2:10-16 Malachi’s third message shows that the failure to keep the covenant extended from the priests to the people as a whole. They did not keep covenant with the Lord or with their fellow countrymen when they married foreign women, and they broke their covenants with their wives when they divorced them. The prophet now speaks to his audience as to fellow citizens, with a striking change in style from adversarial indictment (2:8-9) to inclusive plea (2:10). 2:10 children of the same Father . . . created by the same God (or by one God): These divine titles underscore the Lord’s uniqueness as Creator and his exclusive role as Israel’s Father. One God echoes the Shema, Israel’s creed of monotheism (Deut 6:4-5). • betray: The central thesis of this third message is that divorce is a betrayal. • covenant of our ancestors: The prophet alludes to the covenant formed at Mount Sinai, reminding the people that the law of Moses stipulated responsibility both to God and to one another.