Within the law -- which we often use to define sin:
Deuteronomy 24:1
When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her,
and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house, and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man's wife,
and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife,
then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled.
There, the abomination is not in the divorce, but in rekindling the original marriage after a remarriage. It is very different from what Christian churches have been teaching.
Also notice it was not the second divorce that defiled her, as death of the spouse was one of the options.
I wonder if the impurity is more about physical contamination than we try to make it. The containment of disease was a big deal in the Law of Moses.
Continuing with reinforced recognition of that law:
Jeremiah 3:1
God says, "If a husband divorces his wife And she goes from him And belongs to another man, Will he still return to her? Will not that land be completely polluted? But you are a harlot with many lovers; Yet you turn to Me," declares the LORD.
... and Jesus reminded people of that law:
Matthew 5:31
It was said, `WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE'
(With added clarification.)
Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.
(Interesting that Jesus said Moses, and not God.)
The Greek word και
and/also (marries another) is a cumulative word...which could imply the divorce was layered with the remarriage, as though happening at the same time. The Greek wordγαμηση
marries -- leans more toward wedding and 'take a wife' than the ongoing marriage relationship. Which also supports the possibility Jesus meant the adultery was more obviously going on.
The words were vaguer -- "except for immorality" was a simple "not" ...which might be more descriptive of the situation than codified. Such as we might say, "Someone who might release a spouse from a commitment, not over an immoral situation but just by choice...".
Jesus presented this in a reasoning fashion, showing the Pharisees and disciples a deeper reasoning within the Law. He was not dictating, but showing wisdom and sensibility, as rabbis often did then.
We tend to look at everything in scriptures as b&w rigid law, but scriptures sometimes present guidelines as wisdom and consideration for others. We turn it into punishment we use against each other.
I am not trying to change scriptures, but to clarify what was originally written that we have turned into law.
Sin is missing the mark, but what is our mark?
Hebrew Brown/Strong definition for וְחָטָ֖אתִי sin:
to sin, miss, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt, forfeit, purify from uncleanness, trespass, offend
When we sin against God, are we offending Him in our relationship with Him (or others), or are we breaking a law with rigid limitations? It is worth considering in this scenario.
Jesus taught about the heart of the law... and maybe that concept was meant to permeate our whole approach to God and man.
There are actions anyone would agree are offensively abominable. Maybe some of this is just common sense, in writing.
