Malachi Chapter 2
Unfaithful Priests and Broken Marriages
A. God exposes and condemns the unfaithful priesthood of Israel.
(Malachi 2:1–4)
“And now, O priests, this commandment is for you.
If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart,
to give glory unto My name, saith the LORD 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.
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.
And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you,
that My covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.”
God addressed the priests directly, holding them accountable for their spiritual negligence and hypocrisy. Their failure to give glory to His name was not merely a minor shortcoming but a grievous offense against the holiness of God. They had ceased to take His commands seriously and had allowed religion to become routine. When God said, “If ye will not hear,” it exposed the hardness of their hearts and their unwillingness to respond to truth. Refusal to hear always leads to a refusal to obey. Because they would not repent, the Lord declared that He would curse their blessings. This could mean the offerings and gifts they received from the people, or the priestly blessings they pronounced over Israel, which would now be turned into curses.
Their problem began, as it often does, with a failure to take spiritual truth to heart. They were outwardly religious but inwardly cold. God warned them that He would rebuke their descendants, meaning their priestly line would suffer for their rebellion. The graphic image, “spread dung upon your faces,” referred to the refuse and excrement of sacrificial animals, which was to be burned outside the camp according to Exodus 29:14 — “But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.” God’s statement symbolized His rejection of their priestly service; they would become as unclean and repulsive as the waste removed from the sanctuary. Those defiled would have to be carried away from His presence, just as the refuse of the sacrifices was removed from the camp.
God’s motive in this harsh rebuke was corrective, not merely punitive. He said, “That My covenant might be with Levi.” His covenant with Levi represented purity in worship and devotion to truth. The Lord disciplined His priests in hopes of restoring them to faithfulness, so His covenant would continue unbroken. His chastisement was both a judgment and an invitation to repentance.
(Malachi 2:5–7)
“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.
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.
For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge,
and they should seek the law at his mouth:
for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.”
God contrasted the corrupt priests of Malachi’s day with the faithfulness of Levi. His covenant with Levi was one of “life and peace,” showing that true ministry brings vitality and harmony between God and man. Levi feared the Lord and stood in awe of His name. This reverent fear was not terror but deep respect, producing holiness and obedience. The Lord highlighted the characteristics that once marked a faithful priesthood.
First, Levi displayed reverence, as shown by the phrase, “He feared Me, and was afraid before My name.” True ministry always begins with a holy fear of God. Second, Levi possessed knowledge of God’s Word, for “the law of truth was in his mouth.” A priest was expected to know and teach the law faithfully, speaking only truth without deceit. Third, Levi demonstrated godly character, as “he walked with Me in peace and equity.” His conduct matched his teaching, showing moral integrity and fellowship with God. Fourth, Levi was active in turning others from sin, as “he did turn many away from iniquity.” A true priest does not merely preserve truth but uses it to bring transformation in others.
The statement, “The priest’s lips should keep knowledge,” means that the priest was entrusted as a guardian of divine truth. People were to seek the law at his mouth because he was the appointed messenger of the LORD of hosts. The priests were to speak on God’s behalf, not their own, conveying divine revelation to the people with accuracy and conviction.
This passage emphasizes that a minister’s duty is not to entertain or appease but to faithfully communicate the truth of God’s Word. According to 2 Chronicles 31:4, the people were commanded to provide for the priests so they might “be encouraged in the law of the LORD.” Likewise, Nehemiah 8:7–9 records the priests and Levites reading and explaining the law to the people, helping them understand. God’s Word was not given to them for personal status or gain but for the preservation of life and peace among His people.
The contrast between the true priest and the corrupt priest underscores the seriousness of spiritual leadership. When God’s messengers are faithful, the people flourish. When they are corrupt, the entire nation suffers.
Unfaithful Priests and Broken Marriages
A. God exposes and condemns the unfaithful priesthood of Israel (continued).
(Malachi 2:8–9)
“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 LORD of hosts.
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.”
