The covenant God made wasn't just about receiving blessings; it was a reciprocal agreement where God gave life and peace as the very motivation for the priest to live in awe and reverence of God's name. This shows that genuine fear of God isn't a burden, but the pathway to experiencing His life and peace.
My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Malachi is addressing the priests, contrasting the ideal priest with their current corrupt state. This verse highlights God's covenant with the Levitical priesthood, specifically mentioning the faithful priest Phinehas as an example of one who embodied this covenant. It emphasizes that God's promises of life and peace were given in response to the priest's genuine fear and reverence for God's name.
What does God promise when He makes a covenant? Malachi reveals it's not just rules, but profound blessings.
The Heart of the Covenant
Malachi 2:5 opens by stating, 'My covenant with him was one of life and peace.' This highlights what God gives in His covenant relationship.
More Than Just Existence
God's covenants are always initiated by His generous promises. He secures blessings for those who are in relationship with Him.
Covenant isn't a one-way street. How are we called to respond to God's amazing grace?
The Priest's Role: Reverence in Action
The verse continues, '...and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.' This shifts focus to the human response required in the covenant.
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Not Servile, But Holy Fear
God gives life and peace, and in return, He asks for our wholehearted reverence and obedience. This fear is the foundation for cherishing His gifts.
Understand the original words
shalom · Hebrew Noun
A state of wholeness, well-being, tranquility, and harmony with God, resulting from living in obedience to His covenant. It represents the fullness of life in communion with the Creator.
yara' · Hebrew Noun
A profound sense of reverence, awe, and humble submission before the holiness and majesty of God. It is the proper response of the creature to the Creator, leading to obedience and worship.
torah · Hebrew Noun
The transmission of divine truth, law, and moral guidance from God to His people. It encompasses both the content of God's will and the act of teaching it.
mishor · Hebrew Noun
Moral and ethical integrity; the state of being righteous or straight in conduct before God. It implies walking in accordance with God’s standard of holiness.
avon · Hebrew Noun
Sin, perversity, or guilt; an act that deviates from the standard of God's law. It often carries the sense of twisting or distorting what is right.
kohen · Hebrew Noun
A mediator appointed by God to perform sacred duties, offer sacrifices, and teach the law. The priest stands between God and the people to maintain the purity of the covenant.
malak · Hebrew Noun
A divinely appointed representative or ambassador sent to deliver God's message. It implies being a spokesman for the heavenly King.
Tzevaot · Hebrew Noun
The sovereign Commander of the heavenly armies and the entire universe. It emphasizes God's supreme authority, power, and glory over all creation.
This verse recalls God's covenant with Phinehas, highlighting the ideal of a priest who lived in profound awe of God and faithfully upheld His law, a stark contrast to the corrupt priesthood Malachi was addressing.
~1446 BC
The Exodus and the Giving of the Law
God delivers Israel from slavery in Egypt and gives them His Law at Mount Sinai, establishing the Mosaic covenant.
~1446 BC— this verse
Covenant with Phinehas
Following Phinehas's zealous act to stop plague, God establishes a covenant of an everlasting priesthood with him and his descendants.
c. 9th-8th century BC
Reign of Priestly Corruption
During the period Malachi prophesied, the Levitical priests, descendants of Aaron and Phinehas, were neglecting their duties and leading the people astray.
c. 430 BC
Malachi's Prophecy
Malachi delivers God's final message to the people and priests of post-exilic Judah, rebuking their spiritual apathy and corruption.
This passage directly relates to the covenant of 'life and peace' God made with Phinehas, the ancestor of the Levitical line, highlighting the link between faithfulness and divine promises.
Philippians 2:12This New Testament passage echoes the 'fear' mentioned in Malachi, explaining it not as servile dread but as a healthy, reverent awe and active pursuit of salvation in our relationship with God.
Proverbs 13:13This proverb reinforces the value of fearing the Lord, stating that 'whoever fears the word will be rewarded,' aligning with the idea that reverent obedience to God brings blessings.
Nehemiah 13:29Nehemiah recounts a similar covenant made with the Levitical families, emphasizing the importance of their faithfulness and purity in service, mirroring the context of Malachi's message.
Isaiah 8:13This verse calls to 'sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread,' presenting the ultimate object of reverence that Malachi is calling the priests to uphold.
barnesMalachi 2:5: "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."
My covenant was with him life and peace; - literally "the life and the peace;" that, which alone is true "life and peace." The covenant was not with Levi himself, but with Aaron, his representative, with whom the covenant was made in the desert, as is indeed here expressed; and, in him, with all his race after him, who succeeded him in his office…
clarkeMalachi 2:5: "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."
My covenant was with him of life and peace - These are the two grand blessings given to men by the New Covenant, which was shadowed by the Old. To man, excluded from the favor of God, and sentenced to death because of sin, God gave ברית berith, a covenant sacrifice, and this secured life - exemption from the death deserved by transgressors; commu…
The covenant God made wasn't just about receiving blessings; it was a reciprocal agreement where God gave life and peace as the very motivation for the priest to live in awe and reverence of God's name. This shows that genuine fear of God isn't a burden, but the pathway to experiencing His life and peace.
Malachi is addressing the priests, contrasting the ideal priest with their current corrupt state. This verse highlights God's covenant with the Levitical priesthood, specifically mentioning the faithful priest Phinehas as an example of one who embodied this covenant. It emphasizes that God's promises of life and peace were given in response to the priest's genuine fear and reverence for God's name.
Malachi is addressing the priests, contrasting the ideal priest with their current corrupt state. This verse highlights God's covenant with the Levitical priesthood, specifically mentioning the faithful priest Phinehas as an example of one who embodied this covenant. It emphasizes that God's promises of life and peace were given in response to the priest's genuine fear and reverence for God's name.
"My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in pe…" — The covenant God made wasn't just about receiving blessings; it was a reciprocal agreement where God gave life and peace as the very motivation for the priest to live in awe and reverence of God's…
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Last reviewed October 2026
