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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Is 1 free if divorce not due 2 adultery? | Matt 19:9 | MJH | 144172 | ||
Searcher56 – (I know it is long, but I tried real hard, so forgive me) It’s been awhile, so I will try to tackle this one and see where it goes. :-) I’m going to deal with Luke 16:18 here for reasons that make sense below. Also, I will provide some context, some Greek verb stuff, and THEN answer your question. Luk 16:18 "Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.” Divorce was one of the 8 great debates of the first century, thus the reason He is asked the question (Matt. 19:3). The 2 schools of thought were Hillel and Shammai. Jesus sides 7 times with Hillel and 1 time with Shammai. With divorce Jesus agreed with Shammai. (Hillel said you could divorce for “burnt toast.”) It is, of course, important to value the context, which I know you all know I bring up a lot. Jesus did not equate divorce and remarriage with adultery, as is often thought. Prohibiting divorce would abrogate the Torah passage Deut. 24:1-2. Jesus was intent on interpreting the Torah properly, but he did not want to destroy it. Another context can be seen in the Mishnah (Sotah 5.1) where a woman who is divorced because of an adulterous relationship is not permitted to marry the man with whom she had an affair. (Most of the Mishnah was taught before and during Jesus’ time, but not all.) - Context is used here NOT to change Jesus words or their meaning, but to help see the world as it was during the time he said these words. - Divorce for the SAKE of remarriage was therefore also adultery. When we look at the Luke 16:18, the verbs “divorce” and “marry” are in the present tense. (The parallel in Mark 10:11 put them in the subjective mood.” (see note below). Also, the conjunction “and” was often intended to express purpose. Re-wording the translation of the Greek into English to better capture the original meaning might be, “Every one who divorces his wife [in order] to marry another commits adultery.” “In light of the Mishnah passage in Sotah, if a man marries a woman who obtained a divorce merely for the sake of her second marriage, then it is considered adultery. Divorce is not adultery” and neither is remarriage. (see note below) Answer to your question. Divorce is allowed, but not divorce simply for the sake of convinces, whether that be to marry another or simply to avoid responsibility. Divorce for the sake of abuse, adultery, and any other things that fit under the term “unfaithfulness” is Biblically okay. If a spouse divorces un-Lawfully, then their partner is made free and permitted to remarry without committing adultery. (1Co 7:15 “But 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.”) I understand that you said that “Unbelief” is not a part of the issue in your stated situation, but I think the “rule” here can still be applied. It was not the choice of the innocent partner to divorce, so if their spouse acts in an unbelieving manner by divorcing for illegitimate reasons, the spouse who is left is free (not enslaved.) Luke 16:18b “He who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.” This is the same idea only this time the woman is divorcing. So if a woman was divorced by her husband because her husband wanted another woman or simply because he didn’t liker her or she “burnt his toast”, then she would be free to re-marry. But if she divorced for the reason to marry another, then to marry her would be adultery. These things can get very complicated and so in the end we need to use our understanding of scripture on a WHOLE and apply it. We ought not to take one statement within the text and try to make situations fit, and thereby nullify other commands in the process. This was the BIG mistake of the Pharisees. Example: they took the Sabbath laws separate from the rest of the Torah, and applied them. They were correct in the letter of the one command, but wrong in interpreting the Torah as a whole. Jesus corrected them on this, and “loved His neighbor” by healing on the Sabbath. We too can take divorce laws out of the text and apply them to the letter correctly, but actually be misinterpreting the text on a whole at the same time. MJH |
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2 | Is 1 free if divorce not due 2 adultery? | Matt 19:9 | kalos | 144430 | ||
Divorce: Legal Separation or Dissolution? [MJH: Thank you for providing us with helpful information on this question. Related to the issue is the question: What is divorce? I think you will find the following to be of interest. Grace to you. --Kalos] Divorce is the dissolution of the marriage bond just as though it had never existed. Divorce is the action or an instance of legally dissolving a marriage. Does the right to divorce carry with it the right to remarry? The key to answering this question lies in the proper understanding of the word divorce and what it means, including what it meant to the average Greek, Roman or Jew of the first century. A tradition dating back centuries views divorce as "legal separation from bed and board." And that's all divorce is in this tradition. However, The people of the time of Jesus' earthly ministry, both Jews and Greeks, properly understood that divorce was the "dissolution of the marriage bond just as though it had never existed." If one accepts the second definition (the definition that is true both biblically and historically), then he can come to only one conclusion: The RIGHT TO DIVORCE carries with it THE RIGHT TO REMARRY. If it doesn't, then divorce is not dissolution of the marriage bond just as though it had never existed. Instead divorce becomes nothing more than legal separation from bed and board. Which definition to follow: the popular one (legal separation) or the historically and Biblically sound one (dissolution of the marital bond, which carries with it the right to remarry)? ____________________ See the book "The Right to Remarry" by Dwight Hervey, Hardcover (September 1975), Fleming H Revell Co; ISBN: 0800707583. This book is now out of print, but has a limited availability at amazon.com |
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