Chapter 3
GOD’S MARRIAGE TO ISRAEL
Patiently we are carefully searching the Bible to find what it has to say
about the institution of marriage. We are particularly seeking to know if
under any circumstances a divorce may occur.
So far we have examined two sets of laws found in the Bible that relate
directly to the questions we are studying. And thus far, we have found no
statement that condones divorce for any reason whatsoever.
But now we shall look at a third ceremonial law that relates to marriage
and divorce. It was introduced into the Bible because there existed a second
spiritual marriage, entirely different from the marriage of the law of God
to the human race. It was the marriage wherein God took as His wife a
nation, ancient national Israel. Israel, as a corporate, external
body, was the representation of the kingdom of God on earth during
the historical period from Abraham to Jesus.
This marriage relationship was established by God because national
Israel as a whole typified and foreshadowed the spiritual Israel of God which
was to become the eternal bride of Christ.
We know this spiritual marriage between God and national Israel
existed because of God’s complaint recorded in Jeremiah 3:14 concerning
the spiritual fornication practiced by His wife:
Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married
unto you:…
He was not married to them as individuals; as individuals they were
spiritually married to the law of God. Rather, He was married to them
as a corporate entity.
But God faced a real problem. At no time in national Israel’s history
were they faithful. Repeatedly they lusted after other gods. What was God
to do with His fornicating wife?
According to God’s eternal law, death is required for the adulterous
wife. But God could not utterly destroy Israel as a nation, for it was out
of national Israel that Christ was to come. Moreover, national Israel was
to be the seedbed from which the whole New Testament church would spring
forth.
Furthermore, God’s plan was to use national Israel as an example of
His patience and mercy. Remember, in the parable of Luke 13 the fig tree
that repeatedly had not borne fruit was to be cut down. But then it was to
be given one more opportunity. If there still was no fruit, it was to be cut
down.
So today we see national Israel as a viable nation amongst the nations of
the world. Only if it ceases to bear spiritual fruit will it be destroyed.
For all of these reasons, and possibly others, God chose not to have his
spiritual wife, national Israel, killed. And yet it was God’s plan to
break His spiritual marriage with national Israel. Once Christ went to
the cross, God had purposed to forever end any spiritual relationship He had
ever had with Israel as a nation.
To accomplish this goal, God introduced another law into the body of
ceremonial laws. In order to divorce Israel God had to introduce a law that
would permit divorce. God, as the giver and maker of the law, may introduce
any law He disires. But whatever law He sets forth, God in His perfect
righteousness obligates Himself to obey.
And so in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 God placed into the Word of God a law that
permitted divorce for fornication. There we read:
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
of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of
his house.
And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be
another man’s wife.
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;
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.
This law permitted a husband to divorce his wife in whom he had found
some matter of uncleanness. (Later we will go into detail to show that
this related to fornication.) The inclusion of this law permitted God to
divorce national Israel. We are told this in Isaiah 50:1.
Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother’s
divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors
is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities
have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your
mother put away.
Likewise, in Jeremiah 3:8 we read:
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.
Further on, in verse 20 of Jeremiah 3, God continues revealing the sinful
nature of the wife He had married.
Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so
have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith
the Lord.
So we have seen that within the ceremonial law God introduced two
dominant laws concerning adultery within a marriage. These two laws were
quite different from each other. In the case of Deuteronomy 22:22 both a
man and a woman engaging in the act of adultery were to be put to death.
In the case of Deuteronomy 24:1-4, only the wife could be divorced for
fornication. No language is employed here or anywhere else in the Bible that
even suggests that a wife could ever divorce an adulterous husband.
Because these laws were a part of the ceremonial laws, the citizens of
the nation of Israel were to obey them. If a husband found his wife in an
open act of adultery, he was to have her stoned to death along with the
man with whom she was caught. If there were some act of obvious
fornication, but the wife was not actually caught in the act of adultery, the
husband still had the right to divorce her.
This ceremonial law of Deuteronomy 24:1-4 had an earthly, physical
application and a spiritual, or heavenly application. As we have seen, the
earthly application permitted the husband to divorce his wife if it
appeared she had engaged in fornication. The heavenly application was
intended to make it possible for God to divorce national Israel because of
its continuing spiritual fornication.
Jesus made several references to this law in the New Testament.
He did so to show that this law was rescinded with His coming as the Christ,
as well as to show that Israel had grossly misappled this law. Remarkably,
it is still grossly misapplied by the church as a biblical basis for
divorce. We will look into this as we continue our study.
Israel’s Misuse Of Deuteronomy 24
The language of Deuteronomy 24:1-4 was sufficiently unclear so that the
men of national Israel used it as a basis for divorcing their wives for any
reason whatsoever. Let us see why this is so, because this will help us
understand Matthew 5:32, a verse some people use to justify divorce for
fornication.
The key words of Deuteronomy 24:1 are “some uncleanness.” For “some
uncleanness” found in a wife the husband had biblical cause for divorce.
What exactly was this sin?
The Hebrew word “dabar,” which is translated as “some” in the phrase
“some uncleanness,” normally means “word” or “matter.” Out of about 2400
usages in the Bible, it is translated in a least 1000 verses “speak” or
“talk” or something similar. In other verses it is translated “word” at
least 770 times. Thus, “word” or “talk” are the dominant meanings of the
word “dabar.”
Less often, but with considerable frequency, “dabar” is translated
as “act” (52 times), “matter” (63 times) and “thing” (215 times). Thus,
we can safely say that in Deuteronomy 24:1 “dabar” should be translated
as “act,” “matter,” “thing,” or “word.”
The Hebrew word which is translated as “uncleanness” in this same
phrase “ervah.” It is a word that is found 54 times in the King James
Bible. In more than 50 of these places it is translated “nakedness.”
When we examine the places where it is translated “nakedness” we find
that it usually relates to gross sexual impurity. For example, in
Leviticus 18 and Leviticus 20 where God is setting forth commands
prohibiting incest, God employs the word “nakedness” (“ervah”) at least 30
times.
Thus, the word “ervah” takes on the meaning “fornication.” Fact is,
in Leviticus 18:8 God warns, “The nakedness (ervah) of thy father’s wife
shalt thou not uncover.” A commentary on this warning is found in I
Corinthians 5:1 where we read:
It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you,
and such fornication as is not so much as named among the
Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
In this verse God uses the word “fornication” in connection with sexual
impurity between a man and his father’s wife. But in Leviticus 18:8 God
speaks of this kind of sexual impurity as uncovering the nakedness.
Therefore, we can see that “nakedness” or “uncleanness” is synonymous with
“fornication.”
Binging these facts together, we can know that in Deuteronomy 24:1 God is
teaching that if a man found a “word” or a “matter” of fornication in his
wife, he could write a bill of divorcement and divorce her.
True, certain acts of fornication were punishable by death. But if the
particular act or word of fornication did not require the death of the
fornicating wife, the husband had the right to divorce her.
But there was another understanding of the meaning of “ervah” that was
possible. And it was this understanding that opened the door for the
Israelite husband to divorce his wife under almost any circunstance.
Divorce For Any Cause
In Deuteronomy 23:12-14 God used the identical phrase, “ervah dabar,”
which is used as the key phrase of Deuteronomy 24:1. “Ervah dabar” did
not refer to fornication; rather, it referred to ceremonial uncleanness.
Verses 12-14 inform us:
Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou
shalt go forth abroad:
And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be,
when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith,
and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:
For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to
deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee;
therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean
thing in thee, and turn away from thee.
The phrase “unclean thing” near the end of this quotation is “ervah
dabar.” But what was this “unclean thing”? In this context it was
nothing more than the discharge from a person’s body when he or she felt
the “call of nature.” When a person felt the urge, he was to go outside the
camp, dig a hole to receive his body’s discharge, and then he was to cover it
so that the surface of the ground would be clean.
Actually, any discharge from the body made a person unclean. According
to the ceremonial laws of Leviticus 15, any running issue, any kind of
discharge from the body, made a person unclean. A woman menstruating was
unclean. Someone experiencing diarrhea that spotted his garments was unclean.
Therefore, the use of “ervah dabar” in Deuteronomy 23:14 gave the men of
Israel tremendous leverage in their marriages. All one had to do was to spot
menstrual blood on his wife’s garments; or any other discharge that touched
her or her garments would serve the hardhearted husband’s purpose. In the
intimacy of marriage the opportunities to see “some uncleanness” in one’s
wife were numerous.
Thus the men could divorce their wives quite easily. The wife had no
security whatsoever. Even though she may have never been guilty of
fornication, the husband could still find plenty of “biblical” reason to
divorce her if this was his desire.
Jesus Sets The Matter Straight
Significantly, Jesus took serious issue with this understanding of
Deuteronomy 24:1-4. Jesus clarified the law by showing that these verses of
Deuteronomy 24 had in view only fornication as a ground for divorce. We see
this when we read Matthew 5:31-32. These verses declare:
It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him
give her a writing of divorcement:
But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife,
saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit
adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced
committeth adultery.
The language of verse 31 relates back to Deuteronomy 24:1-4. This is
the only passage of the Old Testament that relates in a clear way to the
statement of Jesus found in Matthew 5:31.
But Jesus pointed out that ancient Israel had widened the application
of cause for divorce far beyond the scope intended by Deuteronomy 24:1 where
the cause had to be a specific word or matter of fornication. Most
likely, by applying the words of Deuteronomy 23:12-14, they had decided
that they could divorce their wives for any reason. That is why Matthew
5:31 states that all that was required for divorce at that time was the
writing of divorcement. Jesus, therefore, made a point of restating
Deuteronomy 24:1-4 in verse 32.
