Marriage, Divorce, & Remarriage

August 4, 2012 by Morgan Davis

It is sad to see born-again children of God considering their options in marriage. After being married for eleven years this September (2011), and going from literal hell to grace during the first nine years, I can empathize and also stand firm on God’s Word concerning hard times in marriage and possible divorce.
     As I descent into this topic, I will exhaust as much as I can, as concisely as I can. I should caution, this a little lengthy, but my hope is its informative enough that it’s worth the time.

What the Bible says Marriage is and is not
     Allow me to start with explaining what the biblical teaching on marriage is. God didn’t waste any time defining what marriage is, but without the term “marriage”. In Genesis 2:18, God said, “It is not good that man should be alone.” And so God made a woman—from man—for man to be in a covenant (a mutual binding) relationship with one another (Gen. 2:19-25). The man is rejoined to the woman to again become one flesh. Thus, marriage is a relationship between a man who leaves (uncommits himself from) his parents and becomes joined (bound—covenanted in soul, in mind, in emotion, in speech, and in the physical) as one flesh with his wife in the sight of God. Furthermore, the New Testament solidified this covenant relationship when Jesus and the Apostle Paul quoted the same statement by God in Genesis 2 (cf. Matt. 19:3-6, Eph. 5:31).
     The God-designed marriage as seen in Genesis nullifies our contemporary definitions of what marriage could or should be. A God-designed marriage cannot be between same sexes. A God-designed marriage is not a civil union. A God-designed marriage is not living together as boyfriend and girlfriend or even as engaged. A God-designed marriage is not a long-term relationship that acts or looks as if it is a marriage. A God-designed marriage is notbetween multiple men and women—polygamy. A God-designed marriage cannot be between children; for children are still under the care of their parents of whom the man has to leave in order to become one flesh with his wife. A God-designed marriage excludes “the mentally impaired, and those who are psychotic or psychopathic at the time of entering into marriage.”(1) Why exclude these particular classes—children, psychotic, mentally impaired, and psychopathic? That can be answered like such,

"To sunder one’s parental relationships and join oneself in (sic) intimate, lifelong union with a person who hitherto has been a stranger demands a considerable degree of maturity—as expressed in a capacity for self-giving love, emotional stability, and the capacity to understand what is involved in committing one’s life to another in marriage.(2)"

Also, the God-designed marriage as seen in Genesis is the foundation for the condemnation of fornication (sex outside of marriage) and adultery (unfaithfulness within the covenant relationship of marriage); because you’re only suppose to become one flesh/joined with your husband or wife. Furthermore, God charged the first male and female, who were married, to be fruitful and multiply—that is, have sex and reproduce only in the context of marriage (Gen. 1:27-28). Accordingly, we can clearly see marriage is serious in God’s eyes.

