1-God rebuked the Israelites for the sin of divorce and commanded them to be faithful to their covenant vows.
[Malachi 2:13-15 GW] Here is another thing you do: You cover the LORD'S altar with tears. You moan and groan because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them from you.
But you ask, "Why aren't our offerings accepted?" It is because the LORD is a witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been unfaithful. Yet, she is your companion, the wife of your marriage vows.
Didn't God make you one? Your flesh and spirit belong to him. And what does the same God look for but godly descendants? So be careful not to be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
2-God hates divorce.
[Malachi 2:16 GW] "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel. "I hate the person who covers himself with violence," says the LORD of Armies. "Be careful not to be unfaithful."
3-Jesus says: No divorce, except in the case of adultery.
[Matthew 5:31-32 GNB] "It was also said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.'
But now I tell you: if a man divorces his wife for any cause other than her unfaithfulness, then he is guilty of making her commit adultery if she marries again; and the man who marries her commits adultery also.
[Matthew 19:4-6 GNB] Jesus answered, "Haven't you read the scripture that says that in the beginning the Creator made people male and female? And God said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.' So they are no longer two, but one. No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together."
4-Why did the Mosaic Law speak of a bill of divorcement?
[Matthew 19:7-8 GNB] The Pharisees asked him, "Why, then, did Moses give the law for a man to hand his wife a divorce notice and send her away?" Jesus answered, "Moses gave you permission to divorce your wives because you are so hard to teach. But it was not like that at the time of creation. (The mosaic law allowed divorce only in the case of unfaithfulness.)
5-Husband and Wife are bound together until death separates them.
(Romans 7:1-3) Don't you realize, brothers and sisters, that laws have power over people only as long as they are alive? (I'm speaking to people who are familiar with Moses' Teachings.) For example, a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he is alive. But if her husband dies, that marriage law is no longer in effect for her. So if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she will be called an adulterer. But if her husband dies, she is free from this law, so she is not committing adultery if she marries another man.
6-A Believer may not initiate a divorce from an unbelieving spouse.
(1 Corinthians 7:12-14) I (not the Lord) say to the rest of you: If any Christian man is married to a woman who is an unbeliever, and she is willing to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any Christian woman is married to a man who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to live with her, she should not divorce her husband.
Actually, the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and an unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise, their children would be unacceptable to God, but now they are acceptable to him.
7-If the unbelieving spouse wants to depart, he or she may do so.
(1 Corinthians 7:15) But if the unbelieving partners leave, let them go. Under these circumstances a Christian man or Christian woman is not bound by a marriage vow. God has called you to live in peace.
8-The believing spouse must seek reconciliation when trouble arises. The key is to get professional help before anger and resentment builds up.
[Romans 12:18 RSV] If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all.
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