Jesus Speaks on the Permanence of Marrige

Since we've been talking about the permanence of marriage, it would be helpful to see what Jesus had to say about it. The definitive passage is Matthew 19:3-6. It begins with the Pharisees questioning Him, "The Pharisees also came testing Him, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?'" That's the question, is it OK to get rid of your wife - to divorce her - for just any reason like society now says?

How will Jesus answer? Verses 4-6 tell us:

"And He answered and said to them, 'Have you not read that He [God] who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

Jesus took them all the way back to Genesis and quoted from Genesis 1:27 and from Genesis 2:24. His point was, God joins the couples in marriage. It isn't up to man to separate what God joined. God's intent was obviously that marriage be permanent - till death do you part. Marriage is intended to be a one flesh, permanent relationship - a loving, intimate union of two people into one flesh.

Can a marriage ever be dissolved? Well, can one flesh ever be torn asunder? obviously, the answer is, Yes! We see it happen all the time. But it can't happen without ripping the body apart. It doesn't happen without the destruction of the family. It doesn't happen without hearts being torn asunder. From God's use of the terms, it is obvious that divorce is like ripping a person in two with all the accompanying pain and agony and the death that follows as the union that God Himself made is destroyed.

And why? Because people refuse to deal with the problems between them. They refuse to fight for their marriage, preferring what seems to them to be the easy way out through divorce. But divorce is never easy. That's a lie of Satan. And Jesus says that's not a satisfactory solution. He glued the two of you together with Super Glue - the best available - so that you couldn't be pulled apart. Only with great difficulty can two things be pulled apart once they have been glued. So often, when wood is glued, it won't separate at the joint. It tears along its own grain. You can't separate the two pieces without great damage.

It's the same in marriage. Obviously they can be ripped apart with great damage, but it's not supposed to be that way. Would Christ ever allow His bride to be ripped away from Him? Could anything be strong enough to rip off part of His body? For us to divorce shreds the picture we portray as the type of Christ and His bride and as His body. Can you see why God would have a bad attitude about divorce? Malachi 2:16 teaches,

"For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one's garments with violence, says the Lord of hosts. Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously."

Divorce is a treacherous thing. It is tearing apart two people that have been made one flesh. It's talking about victims, as the deserted spouse and children are left broken hearted and often destitute. It's talking about children who are left fatherless. It's talking about homes shattered. Yes, It covers their garments with violence, and that's why God says He hates divorce. Do you think God has changed His mind? Malachi 3:6 says, "For I am the Lord, I do not change."