God "hates" Divorce?
Well.....look at this!
by Keith Hunt How many times have you heard preachers shout or print in bold large letters, GOD HATES DIVORCE!! Then they usual quote Malachi 2:16. Well BEFORE Malachi, if you are reading your Bible from start to finish, you have the book of EZRA! Ezra is weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, and there assembled until him out of Israel a very great number of men, women, and children, and they were all weeping also. One fellow speaks up and says to Ezra, "We have TRESPASSED against our God, and have TAKEN STRANGE wives of the people of the land, yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. Now let us make a COVENANT with our God to PUT AWAY all the wives, and such as are BORN of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and those that tremble at the commandments of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Arise, for the matter belongs to you...." (Ezra 10:1-4). Ezra arose and did not eat or drink water; for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. Ezra finally stood up and said to the people, "YOU HAVE TRANSGRESSED and have taken STRANGE WIVES, to increase the trespass of Israel. Now therefore make confession unto the Lord God of your fathers, and DO HIS PLEASURE: AND SEPARATE YOURSELVES FROM THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND, AND FROM THE STRANGE WIVES. Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, 'As you have said, so must we do!" (verses 5-12). Well Ezra and others, chief ones, of each house of their fathers, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. And it is written they made an END with all the men that had taken STRANGE WIVES by the first day of the first month. It took a little while to see where they had gone wrong. Among the priests also had they taken strange wives, and they gave their hands that they would put away their wives. Now, for those who want to argue that "children" somehow cement a marriage together, it would seem God foreknew this argument for it is written in this same chapter, verse 44, "All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children!" Now, do not misunderstand, in a perfect world, with perfect child-rearing, perfect dating, perfect selection of mates, God would have marriage "till death do you part." BUT the fact is we are not living in a perfect world, under perfect law, with all people of all nations serving and doing God's will from the starting blocks. The Jews under Ezra, had made mistakes, they had "strange wives" - not that those wives had a physical blemish, or a different color skin. The law of the law as given under Moses, had no bearing on the color of skin; it was a much deeper matter than that. The command is found in Deuteronomy 7:1-4. If you note verse 4, you will understand the truth of the matter concerning this law of "no marriage." The Jews had fallen short. And in this particular situation under Ezra, God saw fit to inspire what those Jews with "strange wives" needed to do about it. Now, yes this maybe a particular situation of the time that needed to be put straight, and it does not teach that divorce can be for just any reason that people "think" they have a "strange" wife. I need to say this because sure enough some out there will make the Bible say anything THEY want it to say, for their own ends as to when they think their ends need to come first. Yet at the same time, it must be observed that SOMETIMES God does not HATE divorce!! So what about Malachi 2:16. Well I have covered all of it in fully depth in my study called "Divorce and Re-marriage." Now, maybe you need to go and study that study, and get to know God a little better. ...................... Keith Hunt (March 2009) |
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