Mark 10:10-12 - When God Allows Divorce

Mark 10:10-12
¹⁰ In the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again. ¹¹ And He *said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; ¹² and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

Message: When God Allows Divorce


Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word 'immediately' used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.

What the Lord is Saying: 

Preface -  Jesus preaches to many and teaches, as is His custom. He answers the Pharisees question on divorce and reminds them that marriage is an institution God ordains and we don't abandon it just when our feelings don't align with it. For God has joined a husband and wife together.

This passage more specifically addresses divorce. As a reminder, Jesus has mentioned that man will often harden his heart toward the institution of marriage and declare it is not workable. In today's world, all that is necessary often is irreconcilable differences. Granted, it seems often that divorce is inevitable. For many years, I felt like divorce was always unacceptable, but as I listen to people at times and there efforts to work things out, I tend to think that divorce can be justified. People sometimes enter into the matrimony lightly. I also see that people enter into the relationship with different ideals - intimacy, companionship, kids; thus, right from the beginning they are abandoning God's laws for life.

Jesus is clear in these verses that adultery results when a wife or husband marries another and yet there are allowances for divorce:

• Matthew 19:9 - And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
• I Corinthians 7:13-15 - And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. ¹⁵ Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace.

In addition, this passage spells out what is permissible by Jesus as a union - Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; ¹² and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery. I think it is clear from these verses that a man and woman constitute a marriage, not a man and a man or a woman and a woman or any other combination that seemed abominable years ago but now is becoming more normal as each person's gender is up for grabs. Granted, God's forgiveness remains open to all, but each person, after surrendering themselves to the Lord should seeks to desire to surrender themselves to the will of the Lord, which may mean changing something in their lifestyle. 

Summary - Jesus continues teaching and instructing and reminds us that a marriage is between a man and a woman and when a husband or wife marries another it is adultery. 
 
Promise: Jesus reminds us here to let him define our lives, and this includes marriage. We must always come back to the scripture, realizing that this is still hard, but we owe it to ourselves as his children and followers to continue to depend on Him for strength and surrender our lives to Him. In this instance, a marriage is between a husband and a wife. And adultery is the result of marrying another unless immorality or living with an unbelieving one has occurred. Obviously, irreconcilable differences remains common and so in those cases, we must remember that God still forgives sins.

Prayer: Lord, I am reminded here of the importance of defining life by your criteria, not man's. We must always look to you, but this seems to be harder and harder as we live our lives by what seems justifiable at any given moment. Lord, thank you for forgiving sin. Help us to stay focused on You no matter what, though. I pray that people would submit and surrender to You. Help me to be a light to many in this world.

Mark 10:1-9 - The One-Flesh Union

Mark 10:1-9
Getting up, He *went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds *gathered around Him again, and, according to His custom, He once more began to teach them.
² Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. ³ And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” ⁵ But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ⁶ But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. ⁷ For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, ⁸ and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

Message: The One-Flesh Union

Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word 'immediately' used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.

What the Lord is Saying: 

Preface -  Jesus continues to speak to his disciples about how they are to relate to others. After coming down from the mountain and being transfigured before Peter, James and John with Moses and Elijah Jesus delivers a demon-possessed man and speaks of his death and resurrection.He heads to Capernaum, on his way to Jerusalem. 

Jesus continues to teach and crowds are gathering to hear. Preaching is Jesus' constant practice. according to His custom, He once more began to teach them. The Pharisees, as is often the case, come to him to question him, this time about whether it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife. Jesus, in answering, immediately appeals to Moses, the lawgiver, someone they had much reverence for:
What did Moses command you? 

They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” Deuteronomy 24:1 states, "When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house." 

But then Jesus does what Jesus often does, he explains the "why." Moses allowed this for a reason. Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. Moses did this because if he did not these Jewish men would have dealt very harshly with their wives, punishing them with words or even physical force. Jesus goes on to explain the creation story purpose of marriage, between a man and woman and and the two shall become one flesh. Marriage is an institution that God ordains and so we are to take it seriously. This means that even when we reach a state of it not feeling great or doesn't feel like something we want to continue, we press on, we continue. We keep trying harder. 

I was speaking to someone yesterday that was brought up in the Catholic Church and she said that when a person got divorced they were ostracized from the church, made to feel like they couldn't enjoy the gifts, like communion because of getting a divorce. Yes, Jesus points out it is important, but that doesn't mean we levy consequences or takes things away from a person. If two parties cannot be reconciled then a divorce results. 

