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About Jesus Steve Sweetman Why
God Hates Divorce - Malachi
2:10-16 I've
already mentioned the most quoted Bible verse concerning divorce.
Malachi 2:16 tells us that God hates divorce.
Few comment on the previous 5 verses that tells us why He hates
divorce. In
the NIV, Malachi 2:10 states that Israel
"profaned" God's covenant by "breaking faith with one
another". The KJV says
that The
Hebrew word "chalal" is translated into English as
"profane". It
means "to cut or to rip up", as in, "to rip up a
covenant". So, by
"breaking faith", or, "acting treacherously", Israel
ripped up the covenant she and Yahweh had agreed to keep.
The
Hebrew word "bagad" is translated in the NIV as "breaking
faith" and in the KJV as "acting treacherously".
"Bagad" means "to cover up", "to act
covertly", or, "to act hypocritically".
Israelis were acting hypocritically; claiming to live godly lives
when in fact they weren't. Malachi
2:11 tells us how Israel
ripped up God's covenant. Israelis
"desecrated the sanctuary of the Lord" by marrying pagan
women. In other words,
Israeli men appeared to be godly while at the temple, but their pagan
influenced lives, which included pagan wives, told a different story.
As
a result of this hypocrisy, God paid no attention to Israel
as seen in Malachi 2:13. He
actually divorced If
you remember, the Law of Moses stated in Deuteronomy 24:1 to 4 that a
man was not permitted to remarry his divorced wife after she had married
another man. She would have
been ceremonially defiled or unclean. The
text states that such a remarriage is detestable in the sight of God.
So, just in case you're wondering how God can get away with
breaking His own law by remarrying Israel, Israel's uncleanness, that
which was detestable to God, was nailed to the cross of Christ.
It no longer exists, thus permitting God to remarry Israel
upon her genuine repentance. Another
legal word is seen in Malachi 2:14.
God was a "witness" between Israeli men and the Israeli
wives of their youth. God
was both judge and witness in the heavenly courtroom to Israeli men's
unfaithfulness. The
reason why God hates divorce is stated in Malachi 2:14.
Israeli men "broke faith" with the Israeli wives of
their youth. They were
unfaithful. Unfaithfulness
is the reason why God hates divorce, and I suggest that this
unfaithfulness isn't just adultery.
Any activity, either in word or deed, that expresses any kind of
unfaithfulness to the wedding vows to love and cherish for life is what
God hates. We're all guilty
in one way or another when thinking of unfaithfulness in marriage this
way. Many Christian couples
who live in the same house may not commit adultery as defined by the Ten
Commandments, but their words and actions suggest an unfaithfulness to
their vows to love and cherish for life.
I don't think God is all that happy about this either.
King
Solomon portrayed the mind of God on this matter when he said that it is
better not to make an agreement, a vow, a covenant, than to make one and
then break it. (Ecclesiastics 5:5) It's
all about being faithful to our commitments, and in this case, being
faithful to love and cherish our spouse as stated in our marriage vows.
The
very essence of God is faithfulness.
It's impossible for Him to be unfaithful.
He cannot break a vow, commitment, or a covenant, and He hates
any hint of such things. In
Malachi 2:15 Hosea refers back to Genesis 2:24 where God created a man
to be glued to his wife for life in a state of oneness.
Hosea adds to this by saying that being faithful to this oneness
produces "godly children".
Godliness handed down from one generation to the next is what God
wants from marriage. Unfaithfulness
in marriage breaks the chain of generational godliness.
So, Malachi encourages us to guard our spirits and remain
faithful to the wife of our youth until death separates us as seen in
Romans 7:2.
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