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Mark 10:1-12
God Made Marriage

Of all the institutions God gave to man, marriage is probably the one that's in the most trouble in our day. We're told that about half the marriages fail these days, and of course many have tried to solve the problem by simply living together without marriage. That doesn't really solve anything, though, because as far as God is concerned, anyone who participates in conjugal relations is married, the state notwithstanding, so when such relationships break apart the persons involved are still divorcing.

Israel, on the other hand, was a unique body of people. Through Moses, God had given them a moral code that was superior to all others. In it, along with the rest of His wonderful laws, God placed strict regulations on divorce.

Just as the rest of us often do, though, the Jewish Rabbis had twisted God's words to mean what they wanted them to mean! They'd been doing it for centuries, and that's what was happening here in Mark's Gospel as well.  Let's try to see in Mark 10:1-12 how WE relate.

The words of Moses to which the Pharisees were referring are found in Deuteronomy 24:1-4.  Moses says, "When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, when she has departed from his house and goes and becomes another man's wife, if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance."

Of course these words of Moses don't convey a meaning anything like that which the Pharisees drew from them. The Pharisees were conveniently focussing on the writing of the certificate of divorce and the dismissal of the wife, as if that were God's focus. It wasn't.

God's concern in Moses' day was to prevent among His holy people a marriage-divorce-remarriage syndrome, a syndrome that totally ignores the God-intended seriousness of marriage. In Mark's Gospel Jesus focusses upon that same seriousness. In what He says He makes it very plain that God's plan is for a lifetime marriage, one in which two people are joined together by God to become one inseparable person. No man or government has the right to dissolve hat kind of marriage.

As always there are exceptions. Moses mentions one.  He says, "if it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house. . ."  This references the exceptional case in which divorce is allowed by God. Jesus spoke of the same exception in Matthew 19:9 when He said, "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." "Some uncleanness" in Moses' day is the "sexual immorality" of Jesus' day.

Another, and possibly the only other exception is described by Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 7, verses 12-15, where he says: "But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: if any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace." Here the key phrase is, "a brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases." Paul's meaning is that, in the case of desertion by an unbelieving spouse, the one remaining and believing spouse is free to marry again without being guilty of adultery.

So we have in God's Word two, and only two legitimate grounds for divorce. In explaining Moses' regulation of it, though, our Lord said even divorce with these grounds existed only because of the "hardness of your hearts." In other words, God had Moses regulate divorce just because He knew that their hardness of heart would lead to divorces. It would be better to regulate what they were going to do anyway.

Of course the Pharisees hadn't come to Jesus with a sincere desire to learn anyway - they were only trying to trap Him in a misinterpretation of the Law. Our Lord, on the other hand, graciously used the occasion to try to show them how hard hearted they were, how they were interpreting the Law only to excuse their hard-hearted behavior.

Are we like that? Do we need the same correction? Do we search the Scripture relative to marriage and divorce (and possibly other issues as well) only for the sake of finding grounds for doing what we wanted to do anyway?

Because the focus is on marriage and divorce, though, and because our natural inclination is to question  everything our Lord tells us, we'd probably ask why our Lord regulates human relationships this way. Our thinking might be, "why does He care anyway?"

For that answer we need to turn, not to our human ideas, but once again to God's Word. In fact we'd be wise to turn to the same passage as did our Lord - the story of the creation of the first couple in the garden of Eden. In Genesis 1:26-28, we read: "Then God said, 'Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" The male and the female were to be a team with a task.

To understand why God made them a team, we need to understand the assignment He gave them. According to Genesis, He made them His agents in the earth to rule over it and care for it in His Name. So He made them male and female for two purposes: first, they needed to multiply enough so that they could care for such a vast creation, and, secondly, they needed to assist each other in their work. Obviously, the relationship between men and women that would best accomplish such purposes would be a relationship of love, a relationship that blended abilities, a relationship of appreciation and assistance. According to God, the best such love relationship is a permanent, totally committed, and mutually devoted one, one in which two people are united as one to serve their God. That's God's kind of marriage.

Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself made it quite clear that He rejoiced in that kind of relationship when He blessed the marriage at Cana of Galilee, not only with His presence and the presence of His disciples, but also by turning water into the wine of celebration and joy. By doing that, our Lord expressed His own joy and approval, not only of that specific marriage, but also of the institution in general.

Obviously, then, divorce, must be displeasing to Him. It violates His purposes for marriage, so it's rebellion against Him.

When, Jesus says that divorce results in adultery, He means not only adultery in the human arena, but also adultery against God Himself. After all, divorce can only happen when self will assumes priority over God's will. That's spiritual adultery.

God knew there would be friction in close human relationships between sinners. But He established the Church. And, since the Church exists for the purpose of mutual ministry for the perfecting of every individual, it must also exist to assist individuals in their relationships by means of counseling and application of the Biblical principles appropriate to each problem.

To ignore such assistance is to ignore God's means for perfecting each person. To rush into divorce - no matter how difficult the situation - is to ignore the Lord and the help He has made available in His Church. God has graciously provided us the means, through His Church and by His Word, to heal every relationship. Let's always avail ourselves of the means He's provided. Let's trust our Lord to bless those means to us.

And - while we're at it - let's rejoice in God's purposes! He had good reason for our marriages, and He certainly intends to bless our efforts to make them glorifying to Him and joyful for us.

It's also always appropriate to renew our commitments and rededicate ourselves. I urge you to communicate with your partner, to tell him/her that you love them, and to tell them you intend to be your Lord's person for them. If you don't have a partner, pray for those who do.

I urge you to communicate with your partner, to tell him/her that you love them, and to tell them you intend to be your Lord's person for them.

At least once a day!!!

AMEN!!!