The emphasis is on covenants (vv. 4, 5, 8, 10, 14); three are mentioned specifically.
The covenant with Levi (1–9). God gave the priesthood to the tribe of Levi and told them to teach and obey the law of the Lord. But they corrupted the covenant and disobeyed His Word, and God had to judge them by cursing their blessings. Their blessing of the people would turn out to be a curse (Num. 6:23–27), and Israel would bring trouble instead of blessing to the world (Deut. 28).
The covenant with Israel (10–12). This was made at Sinai when the nation was “married to Jehovah” (Exod. 19–20). But His bride was not faithful to Him because she committed adultery with false gods. Jeremiah warned about this (Jer. 2), and it is the underlying theme of the book of Hosea.
The covenant of marriage (13–17). The men were divorcing their wives and marrying foreign women (Exod. 34:10–17; Ezra 10), a sin that led even King Solomon into idolatry (1 Kings 11). The marriage covenant involves the husband and the wife and God, and He expects us to be faithful. The unfaithful husbands could weep and bring sacrifices (v. 13), but God would not accept them.
We expect God to be faithful to keep His word. Why do we think we have the privilege of not keeping our promises?
Blessings and Curses
God is able to turn curses into blessings (Neh. 13:2) and blessings into curses (Mal. 2:1–2). It is painful enough when God removes His blessings from us; but when He turns those blessings into curses, the pain is terrible.
The Extent of Sin
“Have we not all one Father?” (Mal. 2:10) does not mean that everybody is a child of God and therefore going to heaven. The context is Jewish: God created the nation and claimed Israel as His firstborn (Isa. 63:16; Exod. 4:22). When the Jewish men divorced their wives to marry heathen women, they were sinning not only against God but also against their brethren (1 Thess. 4:1–8).
