And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
Commentary
Commentary
There are two great ordinances which divine wisdom has instituted, the
wretched profanation of both of which is complained of and sharply
reproved in this chapter.
I. The ordinance of the ministry, which is peculiar to the church, and
is designed for the maintaining and keeping up of that; this was
profaned by those who were themselves dignified with the honour of it
and entrusted with the business of it. The priests profaned the holy
things of God; this they are here charged with; their sin is
aggravated, and they are severely threatened for it, ver. 1-9 .
II. The ordinance of marriage, which is common to the world of mankind,
and was instituted for the maintaining and keeping up of that; this was
profaned both by the priests and by the people, in marrying strangers
( ver. 11, 12 ),
treating their wives unkindly
( ver. 13 ),
putting them away
( ver. 16 ),
and herein dealing treacherously, ver. 10, 14, 15 .
And that which was at the bottom of this and other instances of
profaneness and downright atheism, thinking God altogether such a one
as themselves, which was, in effect, to say, There is no God, ver. 17 .
And these reproofs to them are warnings to us.
1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to
give glory unto my name, saith the L ORD of hosts, I will even
send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I
have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your
faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall
take you away with it.
4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you,
that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the L ORD of hosts.
5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them
to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid
before my name.
6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found
in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn
many away from iniquity.
7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should
seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the L ORD of hosts.
8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to
stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith
the L ORD of hosts.
9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before
all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have
been partial in the law.
What was said in the foregoing chapter was directed to the priests
( ch. i. 6 ): Thus saith the Lord of hosts to you, O priests! that despise my
name. But the crimes there charged upon them they were guilty of as
sacrificers, and for those they might think it some excuse that they
offered what the people brought, and therefore that, if they were not
so good as they should be, it was not their fault, but the people's;
and therefore here the corruptions there complained of are traced to
the source and spring of them--the faults the priests were guilty of as
teachers of the people, as expositors of the law and the lively
oracles; and this is a part of their office which still remains in the
hands of gospel-ministers (who are appointed to be pastors and
teachers, like the priests under the law, though not sacrificers, like
them), and therefore by them the admonition here is to be particularly
regarded. If the priests had given the people better instructions, the
people would have brought better offerings; and therefore the blame
returns upon the priests: " And now, O you priests! this commandment
is purely for you ( v. 1 ),
who should have taught the people the good knowledge of the Lord, and
how to worship him aright." Note, The governors of the churches are
under God's government, and to him they are accountable. Even for those
who command God has commandments. Nay
( v. 4 ), you shall know that I have sent these commandments for you. They
should know it either,
1. By the power of the Spirit working with the word for their
conviction and reformation: "You shall know its original by its
efficacy, whence it comes by what it does." When the word of God to us
brings about, and carries on, the work of God in us, then we cannot but
know that he sent it to us, that it is not the word of Malachi--God's messenger, but it is indeed the word of God, and
is sent, not only in general to all, but in particular to us. Or,
2. By the accomplishment of the threatenings denounced against them:
" You shall know, to your cost, that I have sent this
commandment to you, and it shall not return void."
Let us now see what this commandment is which is for the priests,
which, they must know, was sent to them; and let us put into method the
particulars of the charge.
I. Here is a recital of the covenant God made with that sacred tribe,
which was their commission for their work and the patent of their
honour: The Lord of hosts sent a commandment to them, for the
establishing of this covenant
( v. 4 ),
for his covenant is said to be the word which he commanded ( Ps. cv. 8 );
and he sent this commandment by the prophet at this time for the
re-establishing of it, that it might not be cut off for their
persisting in the violation of it. Let the sons of Levi know then (and
particularly the sons of Aaron) what honour God put upon their family,
and what a trust he reposed in them
( v. 5 ): My covenant was with him of life and peace. Besides the covenant
of peculiarity made with all the house of Israel, there was a covenant
of priesthood made with one family, that they should do the services,
and, upon condition of that, should enjoy all the privileges, of the
priest's office--that, as Israel was a peculiar nation, a kingdom of
priests, so the house of Aaron should be a family of priests, set
apart for the service and honour of God, to bear up his name in that
nation, as they were to bear up his name among the nations; both the
one and the other, in different degrees, were to give glory unto
God's name, v. 2 .
God covenanted with them as his menial servants, obliged them to do his
work and promised to own and accept them in it. This is called his
covenant of life and peace, because it was intended for the support
of religion, which brings life and peace to the souls of men--life to
the dead, peace to the distressed, or because life and peace were by
this covenant promised to those priests that faithfully and
conscientiously discharged their duty; they shall have peace, which
implies security from all evil, and life, which comprises the summary
of all good. What is here said of the covenant of priesthood is true of
the covenant of grace made with all believers, as spiritual priests; it
is a covenant of life and peace; it assures all believers of life and
peace, everlasting peace, everlasting life, all happiness both in this
world and in that to come. This covenant was made with the whole tribe
of Levi when they were distinguished from the rest of the tribes, were
not numbered with them, but were taken from among them and appointed over the tabernacle of testimony ( Num. i. 49, 50 ),
by virtue of which appointment God says
( Num. iii. 12 ), The Levites shall be mine. It was made with Aaron when he and
his sons were taken to minister unto the Lord in the priest's
office, Exod. xxviii. 1 .
Aaron is therefore called the saint of the Lord, Ps. cvi. 16 .
It was made with Phinehas and his family, a branch of Aaron's, upon a
particular occasion, Num. xxv. 12, 13 .
And there the covenant of priesthood is called, as here, the covenant of peace, because by it peace was made and kept between
God and Israel. These great blessings of life and peace, contained in
that covenant, God gave to him, to Levi, to Aaron, to Phinehas;
he promised life and peace to them and their posterity, entrusted them
with these benefits for the use and behoof of God's Israel; they
received that they might give, as Christ himself did, Ps. lxviii. 18 .
Now, for the further opening of this covenant, observe,
1. The considerations upon which it was grounded: It was for the
fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. The
tribe of Levi gave a signal proof of their holy fear of God, and their
reverence for his name, when they appeared so bravely against the
worshippers of the golden calf
( Exod. xxxii. 26 );
and for their zeal in that matter God bestowed this blessing upon them
and invited them to consecrate themselves unto him. Phinehas also
showed himself zealous in the fear of God and his judgments when, to
stay the plague, he stabbed Zimri and Cozbi, Ps. cvi. 30, 31 .
Note, Those, and those only, who fear God's name, can expect the
benefit of the covenant of life and peace; and those who give
proofs of their zeal for God shall without fail be recompensed in the
glorious privileges of the Christian priesthood. Some read this, not as
the consideration of the grant, but as the condition of it: I gave
them to him, provided that he should fear before me. If God
grant us life and peace, he expects we should fear before him.
2. The trust that was lodged in the priests by this covenant, v. 7 .
They were hereby made the messengers of the Lord of hosts, messengers of that covenant of life and peace, not mediators of it, but
only messengers, or ambassadors, employed to treat of the terms of
peace between God and Israel. The priests were God's mouth to
his people, from whom they must receive instructions according to the
lively oracles. This was the office to which Levi was advanced;
because, in his zeal for God, he did not acknowledge his brethren,
nor know his own children, therefore they shall teach Jacob
God's judgments, Deut. xxxiii. 9, 10 .
Note, It is an honour to God's servants to be employed as his
messengers and to be sent on his errands. Angels have their name
thence. Haggai was called the Lord's messenger. This being their
office, observe,
(1.) What is the duty of ministers: The priests' lips should keep
knowledge, not keep it from the people, but keep it for them.
Ministers must be men of knowledge; for how are those able to teach
others the things of God who are themselves unacquainted with those
things or unready in them? They must keep knowledge, must furnish
themselves with it and retain what they have got, that they may be like
the good householder, who brings out of his treasury things
new and old. Not only their heads, but their lips, must keep
knowledge; they must not only have it, but they must have it ready,
must have it at hand, must have it (as we say) at their tongue's end,
to be communicated to others as there is occasion. Thus we read of wisdom in the lips of him that has understanding, with
which they feed many, Prov. x. 13, 21 .
(2.) What is the duty of the people: They should seek the law at his
mouth; they should consult the priests as God's messengers, and not
only hear the message, but ask questions upon it, that they may the
better understand it and that mistakes concerning it may be prevented
and rectified. We are all concerned fully to know what the will of
the Lord is, to know it distinctly and certainly; we should be
desirous to know it and therefore inquisitive concerning it. Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do? We must not only consult the written
word ( to the law and to the testimony ), but must have recourse
to God's messengers, and desire instruction and advice from them in the
affairs of our souls as we do from physicians and lawyers concerning
our bodies and estates. Not but that ministers ought to lay down the
law of God to those who do not enquire concerning it, or desire the
knowledge of it (they must instruct those that oppose
themselves, 2 Tim. ii. 25 ,
as well as those that offer themselves), but it is people's duty to
apply to them for instruction, not only to hear, but to ask questions. Watchman, what of the night? Thus if you will enquire,
enquire you; see Isa. xxi. 8, 11, 12 .
