9 And I also, I have made you despised and low before all the people, Because ye are not keeping My ways, And are accepting persons in the law.
`Ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not commit adultery; but I -- I say to you, that every one who is looking on a woman to desire her, did already commit adultery with her in his heart.
What, then, shall we say? the law `is' sin? let it not be! but the sin I did not know except through law, for also the covetousness I had not known if the law had not said: `Thou shalt not covet;' and the sin having received an opportunity, through the command, did work in me all covetousness -- for apart from law sin is dead. And I was alive apart from law once, and the command having come, the sin revived, and I died; and the command that `is' for life, this was found by me for death;
And, all the people hearing, he said to his disciples, `Take heed of the scribes, who are wishing to walk in long robes, and are loving salutations in the markets, and first seats in the synagogues, and first couches in the suppers, who devour the houses of the widows, and for a pretence make long prayers, these shall receive more abundant judgment.'
for, having put away the command of God, ye hold the tradition of men, baptisms of pots and cups; and many other such like things ye do.' And he said to them, `Well do ye put away the command of God that your tradition ye may keep; for Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, He who is speaking evil of father or mother -- let him die the death; and ye say, If a man may say to father or to mother, Korban (that is, a gift), `is' whatever thou mayest be profited out of mine, and no more do ye suffer him to do anything for his father or for his mother, setting aside the word of God for your tradition that ye delivered; and many such like things ye do.' And having called near all the multitude, he said to them, `Hearken to me, ye all, and understand;
`Wo to you, blind guides, who are saying, Whoever may swear by the sanctuary, it is nothing, but whoever may swear by the gold of the sanctuary -- is debtor! Fools and blind! for which `is' greater, the gold, or the sanctuary that is sanctifying the gold? `And, whoever may swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever may swear by the gift that is upon it -- is debtor! Fools and blind! for which `is' greater, the gift, or the altar that is sanctifying the gift? `He therefore who did swear by the altar, doth swear by it, and by all things on it; and he who did swear by the sanctuary, doth swear by it, and by Him who is dwelling in it; and he who did swear by the heaven, doth swear by the throne of God, and by Him who is sitting upon it. `Wo to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye give tithe of the mint, and the dill, and the cumin, and did neglect the weightier things of the Law -- the judgment, and the kindness, and the faith; these it behoved `you' to do, and those not to neglect. `Blind guides! who are straining out the gnat, and the camel are swallowing.
And he said to him, `Why me dost thou call good? no one `is' good except One -- God; but if thou dost will to enter into the life, keep the commands.' He saith to him, `What kind?' And Jesus said, `Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness,
`Ye heard that it was said: Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and shalt hate thine enemy; but I -- I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those cursing you, do good to those hating you, and pray for those accusing you falsely, and persecuting you,
`Again, ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not swear falsely, but thou shalt pay to the Lord thine oaths; but I -- I say to you, not to swear at all; neither by the heaven, because it is the throne of God, nor by the earth, because it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, because it is a city of a great king, nor by thy head mayest thou swear, because thou art not able one hair to make white or black; but let your word be, Yes, Yes, No, No, and that which is more than these is of the evil.
`Ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not kill, and whoever may kill shall be in danger of the judgment; but I -- I say to you, that every one who is angry at his brother without cause, shall be in danger of the judgment, and whoever may say to his brother, Empty fellow! shall be in danger of the sanhedrim, and whoever may say, Rebel! shall be in danger of the gehenna of the fire.
Therefore a night ye have without vision, And darkness ye have without divination, And gone in hath the sun on the prophets, And black over them hath been the day. And ashamed have been the seers, And confounded have been the diviners, And covered their lip have all of them, For their is no answer, O God.
`And the multitude of those sleeping in the dust of the ground do awake, some to life age-during, and some to reproaches -- to abhorrence age-during. And those teaching do shine as the brightness of the expanse, and those justifying the multitude as stars to the age and for ever.
And lo, fallen hath the wall! Doth not one say unto you, Where `is' the daubing that ye daubed? Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have rent with a tempestuous wind in My fury, And an overflowing shower is in Mine anger, And hailstones in My fury -- to consume. And I have broken down the wall that ye daubed with chalk, And have caused it to come unto the earth, And revealed hath been its foundation, And it hath fallen, And ye have been consumed in its midst, And ye have known that I `am' Jehovah. And I have completed My wrath on the wall, And on those daubing it with chalk, And I say to you: The wall is not, And those daubing it are not; The prophets of Israel who are prophesying concerning Jerusalem, And who are seeing for her a vision of peace, And there is no peace, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.
