Proverbs 15.13-19 - The Heart's Superiority to Circumstances

8. Importance of Instruction (15.5-19)
     (a) Consequences of Accepting or Rejecting Instruction (15.5-12)
     (b) The Overcomer's Superiority to Circumstances (15.13-19)

 The Heart's  Superiority to Circumstances

This subunit consists of two proverb pairs (vv. 13-14, 16-17) and a janus verse linking them (v. 15).  In the Hebrew text, the line-initial anaphora "heart" verbally links vv. 13-14 as well as the topic of the heart's favorable or unfavorable manifestations (v. 13) and its source in being or not being discerning (v. 14).  Verses 16-17 are linked by the anaphora in each verset of "better...than" as well as the epiphora of "with it" at the end of each verse and by the notion that spiritual attitudes are more important than circumstances.  The janus verse binds the whole by the catchwords "a cheerful heart." ... Read holistically, the cheerful heart that adorns the face (v. 1) does not depend on health and wealth but daily overcomes any kind of affliction or deprivation (vv. 16-17).  ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT

A.  Internal Substance cheers.
13 A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, 
But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken. 
15.13b  But heartache (10:10) denotes the pained and troubled psyche that comes from living in folly, not wisdom (see 15:5-12).    ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT

14                                  But
The mind [heart]       the mouth
of the intelligent         of fools
seeks                             feeds on
knowledge,                  folly.           
15.14a  intelligent...  Strong's H995 - biyn (Niphal) to be discerning --www.blueletterbible.org
15.14b feeds...  Its poetic image of feeding (a hypocatastasis) would signify the acquisition of folly – the fool has an appetite for it.    ---NET Bible translation notes

B. Janus: (The Bridge) Line one reaches back while line two looks forward.

15 All the days of the afflicted are bad, 
But a cheerful heart has a continual feast.  
15.15 a-b  The contrast in this proverb is between the “joyful heart” (Heb “a heart of joy,” using an attributive genitive) and the “painful heart” (Heb “pain of the heart,” using a genitive of specification).    ---NET Bible translation notes
15.15b  continual feast...  The image of a continual feast signifies the enjoyment of what life offers (cf. TEV “happy people…enjoy life”). The figure is a hypocatastasis; among its several implications are joy, fulfillment, abundance, pleasure.    ---NET Bible translation notes

C.  Internal Substance Overcomes Adversity
One of the frequent characteristics of wisdom literature is the “better” saying; it is a comparison of different but similar things to determine which is to be preferred. These two verses focus on spiritual things being better than troubled material things.    ---NET Bible translation notes  
16  
Better is                                  Than
a little with                             great treasure and
the fear of the LORD         turmoil with it. 

...the cause-consequence nexus may be turned upside down for a season.  ...  Eventually, however, since the LORD upholds the moral order, the world must be righted so that the righteous are rewarded with material gain and the wicked with material loss in a future that outlasts death.      ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT
15.16b  turmoil...  Turmoil refers to anxiety; the fear of the Lord alleviates anxiety, for it brings with it contentment and confidence.    ---NET Bible translation notes 
15.16b  with it...  Not all wealth has turmoil with it. But the proverb is focusing on the comparison of two things – fear of the Lord with little and wealth with turmoil. Between these two, the former is definitely better.    ---NET Bible study notes  

17  
Better is                              Than
a dish of vegetables          a fattened ox served
where love is                     with hatred.  
...replaces "fear of the LORD" with "love" toward others, and "turmoil" with "hatred."   ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT
15.17b  hatred...  ...loathing the others at the choice banquet...    ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT

-------------------------------------------
Here are two kinds of people who overcome their circumstances.
18                                       But
A hot-tempered man      the slow to anger
stirs up                               calms
strife,                                  a dispute. 
15.18a  hot-tempered...  The notion of "hate" in v. 17b forms the transition to the first contrast of persons, who rule or do not rule their circumstances.     ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT
15.18b the slow to anger...  But a patient person (see 14:29), who rules his passions (16:32; 19:11; Eccl. 7:8-9) pacifies (ie causes or brings about a state of peace and tranquility") a dispute, which is associated with anger in Prov. 30:33; Isa. 57:16, and the occasion for all sorts of wrongdoing.    ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT
15.18b  dispute...  The fact that רִיב (riv) is used for “quarrel; strife” strongly implies that the setting is the courtroom or other legal setting (the gates of the city). The hot-headed person is eager to turn every disagreement into a legal case.    ---NET Bible study notes 

