New Hope Calendar

Review

• The Israelites had fallen into a spiritual malaise.  They were apathetic and disillusioned and couldn’t see that they needed God.
• God’s answer to there disobedience was His character
• God’s character should compel us to give Him our best and to honor Him

Literary Context

• At it’s core it is a series of logical arguments
• Each one of the six arguments is a symptom of the greater issue

Also…

• Malachi is the last O.T. Book written
• Malachi is a prophecy, “The covenant enforcers”

Malachi 2:10-16

General Relationships

• Israel was being unfaithful in their relationships with each other and with God
• We can live in community in two distinct ways
• The Covenantal order
• The disorder of self-indulgence
• We should be covenant keepers because God is our Father, Creator, and a covenant God.

Specific Relationships

• Marrying foreign wives
• Divorce

Malachi 2:17-3:6

• The Israelites doubt that God is just
• God doesn’t justify himself or his actions; He points them to the hope of the future judgment.

When we want our walk with god to be stronger than the world, we should remember who God is.  God will give us the strength to stand up for Him amidst living in a fallen world.