July 15, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?‘ Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.” (Malachi 2.10, 15)

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

Verses 10-16 are a finely woven fabric of God’s intent for human community. Bound by the call to be faithful to one another [i.e. to love one another], the human community was charged with the blessing of bringing the next generation into the world to experience the goodness of God. I believe we have lost sight of this today as much as they had in the days of Malachi. Mind you, it was not about simply birthing children into the world. The call and challenge was to birth “children of God” into the world. It was not the call and challenge to overpopulate the world with Hebrew children so as to choke out the people of the world who dwelt on earth. The call and challenge was to bring forth future generations of witnesses to spread the good news of great joy. We know that phrase as leading up to the birth of Jesus the Christ. It was the announcement of the angels from Heaven to the shepherds on earth near Bethlehem. I would ask you, mighty ones of God, to think back to the days of Noah. God was repenting that He had ever made humankind because of the generations of sin-pursuing people who lived on earth. They served only themselves. They gave little to no thought of God. We know of the generations since Adam. We have their genealogy scribed in Genesis up to that day. It included great heroes of those days including Methusaleh who is recorded as the oldest living man at 969 years. We know what changes we have seen in our own lifetimes. Imagine what was seen in ten or more of our own lifetimes. Yet, the changes he saw were not for the good. He saw the “advancement” of humanity in great works. He also saw the growth of man’s inhumanity to man. The offenses were great and pervasive. So pervasive that God used a flood (and we have seen the devastation of floods in recent years) to “begin again.” However, washing away the deadwood of the earth was not enough. The true problem of humanity is not external but internal. It is about the intertwining of the heart, mind and soul with the spirit and truth of God which truly enriches the human community. Flooding it with people wouldn’t be a good solution if the heart, mind and soul of the people was not focused on living in right relationship with God. This was happening again in the days of Malachi. It was a repeat offense in spite of the great “do over” which God effected with the restoration of the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem.

The violation of the marriage vows which were covenants of the heart, mind, body and soul between two people with God was tantamount to an insurrection. Little wonder why so many in the world take them so lightly and treat divorce so casually. Today, marriage vows are more term agreements (death comes in many ways) than long-term covenants made with God. Those covenants with God, from which we can derive the impact from those in scripture reflecting what God covenanted with His people, were filled with purpose and mission. We see the purpose and mission in the Garden with the commissioning of Adam and Eve to be earthly caretakers. They were to manage the creation around them and nurture the growth which would happen naturally as God intended. We know of the covenant made with Adam and Eve as they were escorted out of the Garden. God never forsook them even though they disobeyed Him. There is the covenant with Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, etc. leading up to the covenant made with us through Jesus Christ. In each and every one of these covenants there is the basic ingredient of “relationship.” Those relationships were to bring a next generation of God’s people into being. They were a part of the covenant and challenged (or were meant to be challenged) and called into right relationship with God, self and one another. It was a promotion of right living and right being. It is the fruit of our “first love.” Interesting, isn’t it, that the Glorified and Resurrected Jesus in His Revelation to John spoke of “first love.” The charge and challenge was about forsaking their first love (salvation and right relationship with God as new believers) and that they shouldn’t lose it. They should rekindle it. They should promote it. They should bear witness to it. They should do all these things in order to raise up the next generation (literally and figuratively) to follow the ways of the Lord. We need to keep this in mind as we watch the world spiraling out of control in its many relationships which do not honor the purpose and mission of God.

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.