People should not only seek comfort at the mouth of their ministers,
but should seek the law there; for, if we found in the way of duty, we
shall find it the way of comfort.
II. Here is a memorial of the fidelity and zeal of many of their
predecessors in the priest's office, which are mentioned as an
aggravation of their sin in degenerating from such honourable ancestors
and deserting such illustrious examples, and as a justification of God
in withdrawing from them those tokens of his presence which he had
granted to those that kept close to him. See here
( v. 6 )
how good the godly priest was, whose steps they should have trod in,
and what good he did, God's grace working with him.
1. See how good he was. He was ready and mighty in the scriptures: The law of truth was in his mouth, for the use of those that asked the law at his mouth; and in all his discourses there
appeared more or less of the law of truth. Every thing he said was
under the government of that law, and with it he governed others. He
spoke as one having authority (every word was a law ), and as one
that had both wisdom and integrity--it was a law of truth, and
truth is a law, it has a commanding power. It is by truth that Christ
rules. The law of truth was in his mouth, for his resolutions of
cases of conscience proposed to him were such as might be depended
upon; his opinion was good law. Iniquity was not found in his
lips; he did not handle the word of God deceitfully, to
please men, to serve a turn, or to make an interest for himself, but
told all that consulted him what the law was, whether it were pleasing
or displeasing. He did not pronounce that unclean which was clean, nor
that clean which was unclean, as one of the rabbin expounds it. And his
conversation was of a piece with his doctrine. God himself gives him
this honourable testimony: He walked with me in peace and
equity. He did not think it enough to talk of God, but he walked
with him. The temper of his mind, and the tenour of his life, were of a
piece with his doctrine and profession; he lived a life of communion
with God, and made it his constant care and business to please him; he
lived like a priest that was chosen to walk before God, 1 Sam. ii. 30 .
His conversation was quiet; he was meek and gentle towards all
men, was a pattern and promoter of love; he walked with God in
peace, was himself peaceable and a great peace-maker. His conversation
was also honest; he did no wrong to any, but made conscience of
rendering to all their due: He walked with me in equity, or
rectitude. We must not, for peace-sake, transgress the rules of equity,
but must keep the peace as far as is consistent with justice. The
wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable. Ministers, of all
men, are concerned to walk with God in peace and equity, that
they may be examples to the flock. 2. See what good he did; he answered the ends of his advancement to
that office: He did turn many away from iniquity; he made it his
business to do good, and God crowned his endeavours with wonderful
success; he helped to save many a soul from death, and there are
multitudes now in heaven blessing God that ever they knew him.
Ministers must lay out themselves to the utmost for the conversion of
sinners, and even among those that have the name of Israelites there is
need of conversion-work, there are many to be turned from iniquity; and
they must reckon it an honour, and a rich reward of their labour, if
they may but be instrumental herein. It is God only that by his grace
can turn men from iniquity, and yet it is here said of a pious
laborious minister that he turned men from iniquity as a worker
together with God, and an instrument in his hand; and those that
turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars, Dan. xii. 3 .
Note, Those ministers, and those only, are likely to turn men from
iniquity, that preach sound doctrine and live good lives, and both
according to the scripture; for, as one of the rabbin observes here, When the priest is upright many will be upright.
III. Here is a high charge drawn up against the priests of the present
age, who violated the covenant of the priesthood and went directly
contrary both to the rules and to the examples that were set before
them. Many particulars of their sins we had in the foregoing chapter,
and we find
( Neh. xiii. )
that many corruptions had crept into the church of the Jews at this
time, mixed marriages, admitting strangers into the house of God,
profanation of the sabbath-day, which were all owing to the
carelessness and unfaithfulness of the priests; here it is charged upon
them in general,
1. That they transgressed the rule: You have departed out of the
way ( v. 8 ),
out of the good way which God has prescribed to you, and which your
godly ancestors walked before you in. It is ill with a people when
those whose office it is to guide them in the way do themselves depart
out of it: " You have not kept my ways, not kept in them
yourselves, nor done your part to keep others in them," v. 9 .
2. That they betrayed their trust: " You have corrupted the covenant
of Levi, have violated it, have contradicted the great intentions
of it, and have done what in you lay to frustrate and defeat them; you
have managed your office as if it were designed only to feed you fat
and make you great; and not for the glory of God and the good of the
souls of men." This was a corrupting of the covenant of Levi; it was
perverting the ends of the office, and making it subservient to those
sensual secular things over which it ought always to have dominion. And
thus they forfeited the benefit of that covenant, and corrupted it to
themselves; they made it void, and lost the life and peace which
were by it settled upon them. We have no reason to expect God should
perform his part of the covenant if we do not make conscience of
performing ours. Another instance of their betraying their trust was
that they were partial in the law, v. 9 .
In the law given to them they would pick and choose their duty; this
they would do and that they would not do, just as they pleased; this is
the fashion of hypocrites, while those whose hearts are upright with
God have a respect to all his commandments. Or, rather, in the
law they were to lay down to the people; in this they knew faces (so the word is); they accepted persons; they wilfully
misinterpreted and misapplied the law, either to cross those they had a
spleen against or to countenance those they had a kindness for; they
would wink at those sins in some which in others they would be sharp
upon, according as their interest or inclination led them. God is no
respecter of persons in making his law, nor will he in reckoning
for the breach of it; he regards not the rich more than the
poor, and therefore his priests, his ministers, misrepresent him,
and do him a great deal of dishonour, if, in doctrine or discipline,
they be respecters of persons. See 1 Tim. v. 21 .
3. That they did a great deal of mischief to the souls of men, which
they should have helped to save: You have caused many to stumble at
the law, not only to fall in the law (as the margin reads
it) by transgressing it, taught and encouraged to do so by the examples
of the priests, but to stumble at the law, by contracting
prejudices against it, as if the law were the minister of sin and gave
countenance to it. Thus Hophni and Phinehas by their wickedness made
the sacrifices of the Lord to be abhorred, 1 Sam. ii. 17 .
There are many to whom the law of God is a stumbling-block, the
gospel of Christ a savour of death unto death, and Christ
himself a rock of offence; and nothing contributes more to this
than the vicious lives of those that make a profession of religion, by
which men are tempted to say, "It is all a jest." This is properly a scandal, a stone of stumbling; there is no good reason why it
should be so to any, but woe to those by whom this offence
comes. 4. That, when they were under the rebukes both of the word and of the
providence of God for it, they would not hear, that is, they
would not heed, they would not lay it to heart; they were not at
all grieved or shamed for their sin, nor affected with the tokens of
God's displeasure which they were under. What we hear does us no good
unless we lay it to heart and admit the impressions of it: You will
not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, by repentance and
reformation. Therefore we should lay to heart the things of God,
that we may give glory to the name of God, may praise him in and for
all that whereby he has made himself known. It is bad in any to rob God
of his honour, but worst in ministers, whose office and business it is
to bear up his name and to give him the glory due to it.
IV. Here is a record of the judgments God had brought upon these
priests for their profaneness, and their profanation of holy things.
1. They had lost their comfort
( v. 2 ): I have already cursed your blessings. They had not the comfort
of their work, which is the satisfaction of doing good; for the
blessings with which they, as priests, blessed the people, God was so
far from saying Amen to that he turned them into curses, as he
did Balaam's curses into blessings. That profane people should not have
the favour of receiving God's blessings, nor those profane priests the
honour of conferring and conveying them, but both should lie under the
tokens of his wrath. Nor had they the comfort of their wages, for the
blessings with which God blessed them were turned into a curse to them
by their abuse of them; they could not receive them as the gifts of his
favour when they had made themselves so obnoxious to his displeasure by
not laying to heart the reproofs given them.
2. They had lost their credit
( v. 9 ): Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the
people. While they glorified God he dignified them and supported
their reputation, and a great interest they had in the love and esteem
of the people while they did their duty and walked with God in peace
and equity; every one had a value and veneration for them; they
were truly styled the reverend, the priests; but when they
forsook the ways of God, and corrupted the covenant of Levi, they
thereby made themselves not only mean, but vile, in the eyes even of
the common people, who, the more they honoured the order, the more they
hated the men that were a dishonour to it. Their conduct, their
misconduct, had a direct tendency to this, and God owns his hand in it,
and will have it looked upon as a just judgment of his upon them, and
not only produced by their sin but answering to it; they put dishonour
upon God, and made his table and the fruit thereof contemptible ( ch. i. 12 ),
and therefore God justly put dishonour upon them and made them
contemptible; they exposed themselves, and therefore God exposed them.
Note, As sin is a reproach to any people, so especially to priests;
there is not a more despicable animal upon the face of the earth than a
profane, wicked, scandalous minister.
V. Here is a sentence of wrath passed upon them; and this the prophet
begins with, v. 2, 3 .
But it is conditional: If you will not lay it to heart, implying, "If you will, God's anger shall be turned away, and all shall
be well; but, if you persist in these wicked courses, hear your
doom--Your sin will be your ruin."
1. They shall fall and lie under the curse of God: I will send a
curse upon you. The wrath of God shall be revealed against them,
according to the threatenings of the written word. Note, Those who
violate the commands of the law lay themselves under the curses of the
law.
