 |

Home
Church Community
Statement of
Beliefs
Contact Us Search Our Site
Bible
Study Resource
|
 |
 |

Particulars
of Christianity:
312
The Church Ethic
Separation
and Divorce in the Law of Moses
The
Importance of Family Part 1: Marriage
The Importance of Family Part 2: The
Family
Divorce and Remarriage: Introduction
and Basics
Separation and Divorce in the Law
of Moses
Marital Separation in the Gospels
Marital Separation after the Gospels
and Conclusions
Marital Separation: Objections
1-3
Marital Separation: Objections
4-6 and the Early Church
Remarriage Addendum: Exception
Clause Comparison
New Testament Protocols Regarding Men
and Women (Part 1)
New Testament Protocols Regarding Men
and Women (Part 2)
Comparative Peer Dynamics Chart
The
English words "divorce" or "divorcement" are translated from
the same Hebrew word in the Old Testament. Together they appear
only a total of 4 times: twice in Deuteronomy 24, once in
Isaiah 50, and once Jeremiah 3. Of these three passages, it
is Moses that Jesus and the Pharisees were quoting, which
tells us that it is the book of Deuteronomy that provides
the basis of their discussion. And this is the natural place
to start as well since Deuteronomy was written before Isaiah
or Jeremiah and, being the earliest mention of divorce, will
provide the groundwork for its meaning and usage afterward
by God's people in the Old Testament.
Moreover, as we will quickly see below, the context of Deuteronomy
24 is identical to the quotes cited by Jesus and the Pharisees
in Matthew 5, Matthew 19, and Mark 10.
Deuteronomy 24:1 When a man hath taken a wife, and
married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in
his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then
let him write her a bill (05612) of divorcement (03748), and
give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2
And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and
be another man's wife. 3 And if the latter husband hate
her, and write her a bill (05612) of divorcement (03748),
and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house;
or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;
4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not
take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled;
for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not
cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee
for an inheritance.
The issue of the original husband taking back his wife after
she marries another will need to be dealt with later on. But
for now, we will retain our focus on the issue at hand: the
biblical definitions of "divorce" and "separation."
As stated above, in this passage we find 2 out of the 4 occurrences
of the word "divorce" (or "divorcement") in the Old Testament.
We find it here in verses 1 and 3. In all 4 occurrences, it
is the Hebrew word "kariythuwth" (Strong's No. 03748), which
means, "divorce, dismissal, divorcement." But for us this
is a bit like defining a word using that same word. For more
insight into the basic meaning of this Hebrew term, we take
note that it is derived from the Hebrew word "karath" (Strong's
No. 03772), which simply means, "to cut, cut off, cut off
a body part." So, in short, the word for "divorce" has to
do with the cutting away or separating.
Of course, such a basic definition as "cutting away" one's
spouse doesn't imply a distinct state from separation. Rather,
the opposite is true. Divorce and separation in the Old Testament
were the same thing - the putting away of one's spouse. On
this point, the fact that "karath" (and by extension "kariythuwth")
involves the idea of cutting off a body part is quite appropriate
and consistent given that Genesis 2, Matthew 19, and Mark
10 all assert that the husband and wife become one flesh.
This will become more significant later on as we discuss Matthew
5 in context concerning what happens in the case were a spouse
commits fornication (which by definition includes adultery).
But, there is one last point that should be covered from Deuteronomy
24, Isaiah 50, and Jeremiah 3.
Deuteronomy 24:1 ...then let him write her a bill
(05612) of divorcement (03748), and give it in her hand,
and send her out of his house...
Deuteronomy 24:3 ...write her a bill (05612) of
divorcement (03748), and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth
her out of his house...
Isaiah 50:1 Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill
(05612) of your mother's divorcement (03748), whom I have
put away?...
Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby
backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away,
and given her a bill (05612) of divorce (03748)...
In all 4 instances, the word "kariythuwth" is coupled with
the Hebrew word "cepher" (Strong's No. 05612), which simply
means, "document, writing, book." It is the coupling of terms
in the Old Testament that provides the reason why the Greek
word "apostasion" is translated into the phrase "bill of divorce"
in Matthew 5, Matthew 19, and Mark 10 when in the Greek there
is only one word, apostasion.
