Where Is Divorce Talked About In The Bible?

Where is divorce talked about in the Bible? What can these verses tell us?

Divorce in the Old Testament

Leviticus 21:7 “They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.”

Divorce has been around for about as long as people have been and so there is a lot about divorce in the Bible and even in the Old Testament. The requirements for priests were that they “shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled” or “a woman divorced from her husband” because “the priest is holy to his God” (Lev 21:7) and that includes “A widow, or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take as his wife a virgin of his own people, that he may not profane his offspring among his people, for I am the Lord who sanctifies him” (Lev 21:14-15).

If the priests had such a high standard then we can conclude it was the same for the rest of Israel. God required the nation and the priest especially, to live lives of holiness as God said, “I am the Lord who sanctifies him?”

Could a priest remarry if his wife died?

What about the nation of Israel?

God and Israel

Jeremiah 3:8 “She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore.”

God used the analogy of being married to Israel but eventually, God “sent her away with a decree of divorce” but then even “her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore” (Jer 3:8). Even the nation of Israel divorced as they split into two different kingdoms after the death of Solomon. They called the Northern Kingdom Israel and they were composed of ten of the tribes of Israel. They were the first to fall into idolatry and the first to be taken into captivity (by the Assyrians). Then there was the Southern Kingdom, Judah and her two tribes (plus the Levites). Judah also fell into idolatry and was carried away into captivity by Babylon. Since both eventually played the harlot by worshiping other gods, the One, True God divorced them, but by no means is God finished with Israel.

Can we still commit idolatry in our day?

Can idolatry be a carved or stone image or can it be something else?

Can what happened to Israel and Judah happen to a nation today?

Joseph’s Dilemma

Matthew 1:19 “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.”

In the Jewish culture, if you were engaged, you were as much as legally married and so when Joseph became engaged to Mary and later discovered that she was with child, his was in a dilemma. What normally happened would be the woman would be put to public shame and scandal and the woman and her family would carry that stigma around with them till they died. The woman would never be allowed to marry but Joseph would have been free to remarry someone else, however Joseph, “being a just man” didn’t want “to put her to shame” and so he “resolved to divorce her quietly” (Matt 1:19). That means Joseph wanted to spare Mary from the public humiliation because he surely loved her and didn’t want to hurt her. Thankfully while Joseph “considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:20-21).

Does this show us that adultery was still grounds for divorce?

Could Joseph legally divorce Mary?

Would a divorce still have applied to Joseph and Mary’s case?

What would we have done?

Jesus’ Teaching on Divorce

Matthew 19:5-6 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

The Pharisees tried time and again to cause Jesus to stumble and so the “Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female” (Matt 19:4) which was a mild rebuke since they were supposed to be experts of Scripture so Jesus reminds them of something they should have already known and we can argue that they already did know it but wanted Jesus to trip over this teaching so that they could accuse Him. Jesus replied “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matt 19:5-6). Jesus was saying that marriage is intended to be for the life of the couple. They are to leave (their family) and cleave to one another and what becomes one flesh cannot (or at least should not) shouldn’t ever be separated. They knew that! But then they misquote the Old Testament law and said “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away” (Matt 19:7). Moses never commanded a certificate of divorce because, just as Jesus said, it was “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery” (Matt 19:8-9). Moses didn’t command divorce certificates but it says “when he (the man) writes her a certificate of divorce” (Duet 24:1) he should present it to his wife, not Moses. Their hearts are still hard, apparently.

Does adultery automatically mean divorce?

Can someone who was cheated on remarry if they’re biblically divorced?

If someone repents and asks for forgiveness for their adultery, should the other spouse forgive them?

What would you do?

Paul’s Writings on Divorce

First Corinthians 7:10-11 “To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.”

Most of Paul’s writings on divorce are in 1st Corinthians 7:8-9 and writes “To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion” so Paul is saying if someone can’t control their passions and desires, then they need to find a godly mate to marry but of course one that they love. Sexual satisfaction should never be the deciding factor in any marriage but the point here is that the husband and wife “should not divorce” and is they separated, if at all possible, let them be reconciled. Paul want to make sure that if someone comes to saving faith but the other partner doesn’t, they must not divorce for “if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him” (1st Cor 7:12-13) and he asks, “how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife” (1st Cor 7:16). There is a chance you might help lead them to Christ. Finally, Paul writes that “if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace” (1st Cor 7:15). Some teach that this means that they are not legally bound to them and if the unbelieving spouse leaves, the believing spouse is free to remarry.

Are there other exceptions like some believe there is with Paul’s writings?

Are there exceptions for physical violence?

What about verbal abuse?

Conclusion

God hates divorce but loves divorced people. It’s certainly not the end of the world. God never wants us to trip over things that are behind us. He forgives us of all of our sins and that includes adultery and divorce (1st John 1:9). No sin is big enough that the Savior’s blood cannot take away. The only sin that He won’t forget is that of unbelief (John 3:18; 36b). Is that your sin? It is if you haven’t repented and trusted in Christ.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.