The Covenant Broken - Malachi 2:10-16
INTRODUCTION:
This morning we come to the third oracle given in the book of Malachi. The first oracle was that the LORD loved Israel and this statement was shown to be true in that the LORD had sovereignly and freely chosen Israel to be His covenant people and to enjoy the covenant blessings, and in contrast to Esau God promised that Israel would be restored to their land, while Edom would never be restored to theirs.
The second oracle was a charge against the priests who were profaning the name of the LORD, this they were doing by bringing unacceptable sacrifices to the altar, by forgetting that the covenant of Levi was a covenant of fear and that all they did was to bring glory to God, and finally they had profaned God’s name by not faithfully and accurately teaching God’s Word, showing partiality in their judging of the people. The LORD pronounced judgment on the priests and warned them if they did not repent and begin to give Him glory that He would remove them from their office in humility, they would be despised and abased by the people.
This morning we come to the third oracle, which is a charge against the people. It is different from the former oracles where a statement of truth is made, the people question the statement and then it is proven. In this oracle a charge is brought against the people by Malachi, he asks three questions to bring the people’s focus back on the LORD and the covenant that they have with Him. Let’s pray and get into our passage of Scripture for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Malachi 2:10-16. As we read through this passage you will quickly see in what way the people of Israel have been unfaithful, how they have broken the covenant. Please stand if you are able in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Malachi 2:10-16,
“’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? 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. 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. 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.’ “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. 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.’ ‘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.’” (Malachi 2:10–16, NASB95)[1]
THE CHARGE OF UNFAITHFULNESS (Malachi 2:10)
Malachi opens this new oracle by again directing our attention to God as the father of Israel. With the priests it was that as our Father God should be honored. Here Malachi asks the question, “Do we not all have one father?” (Malachi 2:10a, NASB95)[2] This question remember was directed to the Israelites who were living in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, it was a reminder to them that they were a unique nation in that they were the sons and daughters of God. A few weeks ago, we looked at some verses were the LORD is called the Father of Israel and Israel is called the sons of the LORD in Exodus and Isaiah. This father and son relationship between the LORD and Israel is seen throughout the Old Testament. The people of Israel did not have to answer this question because they knew that God was their Father.
Malachi goes on and says, “Has not one God created us?” (Malachi 2:10b, NASB95)[3] The prophet in this question is not referring to the original creation of the heavens and the earth, but the creation of Israel as God’s own people, a holy nation, a nation set apart from the other nations of the world. The LORD had created them to be His covenant people, but they had broken the covenant.
Malachi’s third rhetorical question is, “Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?” (Malachi 2:10c, NASB95)[4] Malachi includes himself with the nation to whom he is ministering. This phrase translated “deal treacherously” is a phrase that means “to be unfaithful.” Malachi is saying, “Why are we being unfaithful to each other.” As yet he has not even named the sin which was causing them to be unfaithful, unfaithful to the point of profaning the covenant of their fathers, the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We know, because we have read the passage, that the sin which Malachi is referring to is intermarriage with the pagan nations around them. This was forbidden in the covenant that God had made with Israel when He brought them up out of the land of Egypt. In Deuteronomy 7:1-4 Moses wrote, “When the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, and when the Lord your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you.” (Deuteronomy 7:1–4, NASB95)[5] The people of Israel were to be a holy nation, set apart from the other nations, they were to keep their bloodline pure and they were not to intermarry with the other nations because they would be pulled away from the LORD and pulled into the idolatry of the other nations. The intermarriage with foreigners was a major problem in the post-exilic community. This was not the first time it had been addressed, just before Malachi, the priest/scribe Ezra had dealt with it (Ezra 10) and upon Nehemiah’s return from Persia he deals with it as well. This practice of intermarriage was a threat to the distinctive faith which was the basis of God’s covenant with Israel, but it was also a threat to their national existence as a distinct, holy people. It is because of this that they were being unfaithful to one another and unfaithful to God.
