Bible's Viewpoint

What Is the Bible’s View of Divorce and Remarriage

Let it be well acknowledged that the Bible does not advocate divorce on just any ground, as marriage union was expected to be permanent. God made man and woman to enjoy each other’s company indefinitely, without any provision for divorce. As we can see in the account of Genesis 2:24 which states:”That is why a man will leave his father and his mother and he must stick to his wife and they must become one flesh.”

The marital arrangement was to bring together man and woman in an unbreakable union, this was instituted to enhance blessing, happiness and for the bearing of righteous offspring, all to the glory of God.

However, that perfect arrangement in the original paradise was disrupted. Because, rebellion entered the hearts of the first pair and they were cast out from paradise. With this development, there is no guarantee that they would they maintain their perfection state anymore. Degeneration of mind and body set in, this imperfection or sin becomes the only inheritance they would pass on to all their offspring.

With man and woman no longer walking in God’s ways, they lost their position as God’s son and were put outside the Garden of Eden Where they began to introduce their own regulations and traditions. It was not long before marriage bonds began to break. How true this has been down through the centuries, and especially so in our times! Divorces and separations have become commonplace and the reasons for such have been many. But, according to the laws of the Universal Sovereign, Jehovah, who makes allowances for human imperfection, there are no well established reasons for breaking the marriage tie. The prophet Malachi presented this as God’s viewpoint: “He has hated a divorcing.” (Mal. 2:16) Then Jesus Christ reemphasized the validity of the original marriage arrangement, as recorded by historian Matthew in the book mentioned by his name, Matthew 19:3-9.His Son Jesus said: “I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of fornication, and marries commits adultery.” this shows that Scriptural divorce was limited.

According to The New American Bible (in a rendering similar to that of other Catholic versions), Matthew 19:9 reads: “I now say to you, whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

A footnote explains the words in parentheses, stating: “Literally ‘except for porneia,’ i.e., immorality, fornication, even incest.” But theologian-priest Alcides Pinto da Silva reiterated the common Roman Catholic interpretation, saying: “If after the contract, but before living together with her husband, a girl has illicit relations with someone, then she can be sent away without there being adultery.”

Of course, Jesus did not say that this was the only situation meant; nor does the context contain implication to this effect. This view was to support  the Jews for permitting non-Biblical base divorce, “the sending away of a marriage mate on any grounds”. However, Jesus stated that ‘only on the ground of por·nei′a’ could this be done acceptably before God, who instituted marriage. So, what does por·nei′a mean? It designates all forms of immoral sexual relations, perversions and lewd practices. The verb por·neu′o means “to give one’s self to unlawful sexual intercourse.”

Jesus was against adultery and any other form of illicit relations. (Matt. 5:27-32; 15:19, 20) But if one marriage mate committed a gross sexual sin against the other, the marriage bond could be broken because of the adulterating of the union of ‘one flesh.’ Therefore, marital unfaithfulness could result in dissolving the marriage vows, union and contract. For this reason, the innocent and wronged mate would be free to get a divorce and marry again. Of course, he or she might want to forgive the erring mate and maintain the marriage bond. That would be his or her privilege.