`Send unto all the removal, saying, Thus said Jehovah concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, Because that Shemaiah prophesied to you, and I -- I have not sent him, and he doth cause you to trust on falsehood, Therefore, thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am seeing after Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and after his seed, he hath none dwelling in the midst of this people, nor doth he look on the good that I am doing to My people -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- for apostacy he hath spoken against Jehovah.'
`And ye, hear ye a word of Jehovah, all ye of the captivity that I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon, Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in My name falsehood: Lo, I am giving them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he hath smitten them before your eyes, And taken from them hath been a reviling by all the removed of Judah that `are' in Babylon, saying, Jehovah doth set thee as Zedekiah, and as Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted with fire;
And Jeremiah the prophet saith unto Hananiah the prophet, `Hear, I pray thee, O Hananiah; Jehovah hath not sent thee, and thou hast caused this people to trust on falsehood. Therefore thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am casting thee from off the face of the ground; this year thou diest, for apostacy thou hast spoken concerning Jehovah.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Malachi 2
Commentary on Malachi 2 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 2
Mal 2:1-17. Reproof of the Priests for Violating the Covenant; and the People Also for Mixed Marriages and Unfaithfulness.
1. for you—The priests in particular are reproved, as their part was to have led the people aright, and reproved sin, whereas they encouraged and led them into sin. Ministers cannot sin or suffer alone. They drag down others with them if they fall [Moore].
2. lay … to heart—My commands.
send a curse—rather, as Hebrew, "the curse"; namely, that denounced in De 27:15-26; 28:15-68.
curse your blessings—turn the blessings you enjoy into curses (Ps 106:15).
cursed them—Hebrew, them severally; that is, I have cursed each one of your blessings.
3. corrupt, &c.—literally, "rebuke," answering to the opposite prophecy of blessing (Mal 3:11), "I will rebuke the devourer." To rebuke the seed is to forbid its growing.
your—literally, "for you"; that is, to your hurt.
dung of … solemn feasts—The dung in the maw of the victims sacrificed on the feast days; the maw was the perquisite of the priests (De 18:3), which gives peculiar point to the threat here. You shall get the dung of the maw as your perquisite, instead of the maw.
one shall take you away with it—that is, ye shall be taken away with it; it shall cleave to you wherever ye go [Moore]. Dung shall be thrown on your faces, and ye shall be taken away as dung would be, dung-begrimed as ye shall be (1Ki 14:10; compare Jer 16:4; 22:19).
4. ye shall know—by bitter experience of consequences, that it was with this design I admonished you, in order "that My covenant with Levi might be" maintained; that is, that it was for your own good (which would be ensured by your maintaining the Levitical command) I admonished you, that ye should return to your duty [Maurer] (compare Mal 2:5, 6). Malachi's function was that of a reformer, leading back the priests and people to the law (Mal 4:4).
5-9. He describes the promises, and also the conditions of the covenant; Levi's observance of the conditions and reward (compare Nu 25:11-13, Phinehas' zeal); and on the other hand the violation of the conditions, and consequent punishment of the present priests. "Life" here includes the perpetuity implied in Nu 25:13, "everlasting priesthood." "Peace" is specified both here and there. Maurer thus explains it; the Hebrew is, literally, "My covenant was with him, life and peace (to be given him on My part), and I gave them to him: (and on his part) fear (that is, reverence), and he did fear Me," &c. The former portion of the verse expresses the promise, and Jehovah's fulfilment of it; the latter, the condition, and Levi's steadfastness to it (De 33:8, 9). The Jewish priests self-deceivingly claimed the privileges of the covenant, while neglecting the conditions of it, as if God were bound by it to bless them, while they were free from all the obligation which it imposed to serve Him. The covenant is said to be not merely "of life and peace," but "life and peace"; for the keeping of God's law is its own reward (Ps 19:11).
