In my humble opinion (IMHO), means I am open to discussion on this even desire it. We should not reject it without understanding first.
Just because someone does not agree does not mean they do not have a valid point.
Jesus pointed out a hardness of heart issue (Matthew 19:8).
I believe He was condemning hardness of heart not all divorce or all divorced people. Have you been divorced? If not how can you condemn others who are. I have found very judgmental people say divorce is a sin and sinners have no part in God's kingdom (lose their salvation?)
They say it is the sin of adultery if they marry again. Or that a divorced woman who marries another man is condemning him to hell because it is a perpetual adultery. So she should divorce the second husband and go back to the first one even if he does not want her. When he refuses, She is then told to pray and wait for his salvation to be joined back together in God's eyes. But possibly be celebrate the rest of her life. she will become a "marriage martyr" never to experience the true love marriage was meant to be. If the husband then demands money for her freedom, because she is his property, it looks very much like what has continued to this day in Judaism. The marriage martyr is called a chained wife. The Hebrew word is "agunah" and continues even to this day. check it out for yourself. This IMHO it is hardness of heart. When Jesus was asked about the the Mosaic Law, I believe this is the hardness of heart He was speaking of. Not all men put away their wives and then demand money before they grant a get (divorce) paper to marry again. Jesus was not speaking to people suffering from divorce but Pharisees seeking to trip Him up concerning the Law. So we should not condemn divorce either.
Divorce for any reason except adultery was condemned by Jesus. I'm sure there would be a few other circumstances that Jesus would think was "ok" for a divorce, such as physical abuse, etc...but if you're going to marry someone, there should be no reason for a divorce if you're both truly loyal and loving to one another. Especially if it is two Christians. If two Christ-loving Christians have a problem, they should work it out and forgive, God is on their side. So truthfully, the only biblical reason for a "good" divorce is adultery, at least for Christians.
Matt. 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
31It 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.
In God's eyes, a married couple is "one flesh" until one or both spouses break that bond. So yes, I do believe that if someone divorces their husband/wife for anything besides adultery and they then get "re-married" to someone else...they commit adultery. And if they're the ones that wanted the divorce, and they then try to hang out until their spouse gets "re-married", they are basically tempting their spouse to commit adultery and sin, unless the spouse that wanted the divorce is the one that got married first. Anyway...it's a complicated issue, and I'm sure God is merciful in some situations besides "adultery" where a divorce is applied, but I think Jesus is pretty clear about it.
I know I have posted this before but it is appropriate here as well. I believe that adultery is the only reason for a divorce as far as God is concerned and even then He admits that He allows it although it is not His original design but because of sin it is allowed.
I think it is important to consider exactly what adultery is. Many Christians limit it to an act of sexual relations with a married person or two married persons in a sexual relationship such as what we call an affair.
I believe it is any violation of marriage vows that breaks the covenant. The people of ancient Israel were adulterers when they worshiped other Gods, Disobeyed the commandments of God, or disregarded Him in their actions. These are all acts of unfaithfulness to their covenant with Him
Therefore, I believe that besides the affair there are other things that constitute adultery like physical and emotional abuse, abandonment or eviction, neglect due to the unrepentant abuse of drugs or alcohol or sexual perversions (addictions). My first wife left me because I was sick! I think this was an act of adultery as well. It was a breaking of her vow to stay with me in sickness and in health.
Any divorce, except for adultery, is sin. These days a lot of people are using divorce out of laziness. They don't feel like honoring their commitment and divorce is their easy way out.
I'm siding with Thunder on this one. Adultery is first, a heart issue; I think you can argue that pretty easily given the OT use of the word and Jesus' emphasis upon motives way before they get to actual actions.
I'm not going to argue what constitutes adultery, I can agree with Thunder on the things he listed and agree too that it's a heart issue which can lead to physical, but I'm wondering... can one really say they have Biblical grounds for divorce if a man looks at a woman and has a lustful thought? Would you say he broke his vows/covenant in that one lustful moment?
"They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
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." Matt 19:7-8.
It sounds like hardness of heart is reason for divorce. Or at least the "writing of divorcement." The Pharisees brought up that term.
Jesus only uses the word for Put away. And it sounds like the "writing of divorcement, and to put her away" are both necessary parts to a divorce according to the Law.
Is it possible then to hate a wife and put her away without granting a "writing of divorcement." that is the definition of "Agunah."
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"Agunah (Hebrew: עגונה‎, plural: agunot (עגונות); literally 'anchored or chained') is a halachic term for a Jewish woman who is "chained" to her marriage. It is also often used nowadays for a woman whose husband refuses or is unable to grant her an official bill of divorce, known as a get.
For a divorce to be effective, Jewish law requires that a man grant his wife a get of his own free will. Without a get or a heter aguna (permission by a halachic authority based on a decision that her husband is presumed dead) no new marriage will be recognized, and any children she might have with another man would be considered illegitimate.
Because of the difficulty of the situation for women in such situations, it has been a task for every generation of halachic authorities to try to find halachically acceptable means to permit such women to remarry." from Wikipedia.
