If a kid has disobeyed, they usually avoid eye contact, especially after
being confronted. They may feel unloved in the moment, but really, they pushed themselves
away.
In the previous passage, Malachi confronted intermarriage. Not only were
the Israelites marrying foreign idol worshipers, but it appears they did so
after divorcing their Israelite wives! Then, they wondered why God seemed
distant and displeased with them.
Malachi 2:13-16
13 Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar
with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with
favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your
hands. 14 You ask, “Why?” It is because
the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your
youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the
wife of your marriage covenant.
15 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.
16 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says
the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should
protect,” says the Lord Almighty.
So
be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.
Not only did the Israelites divorce their wives, but they divorced themselves
from God’s love. He created them and loved them. They belonged to Him, but they
were unfaithful to Him. They disobeyed His commands about marriage, and it
negatively affected their wives, their offspring, the rest of their community,
themselves, and their relationship with God.
When have you and I separated ourselves from God’s love by disobeying one
of His commands – whether it was related to marriage, sexual purity, honesty, hospitality,
or treatment of others? What was the result? The usual result is distance from
God – or at least a perceived distance. We may think He stepped away, but we
pushed Him away.
On the flip side, when we know and lovingly obey God’s commands, then we will experience closeness. We will please Him and protect those around us. He is never far away, but we will recognize and feel His presence and love when we walk in step with Him.
Alice
