God's Word On ... DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE

Why Did Moses Permit Divorce,
If Remarriage Is Prohibited?

This is an excellent question. It is one which was also asked of Jesus Christ, and recorded in Scripture.

To answer, let's first look at the Old Testament passage allowing divorce, which is found in Deuteronomy 24:1-4:

"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; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.

From verses 2 and 3 above, it is clear that Moses did allow both divorce and subsequent remarriage.

However, as was true in regard to other of God's commands, Christ set a higher standard for Christian conduct.

As Paul instructs in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, Christians are strongly discouraged from separating; however, a wife is not disassociated from the Church for doing so. The husband is not to initiate separation from his wife. If the Christian couple does separate, they must either remain unmarried or be reconciled. In such a circumstance, while there might be a legal separation, divorce would not generally be appropriate.

But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, let her remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not send his wife away. (1 Corinthians 7:10-11)

There is one situation for which Christ does allow Christians to divorce. It is for the cause of prenuptial unchastity. This is explained in Matthew 19:3-12:

And some Pharisees came to Him, testing Him, and saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause at all?" And He answered and said, "Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, 'FOR THIS CAUSE A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND SHALL CLEAVE TO HIS WIFE; AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH'? "Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate." They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?" He said to them, "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." The disciples said to Him, "If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry." But He said to them, "Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given."For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it."

So we see, as Christ explains, that it was for hardness of heart that Moses allowed divorce and remarriage among the Israelites. But again, Christ sets a much higher standard for Christian conduct.

Many have tried to define the Greek word "porneia," translated "immorality" in the above passage ("fornication" in the King James Bible), to excuse divorce in cases where there has been flagrant or ongoing incidence of any one of the following:

Adultery
Human misconduct that is not sexual, such as financial fraud or alcoholism
Sexual frigidity or impotence.

However, a thorough and careful investigation of this question proves that there is not Scriptural support for divorce in any of these three situations. According to the tenets of Scripture, divorce and remarriage by properly married Christians is permissible only if it is discovered that there has been sexual misconduct which transpired before the marital joining of the wedding night. For a more thorough discussion of this aspect of divorce and remarriage, or if you have additional questions in regard to any element of this subject, we encourage you to Contact Us.

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