Malachi , Sarah Barry
WHAT DOES GOD SEEK? GODLY OFFSPRING
Passage: Malachi 2:10~16  
Key verse: 15
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.
Footnotes
- Malachi 2:10 Or father
- 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
- Malachi 2:15 The meaning of the Hebrew for the first part of this verse is uncertain.
- 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,”
Cross references
- Malachi 2:10 : S Ex 4:22; Mt 5:16; 6:4, 18; Lk 11:2; 1Co 8:6
- Malachi 2:10 : S Job 4:17; Isa 43:1
- Malachi 2:10 : Ex 19:5; S 2Ki 17:15; Jer 31:32
- Malachi 2:10 : S Zep 3:3-4
- Malachi 2:11 : S Isa 1:13; S 48:8
- Malachi 2:11 : S Dt 4:37
- Malachi 2:11 : S Ne 13:23
- Malachi 2:11 : S Ex 34:16; Jer 3:7-9
- Malachi 2:12 : S 1Sa 2:30-33; S Eze 24:21
- Malachi 2:12 : S Nu 24:5; 2Sa 20:1
- Malachi 2:12 : S Mal 1:10
- Malachi 2:13 : S Jer 11:11
- Malachi 2:13 : Ps 39:12
- Malachi 2:13 : Ps 66:18; Jer 14:12
- Malachi 2:13 : Isa 58:2
- Malachi 2:14 : S Mal 1:2
- Malachi 2:14 : S Ge 21:30; S Jos 24:22
- Malachi 2:14 : S Pr 5:18
- Malachi 2:14 : S Eze 16:8; Heb 13:4
- Malachi 2:15 : S Ge 2:24; Mt 19:4-6
- Malachi 2:15 : S Dt 14:2; 1Co 7:14
- Malachi 2:15 : S Dt 4:15
- Malachi 2:15 : S Isa 54:6; 1Co 7:10; Heb 13:4
- Malachi 2:16 : S Dt 24:1; Mt 5:31-32; 19:4-9; Mk 10:4-5
- Malachi 2:16 : S Ge 6:11; 34:25; S Pr 4:17; S Isa 58:4
- Malachi 2:16 : Ps 51:10
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
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