Malachi 2:17

“Ye have wearied the Lord with your words, etc.] As well as with their actions; (see <234324>Isaiah 43:24) this is said after the manner of men, they saying those things which were displeasing and provoking to him, and which he could not bear to hear; or otherwise weariness properly cannot be attributed to God: Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? as if they were clear and innocent; or, as the Targum, “if ye should say”; though they might not express themselves in words in such an impudent manner; yet should they say so in their hearts, or supposing they should utter such words with their lips, out of the abundance of their evil hearts, the answer is ready: When ye say, Every one that…”

“wearied . . . Lord-- (Isa 43:24). This verse forms the transition to Mal 3:1, &c. The Jewish skeptics of that day said virtually, God delighteth in evil-doers (inferring this from the prosperity of the surrounding heathen, while they, the Jews, were comparatively not prosperous: forgetting that their attendance to minor and external duties did not make up for their neglect of the weightier duties of the law; for example, the duty they owed their wives, just previously discussed); or (if not) Where (is the proof that He is) the God of judgment? To this the reply (Mal 3:1) is, "The Lord whom ye seek, and whom as messenger of the covenant (that is, divine ratifier of God's covenant with Israel)…”

“Ye have wearied the Lord with your words - o “By your blasphemous words, full of unbelief and mistrust, you have in a manner wearied God. He speaks of God, after the manner of men, as a man afflicted by the ills of others. Whence also the Lord says in Isaiah Isaiah 1:14, “I am weary to bear them,” and Isaiah 43:24, “thou hast made Me to serve with thy sins; thou hast wearied Me with thine iniquities.” In like way the Apostle says Ephesians 4:30. With the same contumacy as before, and unconsciousness of sin, they ask, “Wherein?” It is the old temptation at the prosperity of the wicked. “Does God love the wicked? if not, why does He not punish them?” “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.” “The…”

“Your words - Your perverse reasoning, and impious quarrellings against God. Is good - This wicked inference they drew, from their prosperity in the world. He delighteth in them - As appears (say these atheists) by his prospering them. Where is the God of judgment - If he is there, judging and governing the world, why does he not punish these men? Next: Malachi Chapter 3”

“2:17–3:5 Malachi’s fourth message concerns the disparity between God’s justice and human justice (2:17). If the book of Malachi were a courtroom drama, the fourth message would be the formal indictment against Judah. Malachi indicts dutiful but heartless religiosity (see 3:14) that acts contrary to God’s justice; he appeals for honesty and genuine social concern. 2:17 Malachi’s audience had wearied God by questioning his justice.”

“wearied: Psa 95:9, Psa 95:10; Isa 1:14, Isa 7:13, Isa 43:24; Jer 15:6; Eze 16:43; Amo 2:13 Wherein: Mal 2:14, Mal 1:6, Mal 1:7, Mal 3:8 Every: Mal 3:13-15; Job 34:5-9, Job 34:17, Job 34:36, Job 36:17; Psa 73:3-15; Mat 11:18, Mat 11:19 Where: Deu 32:4; Sa1 2:3; Psa 10:11-13; Ecc 8:11; Isa 5:18, Isa 5:19, Isa 30:18; Eze 8:12; Eze 9:9; Zep 1:12; Pe2 3:3, Pe2 3:4 Next: Malachi Chapter 3”

“"Ye weary Jehovah with your words, and say, Wherewith do we weary? In that ye say, Every evil-doer is good in the eyes of Jehovah, and He takes pleasure in them, or where is the God of judgment?" The persons who are introduced as speaking here are neither the pious Israelites, who were not only pressed down by the weight of their heavy afflictions, but indignant at the prosperity of their godless countrymen, and were thus impelled to give utterance to despairing complaints, and doubts as to the justice of God (Theodoret); nor a middle class between the truly pious and perfectly godless, consisting of those who were led by a certain instinctive need to adopt the faith inherited from the…”