| According to Merriam-Webster, divorce is "the action or an instance of legally dissolving a marriage." However, divorce, in the eyes of the Lord, is a much more complicated concept. |
| Divorce is first mentioned when a man
falsely accuses his wife of immorality (seeking to divorce her on those
grounds). When he is proven a liar, the tables turn and he FORBIDDEN
to ever divorce her, no matter what.
Deut 22:13 "If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and [then] turns against her, 14 and charges her with shameful deeds and publicly defames her, and says, 'I took this woman, [but] when I came near her, I did not find her a virgin,' 15 then the girl's father and her mother shall take and bring out the [evidence] of the girl's virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. 16 "And the girl's father shall say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter to this man for a wife, but he turned against her; 17 and behold, he has charged her with shameful deeds, saying, "I did not find your daughter a virgin." But this is the [evidence] of my daughter's virginity.' And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city. 18 "So the elders of that city shall take the man and chastise him, 19 and they shall fine him a hundred [shekels] of silver and give it to the girl's father, because he publicly defamed a virgin of Israel. And she shall remain his wife; he cannot divorce her all his days. |
| He goes into a discussion about remarriage,
but mentions that DIVORCES may occur on account of immorality,
or indecency in of one of them.
Deut 24:1 "When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts [it] in her hand and sends her out from his house, 2 and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man's [wife,] 3 and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts [it] in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, 4 [then] her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance. |
| Mal 2:13 "And this is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts [it with] favor from your hand. 14 "Yet you say, 'For what reason?' Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 "But not one has done [so] who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did [that] one [do] while he was seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then, to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth. 16 "For I hate divorce," says the Lord, the God of Israel, "and him who covers his garment with wrong," says the Lord of hosts. "So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously." |
| There are three main passages which give
regulations concerning divorce.
These are discussed in detail in other articles on this web site, but I want to take this time to drive home one point that keeps rearing its ugly head. There are uninformed people who believe that ALL divorces are because of "hardness of heart". A look at the pertinent scriptures will reveal their error. Let's see where they got that idea to begin with. Matt 19:3 "Is it lawful [for a man] to divorce his wife for any cause at all?" 4 And He answered and said, "Have you not read, that He who created [them] from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, 'For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 "Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." 7 They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send [her] away?" 8 He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. 9 "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery."
Moses NEVER permitted divorce in cases of |
| In the Torah, Moses says:
Lev 20:10 'If [there is] a man who commits adultery with another man's wife, one who commits adultery with his friend's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. Deut 22:22 "If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel. This is confirmed in the New Testament. John 8:3 And the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery , and having set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery , in the very act. 5 "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women... |
There is much
more about DIVORCE in the remaining pages of this site. If you don't
find the answers to what you are looking for, don't hesitate to write.
I may not have the answers, but I'll help you search for them.
|
|
|
|
|
Adultery According to the Lord |
|
|
|
|
Footnotes:
Strong's
#6172. ervah (788d); from 06168 ; nakedness :-- bare(1), indecency(1),
indecent(m)(1),
nakedness(48),
shame(m)(1), undefended parts(m)(2).
Matt 5:31 "And it was said, 'Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce '; 32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for [the] cause of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matt 19:3 And [some] Pharisees came to Him, testing Him, and saying, "Is it lawful [for a man] to divorce his wife for any cause at all?" 4 And He answered and said, "Have you not read, that He who created [them] from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, 'For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 "Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." 7 They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send [her] away?" 8 He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. 9 "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery." 10 The disciples said to Him, "If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry." 11 But He said to them, "Not all men [can] accept this statement, but [only] those to whom it has been given. 12 "For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are [also] eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept [this,] let him accept [it."]
Mark
10:2 And [some] Pharisees came up to Him, testing Him, and [began]
to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce
a wife. 3 And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses
command you?" 4 And they said, "Moses permitted [a man] to
write a certificate of divorce and send [her] away."
5 But Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote
you this commandment. 6 "But from the beginning of creation,
[God] made them male and female. 7 "For this cause a man shall
leave his father and mother, 8 and the two shall become one
flesh; consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9
"What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." 10
And in the house the disciples [began] questioning Him about this again.
11 And He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
woman commits adultery against her; 12 and if she herself divorces
her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery. "