18 "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Corruptions often creep into any ordinance of God and must be purged out by bringing them back to the original Truth for comparison. Isn’t it amazing how we can take any command of God and twist and turn it to justify our own poor behavior “looking for loopholes”? Seldom considering that the commands we are given are for our good and for His glory, we go about our own way until the consequences hit us in the face and we then begin to whine and complain. That is exactly what the Pharisees were doing in Jesus’ day. To justify themselves in their own minds and in the minds of others they “re-wrote” God’s command regarding marriage. Jesus addresses this more in depth in Matthew where He takes the Pharisees back to the original command or truth:
3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" 4 "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' 5 and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh' ? 6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." 7 "Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?" 8 Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery." Matt 19:3-9 (NIV)
While adultery (or any other sexual sin for that matter) and divorce are not unpardonable sins, the tentacles of their consequences are far reaching and often effect negatively those whom we love the most. God does allow provision for divorce in the case of sexual immorality\ marital unfaithfulness\ adultery - yet it certainly was not mandated. Many a spouse has remained faithful and bestowed forgiveness upon repentance and been blessed by their Christ-like actions. Our society has made trivial what God deems of utmost importance – namely the preservation marriage unit. In God’s eyes, those married are of one flesh. Closer even than the parent child relationship or for that matter, any other relationship on earth between humans. This is echoed in Malachi:
13 Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 14 You ask, "Why?" It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. 15 Has not [the LORD] made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. 16 "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, " and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith. Mal 2:13-16 (NIV)
In His words, Jesus obviously affirmed the permanence of marriage yet He also was very much concerned with the innocent party. Jesus always concerns Himself with the one wronged. In that day and time the person “put away” for reasons other than marital unfaithfulness such as incompatibility or unhappiness acquired the false stigma of being guilty of moral misconduct. According to the Hebrew Greek Key Word Study Bible:
“Jesus apparently accepted that such a person might remarry because He stated in Matthew 5:32 that the spouse who unjustly initiated the divorce caused the innocent one to commit adultery when they married someone else. For this reason, Jesus insisted that the Old Testament provision (Deuteronomy 24:1-4) be adhered to; someone who unjustly dismissed an innocent mate ought to clear that person of guilt by providing a bill of divorcement. Jesus concerned Himself only with the innocent party and not with the one who was merely able to secure a legal divorce.”
Lest we become too discouraged if we find ourselves in the wake of such consequences stemming from our own poor choices regarding our subject for today, let’s consider for a moment Rahab. Once prostitute and adulterer, Rahab makes it to God’s Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11:31. Rahab was not only pardoned but elevated to a position of honor. She wed into an Israelite family and was an ancestor of King David placing her, of course, in the line of Jesus our Messiah! In fact, her name is listed in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:5! Now that is certainly making “beauty from ashes”! God is looking to bestow His mercy and blessings to the repentant heart – always! Praise Him!
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Psalms 51:1-2 (NIV)
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalms 51:10-12 (NIV)
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalms 51:16-17 (NIV)