6. law of truth was in his mouth—He taught the people the truths of the law in all its fulness (De 33:10). The priest was the ordinary expounder of the law; the prophets were so only on special occasions.
iniquity … not found—no injustice in his judicial functions (De 17:8, 9; 19:17).
walked with me—by faith and obedience (Ge 5:22).
in peace—namely, the "peace" which was the fruit of obeying the covenant (Mal 2:5). Peace with God, man, and one's own conscience, is the result of "walking with God" (compare Job 22:21; Isa 27:5; Jas 3:18).
turn may … from iniquity—both by positive precept and by tacit example "walking with God" (Jer 23:22; Da 12:3; Jas 5:20).
7. In doing so (Mal 2:6) he did his duty as a priest, "for," &c.
knowledge—of the law, its doctrines, and positive and negative precepts (Le 10:10, 11; De 24:8; Jer 18:18; Hag 2:11).
the law—that is, its true sense.
messenger of … Lord—the interpreter of His will; compare as to the prophets, Hag 1:13. So ministers are called "ambassadors of Christ" (2Co 5:20); and the bishops of the seven churches in Revelation, "angels" or messengers (Re 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14; compare Ga 4:14).
8. out of the way—that is, from the covenant.
caused many to stumble—By scandalous example, the worse inasmuch as the people look up to you as ministers of religion (1Sa 2:17; Jer 18:15; Mt 18:6; Lu 17:1).
at the law—that is, in respect to the observances of the law.
corrupted … covenant—made it of none effect, by not fulfilling its conditions, and so forfeiting its promises (Zec 11:10; Ne 13:29).
9. Because ye do not keep the condition of the covenant, I will not fulfil the promise.
partial in the law—having respect to persons rather than to truth in the interpretation and administration of the law (Le 19:15).
10-16. Reproof of those who contracted marriages with foreigners and repudiated their Jewish wives.
10. Have we not all one father?—Why, seeing we all have one common origin, "do we deal treacherously against one another" ("His brother" being a general expression implying that all are "brethren" and sisters as children of the same Father above (1Th 4:3-6), and so including the wives so injured)? namely, by putting away our Jewish wives, and taking foreign women to wife (compare Mal 2:14 and Mal 2:11; Ezr 9:1-9), and so violating "the covenant" made by Jehovah with "our fathers," by which it was ordained that we should be a people separated from the other peoples of the world (Ex 19:5; Le 20:24, 26; De 7:3). To intermarry with the heathen would defeat this purpose of Jehovah, who was the common Father of the Israelites in a peculiar sense in which He was not Father of the heathen. The "one Father" is Jehovah (Job 31:15; 1Co 8:6; Eph 4:6). "Created us": not merely physical creation, but "created us" to be His peculiar and chosen people (Ps 102:18; Isa 43:1; 45:8; 60:21; Eph 2:10), [Calvin]. How marked the contrast between the honor here done to the female sex, and the degradation to which Oriental women are generally subjected!
11. dealt treacherously—namely, in respect to the Jewish wives who were put away (Mal 2:14; also Mal 2:10, 15, 16).
profaned the holiness of … Lord—by ill-treating the Israelites (namely, the wives), who were set apart as a people holy unto the Lord: "the holy seed" (Ezr 9:2; compare Jer 2:3). Or, "the holiness of the Lord" means His holy ordinance and covenant (De 7:3). But "which He loved," seems to refer to the holy people, Israel, whom God so gratuitously loved (Mal 1:2), without merit on their part (Ps 47:4).
married, &c.—(Ezr 9:1, 2; 10:2; Ne 13:23, &c.).
daughter of a strange god—women worshipping idols: as the worshipper in Scripture is regarded in the relation of a child to a father (Jer 2:27).
12. master and … scholar—literally, "him that watcheth and him that answereth." So "wakeneth" is used of the teacher or "master" (Isa 50:4); masters are watchful in guarding their scholars. The reference is to the priests, who ought to have taught the people piety, but who led them into evil. "Him that answereth" is the scholar who has to answer the questions of his teacher (Lu 2:47) [Grotius]. The Arabs have a proverb, "None calling and none answering," that is, there being not one alive. So Gesenius explains it of the Levite watches in the temple (Ps 134:1), one watchman calling and another answering. But the scholar is rather the people, the pupils of the priests "in doing this," namely, forming unions with foreign wives. "Out of the tabernacles of Jacob" proves it is not the priests alone. God will spare neither priests nor people who act so.
him that offereth—His offerings will not avail to shield him from the penalty of his sin in repudiating his Jewish wife and taking a foreign one.