We will see that Jesus is accomplishing three things by this
restatement. First of all, He is underscoring the Jews’ total disregard
for the sanctity of marriage. He is getting ready to show that the cause
for divorce was to have been something quite adulterous.
Secondly, He is revealing the awful sinfulness of divorce in that it
causes the divorced wife to commit adultery even though she, by her own
action, might be innocent of adultery.
Thirdly, He restates the language of Deuteronomy 24:2-4 to show that
the wife who was divorced should not remarry.
Let us look at Matthew 5:32 very carefully to discover these three
things that Christ is emphasizing.
Deuteronomy 24 Allows Divorce Only For Fornication
The first phrase we must understand in verse 32 is, “saving for the
cause of fornication.” Let us examine that phrase. We will see that it
relates very closely to Deuteronomy 24:1.
The word “saving” is the Greek word “parektos.” It is used in only two
other places in the Bible. In Acts 26:29 it is translated “except”:
And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also
all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether
such as I am, except these bonds.
In this verse “parektos” carries the meaning “without”–
“without these bonds.”
The other place this word is found is in II Corinthians 11:28 where
“parektos” is translated “without.”
Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon
me daily, the care of all the churches.
Here we see that the biblical meaning of “parektos” is “without.”
Returning to Matthew 5:32, we discover that the English phrase “for the
cause” is the Greek word “logos.” But “logos’ is normally translated
“word.” It is translated as “word” more than 200 times in the Bible. It is
also translated in a few instances as “matter” or “thing.” Thus “logos” can
mean either “word” or “matter” or “thing.” And so we find that it actually
is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word “dabar” used in Deuteronomy 24:1.
The word “fornication” used in Matthew 5:32 is the Greek word “porneias”
which is always translated “fornication.” Therefore, we learn that the
phrase “saving for the cause of fornication” can be accurately translated
“without a word or matter of fornication.” This is surprisingly close
to the literal rendering of the Hebrew “ervah dabar” of Deuteronomy 24:1.
Remember, the usual translation of “dabar” was “word” or “talk” or “matter;”
and the usual translation of “ervah” was “nakedness” in the context of
fornication.
Thus, we evidence that Jesus was focusing in on Deuteronomy 24:1 by
the specific language He used in Matthew 5:32. He was teaching that the
“uncleanness” of Deuteronomy 24:1 was not meant to be understood as some
ceremonial uncleanness such as menstrual blood or a diarrhea discharge.
Rather, it was meant to present fornication as the only cause for which a
man could divorce his wife. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 was never intended to give
a man an excuse to divorce his wife for any cause.
Divorce Causes An Innocent Spouse To Be Adulterous
As we continue to examine verse 32, we discover that Christ has
introduced an additional principle to be kept in mind in the matter of
marriage and divorce.
The next phrase in verse 32 is: “causeth her to commit adultery.”
How are we to understand this?
Let’s begin by reading verse 32 without the phrase “saving for the cause
of fornication.” It now reads “whosoever shall put away his wife…causeth
her to commit adultery. Does this merely mean that the divorced wife becomes
prone to adultery because, if she should marry someone else, that marriage
would be adulterous as Romans 7:2-3 teaches?
No. There is no evidence that Jesus is teaching this. He is simply
saying that if a man divorces his wife, regardless of how holy or pure she
might be in herself, she has been forced by divorce itself to commit
adultery. That is, the very act of the divorce caused her marriage to
become adulterated and in that sense she has been caused to commit
adultery. Jesus is underscoring how terrible the sin of divorce is. Not
only does the husband who desires the divorce sin, but he also causes his
wife to sin, even though she does not want the divorce.
This becomes understandable when we remember that those who have
married have become fused by God into one flesh, a divine union which no
man can break apart. Remember, we saw earlier in Romans 7:1-4 that the wife
is bound to her husband as long as she lives. Therefore, if a man breaks
apart that which God has joined together, the union has been adulterated.
Even though the wife may be perfectly innocent in the divorce, she has been
forced to commit adultery because the union with her husband has been
adulterated. This is one of the important teachings of this verse.
Jesus is emphasizing the fact that divorcing a wife for any reason was a
dreadful sin.
However, if the wife had committed fornication before the divorce,
then she herself committed adultery. Based on Deuteronomy 24:1, the
man had a right to divorce his wife in such a case. So, since she was
adulterous before she was divorced, the husband’s act of divorcing her was
not the cause of her sinful state of adultery.
But Jesus is not calling attention to Deuteronomy 24:1 in order to
indicate that this command is to continue in force throughout time.