19                                       But
The way                            the path
of the lazy                         of the upright
is as                                    is
a hedge of thorns,           a highway.
15.19a  lazy...  his spiritual disposition prevents him from doing anything: in his eyes everything is too difficult, painful, and/or dangerous to expend the effort (22:13; 26:13).   ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT
15.19a  hedge...  The point of the simile is that the path of life taken by the lazy person has many obstacles that are painful – it is like trying to break through a hedge of thorns. The LXX has “strewn with thorns.”    ---NET Bible study notes   

Discussion for Proverbs 15:13-19•    Identify the characteristics or qualities in these verses that impart the "substance" that cheers and overcomes adversity. 
•    Which ones are the biggest challenges for your children?  Have you seen your children grow in any of these areas?  What do you think prompted or facilitated that growth?

Proverbs 15.5-12 - The Consequences of Accepting or Rejecting Instruction

8. Importance of Instruction (15.5-19)
     (a) Consequences of Accepting or Rejecting Instruction (15.5-12)
     (b) The Overcomer's Superiority to Circumstances (15.13-19)

"Verses 5 and 12 form a frame around the subunit.  The catchword correction forms an inclusio and helps trace the development contrasting the wise son who accepts correction to the fool (v. 5) escalated to the mocker who hates wisdom (v. 12).  Three proverbial pairs develop the argument within the frame.  The first contrasts the riches of the righteous with the ruin of the frame.  The first contrasts the riches of the righteous with the ruin of the wicked (vv. 6-7). The second which stands at the center of the sub-unit, give the LORD's moral sensibilities as theological rationale for the first (vv. 8-9), and the third grounds that in his omnipotence and escalates the consequences to life and death (vv. 10-11)."  ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT

Unit Frame
5 A fool rejects his father's discipline, 
But he who regards reproof is sensible. 
15.5a  discipline...  Strong's H4148 - muwcar discipline, chastening, correction  ---www.blueletterbible.org
15.5b  sensible... Heb “is prudent” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NCV, NLT “is wise.”  ---NET Bible translation notes

Why is it foolish to reject a wise father's discipline?  What does a child not see?  What does this imply about a fathers correction?

A. Contrasting the Wicked and Righteous (6-7)
6                                But
Great wealth           trouble
is                                is
in the house             in the income
of the righteous,     of the wicked.
15.6b  income...  The phrase in the wages can mean "in the crop/harvest," but probably in parallel with "wealth" it attenuates its sense to the yield, profit, benefits, accrued by the sinful activity of the wicked.    ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT

7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge, 
But the hearts of fools are not so.  
In addition to having houses filled with great wealth to profit others...   ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT
 15.7a  spread knowledge...  Providing for the physical needs of others is temporary and does not make them self-sufficient.     ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT
> The wise have a perspective and insight to helping people that transends the physical to include wisdom, knowledge, and spiritual well being.
  B. Theological Rationale for the Contrast  (8-9)
8                                                               But
The sacrifice                                          the prayer
of the wicked                                         of the upright
is an abomination to the LORD,       is His delight. 


15.8a  abomination to the LORD...  ...are hated by the Lord because the worshipers are insincere and blasphemous (e.g., Prov 15:29; 21:3; 28:9; Ps 40:6-8; Isa 1:10-17). In other words, the spiritual condition of the worshiper determines whether or not the worship is acceptable to God.  ---NET Bible study notes
> The wicked hope to manipulate God by ritual magic, not to obtain His mercy by confessing and renouncing their sin (28:13).      ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT

9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, 
But He loves one who pursues righteousness. 
15.9a  Why is it an abomination?  It does not tell the truth about who God is.
15.9b pursues...  Strong's H7291 - radaph - (Piel) to pursue ardently, aim eagerly to secure, pursue  ---www.blueletterbible.org
David was a man after God's own heart.  He pursued righteousness.  Some struggle with sin and slowly progress in the battle.  Others just give in.

C. Omniscient Condemnation (10-11)
Verse 10 escalates the consequences of  instruction to death, and v. 11 grounds its certainty and justice in the LORD's omniscience.      ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT

 10 Grievous punishment is for him who forsakes the way; 
He who hates reproof will die. 
Verse 10 draws the conclusion from verses 8-9: "obey (this) instruction before it is too late!"    ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT

 15.10a  grievous punishment...  The two lines are parallel synonymously, so the “severe discipline” of the first colon is parallel to “will die” of the second. The expression מוּסָר רָע (musar ra’, “severe discipline”) indicates a discipline that is catastrophic or harmful to life.    ---NET Bible translation notes
> To the child:  If you do not learn to accept your parent's correction/rebuke, then you will most likely ignore or miss God's correction.

11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, 
How much more the hearts of men ! 
His omniscience of the human heart and the connection of that knowledge with the grave give the argument a threatening tone.
15:11a  Sheol and Abaddon...  Heb “Sheol and Abaddon” (שְׁאוֹל וַאֲבַדּוֹן (shÿ’ol va’adon); so ASV, NASB, NRSV; cf. KJV “Hell and destruction”; NAB “the nether world and the abyss.” These terms represent the remote underworld and all the mighty powers that reside there (e.g., Prov 27:20; Job 26:6; Ps 139:8; Amos 9:2; Rev 9:11). The Lord knows everything about this remote region.  ---NET Bible translation notes
> The NKJV just transliterates them.

Unit Frame 
12 A scoffer does not love one who reproves him, 
He will not go to the wise.
15.12a  scoffer...The spurning fool of v. 5 is now escalated to the obstinate mocker.  The apostate who abandons the way of life (v. 10) finds a complement in the mocker who will not go to the wise.    ---Bruce Waltke in NICOT

Discussion for Proverbs 15.5-12•    Look at Hebrews 12.5-11. 
•    How can we structure and use the correcting and disciplining of our children to prepare them to be receptive and responsive to God's correction after they are out of our homes?

Eternal Security

1. We teach that all the redeemed are kept by God's power and are secure in Christ forever.¹

• John 10:27-29 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
• Jude 24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,

1 John 5:24;6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 5:9-10; 8:1, 31-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Ephesians4:30; Hebrews 7:25; 13:5; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24

2. We teach that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word, ² which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion for sinful living and carnality. ³

• 1 John 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
• Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹²teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. 

² Romans 8:31-39; 1 John 5:13    ³ Titus 2:11-14;

Malachi 2:10-16 - "For Keeps: Reflecting God's Faithfulness Back to Him Through Our Marriages" - 121021PM@TBC

Introduction

1 Segway

At the 2nd annual Country Music Awards in 1968, Tammy Wynette took home the female vocalist trophy with the help of the hit, "D-I-V-O-R-C-E." (Telecast from Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium.)

D-I-V-O-R-C-E by Tammy Wynette

Our little boy is four years old and quite a little man

So we spell out the words we don't want him to understand

Like T-O-Y or maybe S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E

But the words we're hiding from him now

Tear the heart right out of me.

Our D-I-V-O-R-C-E becomes final today

Me and little J-O-E will be goin' away

I love you both and this will be pure H-E double L for me Oh,

I wish that we could stop this D-I-V-O-R-C-E.

Watch him smile, he thinks it Christmas

Or his 5th Birthday

And he thinks C-U-S-T-O-D-Y spells fun or play

I spell out all the hurtin' words

And turn my head when I speak

'Cause I can't spell away this hurt

That's drippin' down my cheek.

Our D-I-V-O-R-C-E becomes final today

Me and little J-O-E will be goin' away

I love you both and this will be pure H-E double L for me

Oh, I wish that we could stop this D-I-V-O-R-C-E.

Composed by: Bobby Braddock / Curly Putman

· There are many reasons to hate d-i-v-o-r-c-e. 

