I hate divorce Week 49, 2013

What of this knotty issue of divorce? What is God’s mind on the matter? I have read the Bible several times and am yet to find a place where the Holy Spirit spoke to anyone to divorce! If you find one please tell me. Several punishments are prescribed for sin but I am yet to see where divorce is ever prescribed by God. I see where God asked Abraham to put away a second wife: But what does the Scripture say? "Drive out the slave woman and her son…” Gal 4:30(ISV).  I see where returnee exiles offered to put away strange wives of their own accord. Now let us make an agreement before our God to send away all these women and their children. We will do that to follow the advice of Ezra and the people who respect the laws of our God Ez 10:3(ERV). (May I say to practice this will be contrary to the spirit of keeping vows made before the Lord as with Joshua and Gibeon in Josh9:18-20). Did they inquire from God as Moses does in issues, did the Spirit speak? Second wives may also have been there.

Instead I hear "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel. "I hate it when one of you does such a cruel thing to his wife. Make sure that you do not break your promise to be faithful to your wife." Mal 2:16(GNB)  God is saying categorically “I hate it”. 

Our key passage was on the question of divorce. And Jesus says “Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Mat 19:6(NIV) It is God that joins. He does not separate: it is man doing the separating. Jesus made it clear the permission to divorce came from Moses (not God), and it was the result of the hardness of heart. He told them, "It was because of your hardness of heart that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives. But from the beginning it was not this way Mt 19:8(ISV). When something hardens the heart Moses allowed it. Have you ever considered what hardens the heart? Is it the love of God? Is it the fullness of the Spirit? Is it the wisdom from above (James3:17)? No. It is Sin. Instead, continue to encourage one another every day, as long as it is called "Today," so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin Heb 3:13(ISV).  That God does not accept that separation is obvious in the warning "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery." Mk 10:11-12(ISV).  I want you to note the present continuous tense used here. It is not “has committed” but “commits”. Do not for sexual gratification risk eternity. We shall come to the matter of adultery.