Photo credits

The Embalse de Riano in northern Spain. The picture was taken by .... me!

Monday, January 7

More on divorce and remarriage - like I'm an expert or something!

Deut 24v 2 1 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, 2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, 3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, 4 then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled.

Verse 2 clearly permits the divorced woman to remarry, even though it seems she is the one guilty of adultery.

In fact, this whole business of 'giving her a certificate', is because the one holding the certificate needs to prove something - in this case the divorced woman needs the certificate to prove that the first man has relinquished his claim on her and she is available - for remarriage of course.

Taking this verse in conjunction with Matt 5:32 and 19:9, where the man divorces his wife becasue of adultery, he too is free to remarry - the exception applies. So, where there has been adultery, the 'one-flesh' bond has been broken, and both partners are free to remarry.

However, where adultery has not occurred, the 'one-flesh' bond still stands. therefore, although legally free to remarry, and in fact the phrase 'causes her to commit adultery' assumes/implies/acknowledges that in practice she has no option but to remarry, such remarriage would be adulterous.

Thus, if your marriage has been broken by adultery, you are free to remarry. But you can't use the divorce laws to legitimise a proposed wife-swap: it's still adultery, and you can't use divorce laws to legitimise serial monogamy: its still adultery, and if you do divorce without adultery, the one-flesh bond remains until death and further marriages or relationships are adultery.

And, where there has been adultery, although divorce is permitted, it is not mandatory. It is not even desirable.

God wants us to remain faithful to our first marriage partner, and to keep the marriage bed pure.

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