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This article will discuss the marriage covenant and all the associated issues regarding marriage and other sexual unions: vows, annulments, divorce, fornication, adultery, polygamy, and abominable sex – homosexuality.

GOD MADE US MALE AND FEMALE TO BE HUSBAND AND WIFE

GENESIS 2:18,21-24 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
And YHWH (the Lord) God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” …
And YHWH (the Lord) God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib, which YHWH (the Lord) God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
And Adam said:
“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh [THROUGH SEXUAL INTERCOURSE]. And they were both naked, THE MAN AND HIS WIFE, and were not ashamed.

THE LAW OF MARRIAGE

DEUTERONOMY 22:13-21 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and detests her, and charges her with shameful conduct, and brings a bad name on her, and says,
‘I took this woman, and when I came to her I found she was not a virgin,’ then the father and mother of the young woman shall take and bring out the evidence of the young woman’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. And the young woman’s father shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as wife, and he detests her. Now he has charged her with shameful conduct, saying, “I found your daughter was not a virgin,” and yet these are the evidences [BLOOD-STAINED BEDSHEET] of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloth [BLOOD-STAINED BEDSHEET] before the elders of the city. Then the elders of that city shall take that man and punish him; and they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name on a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he cannot divorce her all his days.
But if the thing is true, and evidences of virginity are not found for the young woman, then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father’s house. So you shall put away the evil from among you.

DEUTERONOMY 24:1-4 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
When a man takes [HAS SEXUAL INTERCOURSE WITH] a [BETROTHED] wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her [SHE WAS NOT A VIRGIN – DEUTERONOMY 22:14], and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before YHWH (the Lord), and you shall not bring sin on the land which YHWH (the Lord) your God is giving you as an inheritance.

THREE TYPES OF DIVORCE:
– FOR FORNICATION WITH THE RIGHT TO REMARRY
– FOR ADULTERY AND ALL OTHER CAUSES
– REPENTANT DIVORCE FROM AN UNLAWFUL UNION

DIVORCE FOR FORNICATION (A CANCELLED MARRIAGE)

fornication:
Sexual intercourse between people not married to each other [1].

God’s standard for a proper marriage is much greater and purer than what marriage has become under the laws of man. In sexually ‘liberated’ (sexually sinning) Westernized cultures, premarital sex (fornication) has been normalized. Young couples preserving their virginity until their marriage day is the extreme exception, not the norm. Cultural, moral, and societal norms may change, but God does not change (Hebrews 13:8).

When a man exchanges marriage vows with his betrothed wife (fiancée), and then consummates the marriage through sexual intercourse and takes her virginity, he cannot divorce her (for the purposes of becoming another man’s wife – Deuteronomy 24:1-2) all the days of his life. She will be his wife all the days of his life.

When a man exchanges marriage vows with his betrothed wife (fiancée), and then consummates the marriage through sexual intercourse believing that his betrothed wife (fiancée) was a virgin, but he discovers through initial sexual intercourse that she deceived him and she was not a virgin, then he may divorce her (annul the marriage vow) and both he and his divorced betrothed wife (fiancée) are free to marry someone else (Deuteronomy 24:1-2).

Obviously, if a man knows that his betrothed wife (fiancée) is not a virgin, because he himself has committed fornication (premarital sex) with her, or if she has confessed to him that she was not a virgin, then when he exchanges marriage vows with his betrothed wife (fiancée) and then consummates the marriage through sexual intercourse, he cannot divorce her (cancel the marriage vow), because he knew she was not a virgin when he took her to be his wife.

The betrothal (espousal) period for a marriage varies, as there is no set time for it. Typically it can last a few months to a year, but it can go longer. Jacob agreed to be a servant for Leban for seven years, in an agreement to have Leban’s daughter Rachel become his wife, so their betrothal (espousal) period was seven years and a week (Genesis 29:18-28).

Under the law, if a man’s betrothed wife (fiancée) was discovered to have engaged in fornication (premarital sexual intercourse) with another man, before or during the betrothal period, the man had the right to either stone to death his betrothed wife (fiancée), give her a certificate of divorce, or forgive her virginity deception and keep her to be his wife.

Since we are not living under the law during this current age of grace, the ordinances for breaking the law – the death penalty, would obviously not be permissible today. A man is not to stone his betrothed wife (fiancée) if he discovers that she engaged in fornication (premarital sex) with another man during their betrothal period, or if he discovers through initial sexual intercourse that she was not a virgin. Yet today, in some Muslim countries, they still practice stoning women for fornication and adultery.

