WHAT DOES GOD SEEK? GODLY OFFSPRING

Passage: Malachi 2:10-16

Key verse: 15

NIV

Breaking Covenant Through Divorce

10 Do we not all have one Father[a]?(A) Did not one God create us?(B) Why do we profane the covenant(C) of our ancestors by being unfaithful(D) to one another?

11 Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable(E) thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves(F) by marrying(G) women who worship a foreign god.(H) 12 As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove(I) him from the tents of Jacob[b](J)—even though he brings an offering(K) to the Lord Almighty.

13 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears.(L) You weep and wail(M) because he no longer looks with favor(N) on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.(O) 14 You ask,(P) “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness(Q) between you and the wife of your youth.(R) You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.(S)

15 Has not the one God made you?(T) You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.[c](U) So be on your guard,(V) and do not be unfaithful(W) to the wife of your youth.

16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,(X)” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”[d](Y) says the Lord Almighty.

So be on your guard,(Z) and do not be unfaithful.

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Footnotes
  1. Malachi 2:10 Or father
  2. Malachi 2:12 Or 12 May the Lord remove from the tents of Jacob anyone who gives testimony in behalf of the man who does this
  3. Malachi 2:15 The meaning of the Hebrew for the first part of this verse is uncertain.
  4. Malachi 2:16 Or “I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “because the man who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,”
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Judah Profaned the Covenant

10 Have we not all (A)one Father? Has not (B)one God created us? Why then are we (C)faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has been (D)faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For (E)Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant[a] of the man who does this, who (F)brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!

13 And this second thing you do. (G)You cover the Lord's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 (H)But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord (I)was witness between you and the wife of your youth, (J)to whom (K)you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 (L)Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union?[b] And what was the one God[c] seeking?[d] (M)Godly offspring. So guard yourselves[e] in your spirit, and let none of you be (N)faithless to the wife of your youth. 16 “For (O)the man who does not love his wife but divorces her,[f] says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers[g] his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and (P)do not be faithless.”

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Footnotes
  1. Malachi 2:12 Hebrew any who wakes and answers
  2. Malachi 2:15 Hebrew in it
  3. Malachi 2:15 Hebrew the one
  4. Malachi 2:15 Or And not one has done this who has a portion of the Spirit. And what was that one seeking?
  5. Malachi 2:15 Or So take care; also verse 16
  6. Malachi 2:16 Hebrew who hates and divorces
  7. Malachi 2:16 Probable meaning (compare Septuagint and Deuteronomy 24:1–4); or “The Lord, the God of Israel, says that he hates divorce, and him who covers
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Two rebukes for God's people (1

-14)

Malachi first reminded the people of Israel and Judah that they were God's creation, and that they had entered into a covenant with the Lord. Then he rebuked the people of Israel and Judah (Jerusalem) for being unfaithful to the Lord. Their unfaithfulness was detestable and manifested itself in two ways. First, the people of Judah were marrying women who worshipped foreign gods. In doing so, they were desecrating the sanctuary of the Lord. Malachi prayed that those who did this would be thrown out of the Lord's community. Secondly, they had divorced their God-fearing wives to marry idolators, and then wept because the Lord had turned his back on them.

2. You belong to the Lord (14,15)

This is why the Lord was so angry with them. They belonged to the Lord, body and spirit. He was their creator. Their being unfaithful to the wives of their youths was violence against these women and showed them as unfaithful toward God.

Prayer: Father, help me to be faithful to my spouse and to you.

One Word: Be faithful to the Lord