Fighting the Flesh #28: Divorce

“And this second thing you do. You cover the LORD’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. But you say, ‘Why does He not?’ Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. Did He not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. ‘For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.’"—Malachi 2:13-16

Divorce. It’s everywhere today. We all know of someone who has divorced and the terrible penalty it has exacted on all who have been involved. The marriage covenant is to be a permanent union, established in the Garden (Genesis 2:21-24), a reflection of Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:32), only dissolvable by death (Romans 7:1-3; 1 Corinthians 7:39). It is a relationship that is to be nourished, guarded and cultivated by both husband and wife. To divorce, save for sexual immorality, is to sin and violate God’s holy covenant of marriage (Matthew 19:3-9).

In today’s passage, God brings a case against the Israelites. He had failed to answer their pleadings and offerings even though they came with tears (v. 13). His reason was their failure to uphold the marriage relationship. Men had divorced their wives, even though God had established marriage and made the covenant permanent, with a portion of God’s Spirit involved in their union (v. 15). God established the marriage covenant so that godly couples might bring forth godly children (v. 15), which might fulfill the creation mandate to bring God glory (Isaiah 43:7) by being fruitful and multiplying (Genesis 1:22, 28). From a New Testament perspective, Paul revealed that the marriage covenant goes even further than procreative purposes, but is actually a reflection of Christ’s love for His church (Ephesians 5:32). To divorce then is to disparage God’s name and depreciate the salvific accomplishment of Christ on Calvary.

If you are considering a divorce, please reconsider. God’s name is at stake, and while divorce is permissible in certain instances (cf. Matthew 19:9, 1 Corinthians 7:10-16), it is by no means desirable. God has established marriage so that He might receive glory and that man and woman might help one another in the holy covenant of marriage. That is not to say that marriage will be easy, but it is to say that there is a mutual benefit to the husband and wife union as the two are working out their salvation together as marriage partners, both beneficiaries of Christ’s atoning work on the cross, and participants in the divine nature (1 Peter 3:7; 2 Peter 1:4). There is no relationship beyond the grace and power of God. As a husband and wife come together, there must be a commitment and submission to Christ, a biblical embracing of roles, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to make the marriage a success. And it is then and only then that such a relationship will succeed and God will receive great and magnificent glory. Amen.