Though the nation of Israel
was covering the altars of worship with tears, weeping and crying
out, the Lord did not regard or receive the offering of their hand
any more. Because they were contemptible in their worship and had
little regard for “The LORD of hosts”, He was not
accepting their sacrifices. In Malachi chapter two and verse
fourteen, Malachi the prophet shares the reason why the Lord was not
moved by their tears, weeping and crying out where we read:
Yet you say, Wherefore?
Because the LORD has been witness between you and the wife of your
youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously: yet is
she your companion, and the wife of your covenant.
The
verse begins, “Yet you say, Wherefore? Because the LORD
has been witness between you and the wife of your youth,”
One of the first things we notice about the people's response to the
Lord's rejection of their offerings was that they did not know why He
didn't accept them - “Yet you say, Wherefore”
– which means, “what, wherein or for what reason”. The people
simply could not understand why the Lord would not receive their
offerings, especially when they offered them with such passion and
weeping.“The LORD's” answer
was made very clear to them, “Because the LORD has been
witness” which means “testify,
bear witness, or affirm solemnly” “between you and the
wife of your youth” which
refers to “the woman or wife when they were young and in their
early life”.
The verse goes on to say, “against
whom you have dealt treacherously:”
The Lord gives them the specific act of which He has been witness
between the men and their wives -“against”
or “in opposition to, opposing and contrary to” “whom
you have dealt treacherously”
which means “to act deceitfully, faithlessly, and to
offend”. Rather than be faithful, truthful and non-offensive to
their wives, these men were in opposition to them.
Finally
the verse says, “yet is she your
companion, and the wife of your covenant.”
As an appeal to the proper position these men should have with their
wives, “The Lord”
tells them, “yet she is your companion”
which means “wife and consort”. He reminds them that she is “the
wife of your covenant” which
refers to their “alliance, pledge, agreement and treaty”. These
men had broken their relationships with their wives, and because they
dealt treacherously with them, the Lord rejected their offerings.
As
we ponder the words in this verse, it is interesting to note the
relationship between the Lord's acceptance of their offerings and
their relationships with their wives. There is a direct connection
between the manner in which they treated the wives of their youth and
the Lord's regard to their offerings. It mattered little that these
men offered their sacrifices with tears, weeping and crying out as
long as they were dealing with their wives treacherously. Perhaps the
Lord will bring to our minds people who are close to us to whom we
have dealt treacherously, and if He does, may we learn that the
quickest way to having the Lord regard our most sincere prayers may
be to mend relationships that He witnesses which are significant to
us and important to Him as well.
Next
time the Lord has more to say about the way they treated their wives,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment