We are now introduced to the law of divorce – “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 uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house,” (v1)
Many Christians do not believe in divorce and certainly not in remarriage after divorce. When I was young it was rarely heard of in Christian circles, but sadly it has become widespread, even in the church. Consequently, many churches have thrown caution to the wind and overlook that there are restrictions. Thirty years ago, when I studied my Bible on this subject, I was surprised to read that in some circumstances it was permitted by God. It is very clear that ‘from the beginning it was not so’ but because of the hardness of men’s hearts it was permitted. The Bible clearly presents marriage as a permanent, intimate union between one man and one woman, husband and wife. “Therefore, shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). It also recognizes that since the fall, humans have lived on a sub ideal level. Divorce is TOLERATED but NEVER COMMANDED or DIVINELY ENCOURAGED. God quite succinctly says in Malachi 2v16 “I HATE DIVORCE”.
It was not God’s plan from the beginning, but it was permitted because of the state of the heart of mankind.
Thus, the subject can be very divisive, and it is huge subject, one which I could not fully describe here.
The certificate (v1) was permitted to cover for something that could not have been within his knowledge and to allow him freedom to re-marry a virgin. It infers that the woman had deceived the man into thinking that she was a virgin when she was not what she claimed to be. It is evident that a man has a right to expect his wife to be a virgin.
I understand that The Hebrew word translated ‘divorce’ has as its root the idea of “a hewing off, a cutting apart” – it is the amputation of that which is one flesh. “(Christians) all regard divorce as something like cutting up a living body, as a kind of surgical operation. Some think that the operation is so violent that it cannot be done at all; others admit that it is a desperate remedy in extreme cases. They are all agreed that it is more like having your legs cut off than it is like dissolving a business partnership or even deserting a regiment.” (C.S. Lewis)
The first thing to notice is that the word adultery is not mentioned, for the good reason that under the Mosaic law, the punishment for adultery was death …. so, there was no need for divorce …. the marriage was brought to an end by death. The whole object of the Mosaic legislation was … simply to control divorce which had seemingly become chaotic. “In the main, it laid down three great principles. The first was that it limited divorce to certain causes.
He must ‘find no favour’ in her, or ‘find some uncleanness in her’.
Jesus refers to these verses when questioned by the Pharisees about divorce in Matthew 19 and he defined what‘uncleanness’ is and He said, “…. whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery (Matthew 19:9).
Jesus stated that it referred to sexual immorality, which includes, but is not restricted to, sexual intercourse with someone who is not your spouse. The Hebrew word is literally, “nakedness of a thing.”
‘Sexual immorality’ is translated ‘fornication’ in KJV. The Greek word, in Matthew 19, is ‘porneia’ (which can mean – harlotry, adultery and incest; figuratively idolatry) from which we get our word pornocracy and pornography. And seems to indicate a course of conduct as opposed to a one-off event.
If there are the Biblical grounds for divorce it is, therefore, permitted. The man must write a certificate of divorce and put it in her hand and send her out of his house. It is clear that they could forgive each other and remain in the marriage and be reconciled.
Some think that it was only the husband who had the right to divorce his wife but Mark 10:12, Jesus said, “….and if a woman divorces her husband and marries another….” Which says that in His day, a wife had the right to initiate divorce.
In verses 2-4 The LORD deals with remarriage. We read that if the wife has left and remarries another man, and he finds some reason to divorce her or even if the latter husband dies, the first or former husband must not take her back to be his wife. She would be defiled, and it would be an abomination to The LORD and bring sin into the land.
One might think that it would be a good thing for them to be reconciled, but God says, “No”. This seems to be a way of showing that divorce must not be entered into without a lot of thought. We live in a throw-away society. If we get fed up with something we throw it away. Sadly, that has become a norm even in the sacred relationship of marriage and it must not be so.
From this it would appear that remarriage is allowed after divorce on Biblical grounds, and the Christian should only marry a person ‘in The Lord’.
As I said before, the subject is a huge one and a controversial one in some cases. It needs much consideration. I have done a lot of study on this, but it is not convenient to go into great detail here. What I have said is only the ‘bare bones’. It is a serious matter and needs much prayer, study and consideration. When I was an elder of my church, we did a Marriage Preparation Course, and I would recommend it to all.
God shows great care and consideration for the newlyweds and when a man has taken a new wife, he should not go to war or be charged with any business and should stay at home for one year to make his wife happy (v5). God showed that he wanted to bless the marriage, and the couple should be happy without any distractions for the first year.
A person’s livelihood was important, and The LORD prohibited another from taking the lower or upper millstone as a pledge. Evidently the millstones were essential to a person’s livelihood, and it must not be taken as a guarantee for a loan (v6). We saw earlier that a fellow Israelite could not be charged interest, but they could take pledges as guarantees. In this case no-one must take part of their livelihood as a guarantee. In verses 8,9 God also instructed them that when they loaned their bother anything, they were not to enter the brother’s house to get his pledge. They were to remain outside for their brother to bring it to them. They were to be careful what they took as a pledge and if it was something to keep the man warm, like an article of clothing, they were to show their righteousness by returning it before sundown so that he could sleep warmly.
In all these various laws The LORD shows His care and concern for the family.
We then see God’s concern for protection even to kidnapping of one’s fellows. Unlike today when this is usually for a ransom, in those days it was to make money by selling as slaves. It was so serious that God pronounced the death penalty on the kidnapper (v7).
Leprosy was a dreaded disease in those days, just as it is today in some countries. God had laid down laws as to how to deal with it (v8,9). It was to be dealt with carefully (see Leviticus 13,14). In a way, our government dealt similarly with Covid in 2020 by quarantine and isolation, and that was prescribed in the case of leprosy to protect others. No-one touched a leper, except Jesus to heal them, at which the people were amazed. There were some misconceptions about leprosy, but it could be cured even in the Old Testament because if the leprosy disappeared, they were to show themselves to the priest who could announce them clean.
The LORD gave them the example of Miriam, Moses’ sister, who was struck down with leprosy because she opposed Moses and God (Numbers 12). She was isolated for seven days and then God healed her. There were other examples in Scripture of leprosy – one was King Uzziah, who on the whole, was a good king but he became proud (2 Chronicles 26) and went into the temple and burned incense on the altar, a duty only for the priests. He transgressed and Azariah the priest and 80 other priests, bravely apprehended him and told him that he had no right to do that. Here we see the dangers of pride and prosperity. He wasn’t content with all that God had given him, he wanted more and thought that he had every right to do as he pleased.
Uzziah was furious and as his anger broke out, leprosy struck him in his forehead, precisely where it could be seen, there was no hiding it. God had to deal with him because he had not listened to the priests, and he rushed out of the temple. He was a leper until he died, therefore he could not enter the temple again. One writer says that death was the penalty for his sin (Numbers 18:7) but leprosy and his separation and isolation was a living death. He certainly had a tragic end from great beginnings.
Isaiah made the statement (Isaiah 6:1) “In the year that king Uzziah side, I saw The LORD….” I wonder what part of his story affected Isaiah. Was it his success as a king and then his demise? Was it the power of God in dealing with such a great king? I don’t really know, it may have been these things and others, but whatever it was it caused him to see The LORD in all His glory, and realise that he (Isaiah) was nothing – ‘He fell at His feet as a dead man, and cried “Woe is me…”’ and this led to him offering to go in God’s service, and God equipping him to serve.
An interesting one follows – if you are an employer, make sure you pay your workers their wages every day before sundown. We hear a lot about working conditions these days, but so long ago, God was concerned about it. We have Health and Safety at Work regulations, some perhaps probably unnecessary or over the top, but God has always been concerned about how we treat one another, and in this case employers/employees.
Servants must not be oppressed, whether they are fellow Israelites or even foreigners, they must be treated with respect, kindness and fairness. He should have his wages every day if that is what has been promised. To fail to do so is sin (v14,15) and The LORD will hear their cry when they cry out to Him.
Every person is responsible for their own sin. A father shall not be put to death for their children’s sin nor children for their father’s sin (v16). Parents may have been the cause of their children’s sinful ways, and we have a great responsibility to bring our children up in the right way, but their waywardness may not always be the parent’s fault.
They were instructed that they must not pervert the course of justice due to the stranger or fatherless, nor take a widow’s garment as a pledge (v17,18). This was to ensure that they treated those less fortunate with respect and fairness. He reminded them that they had been slaves in Egypt and God had cared for them so that they must also be caring for others. The yardstick is how God had dealt with them, and it is so today. Let us remember God’s faithfulness to us and show the same to others especially those less fortunate than ourselves. My mother was a widow throughout my childhood and people showed great kindness to her and she was thankful to them and to God.
We are told to forgive others as God has forgiven us. He has set the standard and we must follow.
Finally, in this chapter, they were told that when they reaped their harvest and forgot a sheaf, they were to leave it in the field for the stranger, the fatherless and widow (v19-22). God said He would bless them for doing so. We see an example of this in the book of Ruth where she went ‘gleaning’ in the fields where the owners were to leave the corners of the field for them. Similarly with the olive trees and grape vines, if they missed one, leave it there for those people in need. Once again, this was to be done as a reminder that God had cared for them. It was their way of helping the poor. Jesus said that ‘the poor you always have with you’ and we still should help them today.
