Unit: Minor Prophets (Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi)
Theme: Give Careful Thought
Lesson Text: Malachi 2:13-17; 3:1-5
Supplemental Texts: Psalm 82:3-4; Matthew 5:21-32; 19:3-9; James 4:1-6; 5:1-6
Aim: Give careful thought to your relationships; guard yourself and do not break faith.
—–
Download a PDF of this month’s lesson material (the studies by Mark Scott, the Applications by David Faust, and Discovery Questions): LOOKOUT_August_2024.
Send an email to [email protected] to receive PDFs of the lesson material each month.
—–
By Mark Scott
We often hear, “I am not into religion; I am into relationship.” The person who uses such a statement obviously has disdain for the word religion. It is not a bad word. It is in fact a biblical word (1 Timothy 3:16, Revised Standard Version). The idea of relationship is all over the Bible.
Relationships were in disarray in post-exilic Israel. The priests were out of sorts with God. The people were not in sync with the priests and with the oppressed. And marriages were more than on the rocks. In fact, family life in Israel largely was in shambles (read the latter chapters of Ezra and Nehemiah).
Marriage Relationships
Malachi 2:13-16
Family life was hard during the Babylonian captivity. Interfacing with Babylonian culture created many problems. Israelite men were tempted to intermarry with non-Israelite women. Even Hebrew, the native language of faith, had gone on the skids (Nehemiah 8:8, NASB). Malachi called the people, particularly the men, back to their proper marital relationships.
The priests and the men of Israel were flooding (covering) the Lord’s altar with tears. They were weeping and wailing (groaning or sighing) because God was not accepting their offerings. They could not understand why this was happening. Malachi explained that their marriages had become compromised. The horizontal relationship between marriage partners was mixed, and therefore the vertical relationship with God was damaged. The phrase wife of your youth (which occurs twice in this passage) referred to the original marriage (cf. Proverbs 5 and 7). The men had become unfaithful (treacherous) to their partners. They had broken the marriage covenant. Their adultery had produced ungodly offspring.
God hated (detested—a different word is used in Malachi 1:3 which meant to “prefer second”) divorce because it undid his work of unity in marriage. Divorce is not outside God’s redemptive ability, but it is not his original design (Matthew 19:3-9). What God has joined together in body and spirit should not be put asunder. The man is to protect his wife, not divorce her. Malachi twice called the Israelite men to be on their guard against such disruptive family relationships. The marriage relationship is to mirror the relationship that God’s people have with him.
Messenger Relationship
Malachi 2:17—3:5
Israel ultimately was to have a relationship with God through the messenger (whether that be the one who would come in the spirit and power of Elijah—Luke 1:17—or the Messiah himself). But in Malachi’s time, that relationship with God was in jeopardy due to unfaithfulness at home and wrongheaded words and injustice. Israel had wearied (to the point of fainting) the Lord. The people had the gumption to say, “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?” This was similar to calling good evil and evil good in the days of Isaiah and Jeremiah. Some messenger from God would have to correct that erroneous thinking.
This messenger (ambassador or representative) would prepare the Lord’s way for justice to replace injustice. It is difficult not to think that this messenger is John the Baptist (Matthew 11:7-10). Jesus said as much. Some scholars would contend that the messenger of the covenant is someone else—maybe even the Messiah. However, the content of this messenger’s message sure sounds like the preaching of John the Baptist (Luke 3:1-20). His message would function like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He would refine the corrupt priests into gold and silver. Their offerings would then be in righteousness and acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by.
So God, through his servant Malachi, put post-exilic Israel on trial (judgment). Five sins were called out. Israel was to do away with sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers. If laborers were being defrauded, it was to stop. If widows and orphans were being oppressed, it was to stop. If foreigners were deprived justice, it was to stop. All five sins indicated that proper reverence for God was absent.
A New Testament text summarizes the emphasis of this lesson text. “Watch your life and doctrine closely” (1 Timothy 4:16).
Israel was not stewarding thoughtful relationships at home (i.e., not watching themselves). Neither were they keeping an eye on their doctrine (i.e., misrepresenting God evident in the mistreatment of people). Thoughtful relationships balance both.
0 Comments