And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
Moses gave the divorce precept because of the hardness of the people's hearts, as a concession to their weakness and departure from God and not as God's original plan or ideal for marriage. God's design from the beginning remains the rule, when He made humanity male and female and joined husband and wife as one flesh in a divine institution that no one may break, a union of one man and one woman and not polygamy. Jesus restores marriage to that original foundation and lays down the strict rule that a man may not put away his wife except for fornication or adultery, so differences that do not involve unfaithfulness give Christians no ground for divorce. Marriage is not a temporary contract to be broken at will, and remarriages after divorces obtained on unscriptural grounds should not be sanctioned. The same hardness of heart accounts for other Mosaic provisions concerning flesh for food, slavery, and Sabbath observance, which were merciful regulations for sinful conditions and not expressions of God's perfect law from the beginning.
Concession Versus Original Design
Moses wrote the precept permitting divorce because of the hardness of the people's hearts, as a concession to their hardness and weakness and to their departure from God and His law, not as God's original plan or ideal for marriage. The permission accommodated their hardened condition rather than establishing what was right, and it does not make divorce for any cause acceptable. God's design from the beginning remains the rule.
At creation God made humanity male and female and joined husband and wife as one flesh, a divine institution of sacred character and continuing order whose bond no one else may break. That original joining was not abolished or changed by the later allowance for divorce. In its wider context the teaching therefore upholds marriage between one man and one woman, not polygamy.
The patriarchal examples of plural marriage stand as lessons for admonition, for their sorrowful results show the harm of unions that lack true, unselfish love. God permitted such a measure for people whose hardened hearts could not yet be brought to see what was right, rather than forcing them to obey as machines. The precept was more merciful than the practices of the surrounding nations and reflected divine care for a people still shaped by their time in Egypt.
The same reasoning applies to the giving of flesh for food in response to human desire, and to regulations concerning slavery and the permitted kinds of flesh food, which accommodated sinful conditions that could not then be entirely changed. Such provisions do not show God's perfect law from the beginning or His original plan. The reason of hardness of heart is also applied to the institutions given through Moses, including Sabbath observance, presenting them as concessions to that hardness.
Strict Divorce Standard Applied
Jesus restores marriage to its original foundation and lays down a strict law for the new covenant that a man is not to divorce his wife except for fornication or adultery. Differences and disagreements that do not involve adultery are therefore no ground for Christians to divorce. The earlier permission given through Moses does not make divorce for any cause acceptable.
Marriage is not a temporary contract to be broken at the whim of either spouse. Ministers should not officiate at remarriages following divorces obtained on unscriptural grounds. The teaching is instruction for the individual soul rather than an attempt to change civil law, and following it violates no civil law, since civil law cannot convert or save people.
Divorce legislation of the time was allowed because of hardness of heart but should be repealed in favor of the unconditional permanence of marriage as essential to human peace, happiness, and civilization. The New Testament law respecting divorce sets a strict and exalted ethical standard. Roman Catholic doctrine and practice on divorce stands much closer to that New Testament and Scriptural standard than the doctrine and practice of the Protestant churches has stood, to the shame of the Protestant churches. Protestant practice needs to be brought nearer to the New Testament standard and to the Roman Catholic standard, not merely to a human or church standard, for leaving that standard belittles the authority of the Scriptures, and earnest effort is now being made toward that reform.
Moses gave the divorce precept because of the hardness of the people's hearts, as a concession to their weakness and departure from God and not as God's original plan or ideal for marriage. God's design from the beginning remains the rule, when He made humanity male and female and joined husband and wife as one flesh in a divine institution that no one may break, a union of one man and one woman and not polygamy. Jesus restores marriage to that original foundation and lays down the strict rule that a man may not put away his wife except for fornication or adultery, so differences that do not involve unfaithfulness give Christians no ground for divorce. Marriage is not a temporary contract to be broken at will, and remarriages after divorces obtained on unscriptural grounds should not be sanctioned. The same hardness of heart accounts for other Mosaic provisions concerning flesh for food, slavery, and Sabbath observance, which were merciful regulations for sinful conditions and not expressions of God's perfect law from the beginning.
Concession Versus Original Design
Moses wrote the precept permitting divorce because of the hardness of the people's hearts, as a concession to their hardness and weakness and to their departure from God and His law, not as God's original plan or ideal for marriage. The permission accommodated their hardened condition rather than establishing what was right, and it does not make divorce for any cause acceptable. God's design from the beginning remains the rule.
At creation God made humanity male and female and joined husband and wife as one flesh, a divine institution of sacred character and continuing order whose bond no one else may break. That original joining was not abolished or changed by the later allowance for divorce. In its wider context the teaching therefore upholds marriage between one man and one woman, not polygamy.
The patriarchal examples of plural marriage stand as lessons for admonition, for their sorrowful results show the harm of unions that lack true, unselfish love. God permitted such a measure for people whose hardened hearts could not yet be brought to see what was right, rather than forcing them to obey as machines. The precept was more merciful than the practices of the surrounding nations and reflected divine care for a people still shaped by their time in Egypt.
The same reasoning applies to the giving of flesh for food in response to human desire, and to regulations concerning slavery and the permitted kinds of flesh food, which accommodated sinful conditions that could not then be entirely changed. Such provisions do not show God's perfect law from the beginning or His original plan. The reason of hardness of heart is also applied to the institutions given through Moses, including Sabbath observance, presenting them as concessions to that hardness.
Strict Divorce Standard Applied
Jesus restores marriage to its original foundation and lays down a strict law for the new covenant that a man is not to divorce his wife except for fornication or adultery. Differences and disagreements that do not involve adultery are therefore no ground for Christians to divorce. The earlier permission given through Moses does not make divorce for any cause acceptable.
Marriage is not a temporary contract to be broken at the whim of either spouse. Ministers should not officiate at remarriages following divorces obtained on unscriptural grounds. The teaching is instruction for the individual soul rather than an attempt to change civil law, and following it violates no civil law, since civil law cannot convert or save people.
Divorce legislation of the time was allowed because of hardness of heart but should be repealed in favor of the unconditional permanence of marriage as essential to human peace, happiness, and civilization. The New Testament law respecting divorce sets a strict and exalted ethical standard. Roman Catholic doctrine and practice on divorce stands much closer to that New Testament and Scriptural standard than the doctrine and practice of the Protestant churches has stood, to the shame of the Protestant churches. Protestant practice needs to be brought nearer to the New Testament standard and to the Roman Catholic standard, not merely to a human or church standard, for leaving that standard belittles the authority of the Scriptures, and earnest effort is now being made toward that reform.