UNLAWFUL MARRIAGE (Malachi 2:11-12)
What had been stated in verse 10 in the form of a question is now brought as a formal charge against Israel. Malachi chooses to use Judah here to refer to the exiles. Possibly to bring attention to the royal tribe. Judah, Malachi writes has been unfaithful, they have done what was considered detestable, called an abomination, this refers to something that is abhorrent to God, and it has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, in other words, it is not in just one little pocket of people, but it is widespread across the region. My version says that Judah has profaned the “sanctuary of the LORD.” This word translated “sanctuary” is a word that is not always used in Hebrew to refer to the temple, there is another word that is more often used, this word is a word that means holiness and can refer to an object, or a person or persons, or to the holiness of God. I believe that in this place it refers to the nation of Israel, not to the temple. Since this oracle is concerned with the uniqueness of Israel, a nation separated from the other nations because of their covenant with the LORD. This word “holiness” means separated or set apart. I believe the holiness of the LORD that was profaned was that quality of distinctiveness or separateness that the LORD desired for Israel. Because the LORD is holy, this is a fundamental attribute of God, His people were to be holy in all areas of their lives. They were to be set apart or distinct from the world of sin. The next phrase makes more sense if we see this as the profaning of the holiness of the nation of Israel when Malachi says, which He, the LORD, loves. The LORD does not love the temple, but the nation that He created to be holy, distinct, set apart as His own people, as His children He loves. But this holiness had been violated, and the fact that the LORD loves His people so much intensified the unfaithfulness of the nation’s conduct.
The men of Israel were guilty of the sin of intermarriage with unbelievers. Malachi says that Judah has married the daughter of a foreign god. Remember that Judah was the royal tribe, this was the tribe that David had come from, and it is possible that Malachi uses the tribe of Judah to show that this sin has reached into all levels of society, even threatening the royal line through which the Messiah was to come. The daughter of a foreign god was a woman of another nationality that worshiped a false god, she was an idolater. She is called the daughter of a foreign god, just as the Israelites are called the sons of the LORD. Such marriages were expressly forbidden because they led the people into idolatry. The Jews were supposed to marry within their own nation. Failing to do this and bringing foreign blood into the nation was an act of unfaithfulness or treachery against the nation and against the LORD. The principle of holiness, separation from the world, had been violated. This was done in disobedience to God who had called them to be holy.
After bringing the charge against the people, Malachi declared the consequences that would come upon those who violated the holiness of the LORD by marrying foreigners. Malachi writes, 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. (Malachi 2:12, NASB95)[6] Let me try and explain what this means. To be cut off from the tents of Jacob some believe that both the transgressor and his descendants would die, but I believe the better interpretation is that the transgressor and his descendants would be removed from their position as members of the covenant nation. What is meant by “everyone who awakes and answers?” This is a phrase that can have one of two meanings. It may be a military expression that comes from a sentinel calling out to someone approaching to identify themselves and the answerer responding to the sentinel’s question. If you have the King James Version, it says “the master and the scholar” for “everyone who awakes and answers.” The master or teacher refers to the priests who were to teach the law to the people, they were to be the watchers, awake and alert watching that their students were following their teaching. The scholars referred to the people who as students would be answerable to their teachers, the priests. This was to show that this problem of intermarrying was not just among the people but reached also into the priesthood which is seen both in Ezra and Nehemiah. Even if those who had sinned in this way were still faithful in temple worship and would bring an offering to the temple, this would not satisfy the LORD. A person cannot hope to find forgiveness of sins deliberately committed without true repentance and a ceasing of the disobedience that has offended the LORD.
UNLAWFUL DIVORCE (Malachi 2:13-16a)
This charge of unlawful marriage is not the only charge to be brought against the men of Israel. In the remaining verses of this passage we find the second offense, though it is arranged differently with Malachi stating the consequence and then the sin.
Having just mentioned the bringing of an offering to the LORD while still deliberately sinning, Malachi writes, “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.” (Malachi 2:13, NASB95)[7] Those men who had unlawfully wed foreign women, but continue to bring offerings to the LORD’S altar were flooding the altar with tears, they were weeping and groaning because they were not receiving any favor from the LORD. He was not blessing them for their bringing offerings to Him, He had no regard for their offerings and would not accept it with favor from their hand. The LORD wanted obedience, not offerings. Do you remember what the prophet Samuel said to Saul when He had disobeyed the LORD’S command to completely destroy the Amalekites and all that they had. Saul said they did not destroy some of the sheep and oxen, so they could sacrifice them to the LORD, but that was not what the LORD commanded, He said destroy everything. Listen to Samuel’s words to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22, “Samuel said, ‘Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.’” (1 Samuel 15:22–23, NASB95)[8] The LORD desires and delights in the obedience of His people. The men of Israel in Malachi’s day did not understand this and questioned why the LORD was not receiving their offerings with favor. They said, “For what reason?”
Malachi then brings the second charge against them, he writes, “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.” (Malachi 2:14, NASB95)[9] Not only were they unlawfully marrying foreign women, they were unlawfully divorcing their Jewish wives to do so. Divorce under the law was only lawful if the wife had been sexually unfaithful. This is not the case here and the LORD was a witness to the vows that were taken between you and the Jewish wife of your youth, the covenant that you had made that was only to be broken by death. This phrase “the wife of your youth” was designed to bring about memories of the early days of their marriage. The memories of that youthful joy were suppressed by these men so that they could fulfill their lusts by marrying younger foreign women.