2. Neither their employments nor their enjoyments, as priests, shall be
clean to them: " I will curse your blessings, so that you shall
neither be blessed yourselves nor blessings to the people, but even
your plenty shall be a plague to you and you shall be plagues to your
generation."
3. The fruits of the earth, which they had the tithe of, should be no
comfort to them: " Behold, I will corrupt your seed; the corn you
sow shall rot under ground and never come up again, the consequence of
which must needs be famine and scarcity of provisions; so that no
meat-offerings shall be brought to the altar, which the priests will
soon have a loss of." Or it may be understood of the seed of the word
which they preached; God threatens to deny his blessing to the
instructions they gave the people, so that their labour shall be lost,
as that of the husbandman is when the seed is corrupt; and so it agrees
with that threatening
( Jer. xxiii. 32 ), They shall not profit this people at all. 4. They and their services shall be rejected of God; he will be so far
from taking any pleasure in them that he will loathe and detest them: I will spread dung in your faces, even the dung of your solemn
feasts. He refers to the sacrifices that were offered at those
feasts. Instead of being himself pleased with the fat of their
sacrifices, he will show himself displeased by throwing the dung of
them in their faces, which he does, in effect, when he says, Bring
no more vain oblations; your incense is an abomination to
me. Note, Those who rest in their external performances of religion,
which they should count but dung, that they may win Christ, shall not only come short of acceptance with God in them, but shall be
filled with shame and confusion for their folly.
5. All will end, at last, in their utter ruin: One shall take you
away with it. They shall be so overspread with the dung of their
sacrifices that they shall be carried away with it to the dunghill, as
a part of it. Any one shall serve to take you away, the common
scavenger. Reprobate silver shall men call them, and treat them
accordingly, because the Lord has rejected them.
10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why
do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by
profaning the covenant of our fathers?
11 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is
committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the
holiness of the L ORD which he loved, and hath married the
daughter of a strange god.
12 The L ORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master
and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that
offereth an offering unto the L ORD of hosts.
13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the L ORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he
regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good
will at your hand.
14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the L ORD hath been witness
between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast
dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of
thy covenant.
15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the
spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed.
Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal
treacherously against the wife of his youth.
16 For the L ORD , the God of Israel, saith that he hateth
putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith
the L ORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye
deal not treacherously.
17 Ye have wearied the L ORD with your words. Yet ye say,
Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth
evil is good in the sight of the L ORD , and he delighteth in
them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
Corrupt practices are the genuine fruit and product of corrupt
principles; and the badness of men's hearts and lives is owing to some
loose atheistical notions which they have got and which they govern
themselves by. Now, in these verses, we have an instance of this; we
here find men dealing falsely with one another, and it is because they
think falsely of their God. Observe,
I. How corrupt their practices were. In general, they dealt
treacherously every man against his brother, v. 10 .
It cannot be expected that he who is false to his God should be true to
his friend. They had dealt treacherously with God in his tithes and
offerings, and had defrauded him, and thus conscience was debauched,
its bonds and cords were broken, a door was opened to all manner of
injustice and dishonesty, and the bonds of relation and natural
affection are broken through likewise and no difficulty made of it.
Some think that the treacherous dealings here reproved are the same
with those instances of oppression and extortion which we find
complained of to Nehemiah about this time, Neh. v. 3-7 .
Therein they forgot the God of their fathers, and the covenant of their
fathers, and rendered their offerings unacceptable, Isa. i. 11 .
But it seems rather to refer to what was amiss in their marriages,
which was likewise complained of, Neh. xiii. 23 .
Two things they are here charged with, as very provoking to God in this
matter--taking strange wives of heathen nations, and abusing and
putting away the wives they had of their own nation; in both these they
dealt treacherously and violated a sacred covenant; the former was in
contempt of the covenant of peculiarity, the latter of the
marriage-covenant.
1. In contempt of the covenant God made with Israel, as a peculiar
people to himself, they married strange wives, which was expressly
prohibited, and provided against, in that covenant, Deut. vii. 3 .
Observe here,
(1.) What good reason they had to deal faithfully with God and one
another in this covenant, and not to make marriages with the heathen.
[1.] They were expressly bound out from such marriages by covenant. God
engaged to do them good upon this condition, that they should not
mingle with the heathen; this was the covenant of their fathers, the covenant made with their fathers, denoting the antiquity and the
authority of it, and its being the great charter by which that nation
was incorporated. They lay under all possible obligations to observe
it strictly, yet they profaned it, as if they were not bound by it.
Those profane the covenant of their fathers who live in disobedience to
the command of the God of their fathers.
[2.] They were a peculiar people, united in one body, and therefore
ought to have united for the preserving of the honour of their
peculiarity: Have we not all one Father? Yes, we have, for has not one God created us? Are we not all his offspring? And are we not made of one blood? Yes, certainly we are. God is
a common Father to all mankind, and, upon that account, all we are
brethren, members one of another, and therefore ought to put
away lying ( Eph. iv. 25 ),
and not to deal treacherously, no, not any man against his
brother. But here it seems to refer to the Jewish nation: Have
we not all one father, Abraham, or Jacob? This they prided
themselves in, We have Abraham to our father; but here it is
turned upon them as an aggravation of their sin in betraying the honour
of their nation by intermarrying with heathens: " Has not one God
created us, that is, formed us into a people, made us a nation by
ourselves, and put a life into us, distinct from that of other nations?
And should not this oblige us to maintain the dignity of our
character?" Note, The consideration of the unity of the church in
Christ, its founder and Father, should engage us carefully to preserve
the purity of the church and to guard against all corruptions.
[3.] They were dedicated to God, as well as distinguished from the
neighbouring nations. Israel was holiness to the Lord ( Jer. ii. 3 ),
taken into covenant with him, set apart by him for himself, to be to
him for a name and a praise, and upon this account he loved them and delighted in them; the sanctuary set up among them was the holiness of the Lord, which he loved, of which he said, It is my rest for ever, here will I dwell, for I have desired it; but
by marrying strange wives they profaned this holiness, and laid the
honour of it in the dust. Note, Those who are devoted to God, and
beloved of him, are concerned to preserve their integrity, that they
may not throw themselves out of his love, nor lose the honour, or
defeat the end, of their dedication to him.
(2.) How treacherously they dealt, notwithstanding, They profaned
themselves in that very thing which was prescribed to them for the
preserving of the honour of their singularity: Judah has married the
daughter of a strange god. The harm was not so much that she was
the daughter of a strange nation (God has made all nations of
men, and is himself King of nations ), but that she was the
daughter of a strange god, trained up in the service and worship of
false gods, at their disposal, as a daughter at her father's disposal,
and having a dependence upon them; hence some of the rabbin (quoted by
Dr. Pocock) say, He that marries a heathen woman is as if he made
himself son-in-law to an idol. The corruption of the old world
began with the intermarriages of the sons of God with the daughters of men, Gen. vi. 2 .
It is the same thing that is here complained of, but as it is expressed
it sounds worse: The sons of God married the daughters of a strange
god. Herein Judah is said to have dealt treacherously, for
they basely betrayed their own honour and profaned that holiness of the Lord which they should have loved (so
some read it); and it is said to be an abomination committed in
Israel and in Jerusalem; it was hateful to God, and very unbecoming
those that were called by his name. Note, it is an abominable thing for
those who profess the holiness of the Lord to profane it, particularly
by yoking themselves unequally with unbelievers.
(3.) How severely God would reckon with them for it
( v. 12 ): The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this, that marries the
daughter of a strange god. He has, in effect, cut himself off from the
holy nation, and joined in with foreigners and aliens to the
commonwealth of Israel, and so shall his doom be; God will cut
him off, him and all that belongs to him; so the original
intimates. He shall be cut off from Israel and from Jerusalem, and not
be written among the living there. The Lord will cut off both the master and the scholar, that are guilty of this sin, both
the teachers and the taught. The blind leaders and the blind followers
shall fall together into the ditch, both him that wakeneth and him that answereth (so it is in the margin), for the master
calls up his scholar to his business, and stirs him up in it. They
shall be cut off together out of the tabernacles of Jacob. God
will no more own them as belonging to his nation; nay, and the priest
that offers an offering to the Lord, if he marry a strange wife
(as we find many of the priests did, Ezra x. 18 ),
shall not escape; the offering he offers shall not atone for him, but
he shall be cut off from the temple of the Lord, as others from the
tabernacles of Jacob. Nehemiah chased away from him, and from
the priesthood, one of the sons of the high priest, whom he found
guilty of this sin, Neh. xiii. 28 .
2. In contempt of the marriage-covenant, which God instituted for the
common benefit of mankind, they abused and put away the wives they had
of their own nation, probably to make room for those strange wives,
when it was all the fashion to marry such
( v. 13 ): This also have you done; this is the second article of the
charge. For the way of sin is down-hill, and one violation of the
covenant is an inlet to another.
(1.) Let us see what it is that is here complained of. they did not
behave as they ought to have done towards their wives.