That is not the purpose of Jesus’ reference to it. He is simply showing
that while Deuteronomy 24:1 was in force, a man had to discover actual
fornication in his wife. To put her away for any lesser cause was a
violation of that command. And the Jews had grossly violated that command
by perverting it into a command wherein they could divorce their wives
for any cause.
But since that command was repealed (as we shall see when we study Mark
10 and Matthew 19), Jesus definitely is not teaching that fornication is a
cause for divorce. Therefore, this verse is not dealing with the question of
whether or not there is any cause for divorce. That question is not at
issue. Rather, Jesus is emphasizing the seriousness of the sin of divorce.
Divorce causes even the husband’s spouse to commit adultery because the
union between herself and her husband has become adulterated by this
divorce.
The Woman Who Is Divorced Becomes Defiled If She Marries Again
The third point that Jesus makes involves a restatement and
clarification of Deuteronomy 24:2-4 which reads:
And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be
another man’s wife.
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;
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.
In our King James Bible it appears (by the use of the word “may ” in
the phrase “she may go”) to say that the fornicating wife who was
divorced was free to remarry. However, in the original Hebrew the word
“may” is not included. So the Bible is not teaching she may go and be
another’s. This can be seen by the language found in verse 4 where God
indicates she will have become defiled if she remarries. Effectively, God
is teaching that if the divorced wife goes and becomes another man’s wife,
she will be defiled so that she can never return to her first husband.
This principle is reiterated and expanded in the last phrase of Matthew
5:32 where Jesus declares the “whosoever shall marry her that is divorced
committeth adultery.” Because the divorced wife who has remarried has
become defiled as a result of this remarriage, it logically follows that
the man who married her has entered into an adulterous marriage. Jesus is
emphasizing the fact that such a man has indeed committed adultery.
But in Matthew 5:32 Jesus is further indicating that anyone who marries
a divorced wife is committing adultery. That is, if a wife is divorced for
any reason, the man who marries her commits adultery. We see, therfore, that
even as Romans 7:2-3 taught that the woman who remarried while her first
husband was still living became as adulteress, so too, the man who married
such a woman has become an adulterer.
Deuteronomy 24:1 Allowed Only One Half Of Israel To Divorce
Significantly, the law that permitted a man to divorce his wife for
fornication only applied to half of Israel. Let us see why this was so.
As we have seen, Deuteronomy 24:1 was a law that only permitted
the husband to divorce his wife. This was so because, in its ceremonial
nature, it was pointing to the coming divorce of national Israel. But no
provision of any kind was made for the wife to divorce the husband. This was
because there was no aspect of God’s salvation plan or of God’s dealing with
national Israel that included the possibility of national Israel divorcing
God. Therefore, as national Israel obeyed that law, a wife could never
divorce a fornicating husband. In her relationship to her husband she was
under the universal law given from the beginning of creation that there
was not to be divorce for any reason whatsoever.
We thus see that in the case of the law of God (the husband) being
spiritually married to the individual (the wife) there never was a time when
divorce for fornication of for any other reason was allowed. Also we have
seen that in the nation of Israel the wife could never divorce the husband
for his fornication. Only the husband could divorce the wife for
fornication because that was part of the ceremonial law pointing to God’s
coming divorce of corporate, national Israel. This was to occur because of
their many spiritual fornications. It would come about when God no
longer planned for national Israel to serve as a type or figure of His
salvation program.
In summary, we see the Deuteronomy 24:1-4 taught the following principles:
l. A husband could divorce his wife only if she were found
guilty of fornication.
2. The wife, who was guilty of fornication and, as a result,
was divorced, would become defiled if she married someone
else. Thus she was to remain single.
3. No permission was given to the wife to divorce her husband
for any reason whatsoever.
In Matthew 5:32 Jesus reiterated the basic principles of Deuteronomy
24:1-4 and expanded them to teach:
l. A husband who divorced his wife for any reason other than
fornication caused her to commit adultery.
2. Any man who married a divorced woman committed adultery.
Now we must face the next question.
When we looked at Deuteronomy 7:2-4 and Deuteronomy 22:22 we saw that
once Christ went to the cross the earthly, physical applications of the
laws no longer were to be observed. Only the spiritual or heavenly meanings
of these commands were to continue.
But what about Deuteronomy 24:1-4? What does the Bible teach concerning
the continuation of this law? Insofar as the spiritual, heavenly
meaning of these verses is concerned, we know that it came to an end when
Jesus hung on the cross. When the veil of the temple was rent asunder, it
signaled the finality of God’s divorce from national Israel. Never again
would He have any spiritual relationship with national Israel as a corporate
body.
Therefore, in its spiritual dimension, Deuteronomy 24:1-4 has no
application after the cross. Because it was written into Old Testament law
in order that God might divorce national Israel for its spiritual
fornication, we have reason to suspect that it (like other ceremonial laws)
ceased to have any physical application after the crucifixion. It was at
that time that God officially ended His special spiritual relationship with
national Israel.
