MALACHI SERIES 4: GOD’S SECOND AND THIRD CHARGES OF SIN - PowerPoint Presentation

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MALACHI SERIES 4: GOD’S SECOND AND THIRD CHARGES OF SIN

(2:10-17

)

I. GOD’S LOVE FOR JACOB (1:1-5)

II. GOD’S FIRST CHARGE OF SIN (1:6-2:9)

III. GOD’S SECOND AND THIRD CHARGES OF SIN (2:10-17)

A. THE PEOPLE’S SIN OF

UNFAITHFULNESS

TO THE COVENANT (2:10-16)

1. The Sin of Unfaithfulness Revealed (v. 10)

a. Through the sin of mixed marriages (vv. 11-12)

b. Through the sin of hypocritical tears (v. 13)

c

. Through the sin of divorce (vv.

14

-16)

Read

Mal 2:14

.

Here

, we once again see the spiritual insensitivity and blindness of the Israelites.

~

Whereas earlier it was illicit

marriages

, God now proceeds to

present

yet another issue: abandoning

their

current, rightful marriages

.

It

is God, not a mere mortal, who takes an active role in the marriage covenant between two people as a

“witness”

to their

vows

; He is also hence a

“witness”

to any

violation

of those vows

.

And the violation God witnessed was

“between you and the wife of your youth.”

“

the wife of your youth”

~

The woman involved is not just any

wife

but

“the wife of your youth”

(cf.

Prov

5:18; Isa 54:6)

.

~

the first and primary wife

or

wife

married

to from an early

age

~

Prov 5:15-

21

In

Mal 2:14, the wife is also described as

“your companion”

and

“your wife by covenant.

”

~

“Companion”

means

“

united,” or

“

joined together,” and it comes from a

root

denoting an alliance,

a close and

indissoluble

bond

.

~ Cf. Gen 2:24

~

Similarly,

“covenant”

connotes

inviolability

.

~

e

ither Mosaic covenant or marriage covenant or both

~

Therefore, a sin against a wife who is

a

daughter of Israel will be a sin

against

God.

~

Puritan T.V.

Moore:

“

She whom you thus wronged was the

companion

of those earlier and

brighter

days, when in the bloom of

her

young beauty she left her father’s

house

and shared your early

struggles

, and rejoiced in your later

success

; who walked arm in arm with

you

along the pilgrimage of life,

cheering

you in its trials by her gentle

ministry

; and now, when the bloom of

her

youth has faded and the friends of

her

youth have gone, when

her father

and

mother whom she left for you are in

the

grave, then you cruelly cast her off

as

a worn

-out

, worthless thing, and

insult

her holiest affections by putting an

idolater

and a heathen in her place.”

Prov

2:17 and

Ezek

16:8 also speak of marriage as a covenant

.

~

In fact, in Prov 2:17 marriage also is

called

“the covenant of… God,”

and

might

actually serve as a reference to

passages

like

Matt 19:4-6

and

1Cor

7

:10-

11

.

~

This should tell us that the

marriage

covenant cannot be taken

lightly

.

Yet despite the permanent

nature of the marriage relationship, Israel has

“dealt treacherously”

or “broken faith”

again.

~

Malachi here is referring to divorce,

breaking

the vows of faithfulness

.

~

The

Lord

was acting

as the witness

between

such

a

man and his wife

with

whom he had “dealt

treacherously

”

by

divorce.

Matthew Henry

:

“Consider she is thy wife; thy own; the nearest relation thou hast in the world. The wife is to be looked on, not as a servant, but as a companion to the husband. There is an oath of God between them, which is not to be trifled with. Man and wife should continue to their lives’ end, in holy love and peace. Did not God make one, one Eve for one Adam? Yet God could have made another Eve. Wherefore did he make but one woman for one man?

It

was that the children might be made a

seed

to serve him. Husbands and wives

must

live in the fear of God, that their

seed

may be a godly seed.”

Read

Mal 2:15

.

~ the

most difficult verse in Malachi to

figure out

I

would submit that

“he,”

the

subject

of verse 15a, means God and that

“one,”

the

object

, means the

“one flesh”

of Gen 2:24

.

V

. 15a could then be paraphrased and explained: “Why did God make Adam and Eve only one flesh, when He might have given Adam many wives, for God certainly had more than enough of the Spirit, or creative power, to furnish many partners? However, because God was seeking a godly offspring, He restricted man and woman to a single bonding, for He knew that a plurality of mates for either partner was not conducive to raising children to the glory of God.

”

“

… godly offspring

”

~ Marriage,

when godly and

faithful,

has

the

potential to “sanctify” the children

produced

in that marriage.

~

The thought is similar to that in 1Cor

7

:

14.

Not

only were men unfaithful to their wives, but they also were ignoring the fact that

this covenant relationship with their wives was an illustration of their covenant relationship with

God

.

Read

Mal 2:15b

.

~

“

…

your

spirit

…” –

where all

sin

begins

~

Men

(and women) should

realize that

their wrong conduct

in their families

springs from

selfishness

, which

disregards the welfare

and happiness

of

others when

opposed

to their own

passions

and

desires.

~

At the same time, it also means

having

the same desire for

covenant

unity that the Holy Spirit

seeks

, which would mean not

violating

the marriage covenant

.

~

It is to have desire to have the same

commitment

to marriage that God has

to

His chosen people.