· It leaves a debris field of broken hearts and lives.

· I results in poverty of the pocketbook and heart.

· It destabilized our society and creates a mindset of distrust and cynicism.

2. Context

The Book—

· Malachi delivered his burden to the people of Israel some time after the return of Ezra and rebuilding of the Temple.  Malachi’s oracle was inspired by the same problems that Nehemiah faced and it is likely that Malachi prophesied as a contemporary of Nehemiah.

· One of the conditions was the economic bad times that prompted men align themselves with the more prosperous nations around them by intermarriage.  Divorce was rampant, much as it is today.   It was a time of self interest and disregard for their covenant with the God who brought them out of Egypt.

· Malachi can be divided into six dissertations  that follow the pattern of an assertion, a question, and a response and implications of that response.

· This evening we are going to consider the third of those six dissertations..

 

4. Stand, Read text, and Pray Malachi 2.10-16 (nkjv)

The Assertion

¹⁰ Have we not all one Father?

    Has not one God created us?

    Why do we deal treacherously with one another

    By profaning the covenant of the fathers?

¹¹ Judah has dealt treacherously,

    And an abomination has been committed
in Israel and in Jerusalem,

    For Judah has profaned

    The Lord's holy institution which He loves:

    He has married the daughter of a foreign god.

¹² May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob

    The man who does this, being awake and aware,

    Yet who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!

¹³ And this is the second thing you do:

    You cover the altar of the Lord with tears,

    With weeping and crying;

    So He does not regard the offering anymore,

    Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.

Question

¹⁴ Yet you say, "For what reason?"

Response

    Because the Lord has been witness

    Between you and the wife of your youth,

    With whom you have dealt treacherously;

    Yet she is your companion

    And your wife by covenant.

¹⁵ But did He not make them one,

    Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one?

    He seeks godly offspring.

    Therefore take heed to your spirit,

    And let none deal treacherously with
the wife of his youth.

¹⁶ "For the Lord God of Israel says

    That He hates divorce,

    For it covers one's garment with violence,"

    Says the Lord of hosts.

    "Therefore take heed to your spirit,

    That you do not deal treacherously."

3. Overview

Why does God hate divorce?  God hates divorce because it tell a lie about who He is.

Big Idea:  

We should reflect God’s covenant faithfulness back to Him in our Marriages.

I. Assertion by the Prophet: You deal treacherously?

¹⁰ Have we not all one Father?

Has not one God created us?

Why do we deal treacherously with one another

By profaning the covenant of the fathers?

the picture of God—The appeal to who God is.

one Father —

· “The one father, whom all have, is neither Adam, the progenitor of all men, nor Abraham, the father of the Israelitish nation, but Jehovah, who calls Himself the Father of the nation in Mal_1:6.” — Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

· Malachi 1.6 A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts...

· “...the use of “father” recalls the covenant relationship that God established in Egypt and confirmed by covenant at Sinai.”  —Allen Ross

created us —

God is the Father of Israel as its Creator; not, however, in the general sense, according to which He made Israel the people of His possession.” — Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

By the two clauses placed at the head, Malachi intends not so much to lay emphasis upon the common descent of all the Israelites, by virtue of which they form one united family in contrast with the heathen, as to say that all the Israelites are children of God, and as such spiritual brethren and sisters. Consequently every violation of the fraternal relation, such as that of which the Israelite was guilty who married a heathen woman, or put away an Israelitish wife, was also an offence against God, a desecration of His covenant.” — Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

· My life, my relationships have to tell the truth about God. 

· Do I worship Him or blaspheme Him with my choices? 

A. With One Another (v. 10)

· Two key words that contrast and describe the dealings of the Israelites in general.

covenant —

Strong's H1285 - bĕriyth  covenant, alliance, pledge

· the use of “father” recalls the covenant relationship that God established in Egypt and confirmed by covenant at Sinai

treacherously —

Strong's H898 - bagad   to act treacherously, deceitfully, deal treacherously

ylt, nasb, kjv, nkjv—treacherously; esv—faithless; niv84—breaking faith; net, nlt—betray

 · Verse 10 seems to be a general description on their unfaithfulness and treachery.