At this point it is necessary to recap so that we retain our
focus. The point of our recent analysis has been to show that
in the Old Testament and New Testament, we find only 2 states
for a marriage to be in. There is the state of a married couple
living together as man and wife. And there is the state of
one spouse having put away or separated from the other. Divorce
is not a different or additional stage from separation. Divorce
and separation are the same thing Biblically: the state of
putting away a spouse. And divorcement is simply the term
for the written document that the Law of Moses required to
be given when that putting away occurred.
It is also necessary for us to talk briefly about this fact.
Notice again from Deuteronomy 24 that the written document
had to be given to the wife, even put in her hand, at the
moment that the separation occurred. In fact, Deuteronomy
24 makes sure to say this fact twice.
Deuteronomy 24:1 ...then let him write her a bill
(05612) of divorcement (03748), and give it in her hand, and
send her out of his house.
Deuteronomy 24:3 And if the latter husband hate her,
and write her a bill (05612) of divorcement (03748),
and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house.
This tells us that the bill of divorcement did not come at
the end of a period of separation at it does today in which
separation is an intervening period prior to divorce, but
rather the bill of divorcement was required to be given to
the wife at the moment separation was initiated. It was for
her benefit and Moses required it for her sake.
Without the written document stating that the woman had been
put away from her husband, it would have been illegal for
any other man to take her in. To do so would have been adultery,
which carried the penalty of death. Thus, in the Old Testament,
without written documentation of being "put away" a woman
would have nowhere to go and would not be able to find a home
for herself by becoming the wife of another man. Under the
Law of Moses when putting away a spouse was permitted for
various reasons, the written document gave her freedom to
find another home. And so, for the sake of the spouse who
was being put out, Moses required that they be at least given
a written document so that they would not be without means
or home or provision. That is why the written document had
to be provided at the time when the woman was put out of the
house.
And the timing when the written document was given is also
significant. Because rather than separation occurring first
followed sometime later by formal divorce, in the Old Testament
(from which the New Testament borrows its terms) the separation
followed the giving of the required document. It did not come
beforehand but instead the document was required to initiate
the separation.
And lastly, it is also of central importance to notice that
Deuteronomy 24 plainly states that this written document must
be given when the wife was put out of the house. Momentarily
we will take a closer look at the usage of this phrase "put
away," but for now, what is important is not only the timing,
but the essential definition.
Deuteronomy 24:1 When a man hath taken a wife, and
married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in
his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then
let him write her a bill (05612) of divorcement (03748), and
give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2
And when she is departed out of his house, she may
go and be another man's wife. 3 And if the latter husband
hate her, and write her a bill (05612) of divorcement (03748),
and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house;
or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife...
As we can see plainly from the context of Deuteronomy 24:1,
putting away is defined by the act of putting the spouse out
of the house so that the two no longer live together as man
and wife. This is separation in its most basic form. And not
only was the written document to be given the moment that
the two stopped living together as man and wife, but it is
the ceasing to live together as man and wife which becomes
the subject of God's criticism during later portions of the
Old Testament and most prominently in the teaching of Jesus
Christ (as we will show momentarily.)
So far, what we can plainly see is that starting in the Old
Testament and forming the basis of the underlying model commented
on by Jesus and the Pharisees, divorce and separation were
not two different stages as they are in our modern society.
In the model they discussed and taught from, divorce was simply
the written documentation that had to be given at the moment
that one spouse chose to put the other spouse out of the house
so that the two no longer lived together as man and wife.
Separation and divorce were one and the same thing with the
divorcement papers coming first to initiate the state in which
the two no longer lived as man and wife under the same roof.
This is the model and understanding by which we must ourselves
understand Jesus' teaching concerning divorce using these
definitions that he would have known rather than superimposing
modern ideas that were foreign to the first century Jews that
Jesus discussed this subject with and taught.
