Divorce and Remarriage
24: 1-4
Divorce and remarriage DIG: What was the purpose of this mitzvah? What does the phrase “something indecent” mean? How did the rabbis interpret that? What prophets used this mitzvah in their message? How did Yeshua expand the understanding of it?
REFLECT: If you are divorced, do you understand that even though God hates divorce; He doesn’t hate divorced people. He loves people regardless of their sins. In addition, New Covenant believers are under no bondage if their spouse is guilty of adultery or desertion.
Following the general theme of Deuteronomy to protect the poor and the helpless, this mitzvah on divorce and remarriage was intended to protect the wife.
Deuteronomy 19:1 to 26:15 (to see link click Dl – The Social and Family Mitzvot) deals with individual mitzvot, and to today’s readers they might appear irrelevant at first, but the very principles behind these commandments were the ones that have brought dignity to mankind. We need to examine these mitzvot in depth to discover the spirit in which they were given, so that we can still live in obedience to God’s Word today. For example, in Numbers 18, the Israelites were to bring their tithes to the Tabernacle because the priests and Levites had no inheritance. But today we have no Temple and no priesthood; however, we bring our tithes to our place of worship. That is the spirit of the mitzvah.
From 23:15 to 26:15, Moses deals with twenty real life situations that the nation would need to function in a godly manner, and valuable lessons for us today as well: number six.
This section of Scripture does not deal with divorce in general, but with the issue of remarriage after divorce. This passage focuses on one issue. If a man divorces his wife and she marries another man who either dies or divorces her, the first husband is forbidden to remarry her. The first three verses set the conditions that apply to the mitzvah in verse four. This is a very interesting and exceptional example. It is very complicated, but it contains a lot of truth for us to learn from. The ridiculousness of this scene was what marriage had been reduced to in the days of Moshe. The woman is seen as the victim of her two husbands and the society in general.511
First, if a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent (Hebrew: ervat davar, meaning shameful or disgraceful) about her. What was it that the husband “found” in his wife that was shameful or disgraceful? The rabbis debated the meaning of the term indecency apparently it refers to some repulsive act short of adultery, since adultery was punishable by death (Deuteronomy 22:22-24). The indecency was the basis for the man’s divorcing his wife.512
This mitzvah provoked discussion in later Jewish history. The conservative school Shammai believed a man could not divorce his wife unless she was unfaithful. The school of Hillel, however, was much more liberal. They believed that the indecency referred to anything displeasing to the husband – such as appearing in public with messy hair, exposing her arms in public, speaking indiscriminately with men, speaking disrespectfully of her husband’s parents in his presence, or cooking what he considered a bad meal. According to the liberal school of thought, these women only got one chance. If they burned some food, spoke too loudly, or exposed their arms in public, they were given a certificate of divorce. No pressure right!
We need to understand that a marriage should not be based on the feelings of the husband. Marriage is for life, and should not depend on the mood of either the husband or the wife. It is a divine institution. However, God holds that man responsible for what goes on in the marriage (see the commentary on Genesis and don’t be fooled by the title Lv – I Do Not Permit a Woman to Teach or Have Authority Over a Man, She Must Be Silent).
Second, the husband wrote her a certificate of divorce (Hebrew: sefer keritut, meaning a cutting off), gave it to her, and sent her from his house (24:1 NIV). Marriage was established by a formal legal covenant, and therefore a formal legal document was required to end it. The custom of writing a certificate of marriage was probably adopted during the Israelite bondage in Egypt. The divorce procedure was simple . . . but cruel, reflecting the generally low view of women worldwide. In ancient civilization, women were second-class citizens. In the pagan cultures around Isra’el, women were bought, sold, and treated like animals. Therefore, this mitzvah actually protected the woman. In fact, it hindered the husband from divorcing his wife rashly, since a divorce would make it illegal to take her back. However, if he did divorce her, she was awarded financial protection. Custom at that time required the husband who divorced his wife to return (Hebrew: shuwb) her dowry and give her a portion of his own estate equal to that dowry. She therefore left the marriage with twice the lands, property, or money that she brought into the marriage.513
Third, and if after she leaves his house, she becomes the wife of another man (24:2 NIV). His divorcing her (in most cases) necessitated her remarrying for economic security, since ancient Israelite women lacked the means to support themselves.
Now comes the specific mitzvah, fourth, if a woman was divorced from her second husband she could not return to her first husband. Even if her second husband died, she could not return to the first husband, because she had been defiled. And if her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies (24:3 NIV), then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. If divorce became too easy, then it could be abused and would become a “legal” form of committing adultery, which would be detestable in the eyes of the LORD (24:4a).
Do not bring sin upon the land ADONAI your God is giving you as an inheritance (24:4b NIV). This mitzvah did not indicate that YHVH commanded divorce, for He would later say: I hate divorce (Malachi 2:16). Rather, He condoned divorce in certain circumstances, and gave guidelines to control a problem that was evident even before Deuteronomy was written.
Three prophets used this mitzvah in their message:
First, Jeremiah asks whether Isra’el, having committed spiritual adultery, could simply be taken back by YHVH. Isra’el was indeed unfaithful to her husband YHVH, and He did give her a certificate of divorce (see the commentary on Jeremiah At – Unfaithful Isra’el). But in the near historical future, she would repent, and they were reunited after the Babylonian Captivity (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule). So, while it seems that human divorce is final, God’s is not.
Secondly, Isaiah looked for a certificate of divorce in the far eschatological future for the nation of Isra’el at the end of the Great Tribulation, saying: Where is the divorce certificate by which I sent your mother away (Isaiah 50:1). But the prophet found none because her sin had been pardoned by the Suffering Servant, Yeshua (see the commentary on Isaiah Ir – Because the Sovereign LORD Helps Me, I Will Set My Face Like a Flint).
Thirdly, for Hosea, divorce was a painful personal experience. It seems that once again Ha’Shem was operating by different rules than us humans. But in Hosea’s case, he was commanded to buy his wife back from adultery. Though it was significant that she had returned to prostitution and had not been married to another man (Hosea 3:1-3).514
In the B’rit Chadashah, Yeshua taught the complete equality of men and women in the marriage bond. In His view the possibility of divorce came about only as a concession of the hardness of the human heart. The aim of marriage, as set out in Genesis, was that the man and the woman would be loyal to each other for their entire lives (see the commentary on Genesis Ax – Then the LORD God Made a Woman from the Rib He had Taken Out of the Man). But if divorce did occur, as Yeshua Himself points out (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ij – Is It Lawful for a Man to Divorce His Wife?), the Torah gave this mitzvah to regulate the mess.515
Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for being the best spouse that ever could be. Though there is great joy in human relationships, spending time with You brings an even deeper peace and contentment. We seek to live in relationships with others that please you. For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. For I betrothed you to one husband, to present you to Messiah as a pure virgin (Second Corinthians 11:2). Life is busy and full of many important things, but spending time meditating on your Word and praising You are top priorities. You are whom our hearts long to please and we look forward to spending all eternity worshipping and praising You. In Yeshua’s holy name and His power of resurrection. Amen
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