seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Malachi 2:1 “And now, you priests, this warning is for you. 2 If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.
3 “Because of you I will rebuke your descendants[a]; I will smear on your faces the dung from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. 4 And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi may continue,” says the Lord Almighty. 5 “My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.
7 “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth. 8 But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the Lord Almighty. 9 “So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”
10 Do we not all have one Father[b]? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?
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. 12 As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob[c]—even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty.
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?” 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.
15 Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.[d] So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”[e] says the Lord Almighty.
So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.
17 You have wearied the Lord with your words.
“How have we wearied him?” you ask.
By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?”
a. Malachi 2:3 Or will blight your grain
b. Malachi 2:10 Or father
c. 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
d. Malachi 2:15 The meaning of the Hebrew for the first part of this verse is uncertain.
e. 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,”
Oh.... this is going to be confusing. I don't think this chapter has anything to do with marriage.... or divorce.... I think it's about the way stupid humans have been cheating God.
I took this from Bible.org.
Malachi had to deal with a variety of sins among the clergy and the people. In the last section he had to deal with their “cheap” worship and contempt for the ritual; and in the next section he will address the problem of divorce and marriage to pagans. Whenever there are such violations out of control in the people--people who claim to be followers of the LORD--it is almost always due to bad teaching. Somehow the people had the idea that these things were not sins, or that they could do them and get away with them. And so Malachi turns in this passage to address the priests, these ministers who were failing to do what they were supposed to do. Blaming the priests for the problems in no way let the guilty off the hook; they were responsible for their sin even if they were unaware of what Scripture said about it. But the guilt was greater for those who by their false teaching condoned sin in the congregation.
The short message breaks down into three parts: the condemnation (vv. 1-4), the covenant standard (vv. 5-7) and the charge (vv. 8, 9). It is constructed for the greatest rhetorical effect: he first condemns them for their failure in ministry--this would have grabbed their attention, but also sparked their interest to see what he was so upset about; then he lays out the standard for their spiritual service so they would know what they have failed to do, and finally he states explicitly what they have done wrong in the light of that standard.
The passage focused on the priests themselves, but also spoke to the guilty members of the congregation to remind them that no matter what the priests said in their teaching, they were to obey Scripture. Jesus in his day had to remind the people that when the Pharisees sat i
Malachi has not yet stated what the priests were doing wrong; but whatever it is that they were doing was ruining the picture that people had of God.
Verse 8 starts with “But,” a sharp contrast to the standard in verse 7. That is an ominous way to begin when the ideal has just been set forth. “But you have turned aside out of the way.” They had deliberately changed the course of their service--they did not study, they did not tell people the truth, they did not live out the faith before the people. The ministry did not change--they turned away. They probably thought that they were simply making practical innovations for their age, but they were corrupting the plan of God.
They dishonored God in their ministry; God will now dishonor them. He will leave them alone, let them continue for a while, but now that they have been exposed, everyone will know that they are base and low. How horrible to try to be a priest in the sanctuary and know that everyone knows you are a reprobate and condemned by God. That person would rather disappear into the countryside. How horrible to try to be a minister without God’s presence or power.
This note is from the easy English site.In verses 4-6, God speaks about Levi as if Levi is one man. In fact, God means the family of Levi, especially the men who were good priests. And God is reminding the evil priests at the time of Malachi about their family history.
Levi himself was really a cruel man (Genesis 34:35). Levi’s father was Jacob. Before Jacob died, he blessed his 12 sons. But Jacob did not bless Levi. Instead of a blessing, Levi received a curse on behalf of his family (Genesis 49:5-7). But later, Moses belonged to the family of Levi. And Moses pleased God greatly. So, God appointed priests from Levi’s family. And Moses blessed Levi’s family (Deuteronomy 33:8-11).
There are some who would say that this chapter is talking about divorce..... but I don't think so.... I think the priests, preachers, and church leaders all start out thinking so much about the ministry that it consumes them.... just like a new marriage. But then.... the priest, preacher, and church leader.... start to get comfortable in their ministry.... they get good at it.... like a good working marriage...... and then something better comes along.... a new idea.... a better way to get more people to "hear the Word".. But then they get so good at it.... it becomes second nature.... they figure they can get everyone.... to support their ministry.... it'll be ok... they will only take what they need and give the rest to those in need..... and then.... they become entitled.... and "their portion" becomes bigger and bigger.... until the church is their whore and they are the pimp.... beating every last coin out of her.
Bibletrack.org...... makes it a little clearer..... and insists that it's about divorce.
These priests surely didn't get the big picture. Here's that "talkin' to" they desperately needed - and extremely blunt. Verse 3 may just take your appetite away, "Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it." Malachi is referring to the internal excrement ("dung") from the sacrificed animals which was ordinarily carried outside the camp for disposal after the sacrifice. Malachi's prophecy strongly suggests that their corrupt actions regarding their sacrificial practices are not meeting God's approval. They are disgracing the Levite tradition. Verse 8 proclaims that they are causing people in Israel to stumble because of their actions. Were these priests well respected? According to verse 9, I guess not, "Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people."
These Jewish men were marrying young women of the land who worshiped false gods. Moreover, some were apparently divorcing their old wives to make room for the new pagan-worshiping ones. Verse 16 makes it clear that God despised this practice. To marry a pagan-worshipping woman is to forsake God, because one is saying that it makes no difference who your god is. So you see, this practice wasn't just the actions of unbridled lust, but rather a forsaking of God himself.
Even though God allowed the descendants of Jacob {Israel] to have a king..... God was still in charge. It was still a Theocracy. The priests, preachers, and church leaders were running the country. So.... if indeed this chapter is about divorce.... then IMHO... it's more about the priests, preachers, and leaders allowing the humans to do as they please to gain their favor and open the way to the purse strings and "favors". They were twisting the truth to make humans happy.As I sit here this morning.... there is a huge debate about the closing of the church. I venture to say.... based on this chapter..... there are a lot of stupid humans who are better off because the church has closed. Those stupid humans who try to find God in one of those "feel good" churches described in this chapter.... are better off at home. At least they aren't getting robbed of their salvation and savings by a corrupt fake.
