Mal. 1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
The last book of the Old Testament is a record of the prophecies of Malachi, presumably the last prophet until John the Baptist. After his prophetic ministry, there is a period of about 400 years of silence from God. Malachi’s name comes from a root that means “messenger.” His message is to the twelve tribes of Israel, the descendants of Jacob.
Mal. 1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,
Mal. 1:3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
The message starts in the form of a dialogue between YHWH and the people of Israel. It begins with a declaration of God’s love for Israel. The people’s response is basically, “How can we know this?” YHWH makes the point that Jacob was not an only son; his brother Esau was in fact the firstborn, yet God had a favorite—Jacob, from whom they were descended.
This was really an arrogant reply on the part of the people. Their history was full of God’s miraculous provision for them. They seemed to have the attitude that is so prevalent today—But what have you done for me lately? They weren’t even grateful for the many blessings they enjoyed in life because of His provision since their return from Babylon. I’m afraid we are often guilty of the same. In spite of all the chaos that may surround us and/or the troubles we may face, God’s blessings are in evidence all around us in so many ways that we take for granted.
The first statement in verse 3 used to be a problem to me, until I really studied the story of Jacob and his relationship to Leah and Rebekah.
Genesis 29:30-31 “And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.”
The same Hebrew word for hated is used in both Malachi and Genesis. I finally realized that the scripture clarified itself—Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah (v30). Jacob obviously didn’t hate Leah; he had six sons with her. Rachel, however, was his favorite. This is the same way God looked at Jacob and Esau; Jacob was his favorite. Personally, I can’t help but connect this choice with God’s omniscience; He knew which one would have a heart of flesh and which would have a heart of stone, who would treasure the covenant blessing and who would not.
Esau was prideful and selfish and made some terrible choices, but by the time Jacob returned home, Esau had become quite successful. He left his father’s land to go to Edom when Jacob returned, showing acceptance of Jacob’s position as blessed by their father. Chapter 39 of Genesis details his descendants. Sadly, his progeny established themselves in pride against the children of Israel, becoming their enemies. God did indeed judge them, devastating the land and leaving it a land inhabited by animals like the jackal (carnivorous animals related to the dog and wolf per Webster).
Guzik: “A woman once said to Mr. Spurgeon, ‘I cannot understand why God should say that He hated Esau.’ ‘That,’ Spurgeon replied, ‘is not my difficulty, madam. My trouble is to understand how God could love Jacob’” (William Newell in his commentary on Romans).”
Mal. 1:4 Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.
In my research I found that Edom was taken captive by Babylon just as Israel had been. God had provided for His people to return home and begin rebuilding their nation. Edom, however, was not going to be given that privilege. No matter how determined they were or how hard they tried to reestablish their nation to its former glory, they would not succeed. Why? Because God was going to ensure that they didn’t. They were being judged for their treatment of Israel, evidencing their insolence before God. History records that they were eventually conquered and their land taken over by the Nabataeans who were eventually conquered by the Romans. Much of the land was eventually abandoned and left desolate.
Mal. 1:5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.
God declares that time will reveal that God’s blessing is still on Israel; He hasn’t changed His mind regarding Esau and Jacob. His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be fulfilled when the LORD Jesus establishes His kingdom.
Mal. 1:6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
The LORD next has the prophet give the people an illustration of the truth He is presenting. It is generally accepted that a son honors his father and a servant honors his master. YHWH had been clearly identified as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—the God of Israel. He had clearly provided for them as lovingly and far more miraculously than any human father could. He had also clearly established rules for His family and consequences for refusing to abide by those rules.
Deuteronomy 10:20 “Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.”
Deuteronomy 11:26-28 “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.”
The people of Israel had surely not honored God as a father deserves, neither had they obeyed Him as their LORD. So the LORD declares that the priests have despised and dishonored His name. He also anticipates their response: “How have we dishonored Your name?” How sad—the priests were so ignorant of the laws of God established in Leviticus that they didn’t even recognize their sin.
Mal. 1:7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
Mal. 1:8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.
The LORD answers that their offerings are unacceptable because they do not meet the qualifications established by His law, showing no respect for the altar of God. The book of Leviticus is very clear about acceptable and unacceptable offerings, and Moses had clearly declared this truth in Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 15:21 “And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God.”
The people were arrogantly ignoring God’s instructions and bringing animals to sacrifice that were blind, lame, and sick. God’s point, try giving that kind of gift to your governor and see if he likes it and respects you for it.
Mal. 1:9 And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.