The Lord confronted the priests for their complete departure from His path. The phrase “ye are departed out of the way” means they had strayed from the pattern of truth and obedience God had established through Levi. The priesthood was supposed to guide the people in righteousness, but instead, they became stumbling blocks. The priests’ unfaithfulness in teaching and practice led others astray, causing many to stumble at the law. This is a sobering reminder that false teaching and hypocrisy in leadership not only ruin the teacher but also injure the souls of those under his influence.
They had “corrupted the covenant of Levi,” meaning they had defiled the sacred trust God had given. The covenant with Levi was not merely about privilege, but about responsibility — the responsibility to teach the truth, model holiness, and preserve reverence in worship. When priests corrupted this covenant, they turned what was meant for blessing into a source of spiritual decay. God’s response was severe: “Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people.” The priests, who were once honored and respected, were now despised. Spiritual leaders who abandon truth inevitably lose moral authority, and God Himself brings them into disgrace.
Their downfall stemmed from two sins: failure to keep God’s ways and showing partiality in the law. They administered judgment with favoritism, bending truth to favor those who offered greater advantage. In doing so, they defiled justice and dishonored the Word of God. True ministers must be impartial in applying Scripture, treating all men equally under God’s truth. The corruption of spiritual leadership brings reproach not only upon the leaders but also upon the name of the Lord they represent.
B. God exposes and condemns their treachery, especially in their marriages.
(Malachi 2:10)
“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?”
Here God turned from the priests’ unfaithfulness in worship to the people’s unfaithfulness in relationships, particularly marriage. The prophet began with a rhetorical question to remind them of their shared origin: “Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?” This was not teaching the modernist or liberal notion of universal salvation or the universal fatherhood of God, which falsely claims that all men are equally children of God regardless of faith. Rather, this was a moral and covenantal appeal — that as Israel was a nation chosen and created by God, all Israelites were bound together under His authority and covenant.
It could also refer to their physical descent from Abraham, their common father according to the flesh. In either sense, the message is the same: unity under God demands faithfulness toward one another. To act treacherously against one’s brother — whether in deceit, injustice, or adultery — was to profane the covenant made with their fathers, the sacred agreement that formed their national and spiritual identity.
The word “treacherously” denotes betrayal or faithlessness, especially against those bound by trust or covenant. God viewed their social and marital corruption as covenant-breaking. The priests and the people alike were guilty of violating the moral foundation of Israel’s relationship with God. While Malachi would soon address marital unfaithfulness directly, this general principle applied to all dealings among God’s people: every act of betrayal, whether great or small, is an offense against the covenantal bond that unites the community under God.
“All betrayals, from the slightest unkindness to the grossest injustice, merit God’s disapproval.” Sin against one’s brother is sin against the covenant. God’s people are called to faithfulness because He is faithful.
Unfaithful Priests and Broken Marriages
B. God exposes and condemns their treachery, especially in their marriages (continued).
(Malachi 2:11–12)
“Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which He loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.
The LORD 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 LORD of hosts.”
The prophet Malachi here turned from the general charge of treachery to the specific sins of the priests and people, beginning with their corruption of marriage. The phrase “Judah hath dealt treacherously” means that the people of the covenant had betrayed their sacred trust with God. Their betrayal was not only social but deeply spiritual, for “an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem.” They had profaned “the holiness of the LORD which He loved” by defiling marriage — the Lord’s holy institution, which He established from the beginning and set apart for His glory.
Marriage is called here “the holiness of the LORD,” showing that it is not merely a human contract but a divine covenant. God loves marriage because He designed it to reflect His own covenant relationship with His people. To sin against marriage is to sin against something that God Himself sanctified and loves. The Lord delights in marriage for several reasons: it portrays His steadfast love for His people, it strengthens the moral fabric of society, it provides the framework for the nurture of children, and it is one of the greatest instruments by which He conforms His people to the image of His Son. Thus, when we sin against marriage, we sin against holiness itself, the very picture of God’s love and faithfulness.
The phrase “he hath married the daughter of a strange god” refers to Israel’s practice of intermarrying with pagan women who did not worship the true God. This sin was repeatedly condemned throughout Scripture because it led to idolatry and spiritual compromise. The Lord had warned His people through Moses, “Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following Me, that they may serve other gods” (Deuteronomy 7:3–4). The dangers of such unions are seen throughout Israel’s history:
In Numbers 25, the Israelites married Moabite women, leading to idolatry and a deadly plague upon the nation.
