Tom and Sue cohabited for several years. Then Sue became a Christian. She and Tom, who already was a believer, decided they should marry. That's when the fighting began. This puzzled them. Why did they get along when they were living in sin, and begin to fight only when they determined to obey God?

Here's why: Satan leaves us alone when we're doing what he wants. He only troubles us when he's afraid, and few things scare him more than a husband and wife who love and respect each other. Their bond of devotion creates strong families with ″godly offspring″ that threaten Satan's schemes (Malachi 2:15). Are you married? Buckle up! Satan wants to destroy what you've got.

God tells Judah there are two ways to be unfaithful. They can break faith with God through idolatry, and they can break faith with others. In this case, through divorce. Tragically, they've done both. God doesn't accept their worship or answer their prayers because they've divorced their wives (v. 13). ″You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant″ (v. 14).

The Hebrew term for partner comes from a root word that describes the seam in the tabernacle curtains (Exodus 26:3-11). As the curtains were sewn together permanently, so a husband and wife unite their lives and bodies in an unbreakable ″one flesh″ bond (Genesis 2:24). Marriage isn't a contract that can be ripped up when one partner disappoints. It's a sacred covenant between a man, a woman, and God (Malachi 2:14).

The Hebrew text of verse 16 is difficult to interpret. It could mean that God hates divorce, as the King James Version says. Or it could mean, as the New International and English Standard Versions read, that the man who divorces his wife claims that he hates her. Either way, God declares that the person who divorces his wife, except for adultery or abandonment (Matthew 19:1-12; 1 Corinthians 7:15), ″does violence to the one he should protect″ (Malachi 2:16). Our home should be the safest place in the world. When that becomes the scene of emotional and spiritual violence, what could be worse?

God wants us to avoid such trauma. He warns, ″So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful″ (v. 16). Don't presume your wife knows that you love her, or your husband knows that you respect him. Tell them. Build hedges to protect your marriage. Make each other a priority. Godly, life-giving marriages do not happen naturally, especially with an enemy prowling to rip them apart. Marriage takes work, disciplined focus, and extra helpings of forgiveness. It is worth the effort.