We‘ve been considering some things Malachi encourages us to appropriate, make a part of our lives, based on chapter 2 of his prophecy. While Malachi is indicting divorcees who are remarrying those of another religion, he gives a clear challenge to preserve the covenantal marriage vows.
Verse 15 says: “guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.” Again in verse 16, “guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.”
Marriage is more than a physical or legal relationship. It includes God and is therefore spiritual. God makes a husband and wife “one,” and adds, “In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring.”
This objective is unattainable by mere human effort. It takes God. It’s a spiritual dynamic. That’s why we’re told two times to guard ourselves in our spirit. When in a healthy relationship with God He enables us to relate properly.
When men say to me they want a divorce because they don’t love their wives anymore, I respond, “That’s not an option if you are a believer.” If they ask, “Why?” I say, “You are commanded in Ephesians 5:25 to love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. That’s sacrificial love. Ask God to restore your love for her and then do what you would if you felt love for her.”