JOSEPH WAS GOING TO DIVORCE MARY FOR FORNICATION

MATTHEW 1:18-25 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
Now the birth of Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ) was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together [THROUGH SEXUAL INTERCOURSE], she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just [MERCIFUL] man, and not wanting to make her a public example [BY STONING HER – DEUTERONOMY 22:20-21], was minded to put her away secretly [GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE – DEUTERONOMY 24:1-2]. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for [SHE IS STILL A VIRGIN AND] that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Yeshua (Jesus), for He will save His people from their sins.”
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her [CARNALLY THROUGH SEXUAL INTERCOURSE] till she had brought forth her firstborn Son [YESHUA (JESUS)].

Joseph believed that Mary not only fornicated (had premarital sex with another man) during their betrothal, but that she was also pregnant with the child of another man. After this discovery, he had no intention of still marrying Mary and raising some other man’s child, nor did he want to see her stoned, so he sought to quietly divorce her for her sin of fornication and send her on her way. An angel of the Lord informed Joseph, through a dream, that Mary was not guilty of the sin of fornication, was still a virgin, and that which was conceived in her was of the Holy Spirit. Mary was to be a surrogate mother and give birth to the Savior of the world and Joseph was instructed to take her to be his wife. Joseph knew Mary carnally as his wife after Yeshua (Jesus) was born.

YESHUA’S (JESUS’) EXCEPTION CLAUSE FOR FORNICATION

MATTHEW 5:32 (KJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
“But I say unto you, that whoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication [PREMARITAL SEX], causes her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is [OTHERWISE] divorced [FOR ADULTERY OR ANY REASON OTHER THAN FORNICATION] commits adultery.”

MATTHEW 19:9 (KJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
“And I say unto you, whoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication [PREMARITAL SEX], and shall marry another [WOMAN], commits adultery: and whoever marries her which is put away [FOR ADULTERY OR ANY REASON OTHER THAN FORNICATION] does commit adultery.”

Subsequent English translations have watered down Yeshua’s (Jesus’) exception clause, changing ‘fornication’ to ‘sexual immorality.’ The exception is for fornication only (premarital sex), and the marriage must be cancelled, if it is to be cancelled, on the day the vow was made according to the law of marriage (Deuteronomy 22:13-21, 24:1-4) and the law of vows (Numbers 30; Deuteronomy 23:21-23).

THE LAW OF VOWS

A marriage is consecrated by a vow, a solemn oath witnessed by God. God is omnipresent. He sees everything we do (Psalm 33:13-14) and hears every word that is uttered from our lips.
We will give account for every word we speak. We will be justified by our words and we will be condemned by them (Deuteronomy 23:21-23; Zechariah 8:17; Matthew 12:36-37; Romans 3:4).

IF A VOW IS CANCELLED, INCLUDING THE MARRIAGE VOW, IT MUST BE CANCELLED ON THE DAY IT WAS MADE OR IT STANDS

In order for a vow to be cancelled, so that one is released from the vow, it MUST be cancelled on the day it was made. This is true of all vows, including the marriage vow. There is an exception for the marriage vow for which it CANNOT be cancelled. A marriage vow may be cancelled for fornication, BUT it CANNOT be cancelled if a man marries a virgin and he takes her virginity. Obviously, if a man takes a woman’s virginity, he cannot give it back to her, so he CANNOT cancel a marriage vow after he takes his wife’s virginity. If a man marries a wife and then takes her virginity, she will be his wife ALL THE DAYS OF HIS LIFE and he cannot then cancel the marriage vow that he has made with her (Deuteronomy 22:19).

DEUTERONOMY 23:21-23:
When you make a vow to YHWH (the Lord) your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for YHWH (the Lord) your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to YHWH (the Lord) your God what you have promised with your mouth.

NUMBERS 30:2-8:
If a man makes a vow to YHWH (the Lord), or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
Or if a woman makes a vow to YHWH (the Lord), and binds herself by some agreement while in her father’s house in her youth, and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, THEN ALL HER VOWS SHALL STAND, and every agreement with which she has bound herself SHALL STAND. But if her father OVERRULES HER ON THE DAY HE HEARS, THEN NONE OF HER VOWS NOR HER AGREEMENTS BY WHICH SHE HAS BOUND HERSELF SHALL STAND; and YHWH (the Lord) WILL RELEASE HER, because her father overruled her. If indeed she takes a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself, and her husband hears it, AND MAKES NO RESPONSE TO HER ON THE DAY THAT HE HEARS, THEN HER VOWS SHALL STAND and her agreements by which she bound herself SHALL STAND. But if her husband OVERRULES HER ON THE DAY THAT HE HEARS IT, HE SHALL MAKE VOID HER VOW which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and YHWH (the Lord) WILL RELEASE HER.

According to the law of marriage, and the law of vows, the ONLY way that a man and woman can be released from a marriage vow, to have that vow cancelled with the right of both of them to marry another, is if a man marries a wife who he believed was a virgin, goes into her through initial sexual intercourse and discovers that she was not a virgin, then he can cancel the marriage vow ON THE DAY IT WAS MADE for fornication (premarital sex).

NUMBERS 30:10-12 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
If she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an agreement with an oath, and her husband heard it, and made no response to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand [INCLUDING THE MARRIAGE VOW], and every agreement by which she bound herself SHALL STAND.
But if her husband truly made them [OR THE MARRIAGE VOW] VOID ON THE DAY HE HEARD THEM, then whatever proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her, it SHALL NOT STAND; her husband has made them void, and YHWH (the Lord) will release her [FROM HER VOWS, INCLUDING THE MARRIAGE VOW].

A marriage vow may be cancelled by a husband, but only for fornication (premarital sex) and then it must be cancelled on the day it was made, or the marriage vow stands.

DIVORCE FOR ADULTERY AND ALL OTHER CAUSES

adultery:
Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse.

There are some who believe that divorce is never permissible under any circumstance and others believe that a divorce on the grounds of adultery gives the victim of adultery the right to dissolve the marriage and remarry someone else. A married woman is bound to the marriage vow that she made with her husband and she cannot lawfully, under God’s law, divorce or be divorced from him and marry someone else as long as he is alive. Even if a husband commits adultery, leaves his wife, marries another woman, and has nothing more to do with his former wife, the divorced woman is STILL under the marriage vow and cannot remarry. If she does remarry, or if she has sexual intercourse while her original husband lives, she is committing adultery with whoever she has sexual relations with. The marriage vow is not conditional based on the actions of a spouse.

MATTHEW 5:32 (KJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
“But I say unto you, That whoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication [PREMARITAL SEX], CAUSES HER TO COMMIT ADULTERY: and whosoever shall marry her that is [OTHERWISE] divorced [FOR ANY REASON OTHER THAN FORNICATION] commits adultery.”

A man who divorces his wife CAUSES HER TO COMMIT ADULTERY, because she will be committing adultery with whoever she has sexual intercourse with, whether through remarriage or not, if she has sex with any man while her husband lives. She will be breaking her vow that she made, ‘till death do us part,’ (not till adultery do us part), and she will stand as a covenant breaker and an adulteress before God in her judgment.

ROMANS 7:1-4 (NKJV):
Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? For the woman who has a husband IS BOUND BY THE LAW TO HER HUSBAND AS LONG AS HE LIVES. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, SHE WILL BE CALLED AN ADULTERESS; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.

A divorced woman who gets married to another man while her original husband lives, in this age, is generally called a ‘remarried’ woman. A divorced woman who marries another man while her original husband lives, in her judgment before God, will be called an adulteress.

1 CORINTHIANS 7:10-11 (NKJV):
Now to the married I command, YET NOT I BUT THE LORD: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, LET HER REMAIN UNMARRIED or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.

It is a DIRECT COMMAND FROM THE LORD that if a woman is married and she does depart (due to adultery, financial neglect, physical abuse, or for any other reason), SHE IS TO REMAIN UNMARRIED or be reconciled to her original husband. Remarriage, after a divorce from a lawful valid marriage, is NOT an option for a woman while her original husband lives.

1 CORINTHIANS 7:39 (NKJV):
A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.

A wife is bound by the law of marriage and the vow that she has made, as long as her husband lives – until the death of either herself or her husband. If she marries another man while he lives, regardless of what her original husband has done or whether he has divorced her and went on to marry someone else himself, she commits adultery every time she engages in sex in a remarriage or with anyone else who is not her original husband.

MARRIAGE IS A COVENANT, NOT A CONTRACT THAT CAN BE DISSOLVED

PROVERBS 6:32 (NKJV):
Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; He who does so destroys his own soul.

COVENANT BREAKERS

The one covenant that most people enter into sometime during their lives is the marriage covenant.

MALACHI 2:14 (NKJV):
YHWH (the Lord) has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion and wife BY COVENANT.

ROMANS 1:31 (KJV):
Without understanding, COVENANT BREAKERS, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful.

A man who divorces his wife to marry other woman is a covenant breaker who not only commits adultery with another woman, but he causes his original wife to break her covenant and commit adultery if she ever has sex with a man who is not her original husband or has sexual intercourse in a remarriage. A man who puts away his wife through divorce to marry another woman deals treacherously with the covenant wife of his youth and will not be held guiltless for his original wife’s adultery that he causes if she engages in sex with other men or gets remarried.

