Malachi 2 - Be faithful
The Lord now address the priests in this chapter as they were the teachers & minister of the laws that Moses received from the Lord. As a teacher, they held a heavy responsibility due to their circle of influence, people listen to them and follow their steps. So if they taught the wrong thing then those who follow or listen to them will do the wrong thing. In all that they do, they must give glory to His name lest they be cursed. It’s easy to get confuse that when one gathers a lot of knowledge, one may think that they have become better, holier, higher, or superior than others based on their knowledge or position. However the fact is that all these also were given by the Lord.
I’m grateful that after Paul was transformed by the Lord, in 1 Cor 4:7 he said this “For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive?” This has become a verse that I meditate on & ponder from time to time, to keep reminding myself that God is the original Creator, the Giver so that I remain attach to the reality of who I am in God and that helps me to stay humble because pride is sneaky sometimes… easily tangled. Therefore it’s vital to put on the belt of truth, let the word of God bind around me to stand against the wiles of the devil.
The priests were then reminded of their purpose that’s to give true instructions, walk in integrity & uprightness, turn people from iniquity, most importantly they were urged to live a life in integrity & uprightness, to be impartial in their instruction. In the same chapter, God mentioned how Judah profane the covenant, was being faithless in marriage to address the issue of divorce. In context from the priest to the people of Judah/Israel, the main theme here is about faithfulness to covenant. It maybe that marriage is an analogy or illustration to bring out the picture of what it means by covenant with God just like how Paul quoted in his epistle as well. One can also interpret it literarily as God did commanded to not commit adultery. The point is not the end result which is the divorce but from the heart, the heart was being unfaithful either to God or to their spouse in marriage back then.
It’s a calling to be faithful genuinely from our hearts, to stay humble, be righteous & impartial.