The Promise to follow those rules What is the Nature of The Law and The Old Covenant? Rules to live by and The Promise to follow those rules These rules are primarily social, designed to guide our relationships with God and with each other.

Malachi 2: 10-16

Have we not all have one Father? Malachi 2:10 Have we not all have one Father?  Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being breaking faith with one another?

Malachi 2:11 “Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god.”

This passage give clear guidance about God’s desire for any single Christian to not date, nor marry, anyone that doesn’t follow Jesus. But…that’s not really what this Scripture’s origin was about. The married men of Israel had become so attracted to foreign women that they were divorcing their wives to be with them…regardless of their beliefs.

Matthew 5: 27-28 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Malachi 2: 13-14a 13 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears.  You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 14 You ask, “Why?”

of your marriage covenant.” Malachi 2:14b “It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.”

Malachi 2:15 “Has not the one God made you both? You belong to Him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.”

Why does God hate divorce? (2:16) 1.) It doesn’t rightly mirror the relationship between Jesus & His Church. (Eph. 5: 22-33) 2.) The damage it creates will greatly hinder the producing of “godly offspring.” (2:15)

The Bible allows for a divorce under the following circumstances: 1.) Adultery 2.) Sexual Immorality (Matt. 5:32) 3.) Abandonment (1 Cor. 7: 12-15) * “Treacherous Betrayal” - violence/threat of safety * “Hardness of Heart” (Matt. 19:8)

As I mentioned earlier about God’s clear command to not marry someone outside of the faith, I can also speak from experience about the importance of trusting God in the midst of your “single season” and not wasting it.

“Guard yourself in your spirit and do not break faith.”