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?”
The judgment that God pronounced against Judah was largely due to the priests not doing their job. The priest carried a very important role in that they were God’s representative. It was not that they of themselves were someone special, but the office they held was special. God expected them to always treat the office of the priest with dignity. Because they didn’t, God pronounced judgment against them.
Sadly, this problem of spiritual leadership is an every generation problem. We face the same problems today with preachers who have sacrificed God’s office for the sake of the conveniency of sin. Many preachers today have committed the very same acts these priests committed that caused them to face God’s judgment. In this chapter, you will find the recipe these priests followed that led to judgment.
First, they lowered God to a god which will always brings God’s anger upon His people. They said, “Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?” They were literally saying that we all serve the same god, but we just serve him in different ways. They used this mantra as a cry for unity. We must not accept this lie. We don’t all serve the same God! Many other religions have a god of works, but we serve Jehovah God Who gave His Son to die for our sins. Whenever we join up with those who have compromised for the sake of unity, we lower God to a god.
Second, they lowered the standard of holiness. Verse 11 show us that they “profaned the holiness of the LORD.” God expects His people to live holy lives. Holiness is not measured by a culture or ones conscience, but it is measured by God. We must be careful that we don’t try to bring God down to man’s standard of living, but we should stir man to step up to God’s standard of living.
Third, they lowered the bar of true repentance. Verse 13 shows us these people had “tears, with weeping, and with crying out”, but they never truly dealt with their sin. We must be careful about making repentance a show. The walk to the altar must not be such a common occurrence that we do it as a “penance” to appease our conscience. More than appeasing your conscience, you need to change your heart. True repentance concerning sin results in a changed heart which results in changed actions.
Fourth, they lowered God’s standard for marriage. In verses 15-16, the priests came to the point where they justified divorce. Divorce should never be an option. When a man of God justifies divorcing his wife to keep his office, he has then made a mockery of God’s standard of marriage. According to the Scriptures, a hard heart is the only reason someone would want to get divorced. Only a lustful heart will lower the standard of marriage so that their lustful flesh will be appeased.
Christian, you may think this whole devotional is for the preacher, but you must also realize that when you got saved you became a priest of God. God expects every Christian to avoid these things. If you want to avoid judgment and have God’s blessings on your life, then you must guard these areas from becoming a part of your life.