Do You Honor Your Commitments?
Malachi 2:1-16
This lesson looks at the values of commitment in a relationship and judges those who do not honor their commitments. Many adults in our society do not take their commitments seriously.
Personal commitments regularly fall prey to the most convenient, lucrative, or appealing option. A covenant is a binding relationship in which two parties have made a commitment to each other. A covenant is often used to require an owner or user of a parcel of land to do or refrain from doing something.
Malachi 2:1-9 points to our commitment to our God-given responsibilities. God had established a covenant relationship with the priests. They were to revere Him and provide true and pure instruction to His people. The priests of Malachi’s day violated the covenant, and by their teaching they had misled many.
But the truth of the matter is that believers are to be faithful to God on their own. Believers need to spend time in the Word of God in order to be able to discern the truthfulness of the instructions they receive from their leaders. The church is a Body of Believers, each one responsible directly to God.
Though Malachi directed his words to the professional religious leaders of his day, limiting the application to vocational ministers would be a mistake. Every person has the responsibility to hear from God and to share what he or she senses He is telling them to do. There is a real need to respect one another and show love to all members of the church. The believer must never compromise his or her faithfulness to God.
In verse 10, “Act treacherously against one another” literally means “Break faith” and can refer to an act of betrayal or treachery in a relationship that calls for loyalty, kindness, and service (Richard A. Taylor and E. Ray Clendenen, “Haggai, Malachi,” The New American Commentary, vol. 21A, Broadman & Holman). This same word is used again in verses 11, 14, 15 and 16.
Malachi 2:13-16 does not condemn cross-cultural marriages. The issue addressed was the marriage of Jews to idolaters. The lack of commitment to family points out that they had lost their respect for God and their offerings to Him. Malachi explained that God was testifying against the practice of breaking one’s marriage covenant. Malachi urged the people to be faithful to their marriage covenants. Verse 15 also reminds Christian parents to focus on the training of their children in the ways of God.
God values commitment in relationships in the church and with one another. Believers are to give serious consideration and commitment to their covenants with God and with each other.
Dinkins– Lessons in the BSL series for the summer quarter are being written by David Dinkins, pastor of First Baptist Church, Kingstree, and former director of missions.