[1.] They were cross with them, froward and peevish, and made their
lives bitter to them, so that when they came with their wives and
families to worship God at the solemn feasts, which they should have
done with rejoicing, they were all out of humour; the poor wives were
ready to break their hearts, and, not daring to make their case known
to any other, they complained to God, and covered the altar of the
Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying. This is illustrated
by the instance of Hannah, who, upon the account of her husband's
having another wife (though otherwise a kind husband), and the
discontent thence arising, whenever they went up to the house of the
Lord to worship fretted and wept, and was in bitterness of
soul, and would not eat, 1 Sam. i. 6, 7, 10 .
So it was with these wives here; and this was so contrary to the
cheerfulness which God requires in his worshippers that it spoiled the
acceptableness of their devotions: God regards not their offering
any more. See here what a good Master we serve, who will not have
his altar covered with tears, but compassed with songs. This condemns
those who left his worship for that of idols, among the rites of which
we find women weeping for Tammuz ( Ezek. viii. 14 ),
and the blood of the worshippers gushing out upon the altar, 1 Kings xviii. 28 .
See also what a wicked thing it is to put others out of frame for the
cheerful worship of God; though it is their fault by their fretfulness
to indispose themselves for their duty, yet it is much more the fault
of those who provoked them to make them to fret. It is a reason
given why yoke-fellows should live in holy love and joy-- that their
prayers may not be hindered, 1 Pet. iii. 7 .
[2.] They dealt treacherously with them, v. 14-16 .
They did not perform their promises to them, but defrauded them of
their maintenance or dower, or took in concubines, to share in the
affection that was due to their wives only.
[3.] They put them away, gave them a bill of divorce, and turned
them off, nay, perhaps they did it without the ceremony that the law of
Moses prescribed, v. 16 .
[4.] In all this they covered violence with their garment; they
abused their wives, and were vexatious to them, and yet, in the sight
of others, they pretended to be very loving to them and tender of them,
and to cast a skirt over them. It is common for those who do violence
to advance some specious pretence or other wherewith to cover it as
with a garment.
(2.) Let us see the proof and aggravations of the charge.
[1.] It is sufficiently proved by the testimony of God himself: " The
Lord has been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth ( v. 14 ),
has been witness to the marriage-covenant between thee and her, for to
him you appealed concerning your sincerity in it and fidelity to it; he
has been a witness to all the violations of it, and all thy treacherous
dealings in contempt of it, and is ready to judge between thee and
her." Note, This should engage us to be faithful both to God and to all
with whom we have to do, that God himself is a witness both to all our
covenants and to all our covenant-breaches; and he is a witness against
whom there lies no exception.
[2.] It is highly aggravated by the consideration of the person wronged
and abused. First, "She is thy wife; thy own, bone of thy
bone and flesh of thy flesh, the nearest to thee of all the relations
thou hast in the world, and to cleave to whom thou must quit the rest." Secondly, "She is the wife of thy youth, who had thy
affections when they were at the strongest, was thy first choice, and
with whom thou hast lived long. Let not the darling of thy youth be the
scorn and loathing of thy age." Thirdly, "She is thy
companion; she has long been an equal sharer with thee in thy
cares, and griefs, and joys." The wife is to be looked upon, not as a
servant, but as a companion to the husband, with whom he should freely
converse and take sweet counsel, as with a friend, and in whose
company he should take delight more than in any other's; for is she
not appointed to be thy companion? Fourthly, "She is the
wife of thy covenant, to whom thou art so firmly bound that, while
she continues faithful, thou canst not be loosed from her, for it was a
covenant for life. It is the wife with whom thou hast covenanted, and
who has covenanted with thee; there is an oath of God between you,
which is not to be trifled with, is not to be played fast and loose
with." Married people should often call to mind their marriage-vows,
and review them with all seriousness, as those that make conscience of
performing what they promised.
(3.) Let us see the reasons given why man and wife should continue
together, to their lives' end, in holy love and peace, and neither
quarrel with each other nor separate from each other.
[1.] Because god has joined them together
( v. 15 ): Did not he make one, one Eve for one Adam, that Adam might never take another to her to vex her ( Lev. xviii. 18 ),
nor put her away to make room for another? It is great wickedness to
complain of the law of marriage as a confinement, when Adam in
innocency, in honour, in Eden, in the garden of pleasure, was confined
to one. Yet God had the residue of the Spirit; he could have
made another Eve, as amiable as that he did make, but, designing Adam a help meet for him, he made him one wife; had he
made him more, he would not have had a meet help. And wherefore
did he make but one woman for one man? It was that he might seek a
godly seed -- a seed of God (so the word is), a seed that
should bear the image of God, be employed in the service of God, and be
devoted to his glory and honour,--that every man having his own
wife, and but one, according to the law,
( 1 Cor. vii. 2 ),
they might live in chaste and holy love, under the directions and
restraints of the divine law, and not, as brute beasts, under the
dominion of lust, and thus might propagate the nature of man in such a
way as might make it most likely to participate of a divine
nature,--that the children, being born in holy matrimony, which is an
ordinance of God, and by which the inclinations of nature are kept
under the regulations of God's command, might thus be made a seed to
serve him, and be bred, as they are born, under his direction and
dominion. Note, The raising up of a godly seed, which shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation, is one great end of the
institution of marriage; but that is a good reason why the marriage-bed
should be kept undefiled and the marriage bond inviolable. Husbands
and wives must therefore live in the fear of God, that their
seed may be a godly seed, else were they unclean, but now
they are holy, as children of the covenant, the marriage-covenant,
which was a type of the covenant of grace, and the conjugal union, when
thus preserved entire, of the mystical union between Christ and his
church, in which he seeks and secures to himself a godly seed; see Eph. v. 25, 32 .
[2.] Because he is much displeased with those who go about to put
asunder what he has joined together ( v. 16 ): The God of Israel saith that he hateth putting away. He hath
indeed permitted it to the Jews, for the hardness of their
hearts, or, rather, limited and clogged it
( Matt. xix. 8 );
but he hated it, especially as those practised it who put
away their wives for every cause, Matt. xix. 3 .
Let those wives that elope from their husbands and put themselves away,
those husbands that are cruel to their wives and turn them away, or
take their affections off from their wives and place them upon others,
yea, and those husbands and wives that live asunder by consent, for
want of love to each other, let such as these know that the God of
Israel hates such practices, however vain men may make a jest of
them.
(4.) Let us see the caution inferred from all this. We have it twice
( v. 15 ): Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously
against the wife of his youth; and again, v. 16 .
Note, Those that would be kept from sin must take heed to their
spirits, for there all sin begins; they must keep their hearts with
all diligence, must keep a jealous eye upon them and a strict hand, and
must watch against the first risings of sin there. We shall act as we
are spirited; and therefore, that we may regulate our actions, we must
consider what manner of spirit we are of; we must take heed
to our spirits with reference to our particular relations, and see
that we stand rightly affected to them and be of a good temper, for
otherwise we shall be in danger of dealing treacherously. If our own
hearts deal treacherously with us, whom will they not deal
treacherously with?
II. Observe how corrupt their principles were, to which were owing all
these corrupt practices. Let us trace up the streams to the fountain
( v. 17 ): You have wearied the Lord with your words. They thought to evade
the convictions of the word, and to justify themselves by cavilling
with God's proceedings; but their defence was their offence, and their
vindication of themselves was the aggravation of their crime; they
affronted the Lord with their words, and repeated them so often, and
persisted so long in their contradictions, that they even wearied
him; see Isa. vii. 13 .
They made him weary of doing them good as he had done, and stopped the
current of his favours; or they represented him as weary of governing
the world, and willing to quit it and lay aside the care of it. Note,
It is a wearisome thing, even to God himself, to hear people insist
upon their own justification in their corrupt and wicked practices, and
plead their atheistical principles in vindication of them. But, as if
God by his prophet had done them wrong, see how impudently they ask, Wherein have we wearied him? What are those vexatious words
whereby we have wearied him? Note, Sinful words are more offensive to
the God of heaven than they are commonly thought to be. But God has
his proofs ready; two things they had said, at least in their hearts
(and thoughts are words to God), with which they had wearied him:--
1. They had denied him to be a holy God, and had asserted that
concerning him which is directly contrary to the doctrine of his
holiness. As he is a holy God, he hates sin, is of purer eyes than
to behold it, and cannot endure to look upon it, Hab. i. 13 .
He is not a God that has pleasure in wickedness, Ps. v. 4 .
And yet they had the impudence to say, in direct contradiction to this, Every one that does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he
delights in them. This wicked inference they drew, without any
reason, from the prosperity of sinners in their sinful courses (see ch. iii. 15 ),
as if God's love or hatred were to be known by that which is before us,
and those must be concluded good in the sight of the Lord who
are rich in the world. Or this they said because they wished it might
be so; they were resolved to do evil, and yet to think
themselves good in the sight of the Lord, and to believe that he delighted in them, notwithstanding; and therefore, under
pretence of making God not so severe as he was commonly represented,
they said as they would have it, and thought he was altogether such
a one as themselves. Note, Those who think God a friend to sin
affront him and deceive themselves.
