Wednesday Evening Bible Study

Malachi 2:1-17

"Godly Leadership"

Listen to the lesson!

 

In Matthew 10:24, Jesus said, "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his Lord."  In other words, it matters that our leaders have integrity.  If those who set the standards live by low standards themselves, then the people can rise no higher than their leaders.

1. In the first chapter we learned that the priests were happy to accept defiled offerings from the people to give to the LORD.  Now we see that the reason stems from the priests' indifference to the honor of the LORD's name.¹  What is the consequence of their attitude?  When does this take place?
2. How is the LORD's curse manifested?  How does this payback reveal the LORD's wit?²
3. What attitude of heart should motivate the priests' ministry?  The "true instruction" in verse 6 is Torath emeth, "true Torah."  In addition to administering sacrifices, what is the priests' primary responsibility?  What is supposed to be his basis of authority?  Why might the priests choose not to perform this duty?
4. In what practical way has the priests' miscarriage of their teaching duty been reflected in the people's lives?  Is "mixed marriage" a problem today?  If so, how?
5. How does this compromised view of marriage affect spiritual life?
6. Malachi 2:16, "I hate divorce," is one of the most abused verses in the Bible, mainly because of the weakness of English translations.  The word rendered "divorce," shallach,³ means "putting away."  It is not the equivalency of kerithuth,⁴ which means "legal bill of divorcement."  A man in Malachi's day might marry a wife, but instead of granting her a legal divorce that would allow her to marry again, he would throw her out of the house, keeping the dowry that came with her.  This left the abandoned woman without resource or protection.  Does this mindset exist in our time?  What expression does it assume?
7. What wears the LORD out?

⁽¹⁾ Malachi 1:2

⁽²⁾ Leviticus 4 gives the complicated procedure for animal sacrifices presented as sin offerings.

⁽³⁾ Malachi 2:16

⁽⁴⁾ Compare Jeremiah 3:8.  The same translational problem exists in the New Testament also.  Two Greek words with different meaning are translated "divorce."  apostasion, "bill of divorcement," is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew kerithuth, as in Matthew 5:31.  apoluo, "put away," parallels the Hebrew shallach in Matthew 5:32.  So, when Jesus says, "whosoever shall marry her that is divorced (a woman who has been 'thrown out') committeth adultery," he is not forbidding the marriage of legally divorced persons.  A woman who is merely "put out" is still someone's legal husband, and is not lawfully available for marriage to someone else.