The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” testing Him. And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”--Mark 10:2-12
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
The Pharisees in asking this question of Jesus were attempting to trap him. There were two schools of thought on this issue...one allowed divorce for any reason and the other only for adultery. The Pharisees expected Jesus to come down on one side or the other and thereby lose the support of the "other" side. Jesus answered masterfully by asking them what Moses had commanded. The issue was not up for interpretation...they needed to look at what the Scripture said.
The Pharisees answered by saying that Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.
The passage being discussed is Deuteronomy 24:1-4...which does not ordain divorce but permits it under certain circumstances.
“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 uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after 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 is giving you as an inheritance.
Nowhere does the Mosaic law command divorce. It did, however, recognize the reality of it and protected both the wife's rights and reputation, by requiring the husband to write a certificate of divorce stating the reason for the divorce. As long as the woman was not guilty of wrong doing, this certificate protected her from being subject to the whim of her husband and becoming an outcast and being labeled a harlot. It also affirmed her right to remarry. Without this certificate the woman could become defenseless and destitute.
Jesus answered the Pharisees by speaking to why Moses wrote the law in the first place. He permitted it only because of the hardness of their heart. The bottom line is God hates divorce. Malachi 2:16 says this:
"For the LORD God of Israel says That He hates divorce for it covers one's garment with violence," Says the LORD of hosts. Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously."
The Pharisees had presumed on the grace of God in permitting divorce under certain circumstances as a last resort when dealing with hard heartedness, for his ordaining of it.
Jesus then goes back to the beginning and discusses His original design for marriage. The passage Jesus is discussing is Genesis 2:24.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Marriage was created for two...not for groups that could switch partners as they pleased. The word joined means literally to glue...strength and cohesiveness implied. One flesh means they form a union that is indivisible and manifests that oneness in a child. He goes on and says that what God has joined together let no man separate.
Away from the ears of the Pharisees in verse 10, Jesus goes further to say that remarriage after divorce engenders adultery. According to 1 Cor 7 the innocent party may remarry without being guilty of adultery, as may a believer whose unbelieving spouse chooses to leave the marraige.
This study is not meant to be a manifesto on grounds for divorce in the bible...it is really sufficient to say that God hates divorce (Malachi) and as a believer we are to avoid it whenever possible. A divorce may be legal in the eyes of the law but may not be in the eyes of God. And what God thinks is what really matters.
Here is my point and application. God allowed divorce because of the hardness of our heart...our sin. Selfishness and sin lead to divorce. There are no other causes. We refuse to give way...we are prideful...we want what we want. This is the "heart" reason for all divorce. It is the reason for all disputing. It is thinking more highly of ourself than we think of God and those around us. When hardness of heart sets in, the marriage is doomed...the couple's fate is sealed as is their children's. Marriage can really only work God's way. He has the directions and the blueprints for it because, you know...He established it way back in Genesis. If a man and a woman are truly submitted to the Lord, and are as much as depends on them living peaceably, their marriage will be a beautiful thing to behold. When they are not, the result is always ugly and tragic.
Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it springs the issues of life.
Love
Mom
For more on divorce see Matthew 19:1-9, Deuteronomy 24:1-4, Genesis 2:24, 1 Corinthians 7
