Malachi 2

Malachi 2 is the second of the four chapters of Malachi. The rebuke of the priests for offering blemished sacrifices in Malachi 1 continues into the opening part of this chapter, and from verse 10 the focus shifts to the marriages of the people.

Outline

• Verses 1–4 God warns the priests that if they will not hear and will not give glory to his name, he will send a curse upon them. He declares that he will "spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts."
• Verses 5–7 The chapter recalls the covenant made with Levi, a covenant "of life and peace." It states that the priest's lips should keep knowledge and that the people should seek the law at his mouth.
• Verses 8–9 The priests are rebuked for departing out of the way and corrupting the covenant of Levi. Because they have been partial in the law, they have been made contemptible before all the people.
• Verses 10–12 The people are reproved for dealing treacherously with one another, though they are brothers who have one father. Judah's marriage to "the daughter of a strange god" is condemned as an abomination.
• Verses 13–16 Although the people cover the altar of the LORD with tears, he no longer regards their offering. The reason given is that they have dealt treacherously with the wife of their youth, and the LORD declares that he hates putting away (divorce).
• Verse 17 The people have wearied the LORD by saying, "Where is the God of judgment?"

Key Verses

• Malachi 2:7 "For the priest's lips should keep knowledge" — identifies teaching the law as the proper duty of the priest.
• Malachi 2:10 "Have we not all one father?" — grounds the demand for faithfulness within the community in the fact that all were created by one God.
• Malachi 2:16 "He hateth putting away" — frequently cited in biblical discussions of marriage.

People and Places

• Levi: A son of Jacob and the ancestor of the tribe of Levi. Here he represents the covenant made with the office of priest.
• Judah and Jerusalem: These refer to the Judean community after the return from the Babylonian exile.
• Jacob: "The tabernacles of Jacob" refers to the people of Israel as a whole.

Points to Consider

• Interpretations of the "one father" in verse 10 differ. Some take it to mean God the Creator; others take it to refer to the patriarch Abraham or Jacob.
• In verses 14–16, especially verses 15–16, the Hebrew text is difficult, and translations vary considerably. The Korean Revised Version renders the passage as saying that God hates divorce, while some English translations render it as a rebuke of the husband who hates his wife and sends her away. The passage is read alongside Matthew 19:3–9 and other texts in discussions of divorce and remarriage.
• The covenant with Levi is sometimes read in connection with the "covenant of peace" given to Phinehas in Numbers 25.
• The problem of foreign marriages in verse 11 is often read together with the reforms described in Ezra 9 and Nehemiah 13.
• Verse 7 calls the priest "the messenger of the LORD of hosts." The name of the book, "Malachi," likewise means "my messenger." The question raised in verse 17 leads into the promise in Malachi 3:1 that God will send "my messenger."