“For I hate divorce!” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”
Malachi 2:16
THEREFORE WHAT GOD HAS JOINED TOGETHER, LET NO ONE SEPARATE
If God hates divorce, then why does he let it happen? He doesn’t, we do. Divorce is not from God. Divorce is not what God intended for us, for his children. Sin is what causes divorce but we are here to tell you there is hope. Even if your family has been separated or you are divorced – there is space for God to work and God would love nothing more than to restore your family.
Harden Hearts
Matthew 19: 3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” 4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
Jesus words are, “Moses permitted the divorce because of the “hardness of their hearts”. Jesus never commanded it and it was because of the hardness of their hearts that it was permitted. God intended marriage for one man and one woman until death since the beginning. The purpose for a covenant marriage is for Godly Offspring.
This does not mean a marriage does not have its challenges. If we are not careful with our hearts, they harden over time. Forgiveness becomes harder and that opens the door for the enemy. There’s nothing Satan wants more than to separate your family and prevent you from raising Godly children.
Gentle Spirit
1 Peter 3 In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the word, they may be won over without a word by the way their wives live 2 when they observe your pure, reverent lives. 3 Don’t let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes, 4 but rather what is inside the heart[a]—the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For in the past, the holy women who put their hope in God also adorned themselves in this way, submitting to their own husbands, 6 just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You have become her children when you do what is good and do not fear any intimidation.
A gentle and quiet spirit might be the furthest thing from your mind when you are thinking about separation or divorce, but it is a weapon against the enemy who wants to create nothing but strife and conflict. This is a skill that can only be mastered with the help of Jesus. He shows us all thru the gospel of John how we should react to people who treat us unfairly.
Reconciliation
1 Corinthians 7:10 To the married I give this command — not I, but the Lord — a wife is not to leave her husband. 11But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband — and a husband is not to divorce his wife.
In Corinthians, the Lord gives the command for a wife not to leave her husband but if she does, she is to remain unmarried unless reconciled to her husband. This gives us hope that restoration can happen, and one can be reconciled to their spouse. Sometimes because of physical or verbal abuse separation does need to happen, or boundaries need to be set but God can guide you even thru the scariest of situations if you look to him. He promises to never forsake you if you seek Him.
We all know the nativity story of Joseph and Mary. They were on the run from King Pharoah because he wanted to kill baby Jesus. God kept them safe and guided them thru their journey and He will guide you thru yours. He told them when to move and when to stay. He protected and provided for them, and he will do the same for you and your family.
Sexual Immorality
1 Corinthians 6:18 (NIV)
1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
Hebrews 13:4 (NIV) Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Here Paul says to flee from sexual immorality. Flee means to run away from. People do not realize the power of lust and think they can control it. The bible is very clear that God created sex to be enjoyed between one man and one woman in a covenant marriage. Sex within the marriage is a blessing, a gift from God. Sex outside of marriage brings you under God’s curse. In the bible there is no such thing as “casual sex”. We are to glorify God with our bodies and keep them pure.
Sexual Immorality comes from the word pornea which definition is “illicit sexual activity”. It is a general word for any kind of sexual immorality, to sell off part of you, to include sexual gratification from someone you are not married to (adultery), whoredom, premarital sex, pornification and idolatry.