2. They had denied him to be the righteous governor of the world. If he
did not delight in sin and sinners, yet it would serve their turn to
believe that he would never punish it or them. They said, " Where is
the God of judgment? That God who, we have been so often told,
would call us to an account, and reckon with us for what we have said
and done--where is he? He has forsaken the earth, and takes no notice
of what is said and done there; he has said that he will come to
judgment; but where is the promise of his coming? We may do
what we please; he sees us not, nor will regard us." It is such a
challenge to the Judge of the whole earth as bids defiance to his
justice, and, in effect, dares him to do his worst. Such
scoffers as these there were in the latter days of the Jewish church,
and such there shall be in the latter days of the Christian church; but
their unbelief shall not make the promise of God of no effect; for the
day of the Lord will come. Behold, the Judge stands before the
door; the God of judgment is at hand.
INTRODUCTION TO MALACHI 2
This chapter contains a reproof both of priests and people for their sins. It begins with the priests, Mal 2:1 and threatens, in case they attend not to glorify the name of the Lord, they and their blessings should be cursed, their seed corrupted, dung spread upon them, and they took away with it, Mal 2:2 and the end of this commandment being sent them, of giving glory to the name of God, was that the covenant might appear to be with Levi, or him that was typified by him, Mal 2:4 of which covenant some account is given, with the reason why the blessings of it were given to him, with whom it was, Mal 2:5 who is described by the true doctrine he preached; by the purity of his lips; by the peaceableness and righteousness of his walk and conversation; and by his usefulness and success in turning many from sin, Mal 2:6 and it being part of the priest's office to preserve true knowledge, and communicate it, it is the duty of the people to seek to him for it; since he is the messenger of the Lord, Mal 2:7 but as for the priests of those times the prophet respects, they were apostates from the way of the Lord; made others to stumble at the law, and corrupted the covenant; and therefore became contemptible, base, and mean, in the sight of the people, Mal 2:8 who are next reproved for their marrying with those of other nations, idolatrous persons; and using polygamy and divorces, which were a profanation of the covenant of their fathers; a piece of perfidy and treachery among themselves; an abomination to the Lord; a profanation of his holiness; and led to idolatry, Mal 2:10 wherefore they are threatened to be cut off from the tabernacles of Jacob, and their sacrifices to be rejected; insomuch that the altar is represented as covered with weeping and tears, because disregarded, Mal 2:12. The reason of which was, because marrying more wives than one, and these strange women, was dealing treacherously with their lawful wives; was contrary to the first creation of man, and the end of it; and therefore such practices ought to be avoided; and the rather, since putting away was hateful to the Lord, Mal 2:14 and the chapter is concluded with a charge against them, that they wearied the Lord with their wicked words; affirming that the Lord took delight in the men that did evil; and that there were no judgment, truth, nor righteousness, in him, Mal 2:17.
Ver. 1. And now, O ye priests,.... That despised and profaned the name of the Lord; that suffered such corrupt and illegal sacrifices to be brought and offered up:
this commandment [is] for you: of giving glory to the name of God; of taking care of his worship; of teaching the people knowledge, and directing them in the way in which they should walk; as follows:
Malachi 2:2
Ver. 2. If ye will not hear,.... The commandment enjoined them; or the Gospel preached to them by Christ, and his apostles:
and if ye will not lay [it] to heart to give glory to my name, saith the Lord of hosts; which they had despised and profaned before; if they did not take care of his worship and service, and honour the Messiah sent unto them, in whom the name of the Lord was:
I will even send a curse upon you; both upon priests and people; those that bring the bad offerings, and those that receive them, as Kimchi; though Abarbinel restrains it to the priests:
and I will curse your blessings, either with which the priests blessed the people; or with which both they and the people were blessed; namely, their temporal blessings, such as their corn, and wine, and oil: and what wicked men have of this world, they have it with a curse, and not a blessing, as the righteous have; and therefore a little which they have, is better than much enjoyed by the wicked,
Ps 37:16:
yea, I have cursed them already; that is, from the time they began to despise his name, and not give him the glory due unto him, as Kimchi and Abarbinel explain it:
because ye do not lay [it] to heart; to glorify God.
Malachi 2:3
Ver. 3. Behold, I will corrupt your seed,.... Or, "the seed for you" {r}; that is, for your sake, as Kimchi and Ben Melech explain it; meaning the seed they cast into the earth, which the Lord threatens to corrupt and destroy; so that it should not spring up again, and bring forth any increase: or, "rebuke" {s} it, as the word sometimes signifies; and so the Targum,
"behold, I will rebuke you in the increase, the fruit (son) of the seed.''
The sense is the same; corrupting the seed being a rebuke to them; and rebuking the seed being a corruption of that, or hindering it from growing up. It is a threatening of a sore famine that should be in the Jewish nation; and which Cocceius thinks was that which happened in the days of Claudius Caesar, Ac 11:28. The Septuagint version renders it, "behold, I separate to you the shoulder"; the Arabic version, "the right hand", or arm; and the Vulgate Latin is, "behold, I will cast forth to you the arm"; the right shoulder of the sacrifice, which was given to the priests, and here threatened to be cast to them with indignation, Le 7:32 but the former sense is best:
and spread dung upon your faces, [even] the dung of your solemn feasts; that is, the dung of their beasts which were slain for sacrifice at their solemn feasts: so this word gx is used for a beast offered for sacrifice at a festival, Ps 118:27. The sense is, that their sacrifices and solemn feasts were so far from being acceptable to God, that he would reject both them and their persons, and would cast the very dung of the creatures brought for sacrifice into their faces, and spread it over them: a phrase expressive of the utmost contempt of them, and of exposing them to the greatest shame and confusion for their sins. So the Targum,
"I will make manifest the shame of your sins upon your faces; and will cause to cease the magnificence of your feasts.''
The Septuagint render it, the ventricle, or "maw"; which was given to the priests, De 18:3 and in which the dung was contained:
and [one] shall take you away with it; with the dung spread upon them; they looking like a heap of dung, being covered with it, and had in no more account than that: or "to it" {t}; that is, as Jarchi explains it, to the dung of the beasts of your sacrifices they shall carry you; or you shall be carried to it, that ye may be rejected and despised as that. Kimchi's note is
"the iniquity (you are guilty of) shall carry you to this contempt; measure for measure; you have despised me, and ye shall be despised:''
or "with him", or "to himself" {u}; meaning he, or it that shall take them away; either the wind or dung; or the enemy, as Aben Ezra interprets it; by whom the Romans may be designed, who took them away out of their own land, and carried them captive. According to the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, this is to be understood of God, who render the words, "I will take you together", or "with it".
{r} Mkl "propter vos", , Drusius. {s} reg "increpabo", Tigurine version; "increpo", Drusius, Cocceius; "increpans", Burkius. {t} wyla, eiv to auto, Sept.; "ad istud", so some in Vatablus, De Dieu. {u} "Ad se", Pagninus, , Tigurine version: Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Calvin, Burkius.
Malachi 2:4
Ver. 4. And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you,.... See Gill on "Mal 2:1":
that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts; not that the ceremonial law might be confirmed and established, on which the Levitical priesthood was founded; for it was the will of God that that should be abolished, because of the weakness and unprofitableness of it; but that the covenant of grace made with Christ, the antitype of Levi, with whom the true Urim and Thummim are, De 33:8, who has a more excellent ministry and priesthood than his, might take place, be made manifest, and be exhibited under the Gospel dispensation; of which, and of the person with whom it is, an account is given in the following verses.
Malachi 2:5
Ver. 5. My covenant was with him of life and peace,.... Not with Aaron, nor with Phinehas; nor is it to be understood of a covenant, promising temporal life and outward prosperity to either of them; Aaron living a hundred and twenty three years, Nu 33:39 and Phinehas, according to some Jewish writers, above three hundred years, which they gather from Jud 20:28 but of the covenant made with Christ from everlasting, called "a covenant of life", because it was made with Christ the Word of life, who was with the Father from all eternity, and in time was made manifest in the flesh; and was made in behalf of persons ordained to eternal life, and in which that was promised and given to them in him; and in which it was agreed that he should become man, and lay down his life as such, that they might enjoy it: and it is called a "covenant of peace", because the scheme of peace and reconciliation was drawn in it, and agreed unto; Christ was appointed in it to be the Peacemaker; and in consequence of which he was sent to procure peace, and he has made it by the blood of his cross: and this covenant may be said to have been and to be "with him"; because it was made with him from all eternity, as the head and representative of his people, and he had all the blessings and promises of it put into his hands; and it stands fast with him, and will do so for evermore.