The LORD is basically saying, “Consider your actions. Do you think those kinds of offerings are going to result in a favorable response from Me to your prayers?”
Mal. 1:10 Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
I think the NLT translation is much clearer: “I wish that someone among you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not at all pleased with you,” says the LORD Almighty, “and I will not accept your offerings.
Sad to say, but there was not even one priest who was willing to take a stand and prevent the people from dishonoring the LORD with such sacrifices. God is declaring that He would rather the temple be closed than have it functioning with such utter disregard of His honor.
I can’t help but make application to the churches of today that function with a mentality of being very careful not to make people uncomfortable by preaching against sin. If the truth is not declared, how will people ever know they need a Savior, or how will they ever mature spiritually. We are to present the truth in love, but we are to speak the truth for the benefit of the saints. Paul wrote about this very subject.
Ephesians 4:11-16 “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”
Sobering observation from Ironside: “Is it not patent to even the least spiritual that worldliness and covetousness are the characteristic features in the professing Church, and godliness and true devotion the exceptions?”
And from Guzik: “We are often concerned with church growth, evangelism, and planting churches. Yet in some cases the best thing we could do for the cause of the LORD is to shut the doors on many churches.”
Mal. 1:11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
At this point, the message from the LORD makes reference to the far future. God is declaring that there is coming a day that His name will be great among the Gentiles from east (the rising of the sun) to west (unto the going down of the same). He then says that in every place incense (which is a reference to sacrifice in the Hebrew) will be offered to His name. And these offerings will be pure; in other words, they will honor God because they are being made in obedience to Him from pure motives. This has to be referring to the Millennial Kingdom when Jesus reigns as King for 1000 years on planet earth before sin and death are destroyed once for all. At that time God’s name will be great among all the nations.
Mal. 1:12 But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.
Mal. 1:13 Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.
Mal. 1:14 But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.
God declares that their actions are a reflection of their heart toward Him. If our desire is to honor God, we will obey Him and strive to give Him our best. By bringing their undesirable and unwanted possessions to sacrifice to God, they were basically showing that they had no intention of honoring God; they were performing a ritual. Not only were they just going through the motions, they were weary of doing even that. Just as stated in the verses in Deuteronomy 11 above, the LORD is pronouncing a curse on those who would dishonor Him by an empty show of obedience with no regard for what has been declared acceptable by Him.
I think even the heathen nations that did not worship YHWH had a healthy fear of Him. This last phrase in verse 14 makes me think of the words of Rahab when she hid the spies.
Joshua 2:9-11 “And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.”
Though the people of Jericho did not worship God, they knew to fear Him in light of knowledge of His mighty acts on behalf of Israel.
Application from Wiersbe: “Have you ever considered the fact that the sins of Christians are worse than the sins of other people? When believers sin, they not only break God’s law, but they break God’s heart. A believer deliberately sinning isn’t just the disobedience of a servant to a master or the rebellion of a subject against a king; it’s the offense of a child against the loving Father. The sins we cherish and think we get away with cause God grief.”
Mal. 2:1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
Mal. 2:2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
Mal. 2:3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.
The LORD now directs His message specifically to the priests. What commandment does He give? “To give glory unto my name.” The priests had been privileged with a special position before the LORD as mediators between God and men as well as serving at “His house” (the tabernacle, and then the temple). Everything connected with the temple was to represent a holy righteous God. God’s name is representative of who He is. Anything done in disobedience to or without reverence for the Almighty brings dishonor to His name. God is very clear in scripture that He does not take such offense lightly.
Exodus 20:7 “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”
Leviticus 19:12 “And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.”
Deuteronomy 18:20 “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.”
The LORD is consistent in declaring consequences for disobedience. In this instance He declares that even their blessings will be cursed. What are the blessings being referenced? In context with verse 3, I would conclude they include their children.
Psalm 127:3 “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”
Point is made again that this judgment is being pronounced because the priests did not take to heart the word of God and dishonored His name.
The Hebrew for the word corrupt means “to reprove or rebuke.” To “spread dung upon your faces” would seem to be an idiom referencing shame or disapproval since it is being connected to the solemn feasts. It would seem that the LORD is saying that He will remove the people along with their feasts out of the land of Israel once again. If that is the case, this would refer to the dispersion enforced by the Romans after the time of Christ. Again, why would this be necessary? In rebuke and reproval for dishonoring the name of God.