13. done again—"a second time": an aggravation of your offense (Ne 13:23-31), in that it is a relapse into the sin already checked once under Ezra (Ezr 9:10) [Henderson]. Or, "the second time" means this: Your first sin was your blemished offerings to the Lord: now "again" is added your sin towards your wives [Calvin].
covering … altar … with tears—shed by your unoffending wives, repudiated by you that ye might take foreign wives. Calvin makes the "tears" to be those of all the people on perceiving their sacrifices to be sternly rejected by God.
14. Wherefore?—Why does God reject our offerings?
Lord … witness between thee and … wife—(so Ge 31:49, 50).
of thy youth—The Jews still marry very young, the husband often being but thirteen years of age, the wife younger (Pr 5:18; Isa 54:6).
wife of thy covenant—not merely joined to thee by the marriage covenant generally, but by the covenant between God and Israel, the covenant-people, whereby a sin against a wife, a daughter of Israel, is a sin against God [Moore]. Marriage also is called "the covenant of God" (Pr 2:17), and to it the reference may be (Ge 2:24; Mt 19:6; 1Co 7:10).
15. Maurer and Hengstenberg explain the verse thus: The Jews had defended their conduct by the precedent of Abraham, who had taken Hagar to the injury of Sarah, his lawful wife; to this Malachi says now, "No one (ever) did so in whom there was a residue of intelligence (discriminating between good and evil); and what did the one (Abraham, to whom you appeal for support) do, seeking a godly seed?" His object (namely, not to gratify passion, but to obtain the seed promised by God) makes the case wholly inapplicable to defend your position. Moore (from Fairbairn) better explains, in accordance with Mal 2:10, "Did not He make (us Israelites) one? Yet He had the residue of the Spirit (that is, His isolating us from other nations was not because there was no residue of the Spirit left for the rest of the world). And wherefore (that is, why then did He thus isolate us as) the one (people; the Hebrew is 'the one')? In order that He might seek a godly seed"; that is, that He might have "a seed of God," a nation the repository of the covenant, and the stock of the Messiah, and the witness for the one God amidst the surrounding polytheisms. Marriage with foreign women, and repudiation of the wives wedded in the Jewish covenant, utterly set aside this divine purpose. Calvin thinks "the one" to refer to the conjugal one body formed by the original pair (Ge 2:24). God might have joined many wives as one with the one husband, for He had no lack of spiritual being to impart to others besides Eve; the design of the restriction was to secure a pious offspring: but compare Note, see on Mal 2:10. One object of the marriage relation is to raise a seed for God and for eternity.
16. putting away—that is, divorce.
for one covereth violence with … garment—Maurer translates, "And (Jehovah hateth him who) covereth his garment (that is, his wife, in Arabic idiom; compare Ge 20:16, 'He is to thee a covering of thy eyes'; the husband was so to the wife, and the wife to the husband; also De 22:30; Ru 3:9; Eze 16:8) with injury." The Hebrew favors "garment," being accusative of the thing covered. Compare with English Version, Ps 73:6, "violence covereth them as a garment." Their "violence" is the putting away of their wives; the "garment" with which they try to cover it is the plea of Moses' permission (De 24:1; compare Mt 19:6-9).
17. wearied … Lord—(Isa 43:24). This verse forms the transition to Mal 3:1, &c. The Jewish skeptics of that day said virtually, God delighteth in evil-doers (inferring this from the prosperity of the surrounding heathen, while they, the Jews, were comparatively not prosperous: forgetting that their attendance to minor and external duties did not make up for their neglect of the weightier duties of the law; for example, the duty they owed their wives, just previously discussed); or (if not) Where (is the proof that He is) the God of judgment? To this the reply (Mal 3:1) is, "The Lord whom ye seek, and whom as messenger of the covenant (that is, divine ratifier of God's covenant with Israel) ye delight in (thinking He will restore Israel to its proper place as first of the nations), shall suddenly come," not as a Restorer of Israel temporally, but as a consuming Judge against Jerusalem (Am 5:18, 19, 20). The "suddenly" implies the unpreparedness of the Jews, who, to the last of the siege, were expecting a temporal deliverer, whereas a destructive judgment was about to destroy them. So skepticism shall be rife before Christ's second coming. He shall suddenly and unexpectedly come then also as a consuming Judge to unbelievers (2Pe 3:3, 4). Then, too, they shall affect to seek His coming, while really denying it (Isa 5:19; Jer 17:15; Eze 12:22, 27).