Divorce Sin (Repent)

Ezra 9-10 gives quite a story of sin and repentance. The sin was found and pointed out in Israelites who had intermarried with pagan women. 

These 'mixed marriages' were the origin of paganism within the then current population of the Jews. We have record in Ezra that not all the Jews had violated themselves in this way, but there were indeed many who had. 

The offense was a serious one for the Jews because it involved numerous violations of God's laws - starting with intermarrying with pagan women. Marriage involves intimacy and intimacy involves sharing 'everything.' While a Jew and a pagan could possibly be acquaintances, they could never be 'intimate' and remain unaffected by each others' practices. We have no record (within these two chapters of Ezra) of what the actual sins were, but they were bad enough to determine that marrying one who practiced such was detestable.

In Malachi 2.16, the Bible declares that God hates divorce and yet, that is precisely what the offending Jewish people in this scripture passage were instructed to do!

The key is in seeing that divorce, in this context, was about being wed to paganism (it had nothing at all to do with not getting along - but more so with getting along). God does not accept paganism in His followers - He never has nor ever will. And, as bad as God hates divorce in His people, infiltrated paganism makes them no longer His people. So, divorce was the only option in order for purity and holiness to be restored.

It is not ironic then that divorce was a subject Jesus was challenged on!

Jewish law involved many rituals and practices commanded by God that were fulfilled in Jesus. The man married to a pagan then was in a different situation than a man married to a pagan now. This is seen in Jesus' re-qualification of divorce being warranted only by adultery. Because of Temple requirements for purity which involved even things touching things as causing defilement, it was not possible to be around a pagan and still maintain those purity requirements.

However, in this age of grace - after the Advent of the Messiah - these purification rituals and requirements were complete in Jesus and divorce would no longer be necessary in order to maintain personal holiness - it would be covered by the blood of Jesus for the believer. This is precisely why both Jesus and the apostle Paul indicated that adultery was the only real problem that could end a marriage.

The point remains however that marriage and divorce very much represent a believer's relationship with God. God hates divorce, but, when His spouse is unfaithful (regardless of purity issues covered by Jesus) He retains that option. (I am mostly just thinking with my fingers here - this is a revelation to me... maybe)

The picture painted by Ezra 9-10 is one of repentance. God simply cannot and will not tolerate His people uniting themselves with sin. The solution is to separate from and remove the sin! The solution is to divorce sin and have nothing more to do with it - and definitely stay out of bed with it!

Father, You have once again revealed Truth to me from the Bible - thank You! Help me to understand the necessity of divorcing myself from sin. Help me to have further insight into the whole divorce issue both in Bible times and now.