DIGGING DEEP NO. 964 – December 20th, 2022 THE SINS OF GOD’S PEOPLE (PART 3) Mal.2: 10- 16.

Having dealt with the sins of the priests, Malachi now turns to the nations as a whole and confronts the men who divorced their wives to marry pagan women. The men loving pagan women wasn’t a new problem in the Jewish nation. When the Jews left Egypt, there was a mixed multitude that left with them Ex.12: 38, which suggests that some Jews had married Egyptian spouses Lev.24: 10; Numb.11: 4. The Jews sinned greatly when they mixed with the women of Midian at Baal Peor (Numb.25), and God judged them severely. Ezra and Nehemiah had to contend with this problem Ez.9: 1- 4; Neh.13: 23- 31, and it’s not totally absent from the church today 2 Cor.6: 14- 18.

Betrayal – In divorcing their Jewish wives and marrying pagan women, the men were committing several sins. To begin with, it was betrayal as they broke their vows to God and to their wives. They were profaning God’s covenant and treating it as nothing Ex.34: 11- 16; Deut.7: 3- 4.

Hypocrisy – Mal.2: 12- 13 after committing these sins, the men then brought offerings to the Lord and wept at the altar seeking His help and blessing. Perhaps they had the idea that they could sin blatantly with the intention of coming to God for forgiveness. But if they were truly repentant, they would have forsaken their heathen wives and taken their true wives back. These men were guilty of hypocritical worship that had nothing to do with a changed heart. Instead of forgiving them, God was ready to cut them off. In matters of ethics and morals, there are many things in society that are legal but they are not Biblical. Brides and grooms must remember that God is an unseen witness at every wedding Mal.2: 14. God also witnesses those who live together who aren’t married. One day there will come a terrible harvest from the seeds being planted today by those who despise God’s laws.

Purity – Mal.2: 15 here Malachi commended the faithful husbands who obeyed the Spirit of God and the Word of God. Unlike the men who took pagan wives just to satisfy their sexual hunger, these faithful men wanted to father children who would be godly seeds, devoted Jews, and not idol worshippers. The basic issue was loyalty to the God of Israel and the maintenance of a godly home. God called Israel to be the channel for bringing the Messiah into the world, and anything that corrupted that stream would work against His great plan of salvation. God commanded the Jews to be separate people, not because they were better than any other nation, but because He had a very special task for them to perform. Anything that broke down that wall of separation would play into the hands of the evil one who did all he could to keep the Messiah from being born.

Hostility – Mal.2: 16 “For the LORD God of Israel says that He hates divorce!” Those who want to please God certainly wouldn’t want to do anything that God so abhors but would do everything possible to heal the marriage. Divorce pulls apart that which God put together, and Jesus warned us not to do that Matt.19: 6. It’s like an act of violence in an area where there ought to be tenderness.

Why does Malachi mention a garment and violence? In modern society, a man puts an engagement ring on a woman’s finger to propose marriage, but in ancient Israel, he placed a corner of his garment over her Ezek.16: 8; Ruth.3: 9. If a man divorces his wife, instead of having a garment that symbolized love, he had a garment that symbolized violence.

The main lessons of this passage are clear:

1. In marriage, a man and a woman become one flesh, and God is a partner in that union.

2. Through marriage, the Lord is seeking a godly seed that will carry on His work on earth.

3. Marriage is a union that can be broken only by death Rom.7: 1- 3, sexual immorality Matt.19: 9, or desertion 1Cor.7: 12- 16.

God’s original intent was that one man and one woman be devoted to each other in marriage for a lifetime. Divorce for reasons other than those given in scripture would grieve the heart of God.

In Conclusion – strong families begin with strong marriages, a man and a woman who love each other and want to live for each other, and both for the Lord. Anything less than that is less than God’s will.