Thursday, February 25, 2010

Divorce

“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.”
Matthew 5:31-32

There is disagreement among scholars regarding the exact meaning of Jesus’ words regarding divorce. The problem is that they have to be seen against the background of the general prohibition of divorce under the Law of Moses, and the liberal interpretation which had become commonplace by the time of Christ. The Law forbade divorce except under the most extreme circumstances. It was punishable by death for the partner taken in adultery,[1] and only then was the remaining partner free to remarry. By the first century AD, the death penalty was no longer carried out, but its effect was still in force – only the innocent party was free to remarry. It was as if his or her spouse was actually dead. But if the original intention of the Law had been to protect marriage, by the time of Jesus, the scribes had interpreted the Law in such a way as to make divorce much more readily available. They made the Law say the opposite of what had been intended. As a result, women were getting a very raw deal. The interpretations were all written by men, so men benefitted. Men could, and did, divorce their wives on the slightest of pretexts, often leaving the “wife of their youth”[2] virtually destitute as they found a younger bride. Society was suffering as a result of widespread divorce. Jesus’ response was to emphasize the inner meaning of the Law, not just its legal application. Faithfulness is a matter of the heart, not of nominal adherence to an external decree.

With all this in mind, we need to be very careful not to apply Jesus’ words to our culture without first understanding their context. At the very least, there are several things that cannot be questioned. First, Jesus deplored divorce[3] and the destruction it caused. We have no good reason to question this belief. Second, the reason for this belief is clear: God’s design for human relationships is a lifelong, faithful commitment to the covenant of marriage. Rather than argue about its failure, perhaps we would do better to commend its benefits. But in all of this, we must not forget that our God is a God of forgiveness. Though we may fail, He is always ready to bring us to the place of repentance and restoration.

Heavenly Father,
Your faithfulness is a gift beyond measure.
Though we have played the fool and wandered far from Your paths,
You have kept faith with us and welcomed us home.
May our commitment to one another always reflect Your patience,
Your faithfulness, and Your love.
Amen.




[1] Leviticus 20:10
[2] Malachi 2:15
[3] Matthew 19:8-9