It is a sad but significant truth that our lives impact our progeny. The fact that the children of these priests were going to need rebuke would in large part be due to a heritage that dishonored the LORD—a heritage they embraced by how they lived. This in no way means that these future generations are programmed for failure; it’s just according to the natural flow of things. It is more unusual for someone to break from their ungodly heritage than it is for them to follow in the footsteps of the established pattern.
Guzik re “spread dung upon your faces” - “Sacrificed animals still had excrement in their systems, and God said this should be burned outside the sanctuary. Here, God said He would spread that refuse on their faces, so that they would have to be taken outside the sanctuary.”
Exodus 29:14 “But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.”
Mal. 2:4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal. 2:5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.
The LORD had set apart the tribe of Levi to serve as priests before Him. I would assume the covenant of life and peace being referenced is connected to that ministry. After some word searches, I found that this wording is used in reference to God’s blessing on Phineas, Aaron’s grandson, for being “zealous for my sake.”
Numbers 25:11-13 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.
At this point in their wilderness wanderings, the people had turned to consorting with the daughters of Moab and worshipping Baal. Phineas killed a fellow Israeli and a Midianite woman for openly committing fornication in defiance of God’s command. His action was motivated by his fear of the LORD, his recognition of the holiness of the God of Israel and the reverence with which He should be obeyed. Because of his action, God’s wrath was appeased; still 24,000 Israelis died of plague from the hand of God that day.
Mal. 2:6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.
Mal. 2:7 For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
Phineas was a great example of how a priest should act—in obedience to God without reference to his standing before mankind. He was evidently known as a man of truth and obedience, and his example caused many to turn away from their sin. When a priest speaks, it should be with knowledge and understanding; the people should be able to seek instruction about God’s law from him. He has been established as an ambassador of Almighty God.
I am reminded that we Christians are a “royal priesthood.”
1Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light….”
As a priest, we should be known for possessing those same traits—obedience, knowledge and understanding of God’s word and the ability to instruct others accordingly.
Mal. 2:8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal. 2:9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.
The priests to whom Malachi was delivering God’s message did not possess those traits. They had become disobedient before God and had caused many to fall from the path of obedience because of their example and lack of instruction about God’s law. Though they were sons of Levi, they had abused the covenant. Though God would not void His covenant with Levi and would one day once again establish the priesthood in honor before Him (during the millennial kingdom), the sons of Levi would suffer judgment. They would no longer enjoy the respect of the people; they would be despised by them. Their judgment would be in direct proportion to their disobedience. They had blatantly disobeyed God’s law and had been partial in their administration of the law. God’s law was to be administered in righteousness without regard for person.
Leviticus 19:15 “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.”
I can’t help but comment on how far from this principle the courts of America have strayed. Judgments are often influenced by wealth, power, fame, and personal agenda. I can hardly wait to experience the government of righteousness that will be established and enforced by the LORD Jesus when He reigns as KING over all on His throne.
Mal. 2:10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
Malachi seems to direct his message to include the people. I believe the one father being referenced in verse 10 is probably Jacob since he was the chosen son through whom Israel was descended. The more important truth—“one God created us.” Despite the beliefs of the gentile nations, there is only “one God,” one Creator of mankind. This Creator God chose (from the Hebrew for created) the nation of Israel as His special possession among the nations. He also established a special covenant with them.
Exodus 19:5-6 “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”
Deuteronomy 11:8-9, 13-17, 26-28 “Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey….And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; And then the LORD’S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you….Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.”
I thought it was important to see how clearly God had established the blessings that would be associated with their obedience to Him and how foolish they were to ever stray outside those parameters. No wonder it was considered an act against your brother to disregard the covenant, you were directly affecting his blessing.
I hadn’t really thought about it that way before. I know that our lack of unity in the body of believers has disastrously impacted the effectiveness of our testimony throughout the world, but it has also negatively impacted the blessings that the body could be enjoying if truly unified in service and fellowship.
Mal. 2:11 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.
Although Malachi’s message is to the nation of Israel (all twelve tribes), those of the kingdom of Judah (the southern kingdom) were the primary audience. It was those from the southern kingdom of Judah that had returned from the Babylonian captivity to reestablish the nation. We do know that the southern kingdom was composed of people from all the tribes. The Chronicler recorded that truth in 2Chronicles 11 regarding the split between the kingdoms of Jereboam (Northern) and Rehoboam (Southern).
2Chronicles 11:14-17a “For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the LORD….And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers. So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong….”