Today, I see people not even getting married. Living together has become the norm. It was preached on the sitcoms in the 90s and now it is the lifestyle of people. Divorce is common over many different issues, some serious, some not so much. Jesus is reminding people of the importance of the Word of God. He is not nullifying the Law here, but instead upholding it and adding fuel to it. 


Summary - Jesus preaches to many and teaches, as is His custom. He answers the Pharisees question on divorce and reminds them that marriage is an institution God ordains and we don't abandon it just when our feelings don't align with it. For God has joined a husband and wife together.

Promise: Divorce is not acceptable in trivial circumstances.

Prayer: Lord, your Words are true. They are right. They are written and commanded to me for my protection. I pray that myself, my family, the church, would not take relationships lightly. I pray that they would realize that what you have joined together is a serious matter and needs to be taken seriously. Help us all, even when things don't go the way we want them to, to stick it out, to work on differences. Lord, when mistakes have been made and people can't do this, help the church to not ostracize people for getting a divorce. Lord, you are the judge, not man. Help me and others to be supporting and loving towards people.

Malachi 2

Message: God is to be set apart and praised and honored and His covenants are to be taken seriously. 

Time: Late 5th Century BC; After Malachi I when the Lord came down on the people for not giving God their best and the priests were willing to accept second-best.

What the Lord is Saying:

The Lord Rebukes the Priests
(v. 1-2) Our priority to the Lord is to give honor to His name. This is the whole and entire purpose of the tabernacle and the role of the priests: to give Glory to God in the Highest.

Reminds me of the Chris Tomlin song, "Glory in the Highest."
    You are the first
    You go before
    You are the last
    Lord, You're the encore
    Your names in lights for all to see
    The starry host declare Your glory

    Glory in the Highest.

This is our chief aim of life, to glorify God and give Him the honor he deserves. How can we not do this and then think God will bless us?

(v. 3) When I don't honor God, but then bring to Him offerings and expect a blessing, it is odd. How I live like this. I secure my salvation in the Lord and then I live my life in such a way as to just barely give God what He deserves and then sit back and expect my life to fall into place. (v.4) I am to repent. The covenant is to seek the Lord, repent of my ways. (v.5) Would I just realize that I am to stand in awe of the Lord and realize who He is.

King James Version - over and over we see God telling us to not fear.

Deuteronomy 1:21 - Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.
Deuteronomy 31:8 - And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
Joshua 1:9 - Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Joshua 10:25 - And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. 

1 Chronicles 22:13 - Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.
1 Chronicles 28:20 - And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:15 - And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. 

2 Chronicles 20:17 - Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you. 

2 Chronicles 32:7 - Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: 

Isaiah 51:7 - Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. 

Jeremiah 23:4 - And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord. 

Jeremiah 30:10 - Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.

Jeremiah 46:27 - But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. 

We walk in control of our lives most of the time because of something we fear and yet over and over the Lord reminds us to "fear not."

There are actions of the true priest and how he is to act and conduct himself (v. 6-7). His instruction is true. He walks in peace. He walks in an upright way. He turns many from their focus on sin. He guards knowledge. People look to him for instruction. He is a messenger sent from the Lord. But, the false priest acts in the opposite manner (v. 8,9) and has poor outcomes or results. Many stumble, many are corrupted and you are partial in your instruction, trying to have your cake and eat it, too. Your name will not be set apart.

Judah Profaned the Covenant
All of us have the same God. God is the one that created us. So, why do we often act so poorly toward one another (v. 10)? We do we often act that we are not of the same family. That is a hard question for life. Family members can go their separate ways at times but we can still leave in love. We are pondering leaving our church right now, but that doesn't mean we think any less of the people that are there. Specifically here in this passage (v.11) the concern is placed on Judah and their unfaithfulness and the way they have treated those things in their life that should be sacred. They haven't placed the honor they should toward the Church. God loves His Church and yet how often do people instead go out and choose to marry the world instead? We need to be careful that we don't act this way and then occasionally think that are service to God will bring blessing to our life (v. 12).

It wasn't enough that people disregarding God's covenants and did not give Him honor, but they turned their back on the wife of their youth and instead went after foreign wives (v. 13-16). They went outside the church and went instead to other places to seek after other women. God is the one that establishes the covenant between husband and wife and then we often turn our back on it and go after other wives. The overriding issue here is how we don't take serious enough the covenants that God has set up for us. 

The Lord is wearied by our words. Our throat is an open grave (Romans 3:13). Our words begin to no longer have value (v. 17).


Promise: God is to be honored. Give Him the honor He deserves by following what He teaches throughout His word. Don't look to being favored by man. Persistence of sin in our life will lead to all kinds of problems in our lives.