A Question of Marriage

Malachi 2:10-16

To me, there is no better earthly picture of our heavenly relationship with God than marriage. In this section of Malachi the question of Marriage comes into play. We will see three aspects of marriage. The Covenant Marriage,The Condemned Marriage and The Certified Marriage.

First:

 

1. The Covenant Marriage v. 10
   • Verse 10 speaks of our covenant (oath-bound promise) with God. We have covenanted with Him to honor Him, cherish Him, and to Obey Him in all things and this very much includes the commands upon marriage. God had commanded that His people to be separated from the pagans and not to intermarry with the pagans Ex. 34:14-16. When we marry outside of the faith or, as in the context of this passage, divorce in order to marry outside the faith, we have violated our covenant with God and are inviting His judgment upon us.

which brings us to the second point of:  

1. The Condemned Marriage vv. 11-13
   • When we marry outside of the faith it
     1. Compromises our Walk with God
     2. Nullifies our Worship of God

Let me illustrate this: If I was to divorce my wife and marry a satanist would I still be taken serious as a representative of the One True God and would God receive and honor my worship if I am violating His law and condoning the pagan actions of my satanist wife?

Thirdly we see:

1. The Certified Marriage vv. 14-16
   • When we marry, be it in front of a preacher or a justice of the peace, with a church full or a hand full, we need to know and remember that our marriage has been witnessed my God almighty. Let us keep our covenant with our spouse and with our LORD.