Bible Study Series 2011: Jesus Teaches About Divorce Matthew 4:31-32

The subject of divorce in Christianity is a tough one.  Jesus teaches it strongly on the Mount of Beatitudes and it is one that needs to be heeded.  When a Christian man and a Christian woman are standing in front of the preacher with family and friends and God watching and listening, the oaths and the vows are one's that should last not just a lifetime but into eternity.  There is no doubt that a marriage can be tough, whether it be because of financial matters or differences between the newlyweds that surface after the fact, yet, there is always help, there is always counseling and there is always God to intercede when things seem to go wrong.

I want to share a story from a very popular, award winning play and movie.  It is called Fiddler on the Roof.  Way back in the day, according to Jewish law and tradition, it was known that marriages were established by the parents.  Usually children at an early age were "paired" up for marriage at a later time.  This did not always work out but in the play and movie, it was Tevye and Golda who learned how to love one another even though they may have been two totally different people.  During the play and the movie, Tevye come's to ask Golda if she loved him.  This was nearly 25 years after they had been married.  It appeared that the question never came up as the two of them worked to make a good family in tough times in Russia.  During the song, they finally agreed that there was love and they never found time to even think about leaving one another.

If you have not seen the movie or the play, it is a suggestion to see it.  It does not matter whether you are Jewish or Christian or otherwise.  It is a great movie and play and you will enjoy it.

Back to what Jesus says about divorce however in Matthew 4:31-32:

"It has been said, "Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.  But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery."

O.K.  So, outside of marital unfaithfulness, there is no reason to get a divorce according to Jesus Christ.  He must have said this as the words come from the Father in Heaven.  He said this because God joins man and woman in marriage and He expects such a union to stay together.  My late mother used to use the Yiddish word of kanahura (sounds and looks more Hawaiian), so I am not sure of the spelling, which I took to mean an omen.  So, if a marriage is going to end up in divorce, outside of marital unfaithfulness, know that the wife is given the omen of becoming an adulteress and the man who marries the divorced woman commits the act of adultery.  

I remember back in 2003, not long after my conversion to Christianity, a pastor saying something like the following:  He officiated at many weddings. What he did not like was when the telephone rang in his church office.  He would cringe only knowing that it was a party to a wedding that he officiated over and that it was in the process of ending in divorce.  He believed that 50 percent of those couples he married ended up in divorce and that is not a great number by any stretch of the imagination.  

The best thing to do is work out your problems together.  When things begin to get a bit out of control, nip it in the bud by taking a walk, hand-in-hand, put your arm around your wife or your husband and say the words that they yearn for, "I Love You."  If you can not do it yourselves, seek professional help by calling your pastor or a marriage counselor.  Do not do something that you will regret later on in life.

David

Next up this week is:  Jesus Teaches about Oaths