Sunday, February 3rd, 2008
Pastor Lee Copeland
Download sermon here
Dear folks,
This Sunday, as we continue our walk through the book of Malachi, we come to the subject of God hating those who divorce. (Malachi 2:10-16)
First is the problem of breaking our covenant with God by sinning against Him. Here is the first section of the passage:
10 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!
Why would God hate those who break their covenant they have made with Him? I think we can answer this without too much trouble, can we not? Lying to God or as Jason reminded us last week, making a vow to the Lord and not keeping it is only done by fools. Committing spiritual adultery is like physical adultery, both are a betrayal of the Lord.
What are some ways we can commit spiritual adultery today?
Think how serious it is to sin against the Lord. When you read that God hates (Malachi 1:2-3) what does that say about His holiness? Be sure to think through 1 John 1:8-10 when considering this problem of sin in the Christian life.
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Next passage examines why God does not respond to the prayers of the people. he calls upon them to examine their own lives and their faithfulness to the Covenant of Moses.
13 And this second thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. 16 “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”
Sin separates us from the Lord so that we feel His disapproval. If we hide sin in our hearts, will He hear us? The Jews of the 5th century BC were feeling His disapproval, yet wondered how the Lord could turn away from them. God was closely involved in their marriages, He was seeking Godly children if they had a family, but He wanted more than that faithfulness and love from the husband toward his wife. God’s verdict on divorce is personal hatred, separation, and disgust with a husband who would divorce his wife for another woman, and a foreign one at that.
There are terrible consequences to divorce, both financial and emotional. Of course with children these are only magnified for generations. But even worse is the breaking of our vow before the Lord who is a witness of our marriage. Certainly divorce can be forgiven and it is not the unpardonable sin. But the consequences of breaking the “one flesh” bond are serious indeed.
Matthew 19:1-12, Deuteronomy 24:1-4, and 1 Corinthians 7:1-16 are all relevant passages we should be familiar with as we think about this basic human covenant. May the Lord help us not only to live up to our promises, but to have compassion and care for those who have been divorced.
See you Sunday,
Lee