And I gave them to him; namely, the blessings of life and peace; eternal life is the gift of God; and not only the promise of it, but that itself, was given to Christ in covenant for his people, and a power to give it to as many as the Father gave to him, Ps 21:4 2Ti 1:1 he gave him also peace to make, put this work of peacemaking into his hand; and he allows it to be made by him, and that it is rightly effected; and from his blood and righteousness peace springs to his people; and they enjoy peace in him and through him, yea, all prosperity and happiness:
[for] the fear wherewith he feared me; because of his obedience to the precept and penalty of the law; because of his righteousness, and sufferings, and death, by means of which life and peace came to his people, and in which he showed great fear and reverence of God, Heb 5:7 the word "for" is not in the original text, and may be left out in a version, or supplied with "and"; and the sense be, besides the blessings of life and peace, I also gave him the fear with which he feared me; which must be understood of the grace of fear bestowed on him as man: so the Septuagint version, "I gave unto him in fear to fear me"; and the Vulgate Latin version, "and I gave him fear, and he feared me": and the Arabic version, "I gave him fear, that he might fear me": the Targum is,
"I gave him the perfect doctrine of the law, or the doctrine of the perfect law (see Jas 1:25) that he might fear before me.''
And was afraid before my name; frightened, and put into consternation, as he was when in the garden, and he began to be heavy and sore amazed,
Mr 14:33 or he was broken and bruised, as Kimchi interprets the word here used, because of the name of the Lord, to satisfy his justice, fulfil his law, and glorify all his perfections.
Malachi 2:6
Ver. 6. The law of truth was in his mouth,.... The Gospel, the word and doctrine of truth; which comes from the God of truth; is concerning Christ the truth and men are guided into it by the Spirit of truth; it contains most glorious truths, and nothing but truth: and this was in the mouth of Christ, being put there by his Father, who gave him what he should say, and what he should speak; and which was preached by him in the most faithful manner, and so as it never was by any other, for which he was abundantly qualified:
and iniquity was not found in his lips; there was none in his nature; nor in his heart; nor in his life; nor in his lips; none could be found there by men nor devils: there was no falsehood in his doctrines; no deceit in his promises; no dissimulation in his expressions of love to men; nothing vain, light, frothy, and unprofitable, dropped from him in common conversation; no reviling in return to his enemies; nor any impatient expressions or murmurings at the time of his sufferings and death, 1Pe 2:22:
he walked with me in peace and equity: he walked with God, he had communion with him; though he was sometimes left alone, he was not alone, God was with him; he was conformable to his will, and walked according to it, in obedience to his law, moral and ceremonial, and in the discharge of all religious duties: he walked with God "in peace", without quarrelling with any of his dispensations towards him; he did nothing to break the peace that subsisted between them, but always did the things which pleased his father, and had peace in what he did; and he walked with him in "equity", or righteousness, fulfilling his righteous law, and bringing in an everlasting righteousness:
and did turn many away from iniquity; doctrinal and practical; which is to be understood, not of a bare reformation only in principle and practice, but of true real conversion; of which there were many instances under the ministry of his forerunner John the Baptist, and under his own ministry when in person on earth; and under the ministry of his apostles, attended with his Spirit and power, both in Judea, and in the Gentile world.
Malachi 2:7
Ver. 7. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge,.... Or "shall keep knowledge", as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions; or "do keep knowledge", as the Arabic version; and so the Syriac version, "for the lips of the priest drop knowledge"; all this is true of Christ our great High Priest; for as it was predicted of him, that his lips should keep knowledge, so they have kept it, and do keep it; not concealing it, but preserving it, and communicating it freely and openly; as he did to his disciples and followers when here on earth, and by them to others; and still does by his Spirit, giving to men the knowledge of themselves and state; the knowledge of himself, and the way of salvation by him, and of the truths of the Gospel:
and they should seek the law at his mouth; not the law of Moses, but the doctrine of grace, and any wholesome instruction and advice; which he is greatly qualified to give, being the wonderful Counsellor: it may be rendered, "they shall seek", or "do seek"; and which has been fulfilled, especially in the Gentiles, and in the isles that waited for his law or doctrine, Isa 11:10:
for he [is] the messenger of the Lord of hosts; or "angel" {w}; he is the Angel of God's presence, and of the covenant, Isa 63:9 Mal 3:1 which name he has from being sent, for he came not of himself, but his Father sent him; he was sent as a priest to atone for the sins of his people, and to be their Saviour; and as a prophet, to instruct and teach them; and therefore they should seek to him for knowledge, and attend his word and ordinances, and implore his spirit and grace.
{w} Kalm aggelov, Sept; "angelus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Cocceius, Burkius.
Malachi 2:8
Ver. 8. But ye are departed out of the way,.... Of truth and righteousness, of life and peace, of eternal salvation and happiness, pointed to by Christ and his forerunner, and by his apostles and ministers that followed him, and which was clearly showed in the preaching of the Gospel: this was the character of the chief priests, Scribes, and Pharisees, in Christ's time, to which the prophet seems to have respect; who not only failed in their observance of legal sacrifices, complained of in the former chapter Mal 1:1, but left that way of atonement and salvation they directed to, and led others out of the way with them:
ye have caused many to stumble at the law; at the doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ; which was the stumbling stone they fell at, seeking for righteousness, and directing others to seek for it, not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law, Ro 9:32:
ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts: that which was foreshadowed by the Levitical priesthood and covenant, namely, the covenant of grace, dispensed under the Gospel dispensation by the ministry of the word and ordinances; which they rejected, despised, and set at nought, and as much as in them lay endeavoured to make void, by not attending to these things, nor suffering others, but doing all they could to bring them into disuse, contempt, and disgrace.
Malachi 2:9
Ver. 9. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base,.... When their city and temple were destroyed by the Romans, and they were carried captive by them, and became a taunt and a proverb in all places where they came:
before all the people; the nations of the world, among whom they were scattered:
according as ye have not kept my ways; neither those which the law directed to, either moral or ceremonial; nor what the Gospel directed to, the ordinances and institutions of Christ, particularly baptism, which the Jews rejected against themselves, Lu 7:30:
but have been partial in the law; in the observance of it, attending to the lesser, and taking no notice of the weightier matters of it, as the Jews are charged by Christ, Mt 23:23 and in the interpretation of it, restraining its sense only to outward actions, for which they are reproved, Mt 5:1 or "received faces", or "accepted persons in the law" {x}; in matters of the law they were concerned in, they had respect to the persons of men, by giving the sense of it, and pronouncing judgment, in favour of some, to the prejudice of others, wrongly.
{x} hrwtb Mynp Myavwnw "et accepistis faciem in lege", Pagninus; "assumentes facies", Montanus; "suscipitis faciem", Piscator; "accipitis faciem", Cocceius; "et ferentes faciem in lege", Burkius.
Malachi 2:10
Ver. 10. Have we not all one father?.... Whether this is understood of Adam the first man, of whose blood all nations of the earth are made, and who in the same sense is the father of all living, as Eve was the mother of all living; or of Abraham the father of the Jewish people, of whom, as their father, they used to glory; or of Jacob, as Kimchi and Aben Ezra interpret it, whom the Jews used to call our father Jacob; or of God, who is the Father of all men by creation, and of the Jews by national adoption of them; and who may the rather be thought to be meant, since it follows,
hath not one God created us? either as men, or formed us as a body politic; which may serve to explain what is meant by their having one father: whichever is the sense of these words, the argument from hence is strong; that there ought to be no partiality used in the law, or any respect had to persons, in that the rich and the poor have all one Father and one Creator; see Jas 2:1:
why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother; by perverting justice, having respect to persons, favouring one to the prejudice of another, as it follows:
by profaning the covenant of your fathers? the covenant made with them at Sinai, as Jarchi explains it; the law that was then enjoined them, particularly such as forbid respect of persons, Le 19:15 some think, as Aben Ezra, that a new section here begins, and that the prophet proceeds to a new reproof, and for another sin these people were guilty of, in marrying wives of another nation, contrary to the law in
Ex 34:15 which was dealing treacherously with one another, and profaning the covenant of their fathers.
Malachi 2:11
Ver. 11. hath dealt treacherously,.... Not only every man against his brother, by being partial in the law; or against the women of their nation, by marrying others; or against their wives, by putting them away; but against Christ the Son of God by betraying and delivering him up into the hands of the Gentiles, to be mocked, and scourged, and crucified:
and an abomination is committed in Israel, and in Jerusalem; which was the taking of the true Messiah with wicked hands, condemning him and putting him to death, even the shameful and accursed death of the cross; which was done in the land of Israel, and in and near the city of Jerusalem:
for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord, which he loved; Christ, who is the Lord's Holy One, holiness itself, the most holy, and holiness to the Lord for his people; and who is his dear Son, the Son of his love, whom he loved from everlasting, continued to love in time amidst all his meanness, sorrows, and sufferings, and will love for evermore; him the Jews profaned by blaspheming him, falsely accusing him, and condemning him; by spitting upon him, buffeting, scourging, and crucifying him: some interpret this "holiness" of the soul of Judah, which was holy before the Lord, and loved, as the Targum; so Jarchi of Judah himself, or Israel, who was holiness to the Lord; and others of the holy place, the sanctuary, and all holy things belonging thereto; and others of the holy state of marriage, since it follows:
and hath married the daughter of a strange god; which the Targum paraphrases thus,
"and they were pleased to take to them wives, the daughters of the people;''
the Gentiles, such as Moabites, Ammonites, and the like: and this sense is followed by most interpreters, though the phrase seems rather to be expressive of idolatry; and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions interpret it of their being intent upon, and serving, strange gods; and as the Jews rejected the Son of God, and his word, ordinances, and worship, they had not the true God, nor did they worship him, but became guilty of idolatry; and besides, as they rejected the King Messiah from being their King, so they declared they had no king but Caesar, an idolatrous emperor, and joined with the idolatrous Gentiles in putting Christ to death, Joh 19:12.