A few more words on that point would be beneficial.
When we go to understand what Jesus' teaching on separation
was, we must not interpret his words in light of our contemporary
models of divorce and separation. Jesus and the Jews of his
day were not operating by or familiar with divorce protocols
that would evolve nearly 18 centuries later a continent away.
They were operating on the model that they as Jews inherited
from the Law of Moses, which we have described above. As such,
we must understand that their discussions of marital separation,
including Jesus' own teachings, began with this Old Testament
model as the underlying basis. And so our understanding of
Jesus' teaching on marital separation must use and interpret
the terms according to the model that formed the basis of
Jesus' own commentary to his fellow Jews on this subject.
As we have said before, Deuteronomy 24 is the starting point
of the Mosaic teaching on divorce. At this point, since it
is clear from Deuteronomy that it is the putting of a spouse
out of the house that God is concerned with and that divorcement
was simply the written declaration required by Moses for initiating
that state of living separately, it is necessary for us to
trace the usage of that term (putting away) through the rest
of the Old Testament into the Gospels.
But before we start, we should state our findings up to this
point in simple terms.
A.) Starting in the Old Testament, divorce is not a
different state than separation.
B.) Separation was the state in which two spouses ceased
to live together as husband and wife by the putting of one
spouse out of the house.
C.) Divorce was simply the written declaration that
Moses required be given to any wife (spouse) at the point
in time when they were put away.
In these terms, we can see that the central concept was the
very generic, simple idea of one spouse choosing to separate
himself/herself from the other so that the two no longer lived
as husband and wife in the same house.
Now we will move on to our survey of the discussion of putting
away in the Old Testament.
In Deuteronomy 24, the word for "sent out" is "shalach" (Strong's
No. 07971), which simply means "to send, send away, let go."
While "shalach" is used more broadly and with regard to other
matters besides marriage, it is also the primary word used
concerning separation throughout the Old Testament. The way
in which "shalach" is used generically is also telling. If
you just do a survey on "shalach" by its Strong's number,
you quickly find that it occurs 790 times in the Old Testament.
Of course, there aren't 790 instances discussing marital separation.
In these other instances we find "shalach" used to describe
God sending fallen man forth from the Garden of Eden in Genesis
3:23 to Noah sending forth the dove out of the ark in Genesis
8:10-12. Similarly, we find "shalach" used in Genesis 12:20
when Pharaoh sent Abraham away for lying to him about his
wife Sara and in Genesis 21:2 when Abraham sent Hagar and
Ishmael away.
These types of examples along with the broader usage of "shalach"
in matters not related to marriage further reveal "shalach's"
meaning in the marital sense as simply the "putting away"
or "sending forth" of a spouse to no longer live in the home.
Essentially, this word, which generally means to "send or
send forth," is simply being applied to a spouse.
What is also interesting is that one of the subordinate definitions
for "shalach" is "to let loose," which related directly to
Jesus' statements in Matthew 19:6 and Mark 10:9. In those
passages, Jesus uses the word "joined," which is the Greek
word "suzeugnumi" (Strong's No. 4801) meaning, "to fasten
to one yoke, yoke together." In this light, it is easy to
see how Jesus' statements in Matthew and Mark are a commentary
about not "loosing" what God has "fastened together."
Because "shalach" is the Hebrew word for "sent out" that appears
in Deuteronomy's central teaching about separation, our survey
will largely focus on following the Old Testament use of "shalach"
on this topic.
As we embark upon our survey of the Hebrew word "shalach,"
it should be noted that the earliest use of this word regarding
the topic of marriage is not Deuteronomy 24. Instead, we find
that it actually occurs twice in Deuteronomy 22. However,
the content of its usage in those passages does not provide
instructions for separation.
Deuteronomy 22:13 If any man take a wife, and go in
unto her, and hate her, 14 And give occasions of speech against
her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this
woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid: 15
Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take
and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto
the elders of the city in the gate: 16 And the damsel's father
shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man
to wife, and he hateth her...19 And they shall amerce him
in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father
of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon
a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not
put her away (07971) all his days.
Deuteronomy 22:28 If a man find a damsel that is a
virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie
with her, and they be found; 29 Then the man that lay with
her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver,
and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he
may not put her away (07971) all his days.
Additionally, we also find similar phrasing in Leviticus 21,
which mentions the idea of a wife being "put away." However,
the Hebrew word for "put away" is not "shalach" but "garish"
(Strong's No. 01644), which is similar in definition to "shalach"
and simply means, "to drive out, expel, cast out, drive away,
divorce, put away." "Garish" is only used 2 times with regard
to divorcing a spouse. Both of those times are in Leviticus
21.
Leviticus 21:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak
unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them,
There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people...7
They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane;
neither shall they take a woman put away (01644) from her
husband: for he is holy unto his God...14 A widow,
or a divorced woman (01644), or profane, or an harlot,
these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin
of his own people to wife.
What is interesting about Leviticus is that it is the first
hint that God's true standard of holiness was one in which
remarriage to a new spouse was not accepted. Notice that because
the priest was to be especially holy even from among the rest
of the Israelites he was not allowed to marry a woman who
had been put away from her first husband. And so in this passage
we see the initial hints of what Jesus later said concerning
Moses' allowance of divorce - that it was not God's true standard
of holiness but was allowed to accommodate the hearts of many
of God's people.
But as we can see, Leviticus 21 only forbids priests from
marrying women who had already been the wife of another man.
Deuteronomy 22 only discusses two particular instances where
it is forbidden to put a wife away (one in which the husband
unfairly accuses his wife of not being a virgin and another
in which a man has intercourse with a young woman who is neither
married nor betrothed to someone). Neither chapter provides
protocols or instructions for what must happen when a spouse
is put away. Therefore, Deuteronomy 24 is, in fact, the first
and most central instructions about the protocols for separation
in the Old Testament.
Nevertheless, the 2 occurrences of "garish" in Leviticus 21
as well as the 4 occurrences of "shalach" in Deuteronomy 22
and Deuteronomy 24 do demonstrate that the focus of scriptures
instructions was the "putting away" or separation of the spouses
so that they no longer lived together as husband and wife.
The formal written documentation known as the bill of divorce
was not the focus at all. And as our survey moves forward,
we will continue to see that the separation itself, and not
the divorce papers, remained the focus of scriptural instructions
and commentary on the subject.
The next occurrence of "shalach" and "wife" in the Old Testament
can be found in Jeremiah 3.
Jeremiah 3:1 They say, If a man put away (07971)
his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall
he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly
polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers;
yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
As the text quickly indicates, this passage is simply using
the protocols set out in Deuteronomy 24 as an illustration
for Israel's covenant relationship with God. Similar to Leviticus
21, here in Jeremiah we see another hint of God's true standard
and ultimate will for marriage. Deuteronomy 24 allowed men
to marry wives who'd been separated from their first husbands.
But God's standard for the priests in Leviticus 21 revealed
that God's true standard of holiness was that there should
be no remarriage to new wives. Likewise, because separation
and remarriage were allowed by the covenant of Moses, Deuteronomy
24 forbid the wife to return to her original husband after
she's been married to another man. But in Jeremiah, through
his acceptance of Israel back after she departed from him,
God reveals that his true standard was not only prohibitive
of new marriages but was inclusive of reconciliation of the
original spouses.
Earlier we mentioned Jeremiah 3:8 because of its use of the
phrase "bill of divorce." Since we are currently on this chapter
of Jeremiah, our next point is to examine verse 8 again, this
time for its usage of "shalach."
Jeremiah 3:6 The LORD said also unto me in the days
of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding
Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain
and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.
7 And I said after she had done all these things, Turn
thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous
sister Judah saw it. 8 And I saw, when for all the causes
whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her
away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous
sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
9 And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom,
that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones
and with stocks.
Additionally, we should take note from Jeremiah 3:8 that God
himself only put Israel away for spiritual adultery. He was
to be their only God and for turning to other gods, God did
send Israel away for a time. But as Jeremiah 3:1 above shows,
God's desire was reconciliation, to bring Israel back to himself
rather than leaving Israel permanently put away. So, here
again we have a revelation of God's true standard as opposed
to what was allowed in the Law of Moses.
As the Pharisees would later articulate in Matthew 19 and
Mark 10, Deuteronomy 24 allowed a man to divorce his wife
for a variety of reasons, but God's treatment of Israel in
Jeremiah 3:8 demonstrates that the true standard of God was
that adultery was the only true just cause for separation,
and even then, God desired reconciliation.
Now, we arrive at Malachi 2, the final Old Testament verse
where "shalach" is applied to marital separation.
Malachi 2:13 And this have ye done again, covering
the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying
out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more,
or receiveth it with good will at your hand. 14 Yet ye say,
Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee
and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously:
yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue
of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly
seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal
treacherously against the wife of his youth. 16 For the LORD,
the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away (07971):
for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD
of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal
not treacherously. 17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your
words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When
ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of
the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the
God of judgment?
There are a lot of important things in this passage, so we
are going to take our time examining it.
First, notice God's statement in verse 15 that he has made
the husband and wife one. The Hebrew word for "one" here is
"echad" (Strong's No. 0259), just as we discussed earlier
and which is first applied to marriage in Genesis 2:21-24.
Second, the Hebrew word for "hate" is "sane" (Strong's No.
08130), which simply means, "to hate, be hateful." This is
not really a novel or insightful discovery here. We include
it only to make sure it is not overlooked or treated lightly.
God says that he hates the separation of the married couple.
Like Leviticus 21:1, 7 and Jeremiah 3:1, 8, this is yet another
indication of what Jesus himself would later say - that Moses
permitted separation, but God's true standard was that separation
was not allowed except when the spouse was put away for committing
adultery.
Third, it is not surprising perhaps that this passage is somewhat
famous with regard to this topic. What is surprising is that
in many modern Bible versions "shalach" is typically translated
as "divorce" when in reality it is the same old thematic usage
of "putting away." In other words, the focus remains the mere
separation of the spouse rather than the formality of paperwork.
As this verse states plainly, it is the separation itself
that God hates.
However, by translating "shalach" in this context to "divorce"
instead of separation, this verse is often interpreted in
accordance with modern divorce procedures, which is incorrect.
In our modern society, separation is understood to be an intermediate
stage before actual divorce. When reading this verse from
that particular frame of reference, it is thought that it
is only the finalization of divorce that God detests, while
the intermediate stage of separation is not a problem. But
this is a blatantly false portrayal of the text because in
text, it is the separation of the married couple that God
hates. It is the act wherein one spouse is put out of the
house so that the two no longer have to live as man and wife
under one roof that God hates.
The use of "shalach" makes this clear. If it were merely the
bill of divorce that God hated, God would have used the words
"cepher" (Strong's No. 05612) and "kariythuwth" (Strong's
No. 03748), which are used collectively to refer to the "bill
of divorce" throughout the Old Testament. But neither "cepher"
or "kariythuwth" appear at all in this passage. So, we know
that it is the separation or "shalach" that God detests.
(Side Note: Even if "bill of divorce" did appear in this passage,
it would still be incorrect to interpret this passage in light
of modern procedures instead of the Old Testament procedures
that were in place when this was written. Since in the Old
Testament a "bill of divorce" had to be issued when the separation
was initiated, this passage would still forbid separation
because the order of separation and bill of divorce are reversed
in the Old Testament compared to our modern practices. So,
in the Old Testament, to hate the bill of divorce which initiated
the separation would also be to forbid the separation that
followed.)
Fourth, we should take a good long look at verse 17. In verse
17, without any change in subject, God closes up his commentary
against marital separation by saying that his people have
wearied him with their words. Specifically, God says that
he is wearied when his people declare that those who do evil
are good in God's sight and that God delights in those who
do evil. God is not content simply to condemn marital separation
in this chapter. Instead, God wants to make absolutely clear
that not only does he hate marital separation, but that he
is against those who say that God delights in or regards as
good those who practice the things he hates. In this context,
God is against those who declare a person who separates from
a spouse to be good in God's eyes or that God delights in
such a person.