Malachi’s main point—the people had begun intermarrying with the idol-worshipping women of the heathen nations around them in direct defiance of God’s command. Their public disregard of God’s commands had again dishonored YHWH. The Hebrew for the word holiness makes reference to the sanctuary (or temple), and several translations translate it so. To participate in the services of the temple while being intimately connected to idol-worshippers did not only profane the temple, but also dishonored God and was an affront to His holiness. The LORD loved the temple as His chosen dwelling place on earth, and He is also jealous regarding the honor of His name.
1Kings 9:3 “And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.”
Exodus 20:7 “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”
Isaiah 48:11 “For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.”
Mal. 2:12 The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.
I think the CJB has the better translation of this verse: “If a man does this and presents an offering to ADONAI-Tzva’ot, may ADONAI cut him off from the tents of Ya‘akov, whether initiator or follower.”
In other words, God hates hypocrisy. Again, this sin brought forth some of the strongest words of condemnation from Jesus during His ministry.
Matthew 23:13-15 & 23-27 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves….Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone….Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess….Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.”
I think the LORD’s accusation in verse 13 of Matthew 23 ties directly to the same offense of the priests that Malachi is addressing. I can’t help but think of another verse that applies here.
1Samuel 15:22 “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
God wants our obedience. He is not impressed with any of our religious rituals; He’s looking at our hearts.
1Samuel 16:7 “…for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
Mal. 2:13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
Mal. 2:14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
It would seem that not only were the men taking wives from idolatrous nations, they were breaking the marriage covenant with their older Jewish wives to do so. Sadly, this was not a new transgression in the history of the people. Ezra dealt with this very problem.
Ezra 10:10–12 “And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel. Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.”
Interestingly, they recognize that the LORD is not honoring their offerings anymore, and they wonder why not. We are no different than the people to whom Malachi prophesied. It’s an amazing thing to me that we are always ready to declare God unfair without regard to whether or not our lives are honoring Him according to His expectation. As long as we are acting according to what we deem acceptable, we seem to think that God should accept us on our terms. We are actually putting ourselves in place of God and placing Him in the position of servant.
Mal. 2:15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
In context, the question is referencing marriage as God intended.
Genesis 2:24 “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
God looks upon a married couple as a unified whole. In fact, at marriage it is God who joins us as one, and it is intended to be a union that is not dissolved by man.
Matthew 19:5-6 “And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
“Yet had he the residue of the spirit.” – This is the hardest phrase to understand, and I don’t know Hebrew. The different translations and commentators are quite varied. My logic tells me that since the “he” in the first phrase is a reference to God, then the “he” in the second phrase is also. Residue makes reference to “remainder,” from a root that means “to swell up.” Each person is body, soul and spirit. It’s like the LORD is painting a picture of the joining of the two spirits into one, as He preserves the spirit of each individual.
What was God’s purpose in making them one flesh in the beginning? To produce godly children. God’s purpose from the beginning of creation was to have fellowship with mankind. The admonition from the LORD—Guard your spirit, and don’t be unfaithful to your wife.
Mal. 2:16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
I think the ESV is a bit clearer: “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”
YHWH, the self-existent, eternal God, the God of Israel hates divorce. My thoughts went to the story of Ruth when she asked Boaz to spread his skirt over her—in other words, to marry her as the near kinsman. If spreading the garment is a reference to marriage, then breaking the marriage—divorce—would in effect be covering violence with that garment since you are tearing apart the flesh that God has joined together.
The prophet’s admonition to “heed your spirit” could be taken two ways—
Guard and control your heart and stay obedient to the command of the LORD.
Guard your marriage by refusing to be unfaithful to the union with your wife that God joined together.
Guzik: “There is no doubt that God allows divorce in particular circumstances, though divorce is never commanded. God’s heart is always for repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation in marriage. We have sinned against God far worse than any spouse could sin against us, and God does not divorce us – though He has every right to.”
Mal. 2:17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
The LORD declares that He is weary with their distortion of His word. As usual, the people claim ignorance of their sin. The LORD, however, has no problem clearly defining their lies:
You continue to identify as “good” those that are doing evil before Me.
Not only that, you declare that I delight in them.
I’m afraid that sad commentary is very applicable in America today. People who identify themselves as “Christian” and/or as teachers of the Word of God are using scripture to justify sin and those that practice it. The most blatant in their actions are those promoting homosexuality and the “Jesus Seminar types” that undermine the inerrancy of the scripture. Also high on the list is the lack of commitment to marriage among “Christians.” I have read several places that the statistics show that the divorce rate among “Christians” is just as high as that of the rest of society. I even read recently that the divorce rate among atheists is much lower than among “Christians.” Oh that we would desire His will above all else, and declare His truth clearly as He has revealed it.