Malachi 2:12
Ver. 12. The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this,.... That is guilty of such treachery, wickedness, and idolatry: or "to the man that doeth this" {y}; all that belong to him, his children and substance: it denotes the utter destruction, not of a single man and his family only, but of the whole Jewish nation and its polity, civil and ecclesiastical, as follows:
the master and the scholar out of the tabernacles of Jacob; the Targum paraphrases it,
"the son, and son's son, out of the cities of Jacob;''
agreeable to which is Kimchi's note,
"it is as if it was said, there shall not be left in his house one alive; that there shall not be in his house one that answers him, that calls by name.''
In the Hebrew text it is, "him that is awake, and him that answers" {z}; which the Talmudists {a} explain, the former of the wise men or masters, and the latter of the disciples of the wise men; to which sense our version agrees: but by "him that waketh or watcheth", according to Cocceius, is meant the civil magistrate, who watches for the good of the commonwealth, and so may design the elders and rulers of the people; and by him that "answereth", the prophet, who returns answers when he is consulted in things belonging to the law of God, and such were the scribes and lawyers.
And him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts; the priests, that offered sacrifice for the people; so that hereby is threatened an entire destruction, both of the civil and ecclesiastical polity of the Jews, that there should be no prince, prophet, and priest among them; all should be removed out of the tents of Jacob, or cities of Israel; see Ho 3:4.
{y} vyal "viro", Drusius, Cocceius, Burkius, De Dieu; "filius et qui fecerit istud", Piscator. {z} hnew re "vigilantem et respondentem", Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius, Grotius; "vigilantem et responsantem", Junius & Tremellius; "vigilem et respondentem", Burkius. {a} T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 82. 1.
Malachi 2:13
Ver. 13. And this have ye done again,.... Or "in the second" {b} place; to their rejection and ill treatment of Christ they added their hypocritical prayers and tears, as follows:
covering the altar of the Lord with tears and weeping, and with crying out; for the Messiah they vainly expect, pretending great humiliation for their sins: though some, as Kimchi and Aben Ezra, make the first evil to be their offering illegal sacrifices on the altar, complained of in the former chapter Mal 1:1; and this second, their marrying strange wives, on account of which their lawful wives came into the house of God, and wept over the altar before the Lord, complaining of the injury that was done them:
insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand; which expresses an utter rejection and abrogation of legal sacrifices; and which some make to be the reason of their covering the altar with tears and weeping: or the altar is represented as weeping, because sacrifice is no more offered upon it; see Da 9:27.
{b} tynv "secundo", Pagninus, Vatablus, Calvin, Cocceius, Burkius.
Malachi 2:14
Ver. 14. Yet ye say, Wherefore?.... What is the meaning of the women covering the altar with tears? as if they knew not what was the reason of it, when they were so notoriously guilty of breach of covenant with them; which is an instance of their impudence, as Abarbinel observes: or, "if ye say, wherefore?" as the Targum and Kimchi interpret the words; should you say, what is the reason why the Lord will not regard nor receive our offerings? the answer is ready,
Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth: when espoused together in their youthful days, the Lord was present at that solemn contract, and saw the obligations they were laid under to each other, and he was called upon by both parties to be a witness of the same; and at the present time he was a witness how agreeably the wives of the Israelites had behaved towards their husbands, and how treacherously they had acted towards them; he saw and knew, that, whatever pretensions they made, they did not love them, nor behave as they should towards them; and therefore had just cause of complaint against them, and must be a witness for the one, and against the other: this sin of hating and divorcing their wives, or of marrying others besides them, which prevailed much in our Lord's time, is particularly mentioned, though they were guilty of many other sins, as a reason of the Lord's not accepting their offerings: the aggravations of it are, that they had broken a contract God was witness to, and dealt injuriously with wives they had espoused in the days of their youth; see Pr 2:17:
against whom thou hast dealt treacherously; by divorce or polygamy: the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "whom thou hast despised": and the Septuagint and Arabic versions, "whom thou hast left"; divorced and took others, which arose from hatred and contempt of their former: other aggravations follow:
yet [is] she thy companion; or, "and she is", or "though she is thy companion" {c}: has been so in time past, and ought to be so still, and so accounted: the wife is a part of a man's self, is one flesh with him; a partaker of what he has; a partner with him in prosperity and adversity; a companion in life, civil and religious, and ought to remain so till death part them; for, whom God has put together, let no man put asunder:
and the wife of thy covenant; wherefore either to divorce her, or marry another, was a breach of covenant; for by "covenant" is not meant the covenant of God made with the people of Israel, in which they both were; but the covenant of marriage made between them, and which was broken by such practices.
{c} Ktrbx ayhw "et ipsa est socia tua", Montanus, Drusius, Burkius; "quum sit socia tua", Pagninus, Munster, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius.
Malachi 2:15
Ver. 15. And did not he make one?.... That is, did not God make one man, and out of his rib one woman? did he not make man, male and female? did he not make one pair, one couple, only Adam and Eve, whom he joined together in marriage? or rather, did he not make one woman only, and brought her to Adam to be his wife? which shows that his intention and will were, that one man should have but one wife at a time; the contrary to which was the then present practice of the Jews:
Yet had he the residue of the spirit; it was not for want of power that he made but one woman of Adam's rib, and breathed into her the breath of life, or infused into her a human soul or spirit; he could have made many women at the same time; and as the Father of spirits, having the residue of them with him, or a power left to make as many as he pleased, he could have imparted spirits unto them, and given Adam more wives than one:
And wherefore one? what is the reason why he made but one woman, when he could have made ten thousand, or as many as he pleased? the answer is,
That he might seek a godly seed; or "a seed of God" {d}; a noble excellent seed; a legitimate offspring, born in true and lawful wedlock; see 1Co 7:14 a seed suitable to the dignity of human nature, made after the image of God, and not like that of brute beasts, promiscuous and uncertain:
Therefore take heed to your spirit; to your affections, that they do not go after other women, and be led thereby to take them in marriage, and to despise and divorce the lawful wife, as it follows:
and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth; by marrying another, or divorcing her: these words are differently rendered and interpreted by some; but the sense given seems to be the true one, and most agreeable to the scope of the place. Some render the first clause, "hath not one made?" {e} that is, did not the one God, who is the only living and true God, make one man or one woman? and then the sense is the same as before; or did not that one God make, constitute, and appoint, that the woman should be the man's companion, and the wife of his covenant, as in the latter part of the preceding verse Mal 2:13? or, "did not one do?" {f} that is, so as we have done, take another wife besides the wife of his youth? and so they are the words of the people to the prophets, justifying their practice by example; by the example of Abraham, whom some of the Jewish writers think is intended by the "one", as in Isa 51:2. The Targum is,
"was not one Abraham alone, from whom the world was created?''
or propagated. Kimchi gives it as his own sense, in these words;
"Abraham, who was one, and the father of all that follow him in his faith, did not do as ye have done; for he did not follow his lust, nor even marry Sarah, but so that he might cause the seed of God to remain;''
yet he mentions it as his father's sense, that they are the words of the people to the prophet, expressed in a way of interrogation, saying, did not our father Abraham, who was one, do as we have done? who left his wife, and married Hagar his maid, though he had the residue or excellency of the spirit, and was a prophet; to whom the prophet replies, and what did that one seek? a godly seed; which is, as if it was said, when he married Hagar, it was to seek a seed, because he had no seed of Sarah his wife. A seed was promised him, in which all nations of the earth were to be blessed; he sought not to gratify his lust, but to obtain this seed, the Messiah, to whom the promises were made, as the apostle argues, Ga 3:16 "he saith not, and to seeds as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ"; called here the "godly seed", or the "seed God" {g}, as some choose to render the words; that is, that seed which is God, who is a divine Person, God and man in one person; or which is of God, of his immediate production, without the help of a man; which the Jews call the seed that comes from another place, and which they use as a periphrasis of the Messiah. So on those words in Ge 4:25, "she called his name Seth, for God hath appointed me another seed",
"says R. Tanchuma, in the name of R. Samuel, she has respect to that seed which comes from another place; and what is this? this is the King Messiah {h}.''
And the same Rabbi elsewhere {i} observes, on those words in
Ge 19:32, "that we may preserve seed of our father",
"it is not written, that we may preserve a son of our father, but that we may preserve seed of our father; that seed which is he that comes from another place; and what is this? this is the King Messiah.''
