Marriage and Divorce: Part 3 (Malachi 2.10-16)

Adultery = Idolatry
"Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god," (Malachi 2.11, ESV). Malachi's explosive argument here is that the people are living their everyday lives in faithlessness. It's not that they had an indiscretion here or made a mistake there. The very lifestyles are ones of betrayal. Their very existence was one of treachery. And it was an abomination to God.
The people believed that they could commit such atrocities and then go into the temple as though nothing were happening. They believed that they could live lives of betrayal or of disloyalty and waltz on into a holy place like the temple and think there was nothing wrong. Malachi tears into them saying that these acts are abominable and have profaned the sanctuary of the LORD. This was God's house. It was a holy place, unlike any other. Never was the house of God to be taken lightly. It was not a place to go into just willy-nilly. There was to be great respect and admiration for the temple.
Yet the priests led the way, didn't they? They allowed and offered for themselves blemished animals and foul food. So if the priests will do it why not the regular ol' people? Just as a side note...When the world see Christians treat their place of worship with little respect, we cannot expect them to do otherwise. At the same time, when the world see Christians treat their own bodies with disrespect, it simply gives them license to do the same.
God loved His house. Even though God never descended upon Zerubbabel's Temple, and even though the people never saw the holy smoke or the Shekinah glory, didn't mean that God did not love the place of worship. He did. It was still to be a place where His name was made great and He was exalted. But by not coming to Him with lowly hearts but doing everything but bragging about their abomination, they profaned God by profaning His sanctuary.
What was it that the people had done? The men had taken foreign wives who worshipped idols. And if that wasn't bad enough (and it was), they had already been married once, but divorced in order to marry these women. "But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant," (Malachi 2.14, ESV).
What we have is an inward movement of adultery and idolatry. Verse 14 clearly lays out that adultery was taking place. God is upset with the men of Israel because to God the covenants that they made with their wives was binding. It was not to be broken except in extreme circumstances. They were the helpers and companions of their husbands and the husbands treat them like dirt and walk all over them, committing adultery and divorcing their wives. And then they would go to the temple like they did nothing wrong. How ludicrous!
God, through Malachi, informed the men that this was going to stop. "May the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who brings an offering to the LORD of hosts," (Malachi 2.12, ESV)! These men would no longer be regarded as part of Israel. To be cut off from the tents of Jacob could mean as something small as being thrown out of the city to being stoned to death. This was probably more of a being thrown out of the city. Much like the priests who offered sacrifices unworthy of God would be desecrated and thrown out of service so the men would be treated the same.
But why? Because their adultery was a sign of their idolatry. When there is adultery there is inevitably idolatry. If anything, those who commit adultery have placed themselves and their pleasure above the Person and pleasure of God. They have usurped God from the throne of the heart and placed upon it their own image.
God had enough. Those who were divorcing so they could marry someone else, thus committing adultery would have no place in the city and no place at the altar. Their very sacrifices would be rejected. "And this second thing you do. You cover the LORD’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand," (Malachi 2.13, ESV).