The Divorce Clause: Marital Unfaithfulness

[GodHasAPlan]

Cor. 7 has a bit of more on the subject of Divorce. It speaks of unbelievers and believers in a marriage.

First off - (especially since there is literally no church mediation in family mattters - the church leaves the dirty work to the world!) Matthew 18 should be employed wheras the church confronts the offender and finally excommunicates and treats them as HEATHEN (UNBELIEVER) - if real repentance is not forthcoming (Give God ample time to work here).

This is about the process of restoration of the offender - but if it doesn't work - then the believer is to consider the offender as an unbeliever and heathen. And once by the body of Christ the offender is considered "non-brethren", the offended party can go to court to obtain a "divorce."

Too many times people have a "form" of religion, but I wonder if they ever were truly "converted" - perhaps they had a nice "religious experience." But never truly were saved.

 

[ScottBot]

Read the Prophet Hosea. The entire book is a story of God and His unfaithful "wife" Israel. In no part of that book does He divorce her.

Additionally, in older manuscripts, the only "out" for marriage was unlawfulness, not unfaithfulness. I.e., if either one of a married couple marries under false pretenses does it nullify the marriage covenant. Unfaithfulness is a cause for forgiveness, not divorce. Imagine if God cast us out every time we were unfaithful? God calls us to repent and be forgiven.

 

[4Christ2]

I found this article very informative. Hope it helps.

What does the "exception clause" mean?​

There are two "exception clauses" on divorce in Matthew. One of the first things that I noticed is that they do not address the same thing. It is often implied that both "exception clauses" give permission for remarriage. I noticed that the exception clause in Matt. 5:32 does not give an exception allowing remarriage. The exception only applies to whether the person initiating the divorce is responsible for causing their spouse to commit adultery. That exception does not permit divorce or remarriage. The last part of the verse, "and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery" removes any question that this exception clause allows remarriage after divorce. Matt. 5:32 states: "But 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."
The second clause is in Matt. 19:9. Here Jesus says: "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. I discovered that modern translators have altered this verse to make it say something totally different than what Jesus originally said. The NIV (and most modern translations) reads totally different than the KJV. The first major change in the NIV is the incorrect twisting of the "translation" of the Greek word inappropriate contentea as "marital unfaithfulness." By twisting the meaning of inappropriate contentea, the NIV opens wide the gate for divorce and remarriage in every divorce situation. In every divorce case at least one spouse is maritally unfaithful to their spouse. The very act of one spouse divorcing their mate is a serious act of marital unfaithfulness. In many divorce cases both spouses view the other as being maritally unfaithful in some way. Therefore, the NIV wrongly gives permission for at least one spouse to get remarried in every divorce situation!
The second major change to this passage is the removing of the last third of the verse, the phrase: "and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. " It is wrong to remove words of Jesus from the Bible. This error has led many men and women into the sin of adultery, thinking that it was permissible to remarry. The Church can make changes in the version of the Word of God that it uses, but it can not change the true Word of God that Jesus will use to define sin on Judgment Day.
Divorce and remarriage was common in the Roman Empire in New Testament times and the centuries following; however, I was not able to find this "exception clause" in Matt. 19:9 in any of the writings of the early Christians in the first 300 years A.D. The early Christians always quoted Matt. 5:32, but never the reading we have in Matt. 19:9. I found this significant, because these men, speaking for the early Church did not understand Jesus to be giving an allowance for remarriage after divorce.
To translate the phrase "except for fornication" as "except for adultery", giving adultery as grounds for divorce and remarriage has some problems. If a man's wife committed adultery, how would her adultery keep him from committing adultery if he divorced her and remarried? Or to ask the question another way, is there any teaching or example in the Bible that would indicate that adultery by one marriage partner ends their marriage and makes them single again in God's eyes? I have not found any Scriptural teaching or example where adultery ended a marriage, unless the spouse committing adultery was stoned. If he or she was stoned to death, that would end the marriage. Jesus' words immediately following this exception clause make it clear that He was not giving permission to remarry after adultery. "And whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery" (He gave no exception). God considers the first marriage valid even after a legal divorce and remarriage.
What then does the "exception clause" mean? Jesus was speaking to Jewish men, the Pharisees, in response to their question when He spoke these words in Matthew 19:9. Jesus said "Except it be for fornication and shall marry another." Fornication is sexual relations with another unmarried person before one is married. The Jews required a man to write a certificate of divorce to end an engagement. We see this illustrated in the story of Joseph and Mary. Joseph believed that Mary had committed fornication with someone else and was planning to divorce her even though they were not yet married, when God stopped him.( Matt. 1:19,20)
What Jesus said to these Jewish men, the Pharisees, in Matt. 19:9 is that divorce and remarriage is sin unless the divorce occurred in the engagement period. Even then the engagement could only be broken if the fiancée committed fornication with another person. Jesus said that if the man divorced his fiancée in the engagement period before marriage occurs, then it is permissible for him to marry another. The exception only applied to the Jewish custom requiring divorce to break an engagement. I could not find any evidence that the Roman law or custom required a certificate of divorce to break an engagement. We do not find the Matt. 19:9 "exception clause" repeated any other place in the Scriptures.

