have seen bad people prosper and good people suffer, and have concluded that the LORD apparently delights on those who do evil. And so they ask, "Where is the God of justice?" The verse forms a preface to three themes that Malachi will introduce in Chapter 3: (1) the need for Messianic intervention; (2) the need for a day of judgment; and (3) the need for social justice-altogether, the need for a New Covenant.
v. 17: For starters, the mere the fact that Malachi even acknowledged the complaints the people were voicing demonstrated further proof that they were acting faithlessly and needed to repent. Malachi informs his audience that they had "wearied" God with their words; He was tired of hearing them. God was speaking of His character, not from physical weariness. The first complaint is that people doing evil seem to be prospering. This complaint is flawed in several respects: First, bad people can benefit from the blessings of culture they live in; second, the complainers make the mistake of comparing people to people, rather than comparing people to God. By His standards, everyone is evil (Isa. 53:6; Rom. 3:10). The other flaw in this perspective, to which a specific answer given in Chapter 3, is that God will ultimately judge all sin, with no exceptions (Rev. 20:11-15). Thus, the wicked really aren't "getting away" with anything.
The second complaint of v. 17 goes as far as actually accusing God of moral failure; namely, if God really is "just," the argument goes, He would be doing more to combat evil in the world. This makes the assumption that God has done nothing, or that He is not acting to combat evil now. Both premises are absolutely false. God promises to and will ultimately judge all sin (Rev. 20:11-15). Worse, this is a dangerous suggestion to make. Asking God to be more proactive about sin puts us in the crosshairs as well. Those who ask God to be tougher on sin should be careful what they wish for.
