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About-Him.Com Devotional 04-09-2005
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My Thoughts on the Life of Christ, from His Baptism to His Ascension.

173: Discourse on Divorce - Mt. 19:3-12; Luke. 10:2-12

  Matthew 19:3 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?  

The ever present Pharisees who constantly followed Jesus decided to bait Him on the subject of divorce. Jewish thought at the time was divided between liberal and conservative, just as it is today. The liberal followers of the rabbi Hillel would allow divorce for any reason, such as burning the bread..The followers of the rabbi Shammai held a very strict conservative view that only allowed divorce in the case of adultery. The Pharisees reasoned that if Jesus took a position He would alienate one side or the other. Furthermore, Herod had just put John the Baptist to death for condemning his unlawful marriage to his sister-in-law. If they could induce Jesus to say something against Herod, their troubles would be over and Jesus would be losing His head also.  

4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
 

Jesus avoided their traps by referring to God's original intent for marriage. It was to be a bond of one man and one women for life.  

7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?  

The Pharisees then appealed to the law of Moses who had allowed divorce. Perhaps they could get Jesus to criticize Moses.  

8 He 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.
9 And 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.
 

Jesus responded that Moses had allowed divorce because of the hardness of the people's hearts. It wasn't God's intention in the beginning. The words of Jesus are rather absolute: if a man or women divorces their mate and marries another, they are committing adultery.This caused the disciples to ask if it wasn't better to not marry. Jesus responded that not all men were morally capable of such.  

Conclusion and Application:  

The modern church is divided on the subject of divorce and the divorce rate in the church is staggering. It seems that every family has been affected. One thing I have noticed is that quite often when a person divorces because of mental and physical abuse, non-support or alcoholism, they tend to jump right back into the same fire when they remarry, and are no better off than thay were in their first marriage.  

I puzzle over the fact that Jesus said some men should marry because they were not capable of remaining celibate, while apparently expecting a divorced spouse to do so.  

In I Corinthians 7 Paul states that he is giving his own opinion (v6) and not speaking by the commandment of the Lord . He reiterates the commandment of the Lord and states that if one is divorced they should remain unmarried. However, he extends liberty to one whose unbelieving spouse had departed (v15). I puzzle over this also.  

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Humor
During a practical exercise at a military police base, the  instructor was giving the class instruction in unarmed self- defense.

 After he presented a number of different situations > in which they might find themselves, he asked a student,"What steps would you take if someone were coming  at you with a big, sharp knife?" The student replied, "BIG ones."
Somebody Has Said
"If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one GO there UNWARNED and UNPRAYED for." - Charles Spurgeon

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Don and Marie Spooner
About Him! Ministries

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