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The Ultimate Divorce!
"'I hate divorce,' says the Lord"
In the book of Malachi, God speaks through His prophet, and addresses an issue that has plagued mankind throughout the ages. The issue is that of divorce. Although this can be a touchy subject, when one looks at the historical setting, one comes away with a greater understanding of what God was getting at. Malachi lived during the time of Nehemiah and Ezra; therefore the book of Malachi should be grouped with them rather than sitting at the end of the Old Testament.
Malachi, Nehemiah, and Ezra lived during the time in which the Jewish people had been released from Babylonian captivity. They had returned to Judah some 70 years after the first incursion into Judah by Babylon. During their stay in Babylon and upon their subsequent return to their homeland, many of the Jews had abandoned God's ways and had adapted the pagan ways of Babylon which led to a low moral standard regarding marriage and divorce. The Jews were divorcing and remarrying and inter-marrying, something God was not too pleased about. But they had also abandoned many other precepts. Malachi addresses these in his discource.
By the time Malachi addresses divorce, he had already addressed several other social ills of the day. The primary reason why God said through Malachi that He hated divorce can be seen in Malachi 2: 15, 16. God warns the hearer twice to guard his spirit first and then take care of the wife of his youth. The message is clear; when we divorce ourselves spiritually from God first, we then divorce ourselves from many things in the physical realm. Although God is addressing divorce between married couples, He is also addressing, in the larger sense, divorce from Himself and His laws.
As we divorce ourselves from His laws and His ways, we automatically marry ourselves to the pagan ways of the society around us. Spiritual divorce leads to the believer divorcing himself from: church attendance, prayer, fellow believers, common sense, health, a sound mind, and so on. The list is endless!
It is no wonder that God speaks so plainly and so adamently: I hate divorce! When we look at the context, we see why God is so strong in His statement. Today we are seeing an increase in divorce. This increase can be directly corelated to the high divorce rate from God's Word and His ways in this land. The message from Malachi is clear: allow God and His Word to be our first love, and the rest will take care of itself! America needs to once again marry herself to God and His Word. Only then will the hearts of the children be turned to the fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children. | 
