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malachi 2
Haystack bible commentary"Stacks and stacks of commentary...."
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==Malachi 2:1:
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“And now, O priests, this commandment is for you.
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The message is directed specifically at the priests, who were the spiritual leaders responsible for teaching the people and offering sacrifices. The following verses explain that if the priests do not "take it to heart, to give glory to My name," God will send a curse upon them and their blessings. The priests in Malachi's time had become apathetic and were showing contempt for God's name by offering Him blemished and unworthy sacrifices. Because the priests were leaders, their poor example influenced the entire nation. God holds those in leadership roles to a higher standard of faithfulness and integrity. God reminds the priests of the original covenant with the tribe of Levi, which was intended for "life and peace". The current priests had corrupted this covenant by straying from God's ways and causing others to stumble. This verse sets the stage for God's rebuke of the priests' failure to lead the people in righteousness and their corrupted worship practices. The warning is meant to prompt their repentance and a return to honoring God.
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==Malachi 2:2:
If you will not hear,
And if you will not take it to heart,
To give glory to My name,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“I will send a curse upon you,
And I will curse your blessings.
Yes, I have cursed them already,
Because you do not take it to heart.
And if you will not take it to heart,
To give glory to My name,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“I will send a curse upon you,
And I will curse your blessings.
Yes, I have cursed them already,
Because you do not take it to heart.
==Malachi 2:3:
“Behold, I will rebuke your descendants
And spread refuse on your faces,
The refuse of your solemn feasts;
And one will take you away with it.
And spread refuse on your faces,
The refuse of your solemn feasts;
And one will take you away with it.
==Malachi 2:4:
Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you,
That My covenant with Levi may continue,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
That My covenant with Levi may continue,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
==Malachi 2:5:
“My covenant was with him, one of life and peace,
And I gave them to him that he might fear Me;
So he feared Me
And was reverent before My name.
And I gave them to him that he might fear Me;
So he feared Me
And was reverent before My name.
==Malachi 2:6:
The law of truth was in his mouth,
And injustice was not found on his lips.
He walked with Me in peace and equity,
And turned many away from iniquity.
And injustice was not found on his lips.
He walked with Me in peace and equity,
And turned many away from iniquity.
==Malachi 2:7:
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“For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge,
And people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. |
What SHOULD be happening in our churches under the ministry of godly leaders?
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==Malachi 2:8:
But you have departed from the way;
You have caused many to stumble at the law.
You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
You have caused many to stumble at the law.
You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
==Malachi 2:9:
“Therefore I also have made you contemptible and base
Before all the people,
Because you have not kept My ways
But have shown partiality in the law.”
Before all the people,
Because you have not kept My ways
But have shown partiality in the law.”
==Malachi 2:10:
Have we not all one Father?
Has not one God created us?
Why do we deal treacherously with one another
By profaning the covenant of the fathers?
Has not one God created us?
Why do we deal treacherously with one another
By profaning the covenant of the fathers?
==Malachi 2:11:
Judah has dealt treacherously,
And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem,
For Judah has profaned
The Lord’s holy institution which He loves:
He has married the daughter of a foreign god.
And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem,
For Judah has profaned
The Lord’s holy institution which He loves:
He has married the daughter of a foreign god.
==Malachi 2:12:
May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob
The man who does this, being awake and aware,
Yet who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!
The man who does this, being awake and aware,
Yet who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!
==Malachi 2:13:
And this is the second thing you do:
You cover the altar of the Lord with tears,
With weeping and crying;
So He does not regard the offering anymore,
Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.
You cover the altar of the Lord with tears,
With weeping and crying;
So He does not regard the offering anymore,
Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.
==Malachi 2:14:
Yet you say, “For what reason?”
Because the Lord has been witness
Between you and the wife of your youth,
With whom you have dealt treacherously;
Yet she is your companion
And your wife by covenant.
Because the Lord has been witness
Between you and the wife of your youth,
With whom you have dealt treacherously;
Yet she is your companion
And your wife by covenant.
==Malachi 2:15:
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But did He not make them one,
Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. |
God created marriage to produce a "godly offspring" and calls for faithfulness to the wife of one's youth, a principle He still expects from His people today.
The verse reminds the people that God made a man and a woman "one" in marriage and is the source of their spirits. God's intention in creating unity in marriage was to foster a lineage of godly children who would continue His ways. The passage serves as a strong admonition to men to be faithful and not betray the wives of their youth, a call that extends to all people today. The context of this verse in Malachi includes the people's practice of marrying foreign women and divorcing their original wives, which was a form of treachery that undermined the family unit and God's design. The principles in Malachi 2:15 are not limited to ancient Israel but are relevant for contemporary society, calling for a renewed focus on marital commitment and the spiritual upbringing of children within the family. |
==Malachi 2:16:
For the Lord God of Israel says
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
“Therefore take heed to your spirit,
That you do not deal treacherously.”
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
“Therefore take heed to your spirit,
That you do not deal treacherously.”
==Malachi 2:17:
You have wearied the Lord with your words;
Yet you say,
“In what way have we wearied Him?”
In that you say,
“Everyone who does evil
Is good in the sight of the Lord,
And He delights in them,”
Or, “Where is the God of justice?”
Yet you say,
“In what way have we wearied Him?”
In that you say,
“Everyone who does evil
Is good in the sight of the Lord,
And He delights in them,”
Or, “Where is the God of justice?”