Malachi 2:1-16 and Hebrews 8:1-13

If you've got a Bible, if you need a church Bible, grab one at the door. It will really help you go through. It's on page 801. Mark Twain was a very famous American novelist.

He was the author of books like Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn. And I have no idea whether Mark Twain was a Christian, but I can tell you that he had a healthy respect for the Bible.

He knew that the Bible was no ordinary piece of literature. He once said, most people are bothered by passages of the Bible that they do not understand.

But the passages that bother me are the passages I do understand. Let me say that again. Most passages, most people are bothered by passages of Scripture that they do not understand.

But the passages that bother me are the passages that I do understand.

And this morning in Malachi chapter 2, we come to a chapter that isn't very hard to understand at all.

Malachi 2 · chapter mention

But it may certainly bother you if you're serious about it.

You may have noticed when Reuben read to it that the word covenant keeps coming up.

It's repeated several times.

And the covenant is a solemn and a binding agreement between two parties.

We talk about the covenant of marriage.

And in these verses, God refers to several different covenants.

Binding and solemn agreements.

That's how we're going to divide the passage in.

Verses 1 to 9, you'll see the first one.

You might remember from last week that Malachi is specifically addressing the priests.

The religious leaders of the people of God.

And they continue to be the focus of the next session.

You see it in verse 1.

And now, O priests, you lot, you priests, this command is for you.

And what follows is an admonition or a rebuke or criticism of some sort.

And again, just like we saw last week in chapter 1, verse 6,

the issue continues to be the failure of God's priests to give God the honour that he deserves.

So look with me at verse 2.

If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honour to my name,

says the Lord of hosts, then I will send curse upon you.

And I will curse your blessings.

Indeed, I've already cursed them because you do not lay it to heart.

You can hear the heat in those words, can't you?

God is angry with the priests of Israel.

So angry, he says in verse 3,

Behold, I will rebuke your offspring and I will spread dung on your faces,

the dung of your offerings, and you will be taken away with it.

It's very, it's a polite translation.

What he's saying?

That when the Israelites made their animal sacrifices,

the dung or the offal, it was the inedible part, the internal organs,

that was to be taken away from the sacrifice and burnt separately.

It's not a pleasant image at all.

But whatever has stirred God to be this angry,

it must be, mustn't it?

Very serious indeed.

And from verse 4 onwards, God makes it clear what the problem is.

So if you look in verse 4,

and then you look at verse 8,

God refers to the covenant that he made with Levi.

Levi was the founding father of the tribe of Levi.

They became known as the tribe of the Levites.

And it was the Levites, wasn't it,

who were chosen out of the 12 tribes of Israel to be the priests.

They were to be the religious teachers.

They would represent God to the people and the people to God.

And the covenant he made with them outlined the obligations that they had.

And so Malachi recalls them.

Look at verse 5.

He says,

It says,

The priests were to be God's mouthpiece.

They were to be God's messengers.

They were to instruct God's people.

And they were to do it truthfully.

And if they did their job properly,

then the people of God would turn away from their sin.

But the priests in Malachi's day weren't doing their job properly.

They'd completely drop the ball.

And so instead of calling people to turn from their sin,

they've actually caused people to stumble into sin.

In fact, they themselves as priests had turned away and become corrupt.

Look at verse 8 and 9.

But you, you, O priest, you have turned aside from the way.

You've caused many to stumble by your instruction.

You've corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts.

And so I will make you despised and abased among the people.

Inasmuch as you do not keep my ways, but show partiality in your instruction.

God says, you've violated, you've broken the covenant, the agreement,

the binding solemn agreement that I made with Levi.

With Levi's descendants.

And you've broken it.

And what God is very serious about, they have treated with contempt.

They've not honoured him, and so he is angry.

What are we to make of it?

Since Jesus has come,

we don't have priests anymore like they did in the Old Testament.

Jesus is our priest, our perfect priest.

I and Reuben are not your priests.

Jesus is the one who represents God to us,

and us to God.

The New Testament teaches, in a sense,

we are all priests.

All of us who have trusted in the Lord Jesus,

we are all in him,

we are all priests.

We are to represent God to the world.

Your elders are not priests.

But nevertheless, God still appoints leaders in his church.

He appoints men to lead his church,

and to teach his people.

He has laid a responsibility on those preachers and teachers,

on elders and ministers.

But he also, doesn't he,

gives that responsibility from time to time,

to Sunday school teachers,

like you were taught this morning,

to youth group leaders,

to those who instruct our children,

to those who teach Bibles.

And it is a,

a Bible study,

it is a very serious business.

So look at James chapter 3, verse 1,

James 3:1

or let me read it to you.

