Bible Reflections From Scripture Union Volume OneSample

God Hates Divorce B93 Read Mark 10:1-16 But at the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate. Mark 10:6-9 Many marriages today end in divorce. If we have not experienced it personally, we personally know someone who has. It's happening everywhere from the west to the east. It seems that when things get rough, people want out. And they are getting out in increasing numbers, no doubt fueled by what is portrayed in the dramas on TV. There were two schools of thought in Jesus’ day concerning divorce, propagated by two popular rabbis, Rabbi Hillel and Rabbi Shammai. Rabbi Shammai, who held the stricter view, taught that divorce was only permissible on the grounds of some sexual impropriety. Rabbi Hillel, on the other hand, had a more liberal view and taught that a man could divorce his wife for any reason. If she burned his breakfast, put too much salt on his food, showed disrespect to him, spoke disrespectfully of her husband’s parents in his presence, spoke to a man on the street, or even let her hair down in public, he could divorce her. Rabbi Hillel's view was popular in Jesus’ day. It was for this reason the scribes tested Him. They wanted Jesus to become unpopular with the people for they knew He would not side with this more liberal view. Jesus’ view is the Biblical view as stated in Malachi 2:16, where the Lord said, “I hate divorce…” Jesus did not directly answer their question. In verses 6-9 Jesus points to God's original intention way back in creation: marriage was meant to last a lifetime. Pray that the Lord will preserve your marriage and will keep you from straying from that relationship. Value the marriage relationship that God has given you and preserve it. Guard the sanctity of marriage and flee from any thought of divorce or adultery.