Malachi 2:10-16

GOD DESPISES INFIDELITY. Malachi 2:10-16

RV. Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers? Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of Jehovah which he loveth, and hath married the daughter of a foreign god. Jehovah will cut off, to the man that doeth this, him that waketh and him that answereth, out of the tents of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto Jehovah of hosts. And this again ye do: ye cover the altar of Jehovah with tears, with weeping, and with sighing, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more neither receiveth it with good will at your hand. Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because Jehovah hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously, though she is thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. And did he not make one, although he had the residue of the Spirit? And wherefore one? He sought a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For I hate putting away, saith Jehovah the God of Israel, and him that covereth his garment with violence, saith Jehovah of hosts; therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

LXX. Have ye not all one father? Did not one God create you? why have ye forsaken every man his brother, to profane the covenant of your fathers? Juda has been forsaken, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Juda has profaned the holy things of the Lord, which he delighted in, and has gone after other gods, The Lord will utterly destroy the man that does these things, until he be even cast down from out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and from among them that offer sacrifice to the Lord Almighty. And these things which I hated, ye did: ye covered with tears the altar of the Lord, and with weeping and groaning because of troubles: is it meet for me to have respect to your sacrifice, or to receive anything from your hands as welcome? Yet ye said, Wherefore? Because the Lord has borne witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, whom thou hast forsaken, and yet she was thy partner, and the wife of thy covenant. And did he not do well? and there was the residue of his spirit. But ye said, What does God seek but a seed? But take ye heed to your spirit, and forsake not the wife of thy youth. But if thou shouldest hate thy wife and put her away, saith the Lord God of Israel, then ungodliness shall cover thy thoughts, saith the Lord Almighty: therefore take ye heed to your spirit, and forsake them not.

COMMENTS

(Malachi 2:10-12) The special covenant which made priests of the tribe of Levi was not unrelated to the everlasting covenant which is the prophet's primary concern. The common father here (Malachi 2:10) is not God as some have said, but Jacob. The Levites as well as the people were the children of Israel (i.e. Jacob)

Of all the nations on earth, they alone worshipped but one God In any other nation the people professed varied loyalties to various household deities.
Because all Israel, priests and people alike, stood under one covenant before one God, unfaithfulness to one another constituted unfaithfulness to the covenant. And such abominable practices were present, the prophet assures his readers, in all Judah and even in the holy city in the shadow of the temple. The holy relationship of the covenant was being violated in loving and marrying pagan women.

(Malachi 2:12) The words of verse twelve are not idle threat. The practice of inter-marriage with foreign women had brought Baal worship among the people and it was this which brought about the destruction of the northern tribes as well as the captivity of the southern tribes. If it again gained ascendance among the returned remnant, God's covenant purpose would indeed be in jeopardy.

To avoid this, God here threatens to cut off to the man, i.e. on an individual basis, all who indulge in such practice. Out of the tents of Jacob signifies separation from the people of the covenant.

(Malachi 2:13 -a) This sin had once, since the return, been checked by Ezra (Ezra 9:10). Malachi here addresses a relapse. This again ye do.

(Malachi 2:13(b) - Malachi 2:14) The covering of the altar with tears is symbolic of the weeping of wives who were being deserted for foreign women. These were Israelite women who were of the covenant people. Their abuse covered the altar i.e. the covenant with tears.

It was customary for such marriages, i.e. the wife of thy youth, to be contracted when the parties were very young. Many were only thirteen or fourteen and their wives even younger. (cf. Proverbs 5:8, Isaiah 54:6) The couple was bound not only by the covenant of marriage, but by the even deeper relationship they shared as children of God's covenant. Those who, at later age, abandoned the wives of their youth to marry foreign women were not only breaking their own marriage vows, they were violating God's everlasting covenant with Israel.

(Malachi 2:15) Did He not make one. Malachi's argument here in reference to this abandonment is similar to that of Jesus concerning divorce. (cp. Matthew 19:3 -ff) God, in the beginning, made one male and one female, although He had unlimited spiritual resources and could have made more of either. These two, male and female, are called one man (humankind). (cf. Genesis 1:27) Malachi, as Jesus, understands this to indicate God's intent that there be one wife for each man.

The prophet says the reason God established this unity is that He sought a godly seed. The modern concern of the sociologist for the effect of broken marriages upon the children (seed) of those marriages is well-founded. Eternity alone will reveal the number of children who have turned from God because their fathers abandoned their mothers to marry pagan women!
Every Christian father stands in covenant relationship to God, as did those in Israel who were addressed by Malachi. Such a father always jeopardizes his children's relationship to God when he leaves the wife of his youth for another woman.
Therefore, says Malachi, take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.

(Malachi 2:16) I hate putting away. Whatever doubt may linger concerning God's attitude toward divorce is certainly dispelled by this verse, The statement of His hatred of the practice is accompanied by His name Jehovah as God of the covenant people. It could not be more emphatic.

Him that covereth his garments with violence. A better translation would be Him that covereth his violence with a garment. One commentator has suggested their violence is the putting away of their wives; the garment with which they try to cover it is the plea of Moses permission.

The terminology of Genesis 20:16, Deuteronomy 22:30, Ruth 3:9, and Ezekiel 16:8 in which husbands and wives are each described as a covering for the eyes of the other would tend to indicate that the garment here is the wife and the violence with which the garment is covered is the divorce. The thought in these passages is that one's love for and marriage to one's wife should cover his eyes against the attraction of other women.

Whatever the meaning of this idiomatic expression, it is obvious that Malachi is denouncing, in God's name, the practice of leaving a wife who is of the faith for another who is not of the faith, and denouncing divorce in general.

Chapter XLIVQuestions

Denunciation of Unfaithfulness

1.

The prophet ______________ is considered by Jewish tradition as the seal of prophecy.

2.

The traditional Christian view is that Malachi is the bridge between the

_____________ and the _______________.

3.

Malachi probably wrote about _______________.B.C.

4.

Malachi means _______________.

5.

Malachi's prophecy coincides with the _______________ period of Daniel's seventy weeks.

6.

Malachi's central concern is _______________.

7.

Discuss the corruption of the priesthood as addressed by Malachi and show its effect upon the people.

8.

Why does Malachi immediately precede the New Testament in our English versions of the Bible?

9.

Outline the book of Malachi.

10.

The next word from Jehovah to His people after Malachi would be spoken by_______________.