Scripture Text: Malachi 2:10-16
INTRODUCTION
The post-exilic Jews were having a difficult time of things and their attitude had grown sour. Instead of blaming themselves for their predicament, they blamed God and this irresponsibility turned into a bad attitude.
The thing about a bad attitude is that it permeates everything in life. It is hard to isolate a bad attitude. One bad attitude can have a determental effect on an entire family or a congregation for that matter. Right now, our country is suffering from a small minority of people who have a bad attitude.
We have already seen in our study in Malachi, that a bad attitude affects worship, it also affects our ministry {Priestly} and witness. Today, we will talk about how it affects RELATIONSHIPS. A bad attitude can destroy a marriage or a friendship.
Due to the time it takes me to do a three point sermon, I don’t do many these days but this message has four points so I will hurry along.
I. THE PROBLEM
The problem was lust. The Jewish men, including the priest were divorcing the wives of their youth [the mother of their children] and marrying younger women. They were not just marrying younger women, they were marrying pagan women who worshipped idols. The Apostle Paul gives us clear teaching on this matter:
- Never date someone you would not marry.
- Never date an unbeliever.
- Never date someone you would be ashamed to be seen in public with.
Walter K. Ayers was a country boy from Arkansas. His dad abandoned him and his sister when he was nine and his mom had a stroke when he was 19. Before her stroke, she worked 16 hours a day trying to provide for the two children. Walter did what he pleased. This means he went to school rarely and he failed consistently. He finally dropped out completely in the 8th grade. He got into trouble again and again and was on the verge of being sent to prison at age 19. Due to his mother and the high school football coach, Walter was given one last chance. A part of his probation was to return to school which was a bit of a problem since Walter was 19 and in the 8th grade. Walter thought to himself, I will do good if to stay out of trouble for two weeks but a couple of positive things happened. First, some teachers took an interest in Walter and went out of their way to help him and then a new girl moved into town. He fell for her hook, line and sinker. There was one problem, she was a devoted Christian and Walter hated church: he thought it was for sissies and old folks. The only way she would date Walter was at church. He didn’t like that so he laid down the law, “It either church or me.” She told him quickly, “It will be church.” Then she said “Buy Walter.” Long story short, through his relationship with this uncompromising girl and her pastor who was an all state running back in high school, Walter came to know Jesus. Four years later he answered the call to preach and became a Southern Baptist Evangelist. You can hear his testimony as he preached at First Baptist Dallas with Dr. Wally Amos Crisswold doing the introduction.
Young people: don’t compromise on this issue. Hold to your convictions. Don’t date anyone who is not a believer in Jesus Christ.
Solomon is considered by most to be wise, some say the wisest but Solomon disobeyed God’s direct order by marrying foreign women who were pagans. I Kings 11 gives us the details.
2The LORD had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway.
II. THE PROMISE
Malachi said, You cry out, “Why doesn’t the LORD accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the LORD witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.
Vows are more than a promise. We make promises to each other but vows are made to God. It is one thing to promise to be faithful in sickness and health, poverty or wealth, the good times that brighten you ways and the dark times that saddened your days. But the vow you made was for better or worse and you made it directly to God, not your wife. We all have our better side but we also have that worse side. The key to an enduring relationship is not love, it is commitment. You could translate that into love for Jesus but there comes a time in every marriage where you have to make a decision: Am I to look out for my own personal interest and pursue my happiness or am I to be faithful to my vows?
I don’t think there is a close second, the most frightened I have ever been was during our wedding. I was shaking so bad when June and I kneeled on a little iron alter, that I thought it was going to come a part. Wedding vows are a commitment to God and a vow is sacred, it is a big deal. Those who take a vow to God lightly will suffer the consequences. It is or should be one of the most sacred moments of your life. I make those I marry repeat vows. They are important. They are holy and sacred, something you should never forget.
I married a young couple once against my better judgment. I tried my best to talk them out of it right up until the last moment. The marriage lasted longer than I though, almost seven years. I went to talk with the young man and begged him to reconsider {he had found a new love}. I reminded him of the vow he made, he told me, “I don’t remember making a vow.” I said, “You made it and now you are breaking it.”
III. THE PITFALL
16 “For I hate divorce!” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty, ” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”
I use the NLT. Joe David uses the NIV and I have been tempted to switch myself but the NLT has such of way of making things clear. Twice you see the phrase, “guard your heart.”
The NIV reads, “guard yourself in your spirit.” The NASB reads, “take heed in your spirit.” But the NLT is so clear, so simple: the biggest pitfall in the martial relationship is the unguarded heart.
The most dangerous thing you can do is take your spouse for granted; to take your marriage for granted and let down your guard. The moment you begin to think that your marriage is invincible, you are in trouble. Most couples get married, settle down, start raising children and in the process, they quit dating, romancing each other. I heard one man put it this way: “My wife is like an old hound, laying on the front porch, you couldn’t run her off if you tried.” I cringed when I heard him say these words. Eros {Romantic love} is very conditional. It is a fire but it will go out if it is not nurtured. You have to stir the embers, fan the flame and put a stick of wood on from time to time. Once you reach a state of indifference, you let down your guard and you make it possible for someone else other than your mate to get into your heart. Despite what some say, “Intimacy” is the number one problem and the lack thereof is the leading cause of divorce.
When we take our spouse and marriage for granted, we cease to meet needs and unmet needs lead to loneliness and loneliness looks for company. Extra marital affairs begin with this desire to fulfill unmet needs and they usually begin with talking, sharing and listening. In time, an emotional bond is formed which often times leads to a sexual relationship which becomes very destructive to all persons involved.
If you are struggling with unmet needs–guard your heart. Open only to Jesus. Get involved with Jesus in an intimate relationship. Share your loneliness with Jesus. He may not be all you want but He is all you need If you open your heart to a friend of the opposite sex, you are going to get emotionally involved and then you are going to hurt any way you go. There is no easy way out of an extra marital affair. GUARD YOUR HEART.
IV. ONE LAST THING: THE PAIN
16 “For I hate divorce!” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty, ” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”
Verse 16 is one of the most difficult passages to translate in the bible and scholars are divided. The NLT, NASB, AV all… The LORD says, “I hate divorce.” but the NIV reads…
- NIV–“The man who hates and divorces his wife does violence to the one he should protect,” says the LORD Almighty.
- ESV–“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.”
- Holman–“If he hates and divorces his wife,” says the LORD God of Israel, “he covers his garment with injustice,” says the LORD of Hosts. Therefore, watch yourselves carefully, and do not act treacherously.
The debate is over the “Object.” What is the object of the hate? Is it divorce or the wife. I am a proponent of using multiple translation. Unfortunately, many pastors are too insecure to do so. It doesn’t matter how you translate the verse: there is a powerful message…
- “The man who hates and divorces his wife does violence to the one he should protect,”
- “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her covers his garment with violence.”
- “If he hates and divorces his wife, he covers his garment with injustice,” says the LORD of Hosts. Therefore, watch yourselves carefully, and do not act treacherously.
You tell me which translation does not communicate a truth. Divorce is violent and treacherous. Only two kinds of people will deny this truth: those who have never experienced divorce and those who are living in denial.
CONCLUSION
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Watch your attitude
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Guard your heart
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Practice love by doing loving things
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Don’t exhalt your needs above the needs of your spouse and children
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