How do we take our homes back for the glory of the Lord? What about our neighborhoods and towns? How about we take back our states and countries for Jesus? I believe we can learn some key lessons from the people Malachi was told to confront because their culture was heading down a dark path. 

Malachi 2:10-12 (ESV) tells us:

“Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!”

God’s Calling To His People

God called the people of Israel to marry within the clans of Israel. He knew if his children married foreign people, those people would lead the hearts of his children astray. God knew his children would quickly turn their backs from worshiping him and start worshiping false gods. Deuteronomy 7:3-4 (ESV) says, “You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.”

The ancestors of the people Malachi is speaking to made a covenant with God and each other to obey all the laws of the Lord. Yet all these years later, we see them disobeying God and marrying people whom the Lord told them to stay away from. 

Distractions Are The Enemy’s Tactic

Why would these people choose to disobey the true God and chase after idols? The book of Malachi was written about 100 years after the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile. By this time they had already built the wall with Nehemiah, the second temple had been erected, and things were going smoothly for them. The children of God were finally at a place where they could actually be the people God created them to be, and do the things he created them to do. So what happens? The enemy creeps in and tries to destroy them. 

The Enemy Tried This On Me

I discovered this in 2019 and 2020 when God began to awaken me to my purpose of living here. The more I stepped into living my authentic life, in my authentic identity, the more the enemy didn’t like it. The enemy tried his best to thwart my progress. It felt like people who were once good friends of mine suddenly did an about face and would attack me. Of course it hurt, but after a while I realized what was going on. I actually started cheering when these things happened. I would say, “The enemy is mad! Whoo hoo!” I had to make a choice that no matter what happened I would not turn back and live that old life. Only I could make that choice. 

Who Were These Women Really

So we have a group of people presumably free to be the nation God designed them to be and in creeps these foreign women. These guys didn’t just marry a foreign woman. It says they married the “daughter of foreign gods.” Could it be these guys were marrying women who were conceived in pagan worship of the false gods and then dedicated to these gods to serve them all their lives? 

We know this happened in the lives of people like Sampson. God told his parents they were to dedicate him to the Lord’s service while he was still in his mother’s womb. 

If these women were created and dedicated to the service of these false gods, then they had an evil bloodline. Any resulting children from the marriages between these demonic women and righteous men would be in constant conflict. The hearts of these families would be divided. While the husband may desire to serve Yahweh, their wife would want to serve the god who she believes gave her life and purpose. Can you imagine how confusing this would be to their children? 

Lesson For The Women

Women, we have an important lesson to learn here. We hold great power of influence over our husbands and children. We need to ask ourselves, are we pointing our husbands and children to excel in the ways of God or the ways of the world? What are we teaching our children to be more important, church and studying the Word of God or sports and watching TV? 

I’m not saying playing sports or watching TV is inherently evil, though I do wonder about how evil the TV part is. What I am saying is what, by actions, are you teaching your children is most important? Do you know more about who is married to who or who is divorcing who in Hollywood or more about the events and lives of the people in the Bible? 

We, as women, have the privilege and responsibility to set the tone for our homes. The things we find valuable will be the things your kids also find valuable. 

Lesson For The Men

Men, you must lead your family spiritually. Do not leave the “God stuff” to your wives to take care of. We want you to lead us and teach us the ways of God. You men need to know what the ways of God are in order to lead your family. 

Do you know more about the personal lives of your favorite football quarterback or the lives of the people in the Bible? Can you tell from memory about the lives of people like King David, Joshua, or Nehemiah? How much time do you spend talking to God every day, week, or month? How much time do you spend studying your fantasy football team and knowing all the ins and outs of your “team?” 

We need you men to take the lead in studying the Bible as a family. I promise the time you spend doing this will lead to great things in your family. You will have children who actually desire to follow God because they have spent time with their dad learning about who God is. How are children to follow a God who they only learn about for an hour once a week? 

Maybe sports and Hollywood aren’t your thing. The real question is how much time are you spending with your family, teaching them the ways of God vs. the time you spend on doing the things you like to do?  

Repentance Is The Key

What foreign gods have we come into covenant with? What idols do we have in our lives? Let’s ask the Lord to show us any idols we have. If he shows you something that has become an idol, repent. Remember, repentance simply means to change the way you think about something. Turn from spending time and money on things that have no eternal purpose and walk toward those things that do have an eternal purpose. 

This isn’t a religious thing. This is a relationship thing. We do things to better our relationships, and this includes our relationship with God and our families. Taking time to spend with God will ALWAYS produce good fruit. Spending time with your family talking about God, reading the Bible, and praying together will also always produce good fruit. Let’s not get distracted by the enemy. Instead let’s keep our focus on Jesus and what our purpose is here on earth. When we do those things we can become world changers.