“Furthermore it has been said, `Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ “But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. (Mat 5:31-32 NKJ)
Okay, Divorce pt2. Let’s look at the teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees. To get an idea of their teaching we need to look at Matthew 19.
The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning `made them male and female,’ “and said, `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh ‘? “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.” (Mat 19:3-9 NKJ)
The Pharisees had no concept as to what the Law allowed or what Moses said. In fact, they were allowing the very things to happen that Moses tried to stop. So what did Jesus say? Jesus clearly stated that the only reason for divorce was sexual immorality. The reason for this is simple, marriage is a lifetime covenant contract. Marriage is a sign and a symbol of a person’s faithfulness and fidelity.
Paul says, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. (1Co 6:15-18 NKJ)
Just as a postscript–when you meet somebody that has been the injured party in a marriage relationship, treat them with the love and grace that the Lord would offer, and not like a Pharisee seeking to see the letter of divorce.
