Malachi 2:1-16 Be Faithful to God - Revision history

Wakefien: /* Greater responsibility, greater faithfulness. (10-12) */

2023-07-08T19:09:27Z

‎Greater responsibility, greater faithfulness. (10-12)

Wakefien: /* Sometime between 45 BC and 430 BC a prophet, Malachi appeared on the scene. */

2023-07-05T16:28:37Z

‎Sometime between 45 BC and 430 BC a prophet, Malachi appeared on the scene.

Wakefien: /* Present: You have a responsibility for faithfulness. (16) */

2023-07-05T14:40:56Z

‎Present: You have a responsibility for faithfulness. (16)

Wakefien: /* Future: The next generation is the future. (15) */

2023-07-05T14:39:35Z

‎Future: The next generation is the future. (15)

Wakefien: /* Conclusion: */

2023-07-05T14:37:08Z

‎Conclusion:

Wakefien at 14:36, 5 July 2023

2023-07-05T14:36:42Z

Wakefien at 14:35, 5 July 2023

2023-07-05T14:35:53Z

Wakefien at 14:33, 5 July 2023

2023-07-05T14:33:12Z

Wakefien: /* Be faithful to your God in your obligations. (11-12) */

2023-07-05T14:32:21Z

‎Be faithful to your God in your obligations. (11-12)

Wakefien: /* Be faithful to your God in your obligations. (11-12) */

2023-07-05T14:31:33Z

‎Be faithful to your God in your obligations. (11-12)

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 ==Greater ''responsibility'', greater ''faithfulness''. (10-12)==
-<p>Previously, we saw Malachi giving an initial statement followed by questions of feigned innocence. Here we instead see a series of three questions coming from Malachi in rapid fire succession. The point of these questions really seems to be that faithfulness to one's brother is an expectation that God holds for each of us.</p>
+<p>Previously, we saw Malachi giving an initial statement followed by questions of feigned ignorance. Here we instead see a series of three questions coming from Malachi in rapid fire succession. The point of these questions really seems to be that faithfulness to one's brother is an expectation that God holds for each of us.</p>
 ===Malachi’s Golden Rule: be faithful to your brother in your actions. (10)===
 ====The theology of the Golden rule stems in part from a simple principle: do unto others as if we are all the same because in reality, we are the same.====

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 ====The work on the temple was completed in 515 BC.====
 =====Life was not easy, Persia dominated the political scene, hearts were indifferent, even resentful to God, and the people's hope in God had waned.=====
-=====Sometime between 45 BC and 430 BC a prophet, Malachi appeared on the scene.=====
+=====Sometime between 450 BC and 430 BC a prophet, Malachi appeared on the scene.=====
 ====Last week we learned of our need to honor God with our best.====
 ====This week we will dig into our responsibility to be faithful.====

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 ====Divorce was allowed in the Old Testament in Deut. 24:1-4 but the instructions in that passage were set-up to protect a wife.====
 ====In the case here the divorces taking place were doing violence to innocent women====
-====In reality unfaithfulness does great damage.====
+====In reality unfaithfulness does great damage: Unfaithfulness most often hurts the innocent. Unfaithfulness hurts our testimony. Unfaithfulness is visible to those watching.====
 ====The summary, be on guard to remain faithful.====
 ===MTR: Determine to demonstrate faithfulness to those watching and learning from you.===
 ====How have you seen those who look up to you impacted by your faithfulness?====

@@ Line 135: / Line 135: @@
 ====The Hebrew of verse 15 is incredibly challenging to translate and so our translators have made some decisions in translation.====
 Let me read to you what one commentator wrote about the verse.
 <blockquote>
 One can paraphrase v. 15a as follows: “But no one does it (as a rule) in whom there is a remnant of spirit (intelligence, sound judgment). Yet what does the one (do)? He is seeking godly offspring.” In other words the person who seeks a godly offspring has spiritual insight and does not violate the marriage as a divine institution. Such a person will not send his legal wife away in order to marry a heathen girl, because he has consideration for the elevated character and purpose of marriage. His marriage is one within “the covenant with the fathers” (v. 10), and serves to procreate citizens not only for the kingdom of Israel but above all for the kingdom of God. This significant purpose is frustrated when the wives of their youth are being divorced in favor of mixed marriages. Therefore Malachi urged his people to take heed to themselves and not to be faithless to the wives of their youth. <ref>Taylor, Richard A., and E. Ray Clendenen. Haggai, Malachi. Vol. 21. B&H Publishing Group, 2004. 277</ref></blockquote>
-</p>
+=====We really could summarize the point as follows, the decision that some Jews were making to abandon the wives of their younger days was destroying the very family structure that God had put in place to ensure the faithfulness of future generations.=====
 ====In this specific case faithfulness was important because faithfulness was vital to preparing the next generation.====
 ====In general, we need to realize that whether we are talking about faithfulness in marriage or faithfulness in something else, the next generation is watching and will be impacted by our faithfulness.====
 ===Present: You have a responsibility for faithfulness. (16)===
 ====Now for just a little controversy====

