Malachi 2:10-16 (NLT)
Are we not all children of the same Father? Are we not all created by the same God? Then why do we betray each other, violating the covenant of our ancestors? Judah has been unfaithful, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. The men of Judah have defiled the Lord’s beloved sanctuary by marrying women who worship idols. May the Lord cut off from the nation of Israel every last man who has done this and yet brings an offering to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Here is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure. You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.
Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”
Explanation:
I heard Oprah say in an interview once that the reason she doesn’t follow the God of the Bible is because when He described Himself as a “jealous God,” she looked around and said, “What kind of a God would be jealous of me?” It made me sad to know she had fundamentally misunderstood that God wasn’t referring to being jealous of anything she owned, He was referring to her heart! He is the One God, God Almighty, and will not share His worship or glory with anyone or any thing else.
I began to understand this concept on a whole new level when I married my husband. I am a giving person, and love to make special gifts for others, to share of my time and my energy and finances. But the one thing on earth I am not willing to share...is my husband! I am inherently jealous for his heart, not only because I want to remain the sole object of his affections, but also because I know that loving me and investing in our marriage can only end in his blessing and betterment! We try to share what is on our hearts with each other first before we speak with anyone else, and to guard our emotions and hearts diligently. To celebrate each other’s victories big and small, to hold each other up through sorrows, to speak forth life and not foster our fears. To never complain or speak badly of each other to a third person, but to be patient with each other’s shortcomings and pull each other up again when we fall. To offer grace and not choose judgment. To be the truest reflection of the heart of God to each other.
God calls us to faithfulness in marriage, all the while knowing that marriage wouldn’t be easy, and would reveal just how flawed we really are to each other! No one else sees our repeated blunders, experiences our selfish natures firsthand, has to put up with our shortcomings, and sees how we look first thing in the morning quite like our spouse! But God asks for our faithfulness to each other as a reflection of His relentless faithfulness to us even in light of our sin, flaws, and many mistakes. Just like in marriage, He asks for our hearts to hold only Him on the throne of our affections, and to not share our worship with anyone or anything else. We are in a covenant relationship with the One, God Almighty! And His grace will cover all our sins and mistakes through the blood of Jesus Christ, but He is asking for our loyalty and our faithfulness to Him, our spouses, and our families in return.
Application:
Have you ever made the decision to give your heart completely to Jesus Christ, and Him alone? If not, all you need to do is pray right now, with faith in your heart, letting God know you are trusting in His Son Jesus Christ. Ask God to take the throne in your life!
Unfaithfulness often starts small, in our thoughts and emotions, before they manifest in our actions. Are there any seeds of unfaithfulness trying to take root in your heart, to your spouse or in your relationship with God?
Today, choose one way to invest in your spouse (or in God, if you’re not married) and increase the outward evidence of your internal faithfulness.
Devo Plus:
Are you giving God any reasons not to accept your worship? Spend some time in prayer today, searching your heart to see if there is anything the Holy Spirit is asking you to change.
Prayer:
Lord God, thank You that You are so perfectly faithful to me. You show me how to be faithful by how You love me every day. Help me, God, to guard my heart diligently, and remain wholly loyal to You and to my spouse. Show me how to be more like You! In Jesus’s name. Amen.