Malachi 2:14-15....commanding CHILDREN ?

FROM  A  FRIEND

Lastly, I want to ask you about Malachi 2:14-15, taken from the King James 2000 Bible:

"Yet you say, Why? Because the LORD has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously: yet is she your companion, and the wife of your covenant.

And did not he make them one? Yet had he the remnant of the spirit. And why one? That he might seek a godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth."

Is this God saying that he made a husband and wife one because it's mandatory for them to produce offspring?

MY  ANSWER

God is hear talking about people having the right attitude of mind so GOD can have godly offspring, people following HIM correctly.   Note the last sentence.  It could have nothing to do with commanding people to have offspring.  This  section is fully  explained under my in-depth study on  "Divorce and Re-marriage"  on my website. 

Now if we want to connect it with man and woman coming together as one, all it says is a general statement.  God obviously made man and woman with sex reproductive systems to produce offspring.  And if a couple are in tune with God, then again obviously they will raise children to love God and His way of life, so producing godly offspring.  This  cannot  mean  you  are  commanded  to  reproduce  and  have  lots  of  children  per  se,  any  more  than  you  can  successfully  raise  godly  children.  Many  Christian  couples  raise  children  that  do  NOT  follow  God's  way  of  life,  even  "minister's  children"  sometimes   turn  away  from  God  and  the  Bible.  Many  couples  find  no  matter  how  they  try  they  cannot  conceive  or  produce  children.

This  is  a  general  statement  [as  far  as  understanding  it  connected  to  children]  section.  Marriage  and  reproduction  was  created  by  God,  and  from  it  all  SOME  would  be  godly,  and  SOME  would  raise  godly  children.  There  is  NO  words  here  as  "God  commands  a  couple  to  have  children."  Or  "If  you  cannot  produce  godly  children  from  your  wife,  find  another  wife  who  can  produce  children."  Or  "Produce  children  from  another woman."  The last would be a contradiction to "let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth."

I have written a Christian couple will go into marriage wanting at some point to try to have a child or children; that would be the most natural attitude of a Christian couple. But as it is often, if that couple find for some reason they cannot conceive, God does not always work some miracle, because He has "commanded every Christian couple to have children."  God knows there will always be enough Christian couples to raise enough for His purpose .... godly children.

If this was a command for Christian couples to have children, then in the modern context, that would mean, every modern scientific way to reproduce would need be tried...... and some of those ways cost many thousands of dollars, which some just would not have the money to try. Take it one step further, for those who teach this verse is a command for a Christian couple to have children, and if they could not, and could not afford the modern science ways to try, then the "church" that teaches this teaching, would have to step in and give the money to the couple to try the modern science ways of reproducing.  Maybe some would go this far, if they are so hung-up on reproduction in their "church."

This  is  all  just  silly  theology  that  leads  to  silly  conclusions  as  it  would  need  to  be  played  out  in  a  church  group  that  teaches  such  wrong  theology.