Malachi 2:5

The Lord is speaking and He says in Malachi 2:5-6, “My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.” God designed the old covenant so that it would bring life and peace. That is the same purpose for which He designed the new covenant. In the new covenant (the new testament) we receive life and peace through faith in Jesus Christ. We are told in Malachi 2:5 exactly why the old covenant was given to Levi. It says, “I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.” God is the judge of everyone on this earth, and we are all sinners. That is not a good combination. One day we will all bow before Jesus Christ at the judgment and give an answer for what was done in our lives, and as we do so we will be standing between heaven and hell. Guess who has the power to put you in one place or the other. Real fear can come over a person who is awakened to the fact that they are guilty before God and are in danger of being sent to hell because of the greatness of their sins. Jesus said in Luke 13:3, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

Levi feared God and repented and so did other Israelites, and so they entered into the benefits of a covenant with God. To repent literally means “to have a change of mind.” In other words a person is going down a certain direction in life away from God. They have certain ideas and certain priorities that govern their life as they go this way with out Jesus as their Savior. When they repent, they pray to Jesus for forgiveness, and this involves a change of mind. Instead of going away from God, now they are going with God on their life journey. Obviously, if someone has repented and had such a change of mind, it will be seen in their life. That is why it says in Second Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Malachi 2:6 tells us four things that were evident in Levi’s life that demonstrated that he had repented and feared God. It says, “The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.” The law of truth was in his mouth. When you become right with God through faith in Jesus Christ, you become associated with truth. Every person is either associated with the lie of the world, or the truth that is in Jesus Christ. No on can know truth without Jesus because He is the truth. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” We can come to know the truth about Jesus, when we are ready to admit the truth about ourselves. The truth about anyone is as follows: “I am a sinner, and I need to be forgiven of my sins by Jesus, and I need to start following Jesus.” Once you come to know the truth, then you can start speaking the truth. You can start speaking the truth about Jesus Christ, and you then have the ability to start speaking the truth about all of your affairs. One reason that people lie so often is that they have not even admitted the truth about themselves to God yet. The truth ties you to Jesus, but lies tie you to the devil. Jesus said in John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

The second truth mentioned in Malachi 2:6 about someone who has become a believer is as follows: “iniquity was not found in his lips.” It is important to notice that it does not say, “iniquity was not found in his actions.” Can the things that someone says be regarded as “iniquity?” Of course, they can. Jesus said in Luke 6:45, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” The problem with the tongue is that it is connected directly with the heart. Listen to what it says about the heart in Genesis 6:5, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

How wicked can the tongue of a person be? James had something to say about the human tongue. It says in James 3:1-13, “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.” Have you ever seen “a world of iniquity?” Just go stand in front of a mirror, and open your mouth and look inside; and there you will see it: “a world of iniquity.” Be careful because Jesus said in Matthew 12:36-37, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” If you walk with Jesus as closely as you should, it will be said of you the same thing that was said of Levi, “iniquity was not found in his lips.” The truth is that we are all great sinners, are we not?

It says about Levi in Malachi 2:6, “he walked with me in peace and equity.” Notice the phrase, “he walked with me.” This implies many things. It implies a close fellowship between man and God. God wants companionship from human beings. From a spiritual standpoint there is nothing much greater that can be said about a human being than to say that he or she walks with God. It says about Enoch in Genesis 5:24, “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” It says about Noah in Genesis 6:9, “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” After Jesus rose from the dead, it says in Luke 24:1-15, “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass. And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.”

How do we walk with Christ day after day? One important truth to walking with the Lord is found in First John 1:7-9. It says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

We can walk with God because Jesus rose from the dead and He is alive. We can walk with God as we confess our sins daily. To walk with God means that we are walking with Him. In other words, we are going His way, and not our own way. Jesus is our Guide. From Mexico we have a very good saying in Spanish that is consistent with the idea of needing to walk with God: “Via con Dios,” which means “Go with God.” To walk with God means to be surrendered to His will and His leading, and it also means to be dependent upon His help, His strength, and His protection. The challenges of life are too great for you to be able to meet them alone. You need to walk with Christ.

If you do walk with Christ, there will be certain benefits, and certain good consequences. It says in Malachi 2:6, “he walked with me in peace and equity.” Two of the results of walking with God are peace and equity. Many people in this world do not have peace. They are tormented because of their spiritual condition. The spiritual condition of being without Christ starts in this life and then continues throughout eternity unless it is repaired by a conversion experience through faith in Jesus. In Luke 16:24 we hear the words of a rich man who was tormented in the next life. It says, “And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” Instead of torment, every human being is offered peace through Christ. It says in Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” What kind of life do you have, if you do not have peace? Come to Jesus and He will give you true peace because He is the Prince of Peace. Until your sins are forgiven, you will never have peace in your soul.

Malachi 2:6 said that “equity” would be a consequence of walking with Christ. The word that is translated “equity” means literally “level ground or plain.” Sometimes it is translated “righteous” or “straight,” as in Isaiah 40:4, “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.” There is a lack of fairness and justice in the world because of the wickedness of human nature. People are easily prejudiced. They favor one group over another or one individual over another for every reason that you can imagine: the color of the skin, social structure, income level, appearance, political views, national origin, etc. People form cliques and groups where they exclude some and include only their favored few. Where can anyone find fairness and equity? It can be found with God. An understanding of Biblical truth results in the greatest fairness and equity possible. We are all equally related to Adam and Eve. We all have the same carnal nature that we inherited from Adam and Eve. We have all sinned. God loves all of us. Jesus came into the world to die for all of us. We all need a Savior and need to be saved. Everyone gets saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and then has the same destiny: heaven. At the judgment every lost person will be judged by the same standard to determine the level of their torments in hell. And every saved person will be judged by the same standard to determine the level of their rewards in heaven.

It is wonderful to walk with God because we have fellowship and communion with our Savior Jesus Christ. He is a dear Savior, who gives great companionship. He also gives “peace and equity” that can be found nowhere else in the world, except when walking in fellowship with Him.

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