Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

sees,"
PRAYER MEETING TOPIC
THE RESULTS OF SPURNING
GOD'S LOVE
March 16, 1955
Mai. 2:10-16
Rev. Roy Blackwood
God's Messenger (Mai.) spoke first
(1:1-5) of God's love, and he gave un
deniable proof of that love when he
pointed to the fact that God had chosen
an undeserving Abraham, the father of
these Israelites, and made a covenant
with him.
He spoke second (1:6-2:9) of the most
serious RESULT, the most obvious and
hateful example which proved that Is
rael was spurning this great love
in the
insincere, thoughtless, and disobedient
Service of the Temple. They were not
fulfilling their Duty to God at its most
sensitive, love-showing point
the wor
ship Service. They were insulting God's
love.
To prove that all Israel was spurning
God's love, he points (2:10-16)
to the
fact that they were "dealing treacher
ously"
with each other. The principle he
established is this; WHEN A MAN
FAILS OR REFUSES TO FULFIL HIS
DUTY TO GOD, AS A DIRECT RE
SULT, HE WILL FAIL TO FULFILL
HIS DUTY TO HIS FELLOW MAN.
Their double-dealing
with one another
was making them miserable and God
said, the reason for that misery (in case
you're interested in avoiding it) is your
lack of love and service to me. He illus
trates the principle by pointing to their
"treachery" with their wives. When you
don't love me, you can't love your wife.
and that will make any man miserable.
If you spurn my love, you'll spurn your
wife's love, and that will make everyone
miserable.
In v. 10, God suggests that if He could
love them enough to choose them and
covenant with them through Abraham;
then they had no right to hate or dis
card one another.
There are three RESULTS of spurn
ing God's love in v. 11: (1) By "marry
ing the daughter of
treacherously"
they "dealt
with
a strange God,"
each
other; (2) they threw God's love back
into His face, as though to say, 'God's
command
(Deut. 7:3) can't hold me!,
and a woman of His choice isn't good
enough for
me'
(Is. 43:1, 7, 21; 44:2, 21,
24). The Jews had a saying; "He that
marrieth a heathen woman is as if he
made himself son-in-law to an idol." (3)
God separated them from the world in
order to bring the Messiah through
them (Ex. 19:6; Num. 25:1-4) and when
they were disobeying His commands,
they were hindering the coming of God's
Love Made Flesh. Calvin said; "God
proposed to keep them together as one
people, lest the wife, by her flatteries,
February 23, 1955
should draw the husband away from the
pure and legitimate worship of God."
God warns of (v. 12) two direct
RESULTS of spurning His love: (1) He
will punish both priests and people; and
(2) He will refuse their insincere
prayers (v. 13). If He had accepted their
sacrifices, knowing their sins, it would
have been like taking a bribe and for
the same reason, God could not accept
their prayers. When we spurn God's love
and commands, and hate a fellow man,
we cannot expect answers to our prayers
and again the RESULT is a growing pile
of misery, for ourselves and an inability
to help our fellow man. To be unable to
speak to God might be one definition
of hell, and it would surely kill any zeal
for religion.
But again (v. 14) they reply to Mala
chi with a sullen "Wherefore" "Prove
it! Prove that we're miserable and un
just as a result of spurning
your
love!"
And Malachi patiently replies by point
ing to the most obvious and hateful ex
ample or RESULT of all their un
faithfulness to their closest fellow-man,
the wives of their youth. They were
linked to their wives by two covenants :
(1) the covenant of God with Abraham:
and (2) the covenant of marriage to
which God was the first witness. Spurn
ing God's love resulted in breaking the
first of these and the second was then
easy to break. "Covenant breaking" be
came a habit and they placed their own
ability to choose on a par with God's.
In fact, they rejected the women God
had chosen and chose ones He had re
jected. Apparently they had gone on to
take many
minds them (v. 15)
strange wives for God re
that He had "the
residue of the Spirit" and could have
made Adam half a dozen wives if He
had wanted
but He had set the exam
ple by giving him ONE wife, "that he
seed;"
might seed a Godly a thing they
apparently cared little about. God hates
divorce (v. 16) but, if possible, He hates
polygamy worse because it, as a sin, in
volves more people. It was an easy step
from divorce to polygamy and in the
history of Israel, they were progressive
steps RESULTS of spurning God's
love.
SUGGESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
(Verse by verse)
with God:
v. 10, Principle of Duty
What should be our attitude toward:
(1) the prodigal son representing "pub
sinners;"
licans and and (2) the elder
brother representing "scribes and Phari
in Christ's parable of The Loving
Father (Luke 15), Prove that attitude
by citing a recent, specific example of
it in your own life (Jn. 13:34, 35).
v. 11, Principle of duty to man : Con
trast instances of brutality of men with
out love of God, with actions of men
CAUSED by love of God. (ref. Christ's
example of love Phil. 2:5-8; I John 4:21 ;
5:2)
(2) Principle of revolt against God. Con
nection between love and obedience (Jn.
14:21 and others). Apply this principle
to "worship" service. What principles
has God laid down for choice of a help
meet How and where would you advise
a young person to look for a mate
(3) Principle of helping or hindering
God's purposes. How does your marriage
help the work of Christ How can it
hinder the work of the church
v. 12 Principle : If religion be "rea
sonable intercourse between two ration
al beings," could there be any greater
punishment than unanswered prayers
What are God's requirements for an
swering prayer Ps. 66:15; Mk. 11:1-15;
cf. Jas. 5:10.
v. 14, Principle, love and loyalty :
(I Jn. 2:3-6; 4:15-21; 5:3). Is there
any lasting basis for loyalty
love for Christ
aside from
in marriage, church
membership, school business Would
it be safe to marry a non-Christian
What reasons would he have for being
trustworthy
v. 15,16, Principle, "seeding a godly
seed.'
A particular responsibility with
our own children in the home and
church. Every Christian, as one "mar
ried to Christ" Rom. 7:14; 1 Cor. 3:9)
has the definite responsibility of pro
ducing spiritual seed from that union.
(Jn. 15:5). Remember a recent example
of this in your own life.
Psalms :
78:1-7,9 page 187 (Introduction)
128: page 323 (Ideal home life)
145 page 351 (Results of a love for
God)
26: page 61 (Searching our own
hearts)
Comparisons
It is only when we come to mark
significant anniversaries that we sense
the comparative youth of our nation.
Just 162 years ago (July 27, 1879) the
oldest of our executive departments,
the State Department, was established
by Congress. The entire staff of Thomas
Jefferson, first Secretary of State, con
sisted of five clerks. His first estimate
of the "probable expenses of the De
partment"
for one year totaled $7,961.
This sum included not only all salaries,
but such items as $110.00 for station
ery, $60.00 for newspapers, and $50.00
for firewood. Today, the Department of
State has a personnel exceeding 4,000
and an unusual budget of $16,000,000.
In these turbulent times, it is diffi
cult to suppress a nostalgic sigh for
the quiet days when the Secretary of
State could write to President Wash
ington (then on a tour of the South) :
"I write today indeed merely as the
watchman cries, to prove himself
a-
wake, and that all is well, for the last
week has scarcely furnished anything
foreign or domestic worthy
notice."
Quote
of your
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