SOTM 16—Divorce

<p>For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ <a href="https://www.douglasjacoby.com/som-16-divorce/" target="_blank"><strong>website.</strong></a></p><p><strong>“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).</strong></p><p><strong>The Jewish world</strong></p><ul><li>There were grounds for divorce besides adultery, including failure to provide food and clothing for one’s spouse and failure to offer conjugal love. The ancient rabbis understood this to be the case because of <strong>Exodus 21:10-11</strong> and other passages.</li><li>Legitimate grounds for divorce did not, however, necessarily mean one should divorce his or her spouse.</li><li>A divorced person was expected to remarry—under strong social pressure.</li><li>In the 1st century there were two schools of thought about divorce:<ul><li>Shammai—a matter of indecency (Deut 24)</li><li>Hillel—“any cause”—the kind of divorce Joseph was intending to offer Mary (Matt 1:19).</li><li>“Any cause” divorce was by far the norm in the 1st century.</li></ul></li><li>When the Pharisees ask Jesus about divorce in <strong>Matt 19:3-9</strong>, they want to know which side of the debate he is on: just cause or “any cause.”<ul><li>He is certainly not on Hillel’s side!</li><li>God’s intention is for marriage to last a lifetime.</li><li>However, <strong>Matt 19:9</strong> has been misunderstood. “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” doesn’t mean that we <i>cannot</i> dissolve a marriage through divorce, but that we ought not. Divorce is a last resort, but necessary in some cases.</li></ul></li></ul><p><strong>Exod 21:10-11</strong></p><p>If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights. If he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for