The Bible clearly shows that this law was rescinded by the Lord Jesus
Christ in Mark 10:2-12. Let us look at these verses.
In Mark 10:2 we read of the Pharisees coming to Jesus with a question
concerning divorce. This verse informs us:
And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for
a man to put away his wife? tempting him.
Their question must relate to Deuteronomy 24:1-4 for it is the only Old
Testament passage that speaks of the possibility of a man divorcing his wife.
This can be seen in Jesus’ answer in verses 3 and 4:
And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command
you?
And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement,
and to put her away.
These verses plainly show that Deuteronomy 24:1-4 is in view. It is
clearly the passage that Jesus is addressing as He continues to teach. In
verse 5 Jesus explains why this command had been inserted into Old
Testament law;
And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of
your heart he wrote you this precept.
Here He declares that it was because of the hardness of the hearts of
ancient Israel that the law was given to allow divorce for fornication.
Can we assume by this that God saw how adulterous the wives in the
nation of Israel would be? Did He want to provide some relief to the
husbands by setting forth a law that permitted them to divorce if their
wives were involved in fornication? Or did He give the law because the
husbands would be so unforgiving of their fornicating wives that, because
of the hardness of their hearts, these unforgiving husbands were allowed to
divorce their wives?
Neither of these possibilities make sense. God lays down laws that help
us to live more holy before Him rather than to allow us to live sinfully.
It is only when we realize the truth as to why God inserted this law
into the ceremonial laws of the Bible that this verse can be understood. The
phrase “hardness of heart” relates to that which is rebellious. And
rebellion against God is spiritual fornication. God gave this law so
that He, as the husband of national Israel, could divorce His
fornicating wife. It was because of the hardness of heart, or spiritual
fornication of national Israel that his law was given. And so, once God
had divorced national Israel, this law had no further purpose.
Therefore, we find in verses 6-9 of Mark 10 that Jesus very directly,
very plainly rescinds this command by stating:
But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and
female.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and
cleave to his wife;
And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more
twain, but one flesh.
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put
asunder.
In this answer Jesus indicates that it was never God’s intention
for divorce to be permitted. True, temporarily, God did open a very narrow
window permitting a man to divorce his fornicating wife. But this was
only so that God could divorce fornicating national Israel.
In Jesus’ answer in Mark 10:9 He restates God’s intention for marriage
with the words: “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man
put asunder.” In other words, there is not to be divorce for any reason
whatsoever. Two people who have been joined together in marriage have been
fused by God into one flesh. And that which has been bound together by God,
no man is to try to break apart.
To underscore this truth Jesus added in Mark 10:11-12:
And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and
marry another, committeth adultery against her.
And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to
another, she committeth adultery.
Deuteronomy 24:1-4 only allowed a husband to divorce a fornicating
wife. A wife was given no right whatsoever to divorce a fornicating
husband. But now that Jesus has rescinded the husband’s right to divorce
a fornicating wife, He emphasizes the impossibility of biblical divorce from
both directions – that of the husband divorcing the wife, and that of the
wife divorcing the husband.
We see, therfore, that Jesus has clearly re-established the principle
laid down from the beginning of time that there is not to be divorce. He
is emphasizing what the Bible continues to declare in later verses.
Moreover, in Mark 10:11-12 God is underscoring another vital principle.
It is the law that a divorced man or woman cannot become remarried.
According to verse 11, if a man remarries, he commites adultery against his
first wife. Why is this so?
Remember, we learned in Romans 7:1-4 that the wife is bound to her
husband as long as they both live. Therefore, even though a divorce may have
seemingly broken the marriage relationship, from God’s vantage point the
man and wife are still bound to each other. Therefore, if the man takes
another wife while his first wife is still living, he is committing
adultery. He is adulterating the lifelong union God has made between this
man and his first wife.
Likewise, verse 12 emphasizes that the wife may not marry someone
else after divorce. Even though she is legally divorced, in God’s sight
she is still bound to her first husband. Therefore, she commits
adultery if she marries another while her first husband is still living.
Again, when we looked at Romans 7:1-4 we saw how God clearly teaches
that the wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. Remember, this
statement was in the context of a wife living in constant fornication
against her husband.
The principle of this binding relationship of the wife to the husband is
repeated in I Corinthians 7:39.
The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth;
but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to
whom she will; only in the Lord.
Moreover, in I Corinthians 7:10 we are instructed, “Let not the wife
depart from (that is, divorce) her husband.”
Likewise, in I Corinthians 7:11 God adds, “…and let not the husband
put away his wife.” All of the Bible’s teachings are consistent and in
agreement. There is not to be divorce for any reason whatsoever.
Significantly, in Luke 16:17 Jesus made reference to the eternal
nature of the law of God as He declared:
And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle
of the law to fail.