Furthermore, by contrast we can see that God clearly does
not delight in those who separate from their spouse. Nor are
they any longer good in his sight. He does not approve of
or delight in their second marriages. Nor does he consider
their second marriages a good thing.
This is the last reference to separating from a spouse that
is mentioned in the Old Testament. It leads up perfectly to
Jesus' teaching in the Gospels, which is where we turn next
as we move ahead to our survey of "putting away" spouses in
the New Testament.
As we move to the New Testament, we will briefly recap how
separation worked in the Old Testament so that we can accurately
understand what changes Jesus makes in his teaching on the
subject. All of these things are set up from Deuteronomy 24
and there is no alteration given anywhere in the Old Testament
to these protocols - a fact which is evidenced by the Pharisees
continuation of Deuteronomy 24 in the first century as recorded
in Matthew 19 and Mark 10.
These Old Testament comments concerning marital separation
can be placed into 2 categories: prescriptive and predictive.
The prescriptive comments governed marital separation while
the Law of Moses was in effect. The predictive comments provide
hints of God's true, higher standard for marital separation,
which actually superceded the prescriptions under the Law
of Moses.
Prescriptive
1.) Separation and divorce were not different stages
with separation being an intermediate stage between living
together and being divorced.
Deuteronomy 24:1 ...then let him write her a bill
of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out
of his house.
2.) There were only two states of a marriage: a.)
Living together in one house as husband and wife. b.)
Putting the other spouse out of the house so that you no longer
had to live as husband and wife.
Deuteronomy 24:1 ...then let him write her a bill of
divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out
of his house.
3.) Divorce is only mentioned in the phrase "bill of
divorcement," which was merely the written document that initiated
the separation. Thus the focus was always on the separation,
and not on the documentation.
Deuteronomy 24:1 ...then let him write her a bill
of divorcement...
4.) The bill of divorce initiated and therefore came
before the separation instead of afterward (unlike modern
separation and divorce proceedings in which separation is
usually a period of time that comes before a formal divorce.)
Deuteronomy 24:1 ...then let him write her a bill
of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out
of his house...
5.) A man could divorce his wife for virtually any
cause, even as simple as her no longer finding favor or having
charm in his eyes.
Deuteronomy 24:1 When a man hath taken a wife,
and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour
in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in
her...
6) It was not allowed for a man to take his wife back
after she had married another man.
Deuteronomy 24:2 And when she is departed out of his
house, she may go and be another man's wife. 3 And
if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement,
and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house;
or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his
wife; 4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may
not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled;
for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt
not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee
for an inheritance.
Predictive
1) In Leviticus 21, the prohibition of the priests
from marrying women who had been put away for the sake of
holiness indicates that God's true standard is that remarriage
is unholy and not acceptable.
Leviticus 21:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak
unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them...7
They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane;
neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband:
for he is holy unto his God...14 A widow, or a divorced
woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not
take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to
wife.
2) In Jeremiah 3, God's allegorical statements concerning
Israel wherein God says that he will reconcile with Israel
after giving her a bill of divorce and sending her away in
spite of Deuteronomy's prohibition of such things, indicates
that God's true standard is not only that there should be
no remarriage to new spouses but that original spouses should
instead be reconciled.
Jeremiah 3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife,
and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return
unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted?
but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return
again to me, saith the LORD...8 And I saw, when for
all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery
I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet
her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played
the harlot also.
3) In Jeremiah 3, God's allegorical statements about
rejecting Israel for spiritual adultery hints that his true
standard is that separation from a spouse is only allowed
if that spouse commits adultery and even then God desires
that the separation only last until reconciliation is possible.
Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes
whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her
away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous
sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
With the understanding that this is how separation worked
in the Old Testament, let's move ahead to see what Jesus instructs
about these protocols for marital separation.
|
 |
|
 |

|
 |