You can turn there if you want.

And these words are really sobering.

And the Apostle James writes to the church,

and he says this,

Not many of you should presume to be teachers.

Not many of you should become teachers,

my brothers,

for you know that we who teach

will be judged with greater strictness.

Lots has changed since Malachi's day,

and our day,

and our day,

but one thing hasn't.

And that is this,

that God is still very serious

about people turning away from their sin.

And those who are his messengers,

his mouthpiece,

must take that responsibility very seriously.

You must demand of those who preach to you

that they teach you the truth,

and nothing but the truth.

Nothing false ought to be on their lips.

And James reminds us, doesn't he,

that when we speak for God,

we are accountable to God.

There will be a special judgment for us.

It's a chilling verse.

For those of us who teach and preach God's word.

So it's not something,

and we do for fun,

it's not something we do as an adrenaline rush.

It's not something that we do

simply out of obligation.

Instead, it must be something, isn't it,

that the preacher must work very hard at.

They put time into it.

They should take great care.

And the implications for us as a church family

is that it's far more important

how the Bible is taught

than what games and activities we do

in the youth group.

It's far more important, isn't it,

that the Bible is taught clearly and faithful

than that our children think

they've had a wonderful time in our kids' clubs.

And so our preparation

as leaders of youth groups,

Bible studies,

in whatever context in the church,

is to reflect what is most important to God.

And so that's a great thing, isn't it,

for those of you who are serving in ministries,

to think about the different ministries

in church life

and think,

are we reflecting

what is most important to God?

Whether it's in the youth group

or Little Stars

or the language class,

whatever context

we're teaching God's Word,

God is very serious indeed

about how His Word is taught.

Speaking God's Word

is a very serious business

and we ought to treat it

as seriously as God does.

Malachi turns his attention then

to what he calls

the covenant of our fathers.

And he's talking there

about the solemn binding agreement

that he made

with the whole nation of Israel.

And so,

at this point he addresses

the whole nation,

the whole people of God,

not just the priests.

Look at verse 10.

Have we all not one father?

Has not one God created us?

Why then are we faithless

to one another

profaning the covenant

of our fathers?

The covenant God made

with our forefathers,

with their ancestors,

has been violated,

snapped, broken.

Because they've broken faith

with one another.

And that is they've broken

the bonds of commitment,

of trust,

by which God's people

are bound to.

How have they done that?

Look verse 11.

Just glance down.

He uses Judah and Jacob

as synonyms

for the people of Israel.

Now, Judah's been faithless

and an 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.

May the Lord

cut off

from the tents of Jacob

and the descendants

of the man

who does this,

who brings an offering

to the Lord of hosts.

The issue is here.

This is the issue.

The issue is

they have

intermarried

with those

who are not Israelites.

That's what God means

by marrying

the daughter

of a foreign God.

And some of you

might be sitting there

thinking,

what's the big deal

in that?

Is God racist?

Of course not.

As in everything

we've seen

in Malachi so far,

the problem is

that they have broken

God's clear commands.

So let me read to you

from Deuteronomy chapter 7.

Deuteronomy 7 · chapter mention

It's from earlier on

in the Old Testament.

Deuteronomy chapter 7,

Deuteronomy 7:1

verse 1.

When the Lord,

your God,

brings you,

the people of God,

into the land

that you are entering

to take possession of it

and clears away

the many nations

before you,

the Hittites,

the Girgashites,

the Amorites,

the Canaanites,

the Perizzites,

the Hivites,

the Jebusites,

seven nations

more numerous

and more mighty

than you.

And when the Lord God

gives them over to you

and you defeat them,

you must devote them

to complete destruction.

You shall make

no covenant with them

and you shall show

no mercy to them

and you shall not

intermarry with them.

Giving your daughters

to their sons

or taking their daughters

to your sons

for they would

turn away

your sons

from following me

to serve other gods.

Then the anger

of the Lord

would be kindled

against you

and he would

destroy you quickly.

Do you see,

God not only

gave the Israelites

a command,

I think you should be

willing to see that,

not to intermarry

with those who didn't

follow the God of Israel.

He gave them the command

but he also gave them

the reason for it.

that when you marry

outside of the people

of God,

when you marry

those who do not

worship me,

who worship other gods,

God is concerned

about that

because the Israelites

would turn away

from serving him

to worship the idols

of the other nations.

And that is

in many ways

the story

of the Old Testament.

That when they did

marry outside Israel,

when they did

turn away

from worshipping God

to worshipping,

when they did

into marriage,

they turned away

from worshipping God

to worshipping idols.

King Solomon

is the great example,

isn't it?

It's the classic

and tragic case.

His heart

was turned away.

But they're still

doing it

800 years later.

And God says

through Malachi,

you've profaned

the covenant.

That means this.

It means that

they've treated

something holy

as if it was unholy.

And they've shown

no seriousness

about what God

is serious about.

And again,

this is still

an issue

that God

is serious about.

In 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6,

the Apostle Paul

is writing,

talking about

how Christians

are to live

in the world.

He says

that he wants

them to live

in a way,

in a world,

he wants them

to live in a way

that is pure.

And this is

what he says.

Hear these words.

He says,

do not be

unequally yoked

with unbelievers.

For what

partnership

has righteousness

with unrighteousness?

or what

fellowship

does light

have

with darkness?

And Paul

is urging

Christians

like you,

if you've trusted

in the Lord Jesus,

like me,

to be

uncontaminated

in our devotion

to the Lord Jesus.

To be

uncompromising

about our

devotion

to the Lord Jesus.

believers.

And to that end,

he urges us

not to bind

ourselves

to unbelievers

in any sort

of irreversible

partnership.

Now,

I presume

that that

applies to things

apart from marriage

too.

But it certainly

does apply to

marriage.

Whatever form

the yoking

together,

joining together,

takes,

Paul urges us

to be pure

and to maintain

undivided loyalty

to Christ

by avoiding it.

You might feel

this morning

that you are

strong enough

to avoid

being distracted

or contaminated.

But that

doesn't give you

permission,

license,

to disregard

God's command.

And God

says to you

this morning

that you should

be loyal to him

above everything

else.

that we should

love him

more than

anybody else.

And it seems

clear to me

that the teaching

of the Bible

is that Christians

should not

consider marriage

to an unbeliever

an option.

It's not an option.

And so if you

are looking for

a husband or wife

even,

or if you are

looking for a

girlfriend or

boyfriend,

the Apostle Paul

would urge you,

would command

you,

look for

someone who

shares your

commitment to

Jesus Christ.

Let me speak

to our young

people,

to our

teenagers.

Let me

plead with you.

Let me plead

with you as

your minister

that if you

are looking

for a

relationship,

if you are

looking to get

married,

hear these

words,

look for

someone in

the Lord.

God,

I cannot

tell you

the untold

harm and

pain that

it causes

to disregard

that clear

command from

God.

I realise

that this

morning,

this is not

an easy issue

for some of

us.

In fact,

I know for

some of you,

this has been

excruciatingly

hard.

But I need

to tell you

that this is

something that

God is very

serious about.

And so we

should be

serious about

it too.

Thirdly,

and finally,

let's look at

the third

covenant in

verses 13

to 16.

In Malachi 2,

Malachi explains

why God is not

accepting Israel's

offering.

He's not

accepting their

religious devotion.

Do you remember

last week he said,

I'd rather you

shut the doors,

I'd rather you

didn't bother.

And it's because

of the third

covenant violation

in verse 13.

He says,

this is the

second thing

you do.

You cover

the Lord's

altar with

tears.

You come

and you cry.

You love

the music.

You cry

your eyes

out.

And you

weep

and you

groan.

But he

no longer,

God no longer

regards your

offering with

favour from

your hand.

But you say,

why does he

not?

Because the

Lord was

witness between

you and the

wife of your

youth,

to whom you've

been faithless.

though she

is your

companion

and your

wife by

covenant.

Notice again,

it's the dispute

structure.

Do you remember

we saw that

last week?

God says,

this is how you

behaved,

and the Israelites

say,

no,

no,

no,

no,

how have we

done that?

How have we

broken faith?

Here,

it's about the

bond of a

commitment

between a

husband and

a wife.

And that

bond between

a husband and

wife is a

covenant.

And on this

occasion,

God takes the

Israelites back

to creation,

to the

covenant of

creation.

And in the

book of

Genesis,

he reminds

them that

marriage is

two people

becoming one

flesh.

Verse 15,

look at this,

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.

Let none of

you be

faithless to

the wife of

your youth.

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.

Because of

the oneness

intended for

marriage, God

calls on his

people not

to reverse

that.

Not to

reverse the

oneness

into

two-ness.

By divorcing

their marriage

partner.

Or being

violent to

their marriage

partner.

Because that

could incite

God's

hatred.

And this

too is

something that

God is

serious about.

And again,

the New

Testament,

the teaching

of the

Bible is

telling you

and I,

God hasn't

stopped being

serious about

this.

When Jesus

was quizzed,

you remember,

on the topic

of divorce,

his answer

was really

clear.

Let me read

you from

Matthew 19.

Religious

leaders came

up to him

and they

tested him

by asking,

is it

lawful to

divorce one's

wife for

any reason?

And he

answered them,

have you not

read that he

who created

them,

Genesis 1 and

2,

from the very

beginning made

them male and

female?

And said,

therefore a man

shall leave his

wife,

his father and

mother and

hold fast to

his wife and

the two shall

become one

flesh.

So they are

no longer two

but one

flesh.

What therefore

God has joined

together,

let not man

separate.

Now of

course,

this isn't

all that the

New Testament

says to us

about divorce

and about

marriage.

Even in

that passage,

Jesus goes

on to

recognise some

of the

complexities

that are

involved.

But God's

view is

not complex.

God still

hates divorce.

And that is

a hard word,

isn't it?

I suspect

some of you

listening to me

might be able

to identify

with Mark

Twain because

passages like

this bother

us.

And what

bothers you

and I is

how black

and white

they are

when we

know that

the world

is full

of grey

so much

of the

time.

And so

particularly

when it

comes to

divorce,

for example,

there is

pain and

complexity in

broken

relationships.

So

complex that

no two

situations

ever see

the same.

And

sometimes

passages

like this

bother us

because we

find it

hard to

see why

God

wants

things

this way.

Sometimes

they bother

us because

what the

Bible says

is so

different

from what

the world

says all

around us.

And

indeed,

what the

Bible says

about some

of the

things we're

looking at

this morning

is incredibly

unpopular

in the

world,

isn't it?

And the

temptation

to simply

say what

people want

us to

say is

very,

very great.

a friend

of mine

I was

with this

week

attended a

wedding

recently

and he

heard a

marriage

sermon.

He was

just there

as a

kind of

punter,

as a

guest.

And the

marriage

sermon

had two

main

points.

The first

point,

point number

one in

this,

he was a

minister,

the point

number one

was there's

a lot of

paperwork

involved in

getting married

these days

and in

marriage.

marriage.

Point number

two was

some marriages

work and

some don't

so we've

got to

hope for

the best

in this

case.

Here is

a man

who was

entrusted

with God's

word to

these people

and he

thoroughly

undermined

God's word.

Even

Christian

leaders

sell out

on the

truth of

God's

word.

My friend

found out

actually this

man had

been married

twice before

and he

was saying

these things

wasn't he

to justify

his own

existence.

They say

things people

want to

hear and

the temptation

to do so

is so

very great

but that

is simply

not the

right way

to respond

to the

epidemic

of broken

marriages

in our

country

and amongst

your friends

and amongst

mine.

We as

Christians

need to be

people who

are willing

and prepared

to be

unpopular.

Who are

prepared to

be bothered

by the

Bible

but who

will remain

loyal to

God and

to God's

word.

Who won't

change it

and won't

ignore it

and won't

water it

down but

will obey

it.

Now listen

to me

here.

Particularly

if you're

a little bit

upset by

what I've

just said.

Maybe you're

a little bit

angry but I

want you to

listen to

this.

Malachi is

not saying

God hates

people who've

been divorced.

Malachi is

not saying

God hates

people who

are divorced.

He's saying

he hates

divorce.

And I

think if

you have

been divorced

this morning

you will be

the quickest

to understand

this truth.

I agree with

it.

Because you

will know

won't you

if you've

been through

a divorce

how gut

wrenchingly

awful it

is.

But this

verse is

actually not

directed

towards those

who've been

through the

tragedy, the

grief of

divorce.

It's directed

to those of us

this morning

who are

married or

who one

day will

be married.

And the

message for

you and I

is this.

Take the

covenant of

marriage

seriously.

Marriage is

for life.

Anything

else is

destructive

of people

and heartbreaking

to God.

Marriage is

not to be

entered into

lightly.

Marriage

requires hard

work and

deep

commitment

no matter

what the

cost.

And so if

you've made

a covenant

like that

already or

will one

day do it

do whatever

it takes

to keep

your covenant

no matter

what.

No matter

what.

because if

we are

serious

about

loving

God

we will

be as

serious

as God

is about

obedience

in this

area.

And I

hope you're

seeing this

morning that

God is

serious about

covenants and

the keeping

of covenants.

And that

really is the

big theme of

Malachi chapter

Malachi 2 · chapter mention

2.

And I

want you to

notice this

profound thread

that runs

right the way

through all of

these three

issues that

Malachi tackles.

you see

whenever

Israel

the people

of God

disobey

God and

break

covenant

it's got

implications

for the

greatest

covenant.

It's got

implications for

the greatest

relationship of

all.

Look at

verse 8

of chapter

2.

When the

priests break

their covenant

with God

other people

are led

astray

from God.

They cause

others to

stumble.

Look at

verse 11.

when the

Israelite

marries

non-Israelites

it desecrates

the sanctuary

God's temple.

It's an insult

to God

personally.

Verse 13.

When the

Israelites

break their

marriage

covenant

God is

no longer

pleased with

their offering.

He's

personally

offended.

Because when

God's people

betray their

covenant

when they

betray his

word

they betray

him.

And that's

what Israel

has done.

They've

betrayed

God.

And that's

a pretty

bleak picture

this morning

isn't it?

What hope

did Israel

have?

What hope

is there

for you

and I

this morning

feeling guilty?

What hope

is there

when we

disobey

God's

word?

Well if

Israel

were going

to take

Malachi

seriously

they were

prepared to

take God

and his

covenant

seriously.

Well they

might also

remember a

promise

that God

had made

about 150

years earlier.

It was a

promise that

came through

the prophet

Jeremiah.

It was

our assurance

of pardon

that we read

earlier in

the service.

And it was

God's promise

for the future

for the people

of Israel.

Behold the

days are

coming

declares the

Lord when I

will make a

new covenant

with the house

of Israel

and the house

of Judah.

not like the

covenant that I

made with

their fathers

on the day

when I

took them

by the

hand to

bring them

out of

the land

of Egypt.

My covenant

that they

broke

though I

was their

husband

declares the

Lord.

For this

is the

covenant that

I will make

with them

the house

of Israel

after those

days declares

the Lord.

I will put

my law

within them

I will

write it

on their

hearts

and I

will be

their

God

and they

shall be

my

people

and no

longer

shall

each

teach

his

neighbour

and each

his

brother

saying

know

the

Lord

for they

shall

all

know

me.

From the

least of

them

to the

greatest

declares

the

Lord.

And then

here's

the

great

news

for I

will

forgive

their

iniquity

and I

will

remember

their

sin

no

more.

God

said

the

problem

of the

!

covenant

which is the

problem

that we

see in

Malachi

Malachi 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

is that

Israel

broke

it.

They

violated

it

by

persistent

deliberate

willful

obedience

disobedience.

But God

says I

am making

a new

one and

it

will be

totally

different.

In the

new

one he

says my

law will

be on

the

people's

hearts.

In the

new

one my

people

will

all

know

me.

In

the

new

one I

will

forgive

my

people's

wickedness

and I

will

remember

their

sins

no

more.

And

that

was

Israel's

only

hope.

They

couldn't

repair

the

old

covenant.

No

amount

of

repentance

would

make

it

right.

They

wrecked

it.

They

needed

a

new

one.

They

needed

a

new

one

that

only

God

could

make.

That's

precisely

what

God

has

promised

to

do.

As we

read

in

Hebrews

Hebrews 8 · chapter mention

chapter

8.

It's

not

just

what

he's

promised

to

do,

is

it?

It's

what

he's

done

because

on

the

night

before

he

was

betrayed,

Jesus

took the

bread and

said,

this is

my

body.

He

took

the

cup

and

said,

this

is

the

cup

of

the

new

covenant,

which

is

shed,

which is

my

blood,

which is

shed for

the

forgiveness

of

sins.

It's

what

he's

done

in the

Lord

Jesus.

He's

seen the

disobedience

of Israel,

he's

seen all

of my

disobedience

too,

he's

aware

this

morning

of your

brokenness

and your

frailty

and your

rebellion.

He knows

that we

would probably

wreck the

new

covenant

if it

was up

to us.

And

he's

brought us

into a

covenant

with his

son,

the Lord

Jesus.

The

perfect

priest

has made

us

clean

and it

is a

covenant

that we

cannot

break.

And

so we

do not

stand

this

morning

before

him

as

covenant

breakers.

And that's

an incredible

truth,

isn't it?

We come

to the

table

as those

who are

in Christ

washed,

perfect,

spotless,

blameless,

holy.

And that

is

God's

covenant

with us.

And while

we break

covenants,

he doesn't

break covenant

with us.

And this

is a covenant

that God

is very,

very serious

about.

I suspect

that Hebrews

Hebrews 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8

was a

chapter that

Mark Twain

wasn't

bothered by.

It's

black and

white though.

It's

crystal

clear.

It's a

word from

God, a

word of

great hope,

a word of

wonderful

reassurance

and true

freedom.

For those

who've

called out

to the

Lord Jesus

this morning,

who

recognised

their guilt

and their

brokenness

and have

asked him

to forgive

them.

God says

this to

you,

he has

forgiven

your

iniquities

and he

remembers

your sin

no more.

Let's

pray.

Let's

Thank you.