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:37, 5 July 2023
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	=Conclusion: =		=Conclusion: =
−	In conclusion, the passage from Malachi 2:1-16 calls us to be faithful to God in all aspects of our lives. We have a greater responsibility as believers, and with that responsibility comes greater expectations. We must remain steadfast and prioritize faithfulness to God, to our relationships with fellow believers, and to the generations that follow. Our faithfulness can have a lasting impact, shaping the lives of others and glorifying God. Let us heed the call to be faithful disciples, preserving and passing on the knowledge of God for the benefit of present and future generations.	+	<p>In conclusion, the passage from Malachi 2:1-16 calls us to be faithful to God in all aspects of our lives. We have a greater responsibility as believers, and with that responsibility comes greater expectations. We must remain steadfast and prioritize faithfulness to God, to our relationships with fellow believers, and to the generations that follow. Our faithfulness can have a lasting impact, shaping the lives of others and glorifying God. Let us heed the call to be faithful disciples, preserving and passing on the knowledge of God for the benefit of present and future generations.</p>

@@ Line 74: / Line 74: @@
 =====God is going to rebuke the priestly descendants (seed - זֶרַע (Zarah))=====
 =====By smearing or spreading (זרה - zeroa) dung on their faces=====
-======The seed of the priests would be marked for discard as dung.======
+The seed of the priests would be marked for discard as dung. In other words, the priests needed to get their act together!
 ====The Levites, as God's appointed servants of the temple knew better. Historically, they had done so much====
 =====On some occasions (Phineous comes to mind) reverence for God and his Law had turned away the wrath of God and brought life and peace to the people.=====

@@ Line 102: / Line 102: @@
 ====The theology of the Golden rule stems in part from a simple principle: do unto others as if we are all the same because in reality, we are the same.====
 =====Contextually, this is not really about the universal brotherhood of all people, it is about the brotherhood of all Jews.=====
-There is some debate about to whom the father in verse one refers: God or Abraham In reality it is somewhat irrelevant, because the second question makes it clear, we are all created by God!=====
+There is some debate about to whom the father in verse one refers: God or Abraham In reality it is somewhat irrelevant, because the second question makes it clear, we are all created by God!
 =====For the Jew who was unfaithful to another Jew, the action betrayed God's covenant of blessing that was made with all Jews.=====
 ====For the modern day Christian we need to realize that every person who has accepted Jesus as their Savior is a child of God and deserves faithfulness.====
 As a Christ follower you have a great responsibility to treat your brothers and sisters in Christ with a great deal of faithfulness!
 ===Be faithful to your God in your obligations. (11-12)===
 ====One major source of unfaithfulness after the return from the exile was unfaithfulness to God in relationships.====

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 <p>What if you are already married to someone who does not follow Christ? I am going to cover this more in a bit but for now let me say this. 1 Cor. 7:12-14 states "If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy."</p>
 =====If you are married to an unbelievers then a significant portion of your time, your life, should be devoted to praying for the salvation of that individual!=====
 ===MTR: Consider your relationships. Do they demonstrate faithfulness to God and man?===

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 ====Unfaithfulness in something as significant as relationships desecrated holiness! (NIV translates the word קֹ֤דֶשׁ as sanctuary but the word really mean holiness or that which is sacred)====
 Remember that holiness refers to being set apart Israel was set apart for God, by entering into relationships with those who were committed to a false god. Israel was desecrating their status as set apart for God.
 =====The Jews had a great responsibility, even obligation, to make God first, to make God even more important than their feelings and affections.=====
 ====Verse 12 is somewhat shocking, these individuals thought they could have ungodly relationships and a relationship with God at the same time.====