I Hate These Things- God! Malachi Pt. 2 Series

Malachi Pt 2

“I hate these things!” God

Thesis: The Lord tells his people that he hates the following 4 things: Leaders who mislead His people, people who break the faith, divorce and violence.

Opening Thoughts about our text today:

He hates that Levi and its priests have not honored His word and they have chosen to break their covenant.

He hates that Judah has broken the faith with God and that they have wed other gods.

He hates divorce and its ramifications on the people.

He hates those who are clothed in violence.

The people of God are warned and told they must listen to God and repent of their sin before the Day of the Lord comes upon them.

Scripture texts: Malachi 2:1-17

1”And now this admonition is for you, O priests. 2If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name,” says the LORD Almighty, “I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me. 3“Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will spread on your faces the offal from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. 4And you will know that I have sent you this admonition 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. 6True 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, and from his mouth men should seek instruction—because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty. 8But 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.”

10Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another?

11Judah has broken faith. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the LORD loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god. 12As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the LORD cut him off from the tents of Jacob—even though he brings offerings to the LORD Almighty.

13Another thing you do: You flood the LORD’S altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 14You ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.

15Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

16“I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel, “and I hate a man’s covering himself with violence as well as with his garment,” says the LORD Almighty.

So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.

17You 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?”

Introduction:

Malachi continues on with listing the sins and the abominations of the Israelites with the Lord. Malachi is God’s inspired Word to a deceived and rebellious nation - Judah. Malachi’s name means “My Message”. This off course is the last prophetic book in the OT. The message of the book addresses the sinful condition of the priests of God and the people of God. The book paints a picture for us of a people who say they are of God and His children. They believe they are right with God even though they are disrespecting God, in opposition to the ways of God, and living in sin. The book is a call to holiness and repentance so that God’s hand is not forced to pronounce judgment on the remaining tribes of Israel. It is a call from God to remind the people of God that the Day of the Lord is coming and with it comes judgment for unrepentant sin. The message of the book of Malachi can be outlined as follows: