Malachi 2:1-9
II. (1-9) The decree against the priests.... [ Continue Reading ]
II. (1-9) The decree against the priests.... [ Continue Reading ]
COMMANDMENT. — Better, _decree._ (Comp. the use of the verb from which this substantive is derived in Nahum 1:14; Psalms 7:6; Psalms 42:8.)... [ Continue Reading ]
HEAR... LAY TO HEART — viz., the warning of Malachi 1:6. YOUR BLESSINGS. — Some take this as meaning the priests’ tithes, atonement money, and their portions of the sacrifices, in accordance with a common usage of the word in the sense of “gift” — _e.g.,_ Genesis 33:11. Others refer the words to th... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL CORRUPT YOUR SEED. — Better, _I will destroy for you the seed_ — viz., of the crops. It must be remembered that because the people neglected to pay the tithes, the Levites were obliged to go and till the fields (Nehemiah 13:10). The LXX. for “seed” reads “corn.” DUNG OF YOUR SOLEMN FEASTS. —... [ Continue Reading ]
COMMANDMENT. — Or rather, _decree,_ as in Malachi 2:1. THAT MY COVENANT MIGHT BE. — Better, _to be my covenant_ — _i.e.,_ so that this new decree, which I have been compelled to make against the house of Levi, may be my covenant with him instead of the old one, of which the prophet goes on to speak... [ Continue Reading ]
OF LIFE AND PEACE. — Better, _life and peace_ — _i.e._, by it life and peace were guaranteed to him. LIFE in its highest sense. PEACE as the sum total of blessing: the “fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, _peace._” (Galatians 5:22; comp. Note on Zechariah 6:13.) THEM — viz., life and peace. FOR THE... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LAW OF TRUTH — _i.e._, right instruction in the Law, and judgment in accordance with the Law, the reverse of which is “iniquity,” or rather, _perversion._ WALKED WITH ME — _i.e.,_ had their conversation in heaven. (Philippians 3:20; comp. Zechariah 3:7; and Genesis 5:24, of Enoch.) IN PEACE. —... [ Continue Reading ]
Comp. Deuteronomy 33:10. KEEP. — Not as in a repository, but rather, _observe_ (Zechariah 3:7) — _i.e.,_ speak in accordance with the _knowledge_ of God, as revealed in the Law. MESSENGER. — Literally, _angel._ (See Note on Malachi 3:1.)... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT YE. — Priests of the present day have done in every respect the reverse. CAUSED MANY TO STUMBLE AT THE LAW. — Or rather, _in the Law_; and ye have given them false instruction in the Law, and allowed those things which were forbidden, and so _ye have corrupted the covenant of the_ (tribe of) _L... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE. — I am no longer bound by the covenant I made with the tribe of Levi, and, instead of “life and peace,” I give you contempt, &c. IN THE LAW — _i.e.,_ in the administration of justice. The authority of the priests, Levites, and of the judges of the day, in all matters ceremonial and civil... [ Continue Reading ]
ONE FATHER — _i.e.,_ not Adam, Abraham, or Jacob (as various commentators have held), but God Himself (Malachi 1:6; Deuteronomy 32:6; Deuteronomy 32:18), who is the spiritual Father of the nation, and in whom they are all brothers and sisters; so that when an Israelite married a heathen woman, or di... [ Continue Reading ]
(10-17) The prophet now rebukes the two great sins of the nation at this time: (1) marriage with idolatresses; (2) divorce of the first (Israelitish) wife. He introduces this rebuke by a general statement, similar to that of Malachi 1:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
For the same collocation of “Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem,” comp. Zechariah 1:19. THE HOLINESS OF THE LORD. — That is, their own “holy nation” (Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 14:2; comp. Jeremiah 2:3). DAUGHTER OF A STRANGE GOD — _i.e._, one who worships a strange god, and such they were forbidden to... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MAN. — Better, _to the man._ THE MASTER AND THE SCHOLAR. — This is the Talmudic interpretation of the Hebrew expression, which occurs only in this passage, but it is unsuitable (besides being philologically precarious), for the passage refers to the whole nation rather than to those who were the... [ Continue Reading ]
The prophet now rebukes the people for their frivolous divorces of their first wives, which was a natural result of their marriage with heathen women. AND THIS... AGAIN. — Or perhaps, _And this a second thing ye do_ — viz., infidelity to the wife of their youth (Malachi 2:14). But the rendering of... [ Continue Reading ]
Again with supercilious surprise they ask, “Wherefore?” WITNESS. — Comp. Genesis 31:49 : “The LORD _watch between me and thee,_ when we are absent one from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, _God is witness_ be... [ Continue Reading ]
These are two very difficult verses, which should perhaps, be rendered as follows: — _For did He not make_ [man and his wife, Genesis 2:24] _one? and has he_ [the husband] _any superiority of spirit_ [that he should divorce at will]? _And what is this_ [pair which is become] _one?_ [Answer.] _It se... [ Continue Reading ]
_For_ [I] _hate divorce_ [of the first wife], _saith the God of Israel, and he_ [the divorcer of his first wife] _covers his garment with injury, saith the LORD of Hosts; therefore take ye heed to your spirit, and do not be faithless._ According to our interpretation, the whole of these two verses m... [ Continue Reading ]
REBUKE OF INFIDELITY. THE ADVENT OF THE LORD FORETOLD (MALACHI 2:17 TO MALACHI 3:18). (17) A new section of the prophecy begins with this verse. The prophet now directs his reproofs against the people for their discontent and their want of faith in the promises of God, because the expected manifest... [ Continue Reading ]