· “Malachi makes clear for us two alternative ways for people to try to live in a community.

· One way is what you might call covenantal order—it's what the OT means by shalom. All relationships are made peaceful and pure by the fulfillment of covenants and promises and oaths and contracts and commitments.”  —-John Piper

· The other way puts self-centered desires and impulses as the first priority over the covenant faithfulness that is seen in the foolish and wicked man of the book of Proverbs.

B. With Heathen Wives. (v. 11)

¹¹ Judah has dealt treacherously, And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, For Judah has profaned the Lord's holy institution which He loves: He has married the daughter of a foreign god.

· Some commentators see this as figuratively referring to a general unfaithfulness of Israel to God.

·   Indeed, this exalted perspective on marriage has caused many interpreters to doubt whether Malachi was referring to literal marriage at all. Some suggest that Malachi only intended marriage as a metaphor for Israel’s relationship to the Lord. Against this, however, is the observation that everywhere else in Scripture where the marriage metaphor appears God is uniformly depicted as the husband, not the wife, as would be the case here.” — Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

 · Note: It was not a foreign woman like Rahab or Ruth, but a heathen, unbelieving mate (a daughter of a false god).

· Israel was to marry others that shared their relationship with God and would encourage their faithfulness to God.

· NT affirms that we should do the same.

1 Corinthians 6:14

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.  For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?

And what communion has light with darkness?

· “...when we claim to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and then willfully choose to unite ourselves with an unbeliever in the most intimate personal union on earth, we profane the holiness of God.”   —John Piper

· Two NT instructions for us.

1. If we are married and our unsaved mate wants to live with us, we should stay married. 

1 Corinthians 7.12-13

¹² But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. ¹³ And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him.

2. If we are married to an unbeliever, we should seek to win them by our conduct. 

1 Peter 3:1

¹ Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, ² when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.

· When I mary an unbeliever I am saying that there is no difference between the God of the Bible and no God or another god.

· When I choose to be intimately connected with a son or daughter of a foreign god, I take a step away from the faithful covenant God.

· My Marriage should tell the truth about who God is. 

· We should reflect  God’s covenant faithfulness back to Him in our Marriages.

· This kind of behavior had no place in the covenant community of OT Israel just as it has no place in the NT  Church.

(2.12) May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob the man who does this [marries an unbeliever], being awake and aware, Yet who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!

C. With Weeping “Worship” (v. 13)

¹³ And this is the second thing you do:

You cover the altar of the Lord with tears,

With weeping and crying;

So He does not regard the offering anymore,

Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.

¹⁴ Yet you say, "For what reason?"  ...

· The pagan worship of the nations around Israel focused on “buying” the deity's favor with extreme emotionalism and sacrifices.

1 Kings 18

²⁶ So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, "O Baal, hear us!" But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. ²⁷ And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened." ²⁸ So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.

· These Israelites were unfaithful (treacherous) to the Lord in their conduct and then hoped that a big showy sacrifice at the temple would fix things.

II. The People’s Question: Why?

· Proverbs 15:8

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

· “You cover the altar of the Lord with tears.” These tears are the false tears of hypocrisy, not genuine tears of repentance. The people weep because the Lord will not hear them, not because of their sin.” —NET Bible Study Notes

TE: Does that still apply in NT times?

Persistent, unrepentant sin can still hinder our relationship with the Lord today.

Application:

A faithless life hinders our prayers to God.

“…that your prayers be not hindered.”

1 Peter 3:7

“Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.”

III. The LORD’s Response

¹⁴ Yet you say, "For what reason?"

Because the Lord has been witness

Between you and the wife of your youth,

With whom you have dealt treacherously;

Yet she is your companion

And your wife by covenant.

A. God as Covenant Witness (v. 14)

· “...God was acting as a witness against those husbands who were being unfaithful to their wives. Because marriage is a covenant, fidelity to one’s spouse is of a piece with one’s relationship with God.”   —-New Bible commentary: 21st century edition. 1994 (D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer & G. J. Wenham, Ed.) (4th ed.) (Mal 2:10–16). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.