Having indicated the perpetual nature of the law of God, Jesus immediately
addresses the question of a man divorcing his wife. He exhorts in Luke
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.
In this statement we find a repetition of the same exact truth we have
already learned from Mark 10:2-12, Romans 7:1-4, and I Corinthians 7.
There is not to be divorce! No exceptions are to be made!
We also find in Luke 16:18 the truth of Mark 10:11 repeated. God is again
declaring a man is not to marry another after being divorced. Here in Luke
we also find the last phrase of Matthew 5:32 re-emphasized. God is again
teaching that anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
At this point, it is very clear that God does not countenance divorce for
any reason whatsoever. In order to divorce national Israel (whom God had
corporately married), He had temporarily put a law on the books allowing a
husband to divorce his wife for fornication. But when Jesus came on
the scene, He very deliberately and very clearly rescinded that special
law.
We have further learned that there is not to be remarriage while a
former spouse still lives. This truth also may be seen very clearly.
But you may ask, doesn’t Matthew 19:9 teach that there still can be
divorce for fornication? To answer this fair question, we will examine that
verse in detail in the next chapter.
Chapter 4
MATTHEW 19:9
As we get more deeply involved with the biblical teachings on divorce,
we want to look carefully at the one verse that has been abused most
consistently in man’s efforts to find a biblical basis for divorce. Because
this verse intimately relates to this Deuteronomy 24:1-4, which we
studied at length in our last chapter, we are now prepared to understand
Matthew 19:9.
This verse has the appearance of allowing divorce for
fornication. It reads:
And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except
it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth
adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth
commit adultery.
Many theologians read this verse and quickly conclude that it is
teaching there can be no divorce except in the one case of fornication.
Surely this verse appears to teach that fornication is cause for divorce.
But we have already seen in our study that there is no biblical
cause for divorce. Neither fornication, nor any other sin on the part of
either the husband or the wife provides any reason whatsoever for divorce.
Therefore, we can be sure that this one verse, Matthew 19:9, cannot
allow divorce for fornication, or for any other reason. If we concluded
otherwise, we would have before us a major contradiction.
But the Bible is one harmonious whole. While it may have statements
within its text that appear contradictory, we can know that these are not
actual contradictions. They only appear to be contradications while our
understanding of the questionable passages remains incomplete. But when
we have come to correct understanding, we will no longer find
contradictions. This is so because the Bible is one harmonious whole.
But let us assume for a moment that we must base our whole
understanding of divorce and remarriage on this one verse, Matthew 19:9. What
would we learn?
Matthew 19:9 apparently teaches that a man may divorce his wife for
fornication. But notice: there is no suggestion that the wife may divorce
the husband for fornication. There is not even the slightest implication
or indication that the wife can divorce the husband. In fact, nowhere in
the Bible is there any statement that teaches that the wife can divorce the
husband for any reason.
We also notice that the verse does not justify the husband for divorcing
his wife for any reason except fornication. According to this verse, as
it stands alone, the only possible cause for divorce is fornication.
Additionally, Matthew 19:8, which immediately precedes the verse we
are studying, tells us that Moses allowed the husband to divorce his wife for
the cause of fornication only because of the hardness of the husband’s heart.
The verse declares:
He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your
hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the
beginning it was not so.
The term “hardness of heart” refers to someone who is unsaved, someone who
is in rebellion against God.
Thus, if anyone insisted on understanding Matthew 19:9 without regard to
any other teachings of the Bible, the most that he could see in this one verse
would be that a husband could only divorce his wife in the case of
fornication. And such a divorce would be an indication of the husband’s
unsaved, rebellious spiritual condition. Therefore, even on the basis of
Matthew 19:9, no true child of God would ever countenance the thought
of divorce. Rather, he would realize that he is called upon to
repeatedly forgive his wife for the sin of fornication just like any other
sin.
When we consider what modern day theologians have done with this verse,
we should become very skeptical of their conclusions, for when they have
decided there can be divorce for the cause of fornication, they immediately
conclude that, not only can the husband divorce the fornicating wife,
but the wife also can divorce the fornicating husband. Yet neither this
verse nor any other in the whole Bible allows a wife to divorce her
husband. Thus when we hear such teachings, we should suspect that gross
violation has been done to a true understanding of this verse.
To the question, “Does the Bible teach that fornication is a ground for
divorce?” the answer is emphatically “No!” We have just seen that in
Deuteronomy 24:1 God, as part of the temporary ceremonial law, had made
fornication a cause for a man to put away his wife. Then we saw, as we
looked at Mark 10, that through Christ that command was rescinded. Now we
shall see that right in the context of Matthew 19:9, as Jesus makes
reference to Deuteronomy 24:1, He is indicating the same teaching we
discovered in Mark 10:2-12. That teaching was that Deuteronomy 24:1 was
rescinded.