Now as Abraham had the promise of a son, and his wife was barren, he took the method he did that he might have one, the son of the promise, a type of the Messiah, and from whom he should spring; and this is sufficient to justify him in it: besides, he did not deal treacherously with Sarah his wife, for it was with her good will and by her authority he did this thing; but do you take heed to your spirit, that no one of you deal treacherously with the wife of his youth, to leave her, and marry the daughter of a strange God: and much the same sense Jarchi takes notice of as the Agadah, or the interpretation of their ancient Rabbins. Some render the words, "and not one does this"; that is, deals treacherously with the wife of his youth, that has the residue of the spirit, or the least spark of the Spirit of God in him; and how should anyone do it, seeking a godly seed? therefore take heed to your spirit, &c.; so De Dieu. But according to others the sense is,
"there is not one of you that does according to the law, whose spirit remains with him that is not mixed with the daughter of a strange god;''
which is Aben Ezra's note. But according to Abarbinel the sense is, not one only has done this, committed this evil, in marrying more and strange women; not some only, and the rest have the spirit with them, and keep it pure from this sin; so that a godly seed cannot be procreated from you; therefore take heed to your spirit.
{d} Myhla erz "semen Dei", Pagninus, Montanus, Calvin, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Burkius. {e} hve dxa alw "nonue unus fecit?" V. L. Menochius, Tirinus. {f} "Et ne unus fecit?" Pagninus, Montanus; "et unus ille (Abramus) ita egit?" Grotius; "annon unus hoc fecit?" Tigurine version; so Joseph Kimchi. {g} Myhla erz "semen Deus", Galatin. de Arcan. Cathol. Ver. l. 8. c. 2. p. 550. {h} Bereshit Rabba, sect. 23. fol. 20. 4. Midrash Ruth, fol. 36. 1. {i} Bereshit Rabba, sect. 51. fol. 46. 1. Midrash Ruth, fol. 35. 4.
Malachi 2:16
Ver. 16. For the Lord the God of Israel saith, that he hateth putting away,.... The divorcing of wives; for though this was suffered because of the hardness of their hearts, it was not approved of by the Lord; nor was it from the beginning; and it was disagreeable, and even hateful to him, Mt 19:8 in the margin of some Bibles the words are rendered, "if he hate her, put her away"; and so the Targum,
"but if thou hatest her, put her away;''
to which agree the Vulgate Latin, Septuagint, and Arabic versions; and this sense made mention of in both Talmuds, and is thought to be agreeable to the law in De 24:3 though the law there speaks of a fact that might be, and not of what ought to be; wherefore the former sense is best; and this other seems to have been at first calculated to favour the practice of the Jews, who put away their wives through hatred to them. The Jews were very much inclined to divorce their wives upon very trivial occasions; if they did not dress their food well, were not of good behaviour, or not so modest as became the daughters of Israel; if they did not find favour with their husbands; and, especially, if they had entertained a hatred of them: so says R. Judah {k},
"if he hate her, let him put her away:''
but this is by some of them restrained to a second wife; for of the first they say,
"it is not proper to be hasty to put away a first wife; but a second, if he hates her, let him put her away {l}''
and R. Eleazer says {m}, whoever divorces his first wife, even the altar sheds tears for him, referring to the words in Mal 2:13 and divorces of this kind they only reckon lawful among the Israelites, and found it upon this passage; for so they make God to speak after this manner {n},
"in Israel I have granted divorces; among the nations of the world I have not granted divorces. R. Chananiah, in the name of R. Phinehas, observes, that in every other section it is written, "the Lord of hosts"; but here it is written, "the God of Israel", to teach thee that the holy blessed God does not put his name to divorces (or allow them) but in Israel only. R. Chayah Rabba says, the Gentiles have no divorces.''
But some of them have better understanding of these words, and more truly give the sense of them thus, as R. Jochanan does, who interprets them,
"the putting away of the wife is hateful {o};''
it is so to God, and ought not to be done by men but in case of adultery, as our Lord has taught, Mt 5:32 and which was the doctrine of the school of Shammai in Christ's time, who taught,
"that no man should divorce his wife, unless he found in her filthiness;''
i.e. that she was guilty of adultery; though this Maimonides restrains to the first wife, as before: but the house of Hillell, who lived in the same time, was of a different mind, and taught that
"if she burnt his food;''
either over dressed or over salted it, according to De 24:1. R. Akiba says, if he found another more beautiful than her, according to
De 24:1, he might divorce her {p}; of the form of a divorce,
See Gill on "Mt 5:31". Those interpreters among Christians that go this way do not look upon this as an approbation of divorce, on account of hatred; but that so to do is better than to retain them with hatred of them, seeing it was connived at, or than to take other wives with them.
For [one] covereth violence with his garment, or "on his garment",
saith the Lord of hosts; as he that puts away his wife does her an open injury, which though he may cover, pretending the law, which connives at divorces; yet the violence done to his wife is as manifest as the garment upon his back: though those who think the former words are an instruction to put away wives, when hated, consider this as a reason why they should do so; because, by retaining them, and yet hating them, and taking other wives to them, is doing them a real injury, whatever cover or pretence may be used; because, if dismissed, they might be loved by, and married to, other men. Aben Ezra seems to have hit the sense of these words, when he makes this to be the object of God's hatred, as well as the former; his note is,
"the Lord hateth him that putteth away his wife that is pure, and he hates him that covereth; or God sees his violence which is done in secret.''
Mr. Pocock proposes a conjecture, which is very ingenious and probable, that as the words will bear the construction Aben Ezra gives, that God hates putting away, and hates that one should put violence upon or over his garment; by "garment" he thinks may be meant a man's lawful wife, which is as a garment to him; and by "violence" a second wife, or other wives, taken to the injury, hurt, and vexation of the former; and the covering, or superinducing violence over the garment, is marrying an unlawful wife, over or with, or above his lawful one: and the sense is, that as God hates divorce, so he hates polygamy:
therefore take heed to your spirit, that you deal not treacherously;
See Gill on "Mal 2:15".
{k} T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 90. 2. {l} Maimon. Hilchot Gerushin, c. 10, 21, 22. {m} T. Bab. Gittin, ib. {n} T. Hieros. Kiddushin, c. 1. fol. 58. 3. {o} T. Bab. Gittin, ut supra. {p} Misn. Gittin, c. 9. sect. 10.
Malachi 2:17
Ver. 17. Ye have wearied the Lord with your words,.... As well as with their actions; see Isa 43:24 this is said after the manner of men, they saying those things which were displeasing and provoking to him, and which he could not bear to hear; or otherwise weariness properly cannot be attributed to God:
Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? as if they were clear and innocent; or, as the Targum, "if ye should say"; though they might not express themselves in words in such an impudent manner; yet should they say so in their hearts, or supposing they should utter such words with their lips, out of the abundance of their evil hearts, the answer is ready:
When ye say, Every one that doeth evil [is] good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; which they concluded from the prosperity of the wicked, and the afflictions of the righteous; so murmuring at, and complaining of, the providence of God; he acting as if he delighted in wicked men, and as if they that did evil were the most grateful and acceptable to him:
or, if this was not the case,
Where [is] the God of judgment? why does he not arise and show himself to be a God that judgeth the earth, by taking vengeance on the wicked, and granting prosperity to his people? De Dieu takes these last words to be the words of the prophet, and thinks that wa is a particle of exclamation, and should be rendered "O"; and that the prophet expresses his wonder at the patience and longsuffering of God in bearing such impiety and blasphemy as before delivered. The Septuagint and Arabic versions are, "where is the God of righteousness?" either God the Father, who is righteous in all his ways, and faithful in the fulfilment of all his promises; or, Christ the Lord our righteousness, who was to come, and is come into this world for judgment, as well as to bring in an everlasting righteousness. This may be considered as a scoff of wicked men at the long delay of the Messiah's coming, when they expected outward prosperity and happiness; just as the scoffers in the last day will mock at the promise of his second coming, 2Pe 3:3 and so the words, with which the next chapter begins Mal 3:1, are an answer to these.
<ALIGN="CENTER"John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
What is here said of the covenant of priesthood, is
true of the covenant of grace made with all believers, as spiritual
priests. It is a covenant of life and peace; it assures all believers of
all happiness, both in this world and in that to come. It is an honour
to God's servants to be employed as his messengers. The priest's
lips should not keep knowledge from his people, but keep it for
them. The people are all concerned to know the will of the Lord. We
must not only consult the written word, but desire instruction and
advice from God's messengers, in the affairs of our souls. Ministers
must exert themselves to the utmost for the conversion of sinners;
and even among those called Israelites, there are many to be
turned from iniquity. Those ministers, and those only, are likely to
turn men from sin, who preach sound doctrine, and live holy lives
according to the Scripture. Many departed from this way; thus they
misled the people. Such as walk with God in peace and
righteousness, and turn others from sin, honour God; he will honour
them, while those who despise him shall be lightly esteemed./
What is here said of the covenant of priesthood, is
true of the covenant of grace made with all believers, as spiritual
priests. It is a covenant of life and peace; it assures all believers of
all happiness, both in this world and in that to come.
Many departed from this way; thus they
misled the people. Such as walk with God in peace and
righteousness, and turn others from sin, honour God; he will honour
them, while those who despise him shall be lightly esteemed./
Sources: Matthew Henry; Gill's Exposition; Matthew Henry Concise
Commentary
Commentary