The Lamb of God s1

Shaun Lewis www.bethanycentral.org cslewises@hotmail (309) 382-1536 Marriage – A Reflection of God’s Relationship

Have 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? Judah 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. As 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. Another 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. You 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. Has 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. "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." (NIV) – Malachi 2:10-16

 Key Thought: God’s people should reflect the characteristics of God’s relationship with them - Marital sins anger God for a reason. Marriage was meant to give a glimpse of His heart for His people, and marriage is profaned when it does not.

 Problem #1: Marrying unbelievers (2:10-12). - “Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us?” - Marrying unbelievers acts as if we have more than one Father/Creator. - God sees the couple as one though they worship different gods (Gen. 2:24). - God sees the worship of Him along with another in this marriage; not pure. - Ex: Comparable to one person worshipping God one day and Allah the next. - “Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers?” - If we know we have one Father and one God created us, why do we profane His covenant? - “I... will be your God, and you will be My people.” (Lev. 26:9-13). - Marrying unbelievers profanes the fact that we are God’s children. - Profanes God’s relationship with us by secularizing it with other gods. - The believer is His, the marriage is not. - Causes us to break faith with our brothers/sisters. - Break faith by introducing worldliness and other gods to the family. - Desecrates the sanctuary (holiness) of the Lord. - “Holiness” = Separate or set apart. No interweaves of the world. - Ex: Cross stitching and using right/wrong colors; result would be hideous. - God’s holiness. - Ex: Israel receives the Ten Commandments (Ex. 19-20:21) - God’s holiness/our sin is what makes Mt. Sinai terrifying. - People feared for their lives at profaning God’s holiness on that day. - Why are we so flippant with it? - How does it desecrate God’s holiness? - Essentially takes God’s holiness in the believer and interweaves it with unholiness. - Believers, after Christ, are God’s sanctuary (1 Cor. 6:15-20). - Command not be equally yoked with the world (2 Cor. 6:14-18). - Dating is not marriage, but considers someone for marriage. - God still says such deep friendships are hatred (James. 4:4). - The man who does this should be cut off. - God does not remove salvation; the one who continues in sin is not saved (1 Jn. 2:4). - Out of context to say that it this verse is encouraging divorce to attain purity. - If marriage is a symbol of God’s relationship with His people, then a spiritually interwoven marriage would be a symbol of God having a relationship with those who have not spiritually become what He is -holy. - Reflection: Essentially says that God doesn’t care much about His holiness.  Problem #2: Divorce (2:13-16a). - Judah cried out to God though He no longer listened to them. - God does not listen to prayer simply because we pray.

“…taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 http://www.bethanycentral.org/contact/lists.asp Shaun Lewis www.bethanycentral.org cslewises@hotmail (309) 382-1536 - Ex: Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Lk. 18:9-14). - God does not overlook sin when we pretend it is not there. - “I hate divorce.” - God witnessed the covenant sealed with a vow whereby the two became one. - God is not a passive bystander that happens to stumble in on time. - Marriage was the first institution God created (Gen. 2). He regards it highly. - Marriage is a symbol of His own covenant with His people (Eph. 5:22-33). - It ought to resemble God’s covenant if it is a symbol of it. - Garment illustration. - Man took his outer garment and put it over his wife as a symbol of his protection in their marriage. Ruth asked this of Boaz (Ruth 3:9). - Picture of this garment being used not to protect the wife, but sin. - Points to the men protecting or defending their sin; divorce of their spouse. - “I hate divorce, and I hate when you act as if it is not wrong.” - “The Lord God of Israel.” - Only time Malachi refers to God with this title. - Reminds the people that He is their God; no other. - In context of divorce, reminding the people of marriage’s symbolism. - Reason God hates divorce is that it is essentially a contradiction of His covenant with His wife, his people. - Fellowship may be broken, exile and separation may occur, anger may rise up and tears, but God is always the God of His people (Isa. 54:4-8). - If marriage is a symbol of God’s relationship with His people, then divorce would be a symbol of God abandoning His people never to love them again. - Reflection: Essentially says that God is not faithful to His promises.

 Application: Reflecting God’s relationship with us to the world. - Big picture is not, “Marital sins are bad,” but why those sins offend God - they reflect who He is not. - Judah’s marriages had become a useless symbol and a poor reflection of God’s relationship. - Their marriages told the world nothing about the God they served. - Our marriages should reflect God’s relationship with us that is only possible through Christ. - Christ is the bridegroom of the Church, His bride (Eph. 5:22-33). - Christ’s relationship with us is holy/pure and He is has been and will continue to be faithful to the promises He made His bride. - Do our marriages, do our relationships, do our lives reflect these characteristics of God? - To a watching world, what kind of image will you reflect or point them towards? Will it be one that shows God does not care much about holiness or that God does not remain faithful to His people? Or will it be an image that accurately resembles His undying love for His people?

“…taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 http://www.bethanycentral.org/contact/lists.asp