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The man that "hates and puts away" (hardness of heart) is based on the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in the 1950's and also verifies other ancient manuscripts and contradict the Mosaic text which the KJV is based on. In other words the Dead Sea Scrolls, hidden in caves in 70 ad, is the same scroll/bible Jesus used in Nazareth when He stood and quoted Isa. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me." The following commentary compares the Mosaic text with the DSS.
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"Malachi 2:16.
Masoretic Text: For he hated [when] dismissing [her], said YHWH the God of Israel, and he covered his garment with violence, said YHWH of hosts. And you should guard your spirit and not deal treacherously.
Septuagint: But, if hating, you should dismiss [her], says the Lord, the God of Israel, then ungodliness will cover your thoughts, says the Lord Almighty. And you must guard your spirit, and by no means forsake [your wife].
Notes:
The rendering �I hate� found in many modern translations is based on an emendation of the Hebrew, literally reading �he hated.� The partially preserved Dead Sea Scroll text can be translated to read, �For if you hate and divorce.� The Greek, in the Septuagint, could be rendered, �But if out of hatred you should divorce.� Likely, therefore, the censure is directed against those who manifested a hateful attitude toward their wives and, for no valid reason, divorced them. This basic thought is conveyed in commonly used French and German translations. Examples in German are: Wer ihr aber gram ist and sie verst��t, spricht der HERR, der Gott Israels, der bedeckt mit Frevel sein Kleid. (Whoever is grievous to her and dismisses her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with iniquity.) (Luther, 1984 edition) Wenn einer seine Frau aus Abneigung verst��t, [spricht der Herr, Israels Gott,] dann befleckt er sich mit einer Gewalttat. (If someone dismisses his wife out of antipathy, [says the Lord, Israel�s God,] then he sullies himself with a violent deed.) (Einheits�bersetzung)
As Jesus Christ pointed out, when answering a question about divorce, the arrangement set forth in the Mosaic law was a concession. It served to protect the woman from the kind of hateful abuse that would have resulted if divorce had not been permitted. (Matthew 19:3-10) Therefore, if the emendation �I hate divorce� is representative of the original text (though the evidence appears to point to the contrary), it should evidently be understood in the context of the kind of divorcing being censured. It could not mean that YHWH detested the provision about divorce included in his law.
The Septuagint is consistent in using a verb meaning �forsake� when rendering the Hebrew term meaning �act treacherously.� There is a possibility that a copyist misread the Greek word for �garments� (endymata) and wrote enthym�mat� (thoughts). The Septuagint uses two different words for �not,� the second one serving as an intensifier, and the two negatives may be translated �by no means.�
Commentary:
Divine disapproval rested on the man who, out of hatred, callously dismissed or divorced his wife. Instead of using his garment protectively, such a man covered it with violence, depriving his wife of her home and family by divorcing her without valid reason. (Compare Ruth 3:4; Ezekiel 16:8.) The Israelite men generally are again admonished to guard their spirit, resisting the development of a hateful desire that would lead to treacherous action, that is, divorcing their wives."
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If this be the case the translation "I hate divorce" is more accurately translated "he who hates and puts away." And gives more meaning to a description of hardness of heart.
It also answer the question of how it is "God hates divorce" when He divorced Israel Himself. :eat:
I tend to agree with Shepherding on this one. Too many Christians want to interpret everything the Bible says with an English language Bible. I think it is important to study other translations and I for one also have a Greek/KJV interlinear Bible that I use along with my 1611 KJV, Bishops, Luther, Youngs, NASB and NKJV. and a few others. I want to see the whole of the picture. Commentaries and dictionaries are always helpful but I prefer researching the language and not the comments.
We have a completely Western view of divorce and it was and still is very different from an Eastern perspective. It is absolutely imperative that we not only understand the context of the verses as they appear in the Bible but that we also understand the context of the society to whom these words are written or spoken. We must not be hasty ito establishing our beliefs on one language or one interpretation.
I like Webster's example of translation and definition. He had a very large horse shoe shaped table built for himself and he filled it with dictionaries from all over the world and he used these dictionaries to write his own. We should do the same when we are studying our Bibles and particularly as we study concepts like divorce or fornication or social behavior or whatever.
This was very interesting and it opened my eyes. I went over to Biblegateway and checked out some literal translations; I have to admit that I was surprised at how much was obscured by the other translations. In this case, it is Critical information that is obscured, because Jesus is talking about people who divorce for bogus reasons, not all divorce.
Young's Literal Translation...
3 And the Pharisees came near to him, tempting him, and saying to him, `Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?'
Jesus' response is basically to say, 'No, you cannot put away your wife and give her divorce papers for every cause, but only in the case of marital unfaithfulness'.
It is interesting in that His response says that divorce for ungodly reasons leads to adultery; that is, those who remarry when the marital bond is not properly broken, heap judgment on themselves, because God still sees the original partners as married! That totally turned my understanding of the verses around from "What can't we do" to "How does God see things"?
Silverfire, That is a wonderful testimony to the power of really digging for Truth and finding it. Now you own the knowledge because you found it yourself and proved it to yourself ! It isn't borrowed belief anymore because you didn't get it from any man but from the Holy spirit. This is what is meant by the things of the Spirit are only understood by the Spirit.