In 1 Kings 11:1–10, Solomon’s many foreign wives turned his heart away from the Lord, leading him into the worship of false gods.
In 1 Kings 16:29–33, Ahab’s marriage to Jezebel, a foreign idolater, brought unparalleled wickedness and idolatry to Israel.
In 2 Corinthians 6:14–18, Paul warned believers not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for righteousness and unrighteousness cannot have fellowship together.
God’s command against intermarriage was never racial but spiritual. The issue was not ethnicity but idolatry. This is clearly seen in the story of Ruth, a Moabite woman who left her pagan background to embrace the God of Israel. Ruth said to Naomi, “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God” (Ruth 1:16). Because of her faith, Ruth was welcomed into Israel and became part of the lineage of Christ.
The Lord declared, “The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this.” This was not an empty threat but a solemn declaration of divine judgment. Those who knowingly defiled God’s holy covenant by marrying the daughters of strange gods would be cut off — excluded from the blessings and fellowship of the covenant people. The difficult phrase “the master and the scholar” (or “him that waketh and him that answereth”) is a Hebrew idiom meaning “everyone,” implying that none would be exempt from judgment, from the highest leader to the humblest servant. Even those who brought offerings to the altar while living in disobedience were condemned, for no sacrifice could cover deliberate rebellion against God’s holy institution.
(Malachi 2:13–16)
“And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD 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.
Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD 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.
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.
For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that He hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.”
The Lord now addressed the second and even more grievous offense — the priests’ contempt for marriage through unfaithfulness and divorce. The scene is heartbreaking. The neglected and abandoned wives came to the temple, weeping and crying before the altar of God. Their tears covered the altar, and the Lord refused to accept the offerings of their unfaithful husbands. Their hypocrisy was unbearable to God: the same men who betrayed their wives dared to bring sacrifices to Him, as though their worship could be accepted while their hearts were full of treachery.
As Keil observed, “They cover the altar of Jehovah with tears, namely, by compelling the wives who have been put away to lay their trouble before God in the sanctuary.” Likewise, Trapp noted that such priests caused their wives to “cover the Lord’s altar with tears,” robbing them of joy in God’s service. When men betray their wives and then try to worship, their offerings become an offense to God, for He will not bless hypocrisy or cruelty.
The Lord reminded them, “The LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth.” Marriage is not a private arrangement but a public covenant before God, who Himself stands as witness. To betray one’s spouse is to sin not only against the partner but against God, who joined the two together. The priests “dealt treacherously” with the wives of their youth, casting them off for younger women, despising both “thy companion” and “the wife of thy covenant.” Clarke explains, “They kept their wives till they had passed their youth, and then put them away, that they might get young ones in their place.”
God then reminded them of His original design for marriage: “Did not He make one?” This points back to Genesis 2:18–25, where God formed Eve from Adam’s side and established the principle of oneness — two becoming one flesh. The Lord added, “Yet had He the residue of the spirit,” meaning He could have created many women for Adam, but instead He made one, to show that marriage is a union of exclusive devotion. The purpose of that oneness is revealed in the next line: “That He might seek a godly seed.” God desires that marriage produce children who know and serve Him, something impossible in a divided or ungodly home.
The command “Therefore take heed to your spirit” is repeated twice in this passage, underscoring its gravity. The priests had sinned because they failed to guard their hearts, allowing bitterness, lust, and hardness of heart to destroy their marriages. When the heart is neglected, sin festers, and unfaithfulness follows. The key to marital faithfulness is spiritual vigilance — watching one’s heart and maintaining tenderness before God.
The Lord declared plainly, “He hateth putting away.” God hates divorce because it destroys what He loves — marriage, the holy institution He established. Divorce breaks solemn vows, harms families, and distorts the picture of God’s own covenant faithfulness. Yet Scripture also reveals that God allows divorce in two specific situations: for sexual immorality (Matthew 19:1–9) and for desertion by an unbelieving spouse (1 Corinthians 7:10–16). In all other cases, divorce is forbidden, and remarriage without biblical grounds is regarded as adultery (Matthew 19:8–9).
