This week, we are looking at a section of a letter recorded for us in the Bible called the book of Malachi, where the prophet Malachi was accusing the Jewish people of taking a detour when it came to their relationship with God. Yesterday we saw that the Jewish people in Malachi’s day were being pulled away from God and pulled to the worship of false gods as a result of their dating and marriage relationships to those who did not believe in God. The Jewish people were violating their covenant relationship with God by entering into covenant relationships with those who rejected God. Today, we will see Malachi reveal God’s response to the unfaithfulness of the Jewish people in Malachi 2:12:
"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.
To understand what Malachi is communicating here, we first need to understand what the phrase “awakes and answers” means. This phrase was an idiom in the culture of the day which literally means irrespective of the person, whoever he may be. This sentence, if communicated in the language we use today would sound something like this: As for the person who does this; as for the one who marries someone who is not a follower of Mine in spite of my command to do otherwise; I do not care who they are, I will root them out and eliminate them from experiencing the covenant relationship with Me that they were created for. Even those who attempt to come to church and worship Me as though everything is o.k., everything is not o.k., because they are willfully violating a command that I have given them and are opening the door to idolatry and rebellion through their spiritually mixed marriage.” But that was not the only thing that Malachi had to say when it came to the Jewish people and how they were engaging in marriage. We see Malachi make a second accusation against the Jewish people in Malachi 2:13:
"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.”Yet you say, 'For what reason?'
Here we see Malachi explain that there was a reason why God was no longer paying attention to the Jewish people when they worshipped Him. There was a reason why God was not responding to their worship with approval. There was a reason why the Jewish people were beginning to feel, once again, God’s rejection of their worship.
And the Jewish people were devastated that God was no longer paying attention and was rejecting their worship. However, the Jewish people did not know the reason why and the Jewish people wanted to know the reason why. So with weeping, groaning, and crying they asked “God, why are you not answering my prayers? Why are you so distant? We have not done anything wrong?” Malachi, however, reveals the reason for God’s rejection of their worship in the second half of verse 14:
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?
To understand what Malachi is communicating here, we need to understand what happens in a marriage and what was happening in the Jewish culture of Malachi’s day. As part of a marriage ceremony, a husband and wife make vows to one another. And these vows, whether we realize it or not, are covenant promises that we are making in front of God and those who are witnessing the marriage ceremony.
So when Malachi states that the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, he is reminding the Jewish people of his day, and us here today, that God is present and is a witness to the promises we make in our marriage vows. The Jewish people, however, were failing to keep the promises that they had made in front of God and others. Instead, the Jewish people were being unfaithful and untrustworthy to those promises by getting a divorce.
And in many cases, the Jewish people were divorcing the spouses that they had married earlier in their lives in order to marry those who were far from God and worshipped false gods. Even though they had entered into a covenant relationship to be partners and helpmates for life, the Jewish people were being unfaithful to that covenant.
Malachi responds to this unfaithfulness in verse 15 with what is one of the most difficult to translate verses in the entire Bible, due to the differences between the Hebrew and English languages. The closest translation of this verse, in the language we use in our culture today, would probably sound something like this: “Don’t you know that God made you one with your wives? And in spite of your unfaithfulness in divorcing your wives, there is still a remnant of that spiritual bond. And what is the purpose of that spiritual bond? To produce godly offspring with God’s help.”
Malachi’s point here is that by divorcing their Jewish wives in order to marry women who worshipped false gods, these divorces would be breaking a spiritual bond that God had divinely designed not to be broken. And these divorces and marriages to those who worshipped false gods would much more likely result in children who would embrace the worship of false gods. Because, when you do not agree on spiritual issues, you are going to be pulled in a different direction.
And the Jewish people were being pulled away from God and pulled to the worship of false gods as a result of these divorces and subsequent marriage relationships to those who did not believe in God.
Tomorrow, we will see Malachi conclude his accusations with one of the strongest statements in the entire Bible when it comes to the issue of marriage.
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