Divorce, Breaking Faith

Malachi concludes his scolding of the Israelites with a lesson on divorce. After correcting them on their offerings, teaching and marriages, he wraps up his four part lesson on unfaithfulness with instruction on divorce and it's consequences. It makes sense that when people no longer regard God's authority in how they worship, what they teach or who they marry, that they will pay a price in their personal lives. And so, we are told that they are experiencing an epidemic of divorce. God calls it "breaking faith" with your spouse. "Breaking faith".

Another thing you do: You flood the LORD’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. “I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel (Malachi 2:13-16)
 
Get the idea? God says He will not "pay attention to our offerings or accept them" if we have "broken faith" with our spouses, or as He puts it; our partner, the spouse of our marriage "covenant". It is almost as if He is comparing marriage to His covenant with the Israelites and divorce to their unfaithfulness to Him. Wait, that is exactly what He is doing. God is saying that a marriage makes the couple one in flesh and spirit and that as such they belong to Him. In addition, He says that through them, the married couple, he seeks Godly offspring.
His plan is clear, two people make a marriage covenant and through them a Godly family is formed. His plan for man is then demonstrated through these Godly families and they show His love to the world. That is His plan. Man's plan is a little different. Man's plan is to stay married as long as it is what he wants or until something or someone better comes along. His plan is to "covenant" with his wife as long as it suits him. Her plan is to keep faith with her husband as long as it is what she wants.
I have witnessed the pain of divorce in friends and family and I have seen the devastation that divorce brings to lives. No mystery here as to why God "hates divorce". Men and women are devastated and children are permanently harmed. Families are forever changed and the family unit destroyed. It is heart breaking to see the suffering that comes with a divorce, both short term and long. It has generational consequences.
But on top of that, our witness for God is destroyed. He calls us into the covenant of marriage and tells us that marriage is for life. He tells us that we are to be the example of what it looks like to be in covenant with Him; what it looks like to have faith. Then we walk away form our commitment and leave behind the family that God created. We "break faith". And when we do that, God "no longer pays attention to our offerings or accepts them with pleasure from our hands". That sounds serious, doesn't it?
God's people are called to be different. We are to be the "light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). Our marriages are to be the best in the world. Our families are to reflect the covenant of God. No doubt, marriage is sometimes difficult. Every relationship has it's ups and downs. That is life! Sometimes our relationship with God is difficult. It will have it's ups and downs. The question is..... "will we break faith?". Will we maintain our relationships no matter what or will we accept the world's view and cash it in?
May we determine, as His people to "keep faith" in our marriages. Our relationship with God depends on our commitment to our spouses and to Him. Take time today to renew your covenant with your mate; let him, let her know that no matter what comes, you are in it for life! Your children will thank you.