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 ) b. Through the sin of hypocritical tears (v. 13) c. Through the sin of divorce (vv ) c. Through the sin of divorce (vv )  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. ~ either 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 fromselfishness, 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.