Divorce has become a grave and widespread problem in modern society. Broken families and one-parent households have become a commonplace in our day. It is estimated that at least one-half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. We who believe the Bible and know that God intends marriage as a permanent relationship are appalled at this breakdown of the family unit and the resulting effect on the children and on society as a whole.
In reacting to this dreadful social problem, some Christians have concluded that not only is divorce not permitted in the Scriptures, but that remarriage after divorce is a dire sin that cannot be forgiven unless the remarried parties break up their marriage and live alone or are reconciled to their original mates. In arriving at this conclusion they have come to believe that Jesus Christ understood the term “divorce” in a way which signified, not a dissolution or cancellation of the marriage, but simply a separation of the married partners—with the idea that they continue to be bound together in God’s sight until one of them dies.
This paper seeks to explore what the term “divorce” means in the Bible and in the history of Israel’s experience under the Mosaic Law. It seeks to determine also whether the meaning of the term was changed in the New Testament, especially in the teaching of the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul. From such an examination of the Biblical data it is hoped that conclusions can be drawn regarding the matter of divorce and remarriage in our own day, particularly in regard to Christian believers whose lives have been impacted or affected by divorce, directly or indirectly.
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Author: William M. Wachtel
Keywords: Estrangement, Dissolution of marriage, Dissolution, marriage and divorce, Marriage, Divorce, Bill of divorcement, Certificate of divorce, Certificate of divorcement, Bill of divorce, School of Hillel, School of Shammai, Any cause, Every cause, Divorce for any cause, Divorce of every cause, Rabbinic debate, Commits adultery, Continues to commit adultery, Remarriage, Divorcement, Exception clause, Except for fornication, Except for adultery, Put away, Putting away, Putteth away, divorce and remarriage, divorce and marriage
Bible reference(s): Deuteronomy 24:1-3, Malachi 2:16, Matthew 5:31-32, Matthew 19:3-9, Mark 10:4, Mark 10:11-12, Luke 16:18
Source: “Taking Another Look at the Divorce and Remarriage Question,” Journal From the Radical Formation, Spring 1993, Vol 2., No. 3, pp. 39-50.
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