God's view on Divorce
     With seeing what God’s designed marriage is, we can now appropriately move into God’s view on divorce. InDeuteronomy 24 is where we find the first mention of the law concerning divorce. I like what D.J. Atkinson had to say in regards to the law concerning divorce. He said, “this legislation is granting a permission, not giving a command.”(3) If you take a hard, long look at the passage, there is no hint of a command to divorce but rather the presupposition that divorce will take place. Atkinson goes on further to say, “the main point of the paragraph is concerned with remarriage….The paragraph recognizes that divorces happen, though it does not command or encourage them.”(4) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states, “Moses’ aim was “to regulate and Thus (sic) to mitigate an evil which he could not extirpate (completely remove).””(5) Hence, we can see from the inception of this law divorce was never commanded by God, but simply orderly permitted because sinful man was already inclined to divorce.
     The follow-up question to this is what is permissible for divorce then? According to Deuteronomy 24:1, what was permissible was “he has found some uncleanness in her”. The term “uncleanness” is interpreted in others translations as “indecency”. Regardless, both in the Hebrew for this context mean nakedness or to make/become naked.(6) Matthew Henry writes in his commentary, “This uncleanness must mean something less than adultery; for, (sic) for that, she was to die…”(7) The Bible says in Leviticus 20:10 that both the adulterer and adulteress shall be put to death. So this passage in Deuteronomy could imply a number of different reasons for one to get a divorce.
     The same ambiguity in the Deuteronomy passage was presented before the greatest scholar ever to live, Jesus of Nazareth. The Pharisees’ asked Jesus “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” (Matt. 19:3). Jesus answered quoting Genesis 2:24. What does this mean? Jesus was stating, if you get married stay married and only let God separate what He has joined together; hence it’s more lawful (right) to stay married rather than divorce. The Pharisees then bring up Deuteronomy 24:1, but presented it out of context. “They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”” (Matthew 19:7). Jesus first corrects their misinterpretation by telling them, one, the certificate was given because of the hardness of your heart not as a way out for you in your marriage; two, Moses permitted it not commanded it; and three, “from the beginning it was not so.” (Matthew 19:8). Again implying it’s more lawful (right) to stay married rather than divorce. But then Jesus, whom I believe knew in their heart they weren’t satisfied with the answer He gave them, goes on to supersede the old law—i.e. with the phrase “And I say to you” (Matt. 19:9 compare withMatt. 5:21-22, 27-28, 31-32, 33-37)—and clarify the ambiguity with “found some uncleanness in her” by restating what He taught in the sermon on the mount in “whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”(8) This response by Jesus we can tell, by the response of the Apostles, was taken with more conviction and had hit a nerve in the heart behind most Jews reasons for divorce: “His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”” (Matt. 19:10). So we can see that Jesus put more emphasis on how it’s more lawful (right) to stay married rather than divorce, but if one must divorce, than it is permissible on the grounds of sexual immorality.
     Now, later on the Apostle Paul addresses again this topic of marriage and divorce. But first, let’s clear up a possible misinterpretation before moving forward. In Romans 7:1-3 and 1 Corinthians 7:11, Paul is not saying by his silence in this passage that whoever gets a divorce is committing adultery, for we already know Jesus said divorce is permitted on the grounds of sexual immorality. Yet, the Apostle does add to the teaching on divorce in1 Corinthians 7. Paul says if a Christian is married to an unbeliever and the unbeliever decides to depart the marriage, the Christian is not bound in that type of divorce (1 Cor. 7:15). Thus, as "narrow-minded" as this may sound to some, according to the New Testament, divorce is permitted only on the grounds of sexual immorality and the departure of an unbelieving spouse. Any other reasons cause the Christian to commit adultery.

Read more --> HERE.

No Place for Same-Sex Marriage: The Reformed and Baptist Confession

by admin

The biblical view of marriage is under attack in many post-Christian societies like the United States. In particular, advocates of “same-sex marriage” either reject the idea that marriage is instituted by God (and, therefore, regulated by him), or they endeavor to “reinterpret” the Bible to allow for homosexuality and legal unions between partners of the same sex. In light of the rising opposition what we know as the traditional view of marriage, I thought it might be useful to offer a brief exposition of the Baptist Confession of Faith’s contribution to this topic. 

Chapter 25 of the Baptist Confession addresses the institution of marriage. For the most part, the Baptists closely followed the wording of the Westminster Confession. However, they omitted the last two paragraphs of the WCF, which deal with the subject of divorce. Neither the WCF nor the 1689 provide a definition of marriage.1 To make up for this deficiency, we’ll begin our study with a biblical definition of marriage. Then we will expound the four paragraphs of our Confession. Finally, we’ll briefly note the helpful paragraphs in the WCF on divorce.

A Biblical View of Marriage

The Bible defines marriage as a “covenant” (Prov. 2:17; Mal. 2:14).2 A covenant is a solemn oath-bound promise in which the parties make a formal commitment to one another in the presence of God and human witnesses (Gen. 21:22-32; 26:28-31; 31:44-54; Ezek. 17:13-19; Heb. 6:17-18). The covenant of marriage was originally instituted by God for the purpose of life-long companionship and procreation (Matt. 19:6; Gen. 1:28; 2:18, 24). Thus, we may define marriage as a divinely-ordained human institution in which a man and woman make an oath-bound promise to one another in the presence of God and human witnesses to enter into life-long covenantal companionship.3

At least two important ramifications follow from this definition of marriage. First, sexual union in itself does not constitute marriage. In support of this assertion, the Bible treats those who engage in premarital sex as yet unmarried (Gen. 34:1-4; Exo. 22:16-17; Deut. 22:28-29).4 Furthermore, in Jewish society the marriage covenant was initiated by the pre-sexual betrothal relationship (Deut. 20:7; 22:23-24; 2Sam. 3:14; Hos. 2:16-20).5 Consequently, one who had entered into betrothal could not terminate the relationship without a bill of divorce (Matt. 1:18-20, 24). The second ramification of the definition of marriage is the vital importance of a formal ceremony in which the marriage covenant is ratified. In other words, we must not treat the exchanging of marital vows in the presence of witness as merely human tradition that may be discarded. On the contrary, such a formal ceremony serves to draw a clear line between the married and non-married status of the individuals involved and determines the lawfulness of any sexual relations in which they may engage.

The Baptist Confession on Marriage

The four paragraphs found in our Confession address the monogamous rule, primary purposes, and lawful parties for the marriage relationship.

The monogamous rule of marriage

1   Marriage is to be between one man and one woman; neither is it lawful for any man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more than one husband.1
1Gen 2:24 with Matt. 19:5, 6; 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:6

The first paragraph supports monogamy (Greek: monos = ‘one’ + gamos = ‘marriage) and condemns polygamy (Greek: polys = ‘many’ + gamos = ‘marriage’). The fact that God only created one wife in order to provide companionship for Adam strongly suggests monogamy as the divine intended norm for marriage (Gen. 2:18, 21-22). Moreover, Genesis 2:24 describes the marriage union as two—not three or four—becoming one.6 As Jochem Douma remarks, “If we take seriously this communion, which includes body and soul, then polygamy is for us something illegitimate.”7 The Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul also see monogamy as the biblical norm for marriage (Matt. 19:5-6; 1Tim. 3:2; Tit. 1:6).

But what shall we say about the examples of polygamy among certain Old Testament believers, such as Jacob (Gen. 29:16-24), Elkanah (1Sam. 1:6-8), or David (1Sam. 25:42-44; 27:3)? Three responses are in order. First, when Scripture mentions the practice of an OT saint without an explicit or immediate censure, it is not necessarily condoning the practice.8 Second, in God’s dealings with Israel, He sometimes chose to regulate rather than immediately to condemn some otherwise sinful practices because the people as a whole were not able to pull away from all their sinful practices at once. This seems to be Jesus’ point when He bases the seeming laxity of the OT regarding the possible grounds for divorce on “the hardness of [the Israelites’] hearts” (Matt. 19:8).9 Third, the OT is not completely silent on polygamous relationships, especially those of the godly. In fact, the Scripture writers are careful to highlight the strife and familial dysfunction that often characterized polygamous marriages (Gen. 16:4-6; 29:26; 30:1-3; 1Sam. 1:1-6).

Read more --> HERE

Divorce and Remarriage In The Bible

Chapter 6

Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D., Andrews University

Divorce is no longer a disease contracted only by Hollywood movie stars. People from all walks of life, including Christians, are affected by divorce. There is hardly a Christian family that, directly or indirectly, does not know the pain of divorce.

An important factor contributing to the alarming escalation of divorce among Christians is the growing acceptance of the societal view of marriage as a social contract, governed by civil laws, rather than as a sacred covenant, witnessed and guaranteed by God Himself. Instead of promising each other faithfulness "till death do us part," many couples are adopting the modern version of the marriage vow, by pledging to remain together "as long as we both shall love."

The recent "no fault" divorce law makes the dissolution of marriage so easy that some lawyers advertise divorce services for less than $100.00: "All legal fees and services included in one low price." What a sad commentary on the cheapness of marriage today! What God has united, many will put asunder for less than the price of a good pair of shoes.

We live today in a time of cultural transition when old values are being challenged both within and without the church. "They have been pulled up by the roots, thrown up into the air, and are now beginning to come down like tossed salad."1 The result is that many Christians today are confused and do not know what to believe, especially in the area of divorce and remarriage. Many are asking, "Are there Biblical grounds for divorce and remarriage? Is a person who remarries guilty of continuous adultery? Why do some denominations prohibit their ministers from marrying divorced persons and yet allow them to receive divorced people into their membership after they have been married by ministers of other denominations? Isn’t it better to suffer the pain of divorce than the tragedy of a marriage without love?"

Pastors, teachers, and Christian writers often contribute to the prevailing confusion about divorce and remarriage with their conflicting interpretation of key Bible passages. Some teach, like the ancient Pharisees, that the Bible allows divorce and remarriage for "every cause," while others maintain that the Bible prohibits divorce and remarriage under any circumstance. A reason for such conflicting interpretations is that many interpret the Bible more in the light of their experience in dealing with divorce than in the light of their study of what the Bible actually teaches on this subject.

The time of cultural transition and confusion in which we live offers unprecedented opportunities to seek truly Biblical answers to the questions Christians are asking. We must not allow the extremes of radicalism or liberalism to impede progress in understanding and applying what the Bible teaches on the important subject of divorce and remarriage affecting so many lives. Encouragement for such an effort comes to us from the growing number of conservative Christians who are seeking truly Biblical answers to their questions. My aim in this chapter is to meet the expectations of these Christians by examining the Scriptures in order to come to a more definite and concrete understanding of its teaching on divorce and remarriage. The reader must decide whether or not I have succeeded in "rightly handling the word of truth" (2 Tim 2:15).

Objectives of Chapter. The objective of this chapter is to ascertain what the Old and New Testaments teach regarding divorce and remarriage. We shall pursue this investigation by examining all the relevant passages. In the following chapter we shall consider how we can apply the Biblical teachings to concrete situations today.

DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE IN THE BIBLE

No one knows how divorce began. The Biblical record shows that, unlike marriage, divorce was not instituted by God. There is no indication in the Bible suggesting that God introduced and institutionalized divorce after the Fall as part of His order for human society. Divorce is "man-made," not divinely ordained. It represents human rejection of God’s original plan for the indissolubility of the marriage bond.

In His comments on divorce, Jesus explained that divorce represents a change in God’s order because "from the beginning it was not so" (Matt 19:8). He further observed that it was because of the "hardness" of human heart that Moses "allowed" divorce (Matt 19:8). To allow a practice is not the same as instituting it. When divorce first appears in the Bible, the practice was already in existence. What God did through Moses was to regulate divorce in order to prevent its abuse. This does not mean that God winked at divorce. Rather, it means that God acknowledged its existence and regulated it to prevent a bad situation from becoming worse.

The fact that God did not lay down a specific law in the Pentateuch prohibiting divorce reveals His realistic approach to human failure. It shows God’s willingness to work redemptively on behalf of those who fail to live up to His ideal for them. Before considering the implications of God’s attitude toward divorce in the Old Testament for us today, we want to examine the most explicit Old Testament passages concerning divorce.

1. The Teaching of Moses

In the pre-Mosaic period, divorce was common among the heathen nations. A man could divorce his spouse for any reason simply by telling her before witnesses, "You are no longer my wife." The divorced wife would have no recourse but to leave her home with only the few belongings she could carry on her back. This explains why women wore all their rings, jewelry, and coins on their bodies, since these provided a financial resource in the case of divorce.2

The practice of easy divorce became common among the Hebrews, encouraged by the absence of regulations restricting it. "Men were divorcing their wives for a ‘weekend fling’ and then taking them back again when the dirty laundry had piled up and the house needed cleaning."3 It was this situation that occasioned the legislation found in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. The chief concern of the law is to discourage hasty divorce by preventing remarriage after divorce. The law contains three elements: (1) the grounds for divorce (Deut 24:1a), (2) the process of divorce (Deut 24:1b), and (3) the result of divorce (Deut 24:2-4).

The Grounds for Divorce. "When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a bill of divorce . . ." (Deut 24:1a). Note that the law does not prescribe or encourage divorce. It simply assumes the course of action a husband would take if he found "some indecency in her."

The precise meaning of the phrase "some indecency" (literally, "the nakedness of a thing") is uncertain. Rabbinical interpretation of this phrase was sharply divided. The school of Shammai interpreted it as unchastity, while the school of Hillel as anything displeasing to her husband. Neither of these two views is supported by the evidences. Shammai’s view is discredited by the fact that in the Old Testament, divorce was not granted for adultery (Lev 20:10; Deut 20:22-24) or for morally defiling one’s wife before marriage (Deut 22:28). This suggests that the "indecency" of Deuteronomy 24:1 must refer to something other than adultery or sexual uncleanness.

