July 14, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?‘ Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god. As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob —even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty.” (Malachi 2.10-12)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD TO US:

As I read and reread chapter 2, I see verse ten (“Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?”) as the central focus of the chapter around which the entire message is structured. We are still addressing Malachi’s words (verse 10 highlighted above) as a reflection on the indictment which God proclaimed against the priests “serving” in the Temple in the days of Malachi the prophet. It is his response as a prophet to the whole of Israel being demeaned and spiritually polluted by the words, actions and intentionalities of those same priests. He holds them personally responsible for the condition of the whole land. It also highlights the truth that he believes that the role of the priest is vital to the welfare of the whole nation. They are not figureheads. They are not celebrities. Nor are they the ruling authority in Israel. Israel was a nation. It had not lost its standing as such. It was not a province of some foreign power. It was a nation restored to itself. Except that now its rulers were returning to the practice of some of their ancestors. Those kings sought to curry favor from other nations in order to “survive” the world around them. History had not been a sufficient teacher to lead them in an understanding of “trust in the Lord with all their heart.” The heart of Malachi’s declaration is the focus on the “southern Kingdom” which consisted mostly of the tribe of Judah. This is not the first time a prophet has been sent to speak against the leadership of Judah whether it was of the “southern kingdom” or of the nation as a whole. The prophet Jonah, better known as a prophet of the Northern Kingdom and called to present the word of the Lord to the King and people of Nineveh, had also been sent previously to speak to Jeroboam II. Jonah was to warn him to repent of his immoral behavior and poor leadership (2 Kings 14.) Jonah was equally displeased with the call to speak to a people he did not respect. Delivering the word of God to Jeroboam for the sake of repentance was as distasteful for him as it was to speak to the king of Nineveh. Still, after much angst, Jonah complied. He spoke the word of the Lord. The people heard it. The people repented. Jonah complained. You would think he would be glad. Why was he not? Because Jonah saw both of these entities as his enemies and unworthy of God’s mercy and grace. He wanted to live out his own agenda. This fits sadly well into the theme we reflected upon yesterday concerning the command to “love one another.“

What we hear in the reflection to Judah are the literal and figurative allusions to the marriage covenant. The vocabulary of relationships are played out as the expressions of husband to wife, marriage and monogamy. They relate to the spiritual relationships between God and His people in the same ways. Violations of those covenantal relationships depict the brokenness which was forged between humanity and God due to sin. Who should know better about the sanctity and sacredness of those relationships but the priests who preside in the connection of all of them? What defeats those relationships is the love of self over the love of others. It is the expression of unfaithfulness. It speaks as much to us today as it did to the day of Malachi. What speaks more is the call to live for the goal of faithfulness and righteousness which honors God. It also honors the intention which God for man and woman and the generations which they will bring into the world.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works leading others to call Jesus Lord in faith, hope and love. AMEN.