Brother Greg Palmer continues his series on marriage by looking at what happens when the effects of sin creep in and marriages fail. He examines the Biblical examples and shows that when the mutual covenant of the marriage is forsaken, divorce is a just and godly response.
Introduction
Marriage is divinely ordained to reflect God's relationship with His people, fostering love, faithfulness, and spiritual growth. However, sin disrupted this design (Genesis 3), leading to broken relationships. While Scripture upholds lifelong marriage as the ideal (Matthew 19:6), it acknowledges that, in a fallen world, marriages sometimes fail. This article explores the biblical perspective on divorce, its causes, and its implications.
The Reality of Sin and Divorce
Jesus identifies hardness of heart as the root cause of divorce:
"Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so." (Matthew 19:8)
Divorce is not the cause of broken marriages; rather, sin in various forms—adultery, abuse, neglect, or abandonment—destroys the covenant. God intended marriage to be a lifelong union, but He also provides provisions for when that covenant is irreparably broken.
Separation vs. Divorce
Some suggest that separation, rather than divorce, is the only biblically acceptable response to marital breakdowns. However, divorce may be necessary because:
Legal Protection: It provides legal clarity and safeguards individuals, especially in cases involving children or abuse. Divorce clarifies genuine entitlement as a single person to various government services and entitlements.
Emotional and Spiritual Closure: It allows both parties to move forward rather than live in a permanent state of limbo.
Justice and Restoration: In cases of persistent sin, such as abuse, remaining legally bound may enable continued harm rather than uphold righteousness.
Divorce in the Old Testament
Moses permitted divorce under certain circumstances:
"When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then 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 of his house..." (Deuteronomy 24:1)
The phrase "some indecency" led to differing interpretations, with some permitting divorce for serious moral failings and others allowing it for trivial reasons. Jesus corrected the misuse of this law, pointing back to God's original intent for marriage.
Divorce in the New Testament
Jesus upheld the sanctity of marriage while acknowledging that, due to human weakness, divorce may be necessary:
"What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." (Matthew 19:6)
Paul reinforces this principle but recognises exceptions:
"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." (1 Corinthians 7:15)
This acknowledges that some marriages will end due to faithlessness, abuse, or abandonment.
Does God Hate Divorce?
Malachi 2:16 is sometimes cited as a universal condemnation of divorce, but a closer reading clarifies:
"For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence." (Malachi 2:16, ESV)
Rather than condemning all divorce, this passage denounces faithless divorce—divorce undertaken for selfish or unjust reasons. There is no sense in which Malachi’s message suggests that we should enable violence by covering it with an oppressive marriage.
Is Divorce "Going to Law"?
It is not possible in any jurisdictions we are familiar with, to obtain a divorce without making an application to a court. Most Western jurisdictions have “no fault” divorce. There is no need to establish a reason for divorce. Making an application to the Court is an administrative process of the law. It ensures that the process is properly followed, that the conditions society deems important have been met and injustice is avoided.
It is not an adversarial setting. It is the divorce equivalent of the law’s process for marriage. The context for Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 6 is Corinth. Corinth was a Roman colony with a highly litigious culture. Lawsuits were common, and the wealthy used legal proceedings to oppress or gain advantage over others. The Roman legal system favoured the elite, meaning that wealthier believers could exploit poorer ones by taking them to court over financial or property matters. Divorce, on the other hand, allows an abused person to escape and formally separate from the abusive person. It is evidently not what 1 Corinthians 6 is describing.
Conclusion
Divorce, while never ideal, is sometimes a necessary response to sin that has broken a marriage covenant beyond repair. Scripture provides principles for handling it with wisdom, grace, and justice.
The next article will examine remarriage and how it fits within biblical teachings.
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