· Proverbs 15.3

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

Keeping watch on the evil and the good.

· First, “She is thy wife; thy own, bone of thy bone and flesh of thy flesh, the nearest to thee of all the relations thou hast in the world, and to cleave to whom thou must quit the rest.’ —Matthew Henry

 · Secondly, “She is the wife of thy youth, who had thy affections when they were at the strongest, was thy first choice, and with whom thou hast lived long. Let not the darling of thy youth be the scorn and loathing of thy age.”  —Matthew Henry

· This emphasizes the long term commitment that is being broken.  “The expectation of romantic love in marriage ins a modern, Western notion.”  —Stuart Douglas (p.1338 TMP) 

 · Thirdly, “She is thy companion; she has long been an equal sharer with thee in thy cares, and griefs, and joys.’ ’ The wife is to be looked upon, not as a servant, but as a companion to the husband, with whom he should freely converse and take sweet counsel, as with a friend, and in whose company he should take delight more than in any other’s; for is she not appointed to be thy companion?   —Matthew Henry

 · Fourthly, “She is the wife of thy covenant, to whom thou art so firmly bound that, while she continues faithful, thou canst not be loosed from her, for it was a covenant for life. It is the wife with whom thou hast covenanted, and who has covenanted with thee; there is an oath of God between you, which is not to be trifled with, is not to be played fast and loose with.’ ’    —Matthew Henry

Ecclesiastes 5.4-7

4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it;

For He has no pleasure in fools.

Pay what you have vowed--

5 Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.

6 Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin,

nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands? ... But fear God.

MINI APPLICATION:

· When is the last time you pulled out your marriage vows to read them and mull them over in your mind?

· Married people should often call to mind their marriage-vows, and review them with all seriousness, as those that make conscience of performing what they promised.

B. The Treachery and Injustice of Divorce (vv. 15&16)

¹⁵ But did He not make them one,

Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one?

He seeks godly offspring.

Therefore take heed to your spirit,

And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.

¹⁶ "For the Lord God of Israel says

That He hates divorce,

For it covers one's garment with violence,"

Says the Lord of hosts.

"Therefore take heed to your spirit,

That you do not deal treacherously."

1. Treachery

And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.

· In verse 15b and 16b the translation “treachery” emphasizes the duplicity and fickled nature of divorce.

· The translation “faithless” emphasizes the failure to keep one’s word.

· Both fit the Hebrew word and context.

2. Injustice (violence)

For it covers one's garment with violence,"

Strong's H2555 - chamac  violence, wrong, cruelty, injustice

ylt, kjv, nkjv, esv, niv84, net—violence; nasb—wrong; nlt—cruelty

· ...he covers his garment with violence (i.e. visibly defiles himself with violence; for this metaphoric use of garment cf. Ps. 73:6; 109:18; Je. 2:34) says the Lord of hosts.   —D.A. Carson New Bible Commentary

Psalm 73:6  Therefore pride serves as their necklace; Violence covers them like a garment.

Psalm 109:18 As he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, So let it enter his body like water, And like oil into his bones.

Jeremiah 2:34  Also on your skirts is found The blood of the lives of the poor innocents. I have not found it by secret search, But plainly on all these things.

D. The Caution (v. 16)

watch Strong's H8104 - shamar :  (Niphal) to be on one's guard, take heed, take care, beware

· take heed to our spirits with reference to our relationships with others.

· Note, Those that would be kept from sin must take heed to their spirits, for there all sin begins;  —Matthew Henry

· Do you take heed to have God’s covenant faithfulness on your mind.

“So much of our religion is packaged to address our felt needs—and these are almost uniformly anchored in our pursuit of our own happiness and fulfillment.”   ---D.A. Carson

· Our focus should be on the glory of God’s faithfulness and how we can reflect that.

· Be mindful of the legacy you are leaving for your family and friends. 

APPLICATION: Watch the desires and attitudes of your heart carefully.

Keep your heart with all diligence,

For out of it spring the issues of life.

Proverbs 4:23

Big Idea:  

We should reflect God’s covenant faithfulness back to Him in our Marriages.

·