2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I am led to write about the subject of marriage and divorce as we continue examining the oneness of the covenant relationship. Truthfully, this may take more than one message, but it is an important enough subject to warrant us taking this time. When our Lord Jesus Christ taught about marriage and divorce in MT 19: 1-12. In doing so, He goes all the way back to Genesis to describe its foundations. First look at MT 19: 3-5, “Some Pharisees came to Him and tried to trap Him by asking, ‘Does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife for whatever reasons he wishes?’ Jesus answered, ‘Have you not read the Scripture [GN 1: 27; GN 5: 2] that says in the beginning the Creator made people male and female? And God said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one. So, they are no longer two, but one. Man must not separate, then, what God has joined together.’” The Pharisees were once again trying to trap Jesus by asking Him this question. Let’s look at the context and background of this.
Despite this principle of oneness in marriage, the issue of divorce had certainly come up in the Jewish culture long before Christ’s time. MT 19: 7-9, reflects this with the Pharisees’ next question to Christ. “’Why, then, did Moses give the law for a man to hand his wife a divorce notice and send her away?’ Jesus answered, ‘Moses gave you permission to divorce your wives because you are so hard to teach. But it was not like that at the time of creation. I tell you, then, that any man who divorces his wife, even through she has not been unfaithful, commits adultery if he marries some other woman.’” Imagine the predicament for women in this ancient patriarchal society! As humans often have want to do, Jewish men put their spin on things. That is why two schools of thought arose amongst the rabbis. The first one called the school of Sammai held strictly to the letter of the law and insisted that the only reason a wife could be divorced was for marital infidelity. There simply was no other acceptable reason. On the contrary, the opposing school of Hillel allowed a husband to divorce his wife for a multitude of reasons, for example, not liking her cooking, detesting her appearance, because he was attracted to another woman, and many other reasons. That school of thought prevailed, leaving women in a pretty fix indeed. They were entirely at the mercy of their husbands, and they did not have the right to divorce their husbands for any reason. If she was divorced, she was left without any source of support.
When we look at Christ’s words “because you were hard to teach” from MT 19: 8, we need to understand what He meant. This might just be the euphemism of the century! What is meant is that these unfaithful men had a hardness of heart and refused to obey God as His teachings were meant. Now, I realize that this discussion hasn’t taken into account dishonorable and unfaithful behavior on the part of a woman in marriage, nor have I taken up the case of a marriage partner who either initiates a divorce or is divorced through no fault of his/her own. I promise to discuss that later, but for now want to look at what the Scriptures say as a foundation to that later discussion. So, Dear Ones, be patient with me as the Lord takes us all through these messages dealing with marriage and divorce. The issue at hand is understanding God’s intentions for marriage and the oneness of the covenant relationship as it relates to marriage.
In giving the Pharisees the answers He did, Christ completely departs from the arguments of both the school of Shammai and the school of Hillel and goes directly to God’s law as it is in the Scriptures. It has been my experience even in our time that traditional Jews are taught from the Talmud, so that the rabbis have commented on the issues of the law. In my opinion, this puts a human intermediary between God and man, rarely allowing the student to look directly at God’s unaltered word. As Christ spoke about marriage, it is a divine institution based on the very creation of man and woman in His image. GN 2: 22-24, “He [God] formed a woman out of the rib and brought her to him. Then the man said, ‘At last here is one of my own kind-bone taken from my bone and flesh from my flesh. ‘Woman’ is her name because she was taken out of man.’ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife, and they become one.” Obviously, this is directly from God and was before the “law of Moses” was given. GN 1: 27-28 tells us marriage is for the purpose of procreation and GN 2: 18 adds that it is for suitable companionship between the man and his wife.
Length considerations for this topic demand that I stop here, however, I will continue in tomorrow’s message. Let me say that a marriage truly “ordained of God” fits the Jewish word for it, “kiddushin” [pronounced: kid-u-sheen with a long u], a sanctification or consecration-dedicated to God. For that reason, the ideal marriage of which Christ spoke always involves the husband, the wife, and God as marriage covenant partners. It is also an eternal union as all Godly covenants are. Tomorrow, we will continue, looking at some of the problems and other considerations that deal with marriage and divorce.
PRAYER: O Lord, when You directed Your Son to speak about marriage, You were not ordering Him to be sly or cunning in dealing with the Pharisees. You told Him to tell them the truth, as You always do. If we will understand the danger of putting a human spin on Your teachings and avoid it at all costs, we will not only please You but we will also be obeying You. It is critical that we understand Your teaching on marriage and what You mean it to be. That will make us take our time and carefully consider the decision about who we marry. It also means that we will approach You in humble prayer for direction in making that decision. Your involvement shouldn’t stop there, however. If we are sure that we are making a decision with our potential mate that this union will be dedicated to You, then You will let us know by the peace we will have that we have chosen the right person. You will be invited to be an active Partner in that union throughout its entirety and for eternity. We acknowledge that too many marriages are made in haste and for the wrong reasons. We understand that while You hate divorce, You do not hate divorced people. In MT 19: 11, the Son has told us, “This teaching does not apply to everyone, but only to those to whom God has given it.” We dedicate ourselves to better understanding of Your will in these matters. We humbly approach you with our adoration, worship, loyalty, trust, obedience, glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, as promised we will look at some of the practical considerations regarding marriage and divorce. In the meanwhile meditate on the love that our Father and His Son have for each of us in giving us clear directions on God’s will for marriage and divorce. Know that we need never go a day in our lives without God’s direction, protection, provision, compassion, patience, and utmost love. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn