“’If he hates and divorces his wife,’ says the Lord God of Israel, ‘he covers his garment with injustice,’ says the Lord of Armies.
Therefore, watch yourselves carefully, and do not act treacherously.
You have wearied the Lord with your words.
Yet you ask, ‘How have we wearied him?’
When you say, ‘Everyone who does what is evil is good in the Lord’s sight, and he is delighted with them, or else where is the God of justice?’”
Malachi 2:16-17
Last time we saw why the people of God were weeping at the altar: because Yahweh no longer accepted their sacrifices due to their treacherous treatment of their covenant wives. Today we continue with the same charge into two new ones.
We will start with “If he hates and divorces his wife…”
Hates here is sane – detest, enemy, hate, turned against, unloved; enemy, foe, be hateful, odious, utterly; and divorce is shalach – to send, cast away, forsake, bade his farewell, burned, cast off, certainly let them go, delivered, dismissed, divorce, driving them away, escorted him away, gave them over, get rid, gets his own way, let them down, let them go, release, remove, send them away, set free, stretched.
If a man detests and turns against his wife as an enemy and casts her out, driving her away…
“He covers his garment with violence…”
This seemed like an unusual way to say something, so I found some comfort in additional translations (found here):
“’To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,’ says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies…”
“…ungodliness shall cover thy thoughts…”
“…[he] conceals his violence by outward appearances…”
“…[he] hide(s) evil in his cloak…”
Interesting to compare the translations, huh? Let’s look at the Hebrew:
Here cover is kasah – to cover; closed, clothed, conceal, engulfed, forgive, hidden, overwhelm, take refuge; violence is chamas – violence, wrong, malicious; cruelty, damage, false, injustice, oppressor, unrighteous, violence against, done, From chamac; violence; by implication, wrong; Unjust gain. With here is our al – hover over; and garment is lebush – a garment, clothing, raiment; apparel, armor, attire, robe.
Unjust, malicious violence hovers over and engulfs his attire…
What are your thoughts? It seems to return to God’s repulsion by injustice toward those with less social power. If women were essentially property of men, and sending them off with a certificate of divorce means she has few options in society, you are, indeed, being cruel toward her.
And what of this idea of violence covering one’s clothes? I like how it is implied in the other translations that as clothes cover your body, so you may try to hide your evil with outward appearances.
It seems to me, though, like how Paul talks about clothing ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Or putting off the old self and putting on the new. If you are dealing treacherously with your wife or if you dismiss and drive her away, what you daily put on is cruelty, injustice, and unrighteousness.
But the implication seems to extend beyond the walls of one’s home or spouse; what you put on out there – at work, with others, in the public square – is also injustice and wrong-doing. It hovers over you, engulfing your character.
Seems like the way we treat those closest to us most accurately reflects our hearts. This is a very challenging realization.
“Therefore, take heed of your spirit that you do not deal treacherously…”
The wording here is exactly like last time: shamar (bodyguard) ruach (spirit, breath) bagad (treacherous). Or:
Bodyguard your spirit, the life and breath within you, to no longer be deceitful, faithless, or offensive.
Now we move onto the new section:
“You have wearied Yahweh with your words.”
Here wearied is yaga – to toil, grow or be weary; become weary, labor, worn; faint, make to labor, to gasp; hence, to be exhausted; and words is dabar – speech, word; act, advice, affair, answer, any such thing, because of, book, business
Your advice, speech, and order of business is toilsome and exhausting to Yahweh.
Again the push back is anticipated: “Yet you say, ‘In what way have we wearied him?'”
“In that you say everyone that does evil…”
Does is asah – accomplish and evil is ra‘ – adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, displeasure, distress; From ra’a’; bad or evil – exceedingly, great, grievous, harm, heavy, hurtful, mischievous, misery, naughty, sorrow, trouble, vex, wickedly, wretchedness.
You ask how (mah?) do we weary Yahweh? You say everyone that accomplishes wicked, grievous, evil harm…
What about those who do this? “…[everyone who does evil] is good in this sight of Yahweh”
Good is towb – beautiful; and sight is ayin – an eye; appearance, before, concern, displease, generous, humble person, knowledge, look, looked, pleased, presence; a fountain (as the eye of the landscape).
Everyone who accomplishes wicked, grievous, evil harm is beautiful to the knowledge, the fountain of Yahweh.
This is quite the insult, huh? To say those who do grievous evil are beautiful to Him. But that’s not all:
“And in them He delights…”
Here delights is chaphets – desire, to delight in, to be pleased with; to incline to; by implication (literally but rarely) to bend; figuratively, to be pleased with, desire — favour, be well pleased.
And in them He is pleased, bends toward them.
The accusation is those who continue to do evil are not only beautiful in His sight, but they are to whom Yahweh bends toward.
Why would this weary the Most High? Probably because it is the very opposite of His character. God in the flesh said those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, and those who are pure in heart are blessed and see Him.
Or else you say, ‘Where is the God of justice?'”
Here where is ayyeh – where? from ay’ – how, origin, which; why; how, what, whence, where, whether, which way; and God of justice is mishpat – judgement, arrangements, claim, court, crimes, decisions, judge, justice, mode of life, order, plans, rights, rule, standard, verdict, way prescribed, what is right, worthy.
What’s the origin, and where has He gone, this God of order, what is just, right, and worthy?
Wearying words, indeed.
I appreciate the Message version of this:
And also by saying, “Judgment? God’s too nice to judge.”
Such an interesting way to begin the Advent season: being reminded that it’s wearisome to Yahweh when His character is maligned and His righteousness doubted.
As we wait for the long-expected Jesus, born to set His people free, we celebrate God indeed did something about sin and injustice. And as we participate in the Kingdom that’s here, but not yet completely, we celebrate His patience that all may come to repentance.
Because the God Who is worthy would never ignore or delight in evil.