Hillel’s looser interpretation is also devoid of Biblical support. The Hebrew word erwath (generally translated, "indecency" or "uncleanness") is often used to refer to shameful exposure of the human body (Gen 9:22,23; Ex 20:26; Lam. 1:8; Ezek 16:36, 37). In Deuteronomy 23:13-14, the word is used to describe the failure to cover human excrement. We would conclude, then, that according to Deuteronomy 24:1, divorce was allowed for some kind of shameful act or indecency other than illicit sexual intercourse.

The Process of Divorce. The procedure required of a man intending to divorce his wife was for him to write out a bill of divorce and give it to her: "he writes her a bill of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house . . ." (Deut 24:16). The wording of the bill of divorce was probably similar to the one generally used by the Jews of the Diaspora which reads:

 "On the ______ day of the week, the ______ day of the month ______, in the year ______ from the creation of the world, in the city of ______, I, ______, the son of ______, do willingly consent, being under no restraint, to release, to set free, and to put aside thee, my wife, ______, daughter of ______, who has been my wife from before. Thus I do set free, release thee, and put thee aside, in order that thou may have permission and the authority over thyself and to go and marry any man that thou may desire. No person may hinder thee from this day onward, and thou art permitted to every man. This shall be for thee from me a bill of dismissal, a letter of release, and a document of freedom, in accordance with the laws of Moses and Israel.
______ the son of ______, witness.
______ the son of ______, witness."4

The bill of divorce served several purposes. It deterred a hasty action on the part of the husband by restraining frivolous and rash dismissal. It testified to the woman’s freedom from marital obligations from the husband who sent her away. It protected the woman’s reputation, particularly if she married another man.

The process of divorce that Moses required was not a license to repudiate the wife at will, but rather "a stringent requisition that whoever did so should secure his wife from injury by certifying that she was not chargeable with unchaste conduct, but divorced upon some minor pretext."5

It is important to note that Moses did not require a man to divorce his wife if he found "some indecency" in her. He simply permitted it due to the hardness of the Israelites’ hearts (Matt 19:8; Mark 10:5) who had rejected God’s original plan for marriage (Mark 10:9; Gen 2:24). What Moses required was that a divorce document be written to discourage hasty divorces and to mitigate the hardship of divorce. Even when the divorce document was given, the way for reconciliation was still open as long as the woman did not form a second marriage.

The Result of Divorce. The primary purpose of the divorce procedure was to close the way forever for the man to remarry his former wife once she had remarried: "And if she goes and becomes another man’s wife, and the latter husband dislikes her and writes her a bill 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, then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring guilt upon the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance" (Deut 24:2-4).

The main point of this legislation is to prohibit a man from remarrying his former wife if she had married another man. Even if her second husband divorced her or died, she could not return to her first husband. To do so would be an "abomination before the Lord" (Deut 24:4) on the same level as fornication. The reason is that if a husband could easily remarry the same woman, divorce would become a "legal" form of committing adultery. Later prophetic writings confirm this truth set forth by Moses. For example, the prophet Jeremiah says: "If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man’s wife, will he return to her? Would not that land be greatly polluted?" (Jer 3:1).

Another possible reason for the Deuteronomic ban on the remarriage of divorcees to each other after one of them had married someone else is that such a marriage would constitute an incestuous relationship. From Leviticus 18, we learn that prior to the Israelite conquest, the land of Canaan had been "defiled" by "incest" among the Canaanites (Lev 18:25-26). On the basis of this connection, Heth and Wenham argue that Deuteronomy prohibits the remarriage of a divorced couple after one of them had married someone else, because such a remarriage constituted incest. A blood relationship was formed by the first marriage which made them not only husband and wife but kin relatives as well. Consequently, if they divorced and remarried each other again, that remarriage was akin to the marriage between a brother and sister.6 If this interpretation is correct, then Deuteronomy 24 supports Genesis 1 and 2 by showing that divorce cannot break the bond established by marriage.

It is significant to note that what the Mosaic legislation strongly condemns is not the remarriage of a divorced woman, but her remarriage to her first husband after the termination of her second marriage. This suggests that remarriage per se in the Old Testament was not stigmatized as adulterous nor was a remarried woman regarded as an adulteress. The Pentateuch did not require that a divorced woman and her second husband be put to death, as was the case with adultery. This consideration should lead us to exercise caution before stigmatizing remarriage as adulterous.

Conclusion. Divorce was not instituted by Moses, nor was it approved as an intrinsic right of the husband. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 indicates that Moses sought to curb the evil of divorce by requiring the husband to give a bill of divorcement to his wife to protect her after her marriage to another man. The Mosaic concession does not alter God’s original plan for marriage to be a sacred, permanent covenant. It simply provides protection for the divorced wife when sinful hearts violate God’s original plan for marriage.

Read more -->HERE.

Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage?

A recent posting of this verse:

Luk 16:18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.

...caused quite a stir...warranting a plethora of comments pro/con (last count 470!) for those who are born again and whether or not they are at liberty to re-marry. It was quite an interesting discussion to follow. One which made me research and found this article:

WHAT IS THE REFORMED DOCTRINE OF DIVORCE?

By Andrew J. Webb

Even the most cursory examination of the statistics concerning divorce in America reveals figures that are nothing short of staggering. In the 60 years between 1920 and 1980 the divorce rate more than tripled. The United States now has the highest divorce rate in the world and at least half of all U.S. marriages will end in divorce. About half of those divorces will involve children, for a total over one million children experiencing the divorce or separation of their parents yearly.1

What these figures should tell us is that America has become what one author has called a "Divorce Culture," and as such we can expect divorce to continue to impact every part of our society, including the church. In light of this situation it is imperative that Reformed churches have a coherent policy regarding divorce that accurately reflects the teaching of Scripture. Today most states have passed legislation that allows for what is called a "no fault divorce." As the name implies, this is a divorce in which neither party is judged to be at fault and the reasons are usually ones of emotional incompatibility, or "irreconcilable differences." In this kind of divorce neither party must prove that the other has broken the marriage covenant by some act of sin, only that they no longer wish to be married to the other person. Is this a valid divorce by biblical standards? The purpose of this essay is to answer this kind of question by briefly examining the scriptural evidence and the historic Reformed consensus on this issue in an attempt to frame a "doctrine of divorce".

Reformed theologians have long realized that the general thrust of the teaching of the Bible is against divorce, God himself does not mince words on the subject when in Malachi 2:16 he declares "I hate divorce". This stems from the fact that marriage in the Bible is intended to be an inviolable covenant bond between one man and one woman for life. Genesis 2:24 frames the creation ordinance of marriage in the following terms "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." There is no indication that this marriage bond was ever intended to be severed in life and there is every reason to believe that had man continued in an unfallen condition, divorce would never have entered into the world. But as the Bible makes clear, the fall occurred and since that time man’s entire nature is now thoroughly corrupted by sin. Because of this, the Bible makes provision for, and regulates divorce. As Jay Adams puts it, "the concept of divorce is Biblical".2 But before we move on to consider how God regulates divorce in his word, we need to consider the fundamental difference between marriage and divorce. Marriage is a creation ordinance and a blessing from God. God declared in Genesis 2:18 that "It is not good for the man to be alone" and therefore he gave man the gift of marriage to correct the situation, that he might continue to declare of his creation that it was "very good" (Gen. 1:31). Divorce, on the other hand, postdates the fall and stems from the hardness of men’s hearts. Nowhere in the Bible is divorce spoken of as a positive institution, although as Adams points out, the Bible does not "always, under all circumstances, for everyone, condemn divorce."3 But while we can recognize that there are situations in which divorce is permissible, we can also see that it is never an unmitigated good. God hates each and every divorce -- and that includes his own divorce of his own sinful people Israel in the Old Testament (cf. Jeremiah 3:8)

Read more -->HERE.

Day 74-11

V From the Exodus to the Crossing into Canaan - 1462-1422 B.C. ~ cont.

