24 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, 2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, 3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, 4 then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
This passage does not support divorce. It recognizes a practice that already existed in Israel. All four verses need to be read to have an understanding of what was being said. It does not suggest that a man divorce his wife. Divorce is permanent. It is a final act between a couple. Once divorced and remarried to others, they could never be remarried to each other. Why this restriction? It was to prevent casual remarriage and to prevent foolish remarriage. God does not like divorce. He knows it is destructive to families. The intention was to make people think twice before divorcing. Today, we need to recognize the final act of divorce and the consequences. Put God in your marriage. Pray daily with your spouse. Ask for help if there are struggles in your marriage. No marriage is perfect, and no person is perfect, but the two of you can work together to bring out the best in each through God our Father, Jesus our Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit our helper.
Spirit and Truth
