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Matthew 5:31-32 It hath been
said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of
divorcement: 32But 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.
Matthew 19:3-9 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? 4And he answered
and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the
beginning made them male and female, 5And said, For
this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife:
and they twain shall be one flesh? 6Wherefore they are
no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let
not man put asunder. 7They say unto him, Why did
Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 8He 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. 9And 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.
Mark 10: 2-12 And the
Pharisees came to him, and asked
him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. 3And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command
you? 4And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of
divorcement, and to put her away. 5And Jesus answered
and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
6But from the beginning of the creation God made them
male and female. 7For this cause shall a man leave his
father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8And they
twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9What therefore God hath joined together, let not
man put asunder. 10And in the house his disciples
asked him again of the same matter. 11And he saith
unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another,
committeth adultery against her. 12And if a woman
shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
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Passages of spiritual adultery:
Jeremiah
3:8 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.
Jeremiah 3:14-15 Turn, O
backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will
take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: 15And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which
shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
Revelation 2:22 Behold, I will
cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great
tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
Additional
passages:
1 Corinthians
7:27 Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art
thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.
1 Corinthians
7:8-9 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good
for them if they abide even as I. 9But if they cannot
contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. Since this is to the unmarried, did it exclude the
divorced? Paul spoke this by permission & not commandment.
A Summative Passage:
1 Corinthians
7:10-11 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord,
Let not the wife depart from her husband: 11But and if
she depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband: and let
not the husband put away his wife.
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The result of putting a spouse
away for a cause other than fornication, causes the put away spouse to commit
adultery. (When, how, and in what way)? Notice that is does not say the
spouse commits adultery after they remarry. The person who marries the put
away person commits adultery as well, but when?
The emphasis of Jesus in marriage
is that two become one flesh.
What God has joined together, let
not man put asunder. He said let not and not
man cannot put asunder. The adultery situation was not really an Old
Testament problem in terms of remarriage because it was punishable by death.
Leviticus
20:9-10 For every one that curseth his father or his
mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother;
his blood shall be upon him. 10And the man that
committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery
with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be
put to death.
Putting away a spouse for a reason other than
fornication, causes that person to commit adultery. (This must be the remarriage clause): Whoever marries the person
put away commits adultery. Why would God allow a person to enter a marriage
that results in adultery?
Moses allowed divorce in the Old
Testament because of the callous nature of some husbands.
Again, the goal of God is for
man/womanhusband/wife to cleave & become one without divorce or
separation.
Again, there is a difference
between let not and cannot. It appears to be more about the preservation of
marriage as opposed to an outright statement against the impossibility of
divorce for non-sexual matters. The divorce can occur, but what about the
remarriage?
Concluding Commentary:
The Bible seems clear, but
perhaps I am still missing something. If a wife/spouse puts a spouse away for
non-sexual matters, adultery is committed against the put away spouse.
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Analysis: Notice
the comparison between Mark 10:11 & Matthew 19:9
This passage references the guilty party and what is
committed against the innocent party. It does not address the condition of
the person marrying the person who put someone away for a non-sexual matter.
Mark 10:11--Whosoever shall put away his wife,
and marry another, committeth adultery against her. 12And if a woman shall put away her husband,
and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
This passage references the adultery of the person who
puts someone away for a non-sexual matter and the condition of the person who
then marries that person. Christ instructed that they commit adultery as
well.
Matthew 19:9--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.
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.
Inquiry:
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In what form is the adultery (spiritual or physical)
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Is there an assumption in the adultery position that
sex will occur?
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When does the adultery commence?
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Is it at the saying I do?
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Is it at the consummation of the marriage after
saying I do?
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What if the marriage is never consummated?
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Would God allow the initiation of a marriage if it
results in a person committing adultery?
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If the marriage does result in adultery, how is it to
be repented of?
Personal Query: If
one can divorce and remarry freely, what are the implications for a family
within a congregation with children? Can you imagine a couple divorcing,
simply to have a new man in the congregation intimately involved with their
mother and now stepfather? Could Jesus have been attempting to prevent such
family pain?
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