(1462 - 982 480 years of 1 Kings 6:1)

D. From Kadesh-Barnea to crossing of Jordan ~ cont.

5. Settling down in plains of Moab, east of Jordan ~ cont.

m. Instructions for holy conduct ~ cont.

(11) Divorce and other personal laws - Deuteronomy 24:1-22
(12) Firstfruits offering - Deuteronomy 26:1-11
(13) Obedience and prayer - Deuteronomy 26:12-19
n. Commandments, Blessings, and Warnings - Deuteronomy 27:1-26

{pages 323-326}

I found the parameters in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 interesting, especially for those who are divorced.  A man could put away his wife, yet she was free to remarry without it being considered adultery.  However, if the 2nd husband died or divorced her, she could not remarry the 1st husband.

I thoroughly enjoyed the commentaries by Gill, Henry, and K&D (Keil & Delitzsch) on verses 1-4.  All were lengthy and thus not included, however, all are available online (or via E-Sword) should you choose to browse.  What I gleaned from them was that the practice (learned in Egypt) was to staunch the easy exchange of wives, thus treating them as possessions and to insure that a wife who was not favored was not ill treated.

When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.  (Deuteronomy 24:5)

I **always** get a chuckle out of that verse anytime I read it.

cheer up - H8055 - A primitive root; probably to brighten up, that is, (figuratively) be (causatively make) blithe or gleesome.

Used 155 times in 148 verses.  The first usage is in Exodus, when Moses is telling God how he is not the right vessel (just have to love how *we* think we know who is and is not the right vessel, and have the audacity to tell God the same!).

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well.  And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.  (Exodus 4:14)

Last usage in Zechariah, interestingly this passage has the word rejoice twice, but only once as H8055, there is a second translation as glad.

And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.  (Zechariah 10:7)

Curious...the word is used in the Psalms 52 times and 16 times in Proverbs.

If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.  (Deuteronomy 24:7)

This would effectively shut down kid/person nappings and also human trafficing.  Hideous and wicked, if there were more severe consequences for such abominations, the frequency would drop severely, if not be completely eliminated.

Ahhh, another listing of the tribes.  In this case all of Israel's original sons.

On Mount Gerizim to bless:

Simeon ~ Levi ~ Judah ~ Issachar ~ Jospeh ~ Benjamin

On Mount Ebal to curse:

Reuben ~ Gad ~ Asher ~ Zebulun ~ Dan ~ Naphtali

Twelve curses are listed in Deuteronomy 27:15-26):

1. Graven or molten image made, hidden;
2. Father and Mother not honored;
3. Landmark removal;
4. Ill treatment of the blind;
5. Stranger, fatherless, widow not given fair treatment;
6. Illicit relations with father's wife;
7. Beastilaity;
8. Incest;
9. Illicit relations with mother-in-law;
10. Neighbor treated unworthily;
11. Assassination; and
12. Failure to confirm all the words of the Law.

Bless (from verse 12) - H1288 - A primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit); also (by euphemism) to curse (God or the king, as treason.

Curse (from verse 13) - G7045 - From H7043; vilification.

• H7043 - A primitive root; to be (causatively make) light, literally (swift, small, sharp, etc.) or figuratively (easy, trifling, vile, etc.).

Cursed (verses 15-26) - H779 - A primitive root; to execrate.

Execrate:
–verb (used with object)

1.

to detest utterly; abhor; abominate.

2.

to curse; imprecate evil upon; damn; denounce: He execrated all who opposed him.

Amen (verses 15-26) - From H539; sure; abstractly faithfulness; adverbially truly.

• H539 - A primitive root; properly to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse; figuratively to render (or be) firm or faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet; morally to be true or certain; once (in Isa_30:21; by interchange for H541) to go to the right hand.

I thought it interesting that there were 12 curses, some of which were similar to the 10 commandments.  I just recently found out that the Roman Catholic Church modified the 10 commandments, eliminating #3.  Chilling.

Lord, help us not to diminish ought of any of the Words of Your mouth that you have spoken forth by Your chosen vessels.  Men, moved by the Holy Ghost to set forth Your precepts, wisdom, knowledge and guidance.


O Lord, cause us, Your people, to have a fervent desire and passion for Your Word.  To daily attend to reading, meditation and study.