“Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.” - Luke 16:18
As we consider the question “Does God hate divorce?” we realize that for a divorce to happen, there must first be a marriage.
And as I think about marriage, it's a joy for me to observe the beauty of two young people joining hands and making a vow that binds them together for life! And to see marriages that are working as God intended for them to work because of the love that they have for each other. A Christ-like love that will keep them together!
In Genesis 1:26 God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. ”
In Genesis 2:18 God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him an help meet for him.” Here we notice that God saw that man was not complete, so he made a woman.
In Genesis 2:23 Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
Then God says in Genesis 2:24, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh.”
Hebrews 13:4 states, “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”
Before we answer the question “Does God hate divorce?” we would like to look at a few more things about marriage.
First of all, the foundation of repentance must be laid. A young man and woman need to be born again. This means that they have confessed and repented of all known sin they have ever committed and asked Jesus to be the Lord of their lives. It means they desire to move away from evil thinking, lust, drunkenness, pornography, and such like. It means they will have the power from God to overcome temptations and not to continue down the same path of sin. This is laying a proper foundation for marriage.
We find a few more foundational principles for marriage in Ephesians 5:21-25, “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.”
It is essential to take the time to lay the foundation properly, so it lasts a lifetime! But also, for our children’s sake. We all know if a foundation is not laid properly, it will result in a house falling or sinking into the ground. How would we feel if we did a sloppy job on the foundation and the house falls and kills our children? That would truly be devastating. So we see the necessity for solid foundations.
With the proper foundation, we then can build a home that is solid and safe to live in. Ephesians 6:4 instructs us to raise up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The Godly home is the apple of God's eye. It's where Dad and Mom intentionally love each other till death separates them. It's where children are raised with Godly principles of respect, kindness, love, patience, and forbearance. It's where children learn to sing, read the Bible, and pray. It's where children give their hearts to God in their early teenage years and grab ahold of the vision that their parents have. And as they get the vision, they begin to lay the foundation for themselves for a Godly home. Family after family! Generation after generation! It's a beautiful thing to observe and God is glorified.
Indeed, God deserves the glory! He made a way for us to be free from sin and to walk in victory over sin. He made a way for us to be able to have a Godly marriage. And a marriage that LAST! God truly has a heart to see mankind flourish.
You may ask, “Where do I find Godly, functioning marriages? Where can I see this in action?” The only place to see this is in the true Christian Church. This is where you will see families sitting together in pews. Modestly dressed men and women. No ungodly music but simply the singing of hymns. The true Christian Church is made up of men and women who not only believe the Bible but also live and practice it in everyday life.
So now you may ask the question, “Why are you talking about marriage when the billboard is about divorce?” It's because I want us to see that a Godly marriage is what God wants and it's still possible to have a marriage that works.
YES!
First of all, it destroys foundations. What is supposed to be a safe place to raise a family has become a war zone. Fathers and mothers hating each other. Children required to take sides. This was never God's heart! The Bible says in Mark 10:4-6 “And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female.”
Malachi 2:14 “Yet ye say, wherefore, because the Lord has been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously.”
Malachi 2:16, “For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away, for one covereth violence with a garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit that you deal not treacherously.”
At the core of every divorce, we find the sin of selfishness, disrespect, distrust, and blaming each other. Then to make matters worse, those who have divorced will ask their pastor if it's alright to remarry and the pastor says it's fine. These types of pastors are liars because the Bible says in Mark 10: 11- 12, “Whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.” So we see that divorce creates chaos. It doesn't bring peace, but it brings turmoil. Who of us enjoys a chaotic home?
Yes, there is hope! God desires for you to repent and come to know him. Here are a few principles to follow.
1. Repent from all known sin and turn your heart and life over to Jesus.
2. Become a student of the Bible. Read Genesis chapter 1 – 2. Then read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This will help you understand what God wants for your life.
3. Pray! Pray that God would show you true believers to worship with and find encouragement from.
4. Last of all I encourage you to walk faithfully to what you read in the Bible. Walking faithfully simply means to keep doing the first three points until they become a pattern.
May God give you wisdom to obey His Word!
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