Even when separation is necessary for protection or safety, as in cases of abuse, Paul commanded in 1 Corinthians 7:10–11 that the separated must remain unmarried or be reconciled. God’s heart is always toward repentance and reconciliation, for He has forgiven us far more than any spouse could offend another.
The phrase “it covereth one’s garment with violence” refers to an ancient marriage custom, where a husband symbolically covered his wife with his garment as a sign of protection and unity (see Ruth 3:9). By forsaking his wife, a man covered himself with violence instead of protection. In rejecting his wife, he injured his own soul, for the two were one flesh. Paul affirmed this same truth: “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself” (Ephesians 5:28). When a man mistreats his wife, he brings harm upon his own life, just as neglecting maintenance on one’s own house or body brings destruction.
Therefore, God concluded with this solemn charge: “Take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.” Marital faithfulness begins in the heart. When the spirit is right before God, love can be rekindled, wounds can be healed, and broken fellowship can be restored. A man who guards his heart will also guard his marriage.
Unfaithful Priests and Broken Marriages
C. The fourth question: Where is the God of justice in this unjust world.
(Malachi 2:17)
“Ye have wearied the LORD 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 LORD, and He delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?”
Malachi now turned to expose the people’s wearisome complaints against God. The Lord said, “Ye have wearied the LORD with your words.” This was not a statement of divine fatigue but of divine grief. Their endless murmuring, faithless questioning, and distorted view of God’s justice revealed a spirit of unbelief that deeply offended Him. They acted as though God were unjust, indifferent, or blind to wickedness. This attitude was especially grievous because it came not from the pagan nations, but from His own covenant people.
The people’s response, “Wherein have we wearied Him?” shows their spiritual blindness and defensiveness. They did not even recognize their own rebellion. Their hearts had become so hardened that they were oblivious to their blasphemy. The Lord then answered clearly: “When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and He delighteth in them.” This statement captured their cynical attitude toward life. They looked around, saw wicked men prosper, and concluded that God must favor them. Because the ungodly seemed to flourish while the righteous struggled, they began to claim that evil men were “good in the sight of the LORD.”
This was the height of spiritual confusion — calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). Such reasoning reveals unbelief in God’s moral order and sovereignty. The people of Malachi’s day judged by sight rather than faith. They forgot that the prosperity of the wicked is temporary and that divine justice may delay but never fails. The psalmist Asaph wrestled with this same problem in Psalm 73, saying, “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (Psalm 73:2–3). Yet when he entered the sanctuary and perceived their end, his perspective was corrected: “Surely Thou didst set them in slippery places: Thou castedst them down into destruction” (Psalm 73:18).
The people also cried, “Where is the God of judgment?” or “Where is the God of justice?” They were accusing God of negligence, as though He were asleep or indifferent to evil. This complaint revealed not only their impatience but also their hypocrisy. They failed to recognize that if the God of justice immediately judged all sin, they themselves would be the first to fall under condemnation. They wanted justice for others, not for themselves. Their words were rooted in pride and self-righteousness, not true faith.
In truth, their problem was not that God was unjust, but that they were blind to His mercy and holiness. They were weary of waiting on Him, weary of walking by faith, and weary of maintaining obedience when sin appeared to be rewarded. Yet Scripture teaches that God’s delays are never denials. “The LORD is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). His apparent silence is often the patience of His mercy.
“God is offended when people accuse Him of injustice,” wrote James Montgomery Boice. To question God’s fairness is to deny His character. The Lord is not unjust; He is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works (Psalm 145:17). But unbelief blinds men to that truth. When people complain that God delights in evildoers, they are not describing reality — they are revealing their own distorted hearts.
The truth is that God’s justice will prevail perfectly in His time. The following chapter (Malachi 3) answers this accusation by announcing the coming of the Messenger who will prepare the way for the Lord, and the Lord Himself who will come suddenly to His temple to execute true judgment. God’s justice was not absent; it was imminent.
