We are all God’s children, so an offense on the horizontal level is also an offense on the vertical level. He cares about how we treat one another.

God is frustrated by the divorced men’s hypocrisy—they have been unfaithful to their wives, yet they continue to act like they are loyal to God.

While our culture has romanticized marriage, as believers, our marriages are not for us—they are for God. The benefits of marriage are funded by faithfulness.

God desires marriage to produce godly children. We should introduce and model the life of sacrifice to our children when they are young.

We are all called to faithfully protect and champion one another, and this involves intentional sacrifice and self-denial.

The Israelite priests are called to be the embodiment of God’s character and pass down his truth, yet they have willfully compromised his message.

Because they have not revered or regarded God, he rebukes them harshly. They are accountable not only for themselves, but for those under their care.

Our culture does not view fear and constraint as life-giving. Yet God is clear that reverence of his covenant is our connection to life and peace.

Leaders who fear God do what he says. Those who don’t, act independently.

A priest is a declared public embodiment of what everyone is supposed to be.

Even at its best, the human priesthood is merely a shadow of our perfect and eternal priest—Jesus, who lives to intercede on our behalf.

The Israelites have been offering corrupt sacrifices to God, which reveals their entitlement and contempt for him.

Our sacrifices don’t in any way pay God back for what he has done, but they should be meaningful, substantial gestures of love and worship.

Withholding sacrifice is an attempt to bless or protect ourselves. Sacrifice requires vulnerability.

God abhors deception. He would rather have no sacrifices than half-hearted ones.

Our glorification of busyness and self-importance works against God’s plan to bless us through the gospel.

The Israelites are frustrated with their lives. They thought returning to Jerusalem would resolve their problems, but they don’t feel like God loves them.

God responds by reminding them that he chose them—not because they are worthy, but because he chooses the weak things in this world to work his will.

God’s choice seems counterintuitive to us because he’s overthrowing the conventional wisdom of the world.

When we seek power, control, comfort, or security on our terms to bless ourselves, we become God’s enemy.

If we want a firm grip on God’s love for us, we must understand he came to deal with the enemy within us at great cost to himself.