Jeremiah 3:8 is quite unambiguous about God’s tactic to guide Israel into repentance.
"And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce" (Jeremiah 3:8a)
In essence, God was saying to Israel, "My dear wife, Israel, to shame you into leaving your lovers, your idols, and remaining faithful to your Husband, I have issued you a writ of divorce. Not a divorce decree written on paper, but written in pain, sorrow, hardship…"
There is only one way in which to understand how God could take this action against Israel without Himself violating His own law, and that is to understand that God permits divorce from a continuously promiscuous and cheating spouse. In today’s vernacular we call this "the Exception Clauses" of Matthew.
It was said, 'Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce'; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Matthew 5:31,32) And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery. (Matthew 19:9)
A divorce is hateful treachery against a spouse, unless the divorce was issued because the spouse is engaged in constant immorality and unfaithfulness. Only then is the divorce not a sin.
If the exception clauses of Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 do not allow a lawful divorce based on a spouse’s infidelity, then where else in all the Bible may we see the Law by which God is permitted to execute a divorce against Israel? In all other New Testament passages of Scripture divorces are called sinful, and the only exceptions are those found in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9.
Does Deuteronomy 24:1-4 allow divorce against cheating spouses? This is precisely the question Jesus was answering when He gave His comments in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9. The Pharisees had asked Jesus a question similar to this, "Moses commanded that an ‘indecency’ be found in the wife as the reason to write a lawful divorce, but does that mean any or every kind of indecency is good enough reason?" Jesus gave a reply that specifically answered the Pharisees’ question of what kind of indecency it was that made a divorce "lawful" when He said, "Deuteronomy 24:1-4 only allows a divorce if one spouse is unfaithful, all divorces for any other reason are the sin of committing adultery against the spouse of your marriage covenant" (Matthew 19:9 paraphrased).
The existence of the "Exception Clauses" themselves is owed to the fact that the Pharisees asked Jesus to interpret Deuteronomy 24:1-4 ("what Moses commanded"). Jesus interpreted that law as, "All divorces are unlawful and sinful, except those divorces that were issued because a spouse was unfaithful to the marriage covenant, such as we see described in Jeremiah 3:1-8."
Jeremiah, Chapter 3, is all about God’s use of the law of divorce and remarriage found in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 and the Exception Clauses found in Matthew 5 and 19. God divorced an unfaithful Israel with the goal of shaming her into giving up her indecent love affair with idolatry.
Kev
I know we don't agree on some of this but I wanted to post anyway. Anyone who reads me knows I have struggled to reconcile being a Christian and getting divorced. But given that my husband has repeatedly committed adultery:
1)Cloud and Townsend, authors of the Boundaries books and Christian authors, told me personally when I called their radio show New Life Live, "Your only choice of action at this point is to file. He is getting everything he wants and having to answer for nothing right now.
2)My pastor, a Christian minister, told me in no uncertain terms that I was justified in filing.
3)The Christian counselor I started seeing last week, is also a professor at a Christian college teaching others to be Christian counselors. She is also a consultant to Campus Crusade for Christ world wide. After ONE session she said, "From what I have heard, I think your pastor was right that you are justified in seeking divorce." And she is not pro divorce by any means.
Just food for thought from someone who has been in similar shoes...
