Sunday School

Malachi 2

Posted lucentwarrior

Part 1 (2:1-9): These verses finish Chapter 1’s rebuke to the priests 

  • A command is referred to twice in this section (2:1, 2:4). What command is he referring to?
  • What was the offence of the priests that would cause them to be cursed?
  • What was the curse? What is offal/dung, and what is the significance of using it in this curse?
  • Who was Levi and what did God commend him for?
  • The behaviors of the current priests were contrasted with “Levi” in what ways?
  • The church today has a similar responsibility–we are to teach the nations about God.  I think this passage begs the question–how are we at Weavertown doing with the same criteria the priests were held to here in this passage? What do you think God would have Malachi say about us?
Part 2: Profaning the Covenant
  • ​Part 2a: V 10 starts by appealing to the Israelite’s commonalities to ask why are WE faithless and thereby profaning the covenant of our fathers. 
    • First of all, it’s interesting that Malachi switches to WE in this statement instead of YOU.
    • Define Profane (what were they doing to profane the covenant?)  I think understanding what profanity is might be key to internalizing this passage. 
    • ​​What is meant by marrying the daughter of a foreign god?
    • There is a curse for profanity!  Do we profane the Bride of Christ in a similar manner?
  • Part 2b: Two part accusation: weeping during worship and breaking the marriage covenant.
  • Weeping at the altar:  I think an obvious takeaway is that God will not accept our worship/gifts when we have (known?) sin in our hearts.  But what is wrong with weeping at the altar?
  • Faithless to your wife: what exactly were the Israelites doing to be faithless (break their marriage covenant) to their wife?
  • What were the reasons God listed that they shouldn’t break their marriage covenant (besides that you obviously don’t break covenants)?  What is the significance of those reasons?
  • Interesting side note: how does this discussion about divorce inform us about how God feels about divorce (in general, but particularly in our current day)?