Marriage

PRAYER: Thank You Father, I'm alive!  How often do I just thank You for giving me breath and strength to live another day?  Though this world is a rough place to live at times, I don't think we fully understand the grace upon our lives and the fact that there is purpose in each day that we live.   LORD, help us to represent Your glory, the revelation of Your character as well as the power of Your Presence to the world around us.  Let us desire to be holy because You are holy.  I call on a Father who judges each person's work impartially and therefore we each should live in reverent fear of You.  It is not by the perishable things on this earth that I am redeemed from the empty way of life (1 Peter 1:16-18).  But by Your Son, Jesus Christ that I am saved.  I am apart of  a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to You.  I declare the praise of my loving God, who has called me out of darkness into His wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9).  I'm alive!  Thank You LORD.  In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

MATTHEW 19:1-12

DIVORCE: 

When Jesus had finished saying these things (from chapter 18), he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 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?"

"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' (Genesis 1:27) 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'? (Genesis 2:24) So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?" 

Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."

The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry." 

Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs (an emasculated male-a man with no testicles) because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."

Marriage is taken so lightly in our society today.  You love (or lust) one person one day, get married way too quickly and after the honeymoon, discover marriage was the wrong decision.  John the baptist, was put in prison and killed, at least in part for his public opinions on marriage and divorce, so the Pharisees hoped to trap Jesus, as well.  They were trying to trick Jesus by having Him choose sides in a theological controversy.  Two schools of thought represented two opposing views of divorce.  One group supported divorce for almost any reason.  The other believed that divorce could be allowed only for martial unfaithfulness.  This conflict hinged on how each group interpreted Deuteronomy 24:1-4.  In His answer, however, Jesus focused on marriage rather than divorce.  He pointed out that God intended marriage to be permanent and gave four reasons for the importance of marriage: (19:4-6) "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' (Genesis 1:27) 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'? (Genesis 2:24) So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

This law of Moses found in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 was created because the practice of marriage fell far short of God's intention.  And this continued on to Jesus' day and the same is true today.  Jesus said that Moses gave this law only because of the people's hard hearts; since sinful human nature made divorce inevitable, Moses instituted some laws to help its victims.  These were civil laws designed especially to protect women who, in that culture, were quite vulnerable when living alone.  Because of Moses' law, a man could no longer just throw his wife out-he had to write a formal letter of dismissal.  As humans often take things a step too far, this radical step toward civil rights made men use it as a way to switch up wives whenever they wanted instead of thinking twice about divorce.  It is NOT what God originally intended.  God's intention is for marriage to be a permanent union between a man and woman.  He designed marriage to be indissoluble.  Couples should decide against divorce from the start and build their marriage on mutual commitment to God and one another.  So that while in the marriage, they have each committed to concentrating on how to stay together when things get rough, instead of looking for reasons to leave each other.

There are also many good reasons for a people not to get married.  One being to have more time to work for God's Kingdom.  Don't assume that God wants everyone to marry.  For many it may be better if they don't because they can serve God better as a single person.  Jesus was not teaching us to avoid marriage because it is inconvenient or takes away our freedom.  That would be selfishness.  A good reason to remain single is to use the time and freedom to serve God. (Paul elaborates 1 Corinthians 7)  Sex is not a Godly reason to get married either, it's a stupid reason.  Be sure that you prayerfully seek God's Will before you plunge into the lifelong commitment of marriage.  

DON'T TAKE MARRIAGE OR DIVORCE LIGHTLY.