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[4Christ2]

Read the Prophet Hosea. The entire book is a story of God and His unfaithful "wife" Israel. In no part of that book does He divorce her.

Additionally, in older manuscripts, the only "out" for marriage was unlawfulness, not unfaithfulness. I.e., if either one of a married couple marries under false pretenses does it nullify the marriage covenant. Unfaithfulness is a cause for forgiveness, not divorce. Imagine if God cast us out every time we were unfaithful? God calls us to repent and be forgiven.

Thank you for taking us to Hosea. I found the article below regarding the divorce of God from Israel very informative. I had been having many questions about why God would divorce when He hates it!

<Begin quote>

DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE by Steve Van Nattan-

Question: Did God, in the Old Testament, justify divorce and remarriage when He put away Israel and turned to the Church and the Gentiles?


Answer: Jehovah was never married to Israel, only betrothed. Notice please... Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. If this proves that God was married to Israel, then He will violate the law of Moses when He returns to Israel in the Messianic Kingdom, for Moses forbid a man to return and marry a wife he had divorced.. That is not possible. So, what is the point?

Matthew 9:15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. So, Israel began their fast at Calvary. BUT, get this right-- It is a fast only. Fasting ends in feasting, not death, as Reformed theology would have it. Israel will be restored to betrothal and finally the wedding.

Note: Hosea 2:10 And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand. 11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. 12 And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them. 13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD. 14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. 15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. 16 And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali. 17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. 18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. 19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. 20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.

Verse 16 shows that Israel will call Messiah Ishi (Husband) for the first time in the coming Kingdom. Verse 19 shows that the betrothal will be restored. There was never a marriage at all. The marriage of Israel to Messiah comes in the Kingdom Age. There has been NO marriage of anyone to Christ yet, neither Israel nor the Church. Note John the Baptist's comment on the presence of Messiah in person in Israel:

John 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. Israel will not be formally married until the Kingdom. Then, Christ will never divorce her.

Isaiah 62:4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. The Church is in exactly the same relationship with Christ. The Church in betrothal waits for the Bridegroom to take her to the marriage feast of the Lamb. 2 Corinthians 11:1 Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. 2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have spoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

So, we see that the Church now is still not married to Messiah. In fact, the Bride of Christ will eventually consist of both the Church and Israel. Spiritually, there is only one Bride in the end. So, we see that Messiah's actions with both Israel and the Church are not an apologetic for divorce and remarriage. Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. Revelation 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

I had to include the above discussion because some wimpy Fundamentalists have twisted this teaching to justify divorce. " End Quote