Let us see how this develops in Matthew 19. Again, we read in Matthew
19:8:
He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your
hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the
beginning it was not so.
Here Jesus is emphasizing two important truths. First, this command was
inserted into the law book primarily to give God a way to divorce national
Israel because of their spiritual rebellion, their hardness of heart.
Secondly, He is indicating that this was not God’s eternal plan for human
marriage — “from the beginning it was not so.” And as we discover from
other passages that God’s divorce of national Israel was finalized at the
cross, we come to see that this law no longer applies. So by the language
of verse 8 we see that He was effectively rescinding this law.
That Jesus is bringing to an end the Deuteronomy 24:1 basis for
divorce for fornication is in total agreement with the statement of
Matthew 19:8. It is also in complete harmony with the other passages we
have looked at which emphatically prohibit divorce for fornication or for any
other reason.
Since Jesus has just emphasized in Matthew 19:8 that a man was no longer
to put away his wife for fornication, it doesn’t make any sense at all that
our Lord would reintroduce in the very next verse the command He has just
rescinded.
No Divorce For Any Reason Whatsoever
We know, therefore, that we have to re-read Matthew 19:9 to attempt to
discover what Jesus was actually saying in this verse. Certainly He was not
teaching that fornication was a cause for divorce.
A correct understanding of Matthew 19:9 is forthcoming if we go back to
the opening sentence of the paragraph in which Matthew 19:9 is found. In
verse 3 of that chapter we read:
The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying
unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for
every cause?
The question the Pharisees are asking is whether a man can put away his
wife for every cause. Jesus answered them in verses 4-6 by indicating
there is not to be divorce for any reason whatsoever: “What
therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
Then in verse 7 the Pharisees asked about Deuteronomy 24:1, which
permitted divorce for fornication. Jesus answered their question in
verse 8, indicating that Deuteronomy 24:1 was rescinded. It could no
longer apply.
In verse 9 Jesus returned to the Pharisees’ original question: “Can a
man put away his wife for every cause?” In verse 8 He had indicated that
fornication was no longer to be a cause for divorce. So in verse 9 He
covers every possible reason other than fornication, indicating that any other
reason was also an invalid cause for divorce. Effectively He is saying
in verse 9, “whosoever puts away his wife for any reason `in addition to’
or `other than’ or `except’ for fornication (which we have just seen in verse
8 to be an invalid cause for divorce) and marries another commits adultery.”
In other words, the word “except” (the Greek “ei me”) takes on the sense
or meaning of “in additon to” or “other than” in this context. This
meaning of “ei me” is fairly common in the Bible. For example, in Matthew
19:17 Jesus said: “…there is none good but (ei me) one, that is,
God:…” This verse could be read: “there is none good `in addition to’
or `other than’ one, that is God.”
Likewise, in Mark 8:14 we read:
Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had
they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
The phrase “more than” is also “ei me.” Here, too, we could translate:
“neither had they in the ship with them `in addition to’ or `other than’ one
loaf.”
Many other examples could be given, but these two should suffice to
show that Jesus, in Matthew 19:9, is simply covering all other possible
causes for divorce “except,” “other than,” or “in addition to” fornication.
He has already eliminated the cause of fornication in verse 8.
Jesus has thus twice answered the question posed by the Pharisees
in verse 3 concerning divorce for every cause. He has first answered it in
verses 4-6 by indicating there is not to be divorce for any reason. Then
in verses 7 and 8 He specifically teaches that fornication cannot be a
cause for divorce. And in verse 9 He applies this teaching to all other
causes for divorce, except the cause of fornication, which He had just
covered in verse 8. Thus, the conclusion stands twice over. There is not to
be divorce for any cause whatsoever!!
The removal of fornication as a cause for divorce so shocked the
disciples that they said to Jesus in verse 10:
His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with
his wife, it is not good to marry.
They apparently could not envision a marriage wherein a husband had
lost all right to divorce his wife. As we saw earlier in our study,
Deuteronomy 24:1 had become a very convenient escape route for a man who no
longer cared for his wife. Remember what this law declared: according to
Israel’s understanding of this command, all the husband had to discover was
a word or matter of uncleanness. Any ceremonial uncleanness was sufficient
to permit a husband to divorce his wife.
Thus, the disciples were astounded and dismayed that there could no
longer be divorce. Their reaction to the statements Jesus made in Matthew
19:4-9 underscores the fact that Jesus had just rescinded the command of
Deuteronomy 24:1.
Thus, we see that, even as the earthly application of the other
ceremonial laws came to an end when Jesus came, so too, the application of
this ceremomial law of a man divorcing his fornicating wife also ended
with His coming. In fact, not only did the physical application of this
law end, but the spiritual application ended as well.