The divorce of their Jewish wives was especially grievous for two reasons: first, she is your companion, this word comes from a root that means “to bind, join, unite.” These men were to cleave to their wives in love and affection. Secondly, these Jewish women were their wives by covenant. They had entered into a marriage covenant with these women in the sight of God and men, both were witnesses of the covenant. Not only had they entered into the marriage covenant, but these women they were divorcing were part of the covenant people of Israel. They were unfaithful to the marriage covenant, but also unfaithful to the covenant that Israel had with the LORD. Their unfaithfulness was an act of treachery, they were traitors in the marriage covenant and to the national covenant.
Malachi 2:15 is the most difficult verse in this book. It is very difficult to interpret from how it is translated in the New American Standard Version. Let me read it to you from the ESV translation. Malachi 2:15, “Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.” (Malachi 2:15, ESV)[10] Malachi is speaking of God’s original institution of marriage that is found in Genesis 2:24, which states that God made the two into one. Malachi reminded the people that God only provided one woman for one man. Though He had the life-giving power of the Spirit, and could have made Adam a number of wives, He created only one. This one man and one woman were made one because God was looking for them to produce godly offspring. Polygamy, divorce, marriage to idolatrous women were destructive actions that did not lead to godly offspring or a godly remnant in the line of the promised Messiah. John MacArthur writes, “Only when both parents remain faithful to their marriage vows can the children be given the security that provides the basis for godly living.”[11] Malachi then gives the first command to the men of Israel to pay attention to their spiritual lives, how they should be living in the covenant community, seeking to live in holiness, do not be the traitor, do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
For the first time in this passage the LORD speaks directly instead of speaking through His prophet to the people. The LORD, the God of Israel says, “For I hate divorce.” God hates divorce because it is not part of His original plan. God hates divorce because of what it does to the women and children. The LORD of hosts continues to speak and says, “For I hate divorce and him who covers his garment with wrong.” The word translated “wrong” is actually the word “violence.” It is a Hebrew word that speaks of a strong, fierce, destructive force that results in acts that maim, destroy, and kill. So, God likens the person who unlawfully divorces his wife so that he may fulfill his lust for another woman as one who has acted violently as a murderer and stained his clothes with the blood of his victim, so this man’s clothes are stained with the violent acting of casting away the wife of his youth.
CALL TO FAITHFULNESS (Malachi 2:16b)
Malachi repeats the exhortation at the end of verse 16 that was at the end of verse 15. He writes, “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.” (Malachi 2:16b, NASB95)[12] This is a final call from LORD to be faithful. God calls them to be faithful to one another by not divorcing their Jewish wives and marrying foreign women. Such activity profaned the covenant promise God gave to Israel. By guarding their spirits, they would act in accordance with God’s purpose and they would help preserve the unity, the purity, and the holiness of the nation as well as their individual marriages.
CONCLUSION:
In this passage we see God’s high view on marriage within the covenant relationship He had with Israel. They were to be separate and set apart as a holy nation in the midst of the sinful, pagan nations around them. The New Testament makes clear that God still holds marriage in high regard as it is now a picture of Christ’s relationship with the church. It is because of this high view of marriage that is put forth in the New Testament that as a church several years ago we adopted a new statement to our statement of faith in regard to marriage. It reads: “We believe marriage is a holy covenant between one man and one woman set up by God with the specific purpose of glorifying Him by magnifying that relationship of covenant-keeping grace that exists between Christ and His Bride, the Church.”
The marriage covenant was instituted by God when He created the first man and the first woman. Divorce was not part of the original plan and as such it mars the picture that marriage is to have of Christ and the church. As believers we have a high calling to uphold in our marriages, that they may be a picture to the world of the relationship that Christ has with the church. As Malachi called the people of his day to faithfulness in marriage, that same call can be echoed in our day. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously or unfaithfully with the wife of your youth.” Young people, those of you not yet married, take heed to your spirit, or in other words, guard your spirit, make sure that the person you marry is like-minded in faith. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14, NASB95)[13] If you marry an unbeliever it will be difficult to maintain your walk with Christ, your unbelieving spouse will have a strong influence on you to follow the world with him or her instead of Christ. I would go as far as to suggest that you do not date anyone unless you know they are a Christian. That is just some friendly advice from your Pastor. Guard your spirit!
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[7]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[8]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[9]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[10]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.
[11]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. MacArthur Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2010.
[12]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[13]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995