DCLM Daily Manna 2023: DCLM Daily Manna 17 May 2023: Conditional Divorce?

DCLM Daily Manna 2023: DCLM Daily Manna 17 May 2023: Conditional Divorce?

Key Verse: “And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.” – (Matthew 19:9)

TEXT: Matthew 19:1-12

9 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

2 And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.

3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here

In 2019, there were about 800,000 divorce cases in Europe. The number was around 1.042 million in the United States. Available data show that the number of registered divorce cases in China rose from 2.7 million in 2010 to 4.7 million in 2019. South Africa had 23,710 cases the same year. More than 200 divorce petitions were filed in one state in Nigeria each month in 2021.

The contention regarding divorce has existed for centuries. Jesus told the Pharisees and the crowd that listened to Him that no man should put asunder what the Lord had joined together. Men were sending away their wives, hypocritically citing Moses’ injunction of giving the writing of divorcement. He plainly told them that Moses permitted that because of their hardened hearts. He explained that the only condition for divorce was fornication, which was applicable to people who were engaged to marry. Adultery, not fornication, is applicable in marriage.

By implication, Jesus was saying that there was, in fact, no condition for divorce after marriage. He made it clear that if anyone puts away his wife and marries another, he has committed adultery. Moreover, anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

The society has refused to accept these biblical truths. Young men and women now enter into marriages as contracts and divorce after a few years, citing “irreconcilable differences”; However, God’s word cannot be disputed. If you have divorced your wife, get her back. If you have married a divorced fellow, be it a man or woman, it will be wisdom if you quit the marriage in order to save your soul.