The last half of Matthew 19:9 — “and shall marry another, committeth
adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery”
— is almost an exact duplication of Luke 16:18. Remember, we saw that in
this verse of Luke 16, as well as in Matthew 5:32 and Mark 10:11-12, God
indicated that a man was not to marry another wife after divorce, and
anyone who married the divorced wife committed adultery. Clearly the law
stands today that as long as the divorced spouse lives, there is not to be
remarriage after divorce.
Thus far, we have examined three different sets of ceremonial laws
dealing with marriage and divorce. First we looked at Deuteronomy 7:2-4
and Isaiah 52:11 and saw that God prohibited an Israelite from intermarrying
with people of certain nations. If they did so in violation of God’s law,
they were to separate from that which was unclean. In the physical, earthly
aspect of this command they were to divorce their wives if they had married
in violation of God’s original command. We saw in I Corinthians 7:12-13
and I Peter 3:1 that the physical, earthly aspect of this command was
rescinded when Christ came. However, the heavenly, spiritual meaning of
this command continues throughout history. We are not to be unequally
yoked with the world. If we find we are effectively in the embrace of the
world, we are to turn away from it. Spiritually, we are to separate from
the world so that we can serve God with our whole heart.
The second command we looked at was given in Deuteronomy 22:22 where God
commands that a husband who finds his wife in the act of adultery is to have
her stoned to death. The husband could not divorce her. He could only
separate from his adulterous wife by having her executed.
We saw that the spiritual meaning of this command points to the
spiritual marriage described in Romans 7:1-4. There God declares that
every person is spiritually married to the law of God which is the
husband. Because of our constant spiritual adultery against the law, we
are to be executed. And the execution God has in view is eternal
damnation. In this context God taught that even as a human cannot be divorced
from the law of God because of spiritual adultery, a human marriage
cannot be broken because of fornication. It can be broken only by death.
We discovered that the physical application of Deuteronomy 22:22,
which called for the death of the adulterous wife, was rescinded. But
the spiritual application continues today. Because of our spiritual
adultery, our husband, the law of God, condemns us to eternal damnation.
Thirdly, we looked into the ceremonial law of Deuteronomy 24:1-4.
This law decreed that if a man found even a word or act of fornication in
his wife, he could divorce her. In the physical sense, as a man divorced his
fornicating wife, he was being shown by God that likewise the nation of
Israel, which corporately was married to God, would be divorced by God
because of Israel’s constant spiritual fornication.
Incidentally, we might remember that the Bible records that when
Joseph, the stepfather of Jesus, thought Mary had committed fornication
because she was with child, he, being a just man, sought how to put her
away (Matthew 1:19). The fact that the Bible says he was a “just” man
underscores the fact that God was absolutely holy and righteous when He
divorced national Israel as a corporate body.
We might remember that God divorced them as a corporate body, not as
individuals. God could not divorce them as individuals within the nation
because He was not married to them on that level.
On the other hand, the law of God as the husband was married to them as
individuals and in that relationship there could be no divorce. No matter
how adulterous any man became, he remained under the law of God, even as
the wife remains under the dominion of her husband.
Thus we see that God used national Israel to display various types and
figures which were shadows of the spiritual reality which was to be
fulfilled in Christ. Their corporate marriage to God was to be a picture of
the marriage of Christ to the eternal church. Even as God married Israel
when it was a nothing, the believer becomes the bride of Christ when he is
spiritually dead in his sins. Even as God lavished his love on his wife,
national Israel, by showering them with physical and spiritual blessings, so
He showers spiritual blessings on His eternal bride, the true believer in
Christ.
But, as it was with all of the ceremonial shadows, the typology of
God’s marriage to national Israel was quite imperfect. The time would come
when national Israel would no longer serve as a type — the marriage of God
to national Israel was to come to an end.
That is why God introduced the command given in Deuteronomy 24:1-2 as
an integral part of the ceremonial law. This law anticipated Israel’s
spiritual fornication which allowed God to divorce them.
Once Christ went to the cross, national Israel’s role of serving as
a type or figure of God’s salvation program came to an end. All ceremonial
laws were completed in Christ, including Deuteronomy 24:1-2.
Thus, God’s purpose for calling attention to Deuteronomy 24:1-2 in
the New Testament is to emphasize that this temporary law no longer applies.
Instead, the universal law given from the very beginning is the only law that
stands: under no circumstance is there to be divorce.
It is such passages as Romans 7:1-4 and Mark 10:2-10 that God shows us
that that universal law still stands. Even while the ceremonial law was
temporarily allowing a man to divorce his fornicating wife, God strictly
limited that law to the nation of Israel.
As we go on in our study, we will look at a couple of verses found in I
Corinthians 7 which frequently are used as a basis to justify divorce and
remarriage. We will look at them in our next chapter.
Continued in JOINED3.TXT