Men also deal treacherously with the wives of their youth when they commit adultery against their wives with mistresses and then return home to their wives, and wives deal treacherously with their husbands when they commit adultery against their husbands with other men and then return home to their husbands.

Even if a husband does not keep his marriage covenant, the covenant remains and a woman is obligated to keep her covenant vow to him and not get married to another man while he lives.

MARK 10:11-12 (NKJV):
Yeshua (Jesus) said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

A woman who divorces her husband to marry another man commits ongoing adultery in either her remarriage or by whomever else she has sexual relations with.

FORNICATION VS. ADULTERY

fornication:
Sexual intercourse between people not married to each other [1].

adultery:
Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse [2].

When a man or woman goes to court to divorce his or her spouse, and it is due to infidelity, an appeal is made to the court to divorce on the grounds of adultery, not on the grounds of fornication. Once fully lawfully married, a husband or wife cannot commit fornication, but can only commit adultery.

Many who divorce on the grounds of adultery by their spouse claim the godly right to remarry, calling a divorce over adultery a ‘biblical divorce’ with the right to lawfully remarry before God, but such a right does not exist. Adultery does NOT cancel a marriage. Husband and wife, once lawfully married, are husband and wife till the death of either spouse. The right to cancel a marriage is restricted for one reason and one reason only: fornication, that is if a man believes he is marrying a virgin, but discovers she is not a virgin during the betrothal (espousal) period or during initial sexual intercourse.

The right to divorce and remarry has been expanded since the Protestant reformation in the 1500’s to include adultery, but this is NOT God’s law. Any woman who marries after a valid marriage of which her original husband is still living commits adultery and any man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery with the divorced woman he marries.

A woman who is put away, separated, or divorced, is the put away, separated, or divorced wife of her original husband. With this in mind, marriage should be viewed as a permanent state of being, and a divorced woman should be viewed as the divorced spouse of her original husband, who is not free to remarry, unless her original husband dies. Therefore terms such as ‘ex-husband,’ or ‘ex-wife,’ do not appear in Scripture, as one cannot have an ex-spouse any more than one can have an ex-brother, ex-sister, ex-father, or ex-mother. One can only have a deceased spouse through death. As a spouse lives there are no such things as ex-husbands or ex-wives, as marriage remains till death.

CHURCHES DO NOT HAVE AUTHORITY TO ANNUL MARRIAGES

Notably, the Catholic Church takes the position that it has authority over the Scriptures and that it has the authority to annul marriages. Its position is that any marriage outside of the Catholic Church can be considered invalid and can therefore be annulled. Additionally, marriages within the Catholic Church can be annulled, as if they had never taken place. Of course there is corruption involved in such annulments made within the Catholic Church, as the husband typically pays a large fee to the Catholic Church to have his lawful marriage annulled.

DIVORCE BY ANOTHER NAME, ‘ANNULMENT,’ IS STILL DIVORCE

It is not the Catholic Church, or any other church, that brings together and sanctifies a marriage; God does. A marriage is a marriage when there is a marriage vow made, and it is consecrated through sexual intercourse.

Ideally, a man marries a virgin and after exchanging marriage vows, goes into her carnally through sexual intercourse, breaks her hymen, and the husband and wife seal their marriage in blood. Any annulment of a lawfully consecrated marriage, by the Catholic Church or any other church or institution, is still a divorce.

MATTHEW 19:4-6 (NKJV):
And Yeshua (Jesus) answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

A man or woman in a bad marriage may not believe they were joined together by God, but once the marriage is valid, it cannot be undone or annulled. This is one reason that a man or woman is commanded to not be unequally yoked, in marriage or other relationships, with unbelievers.
If a man or woman is lawfully married to an unbeliever, that marriage is valid and cannot be cancelled.

EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES. . .

Not everyone has the right, under God’s laws, to lawfully marry. Children cannot marry, brothers and sisters cannot marry, a divorced woman cannot marry another man while her husband lives, a man cannot marry a divorced woman, a married man cannot divorce his wife to marry another woman, a man cannot marry a man, and a woman cannot marry a woman. Many will twist Scripture to justify remarriage and many women who find themselves divorced cannot accept the truth of the permanency of marriage, which is until death, and will seek remarriage. It is understandable that a woman who is a victim of a bad marriage and who finds herself free from it and divorced will seek another marriage with another man for emotional / financial support and to enjoy the intimacy of sex. Yet it is a command of God that a woman can have only one husband at a time, that she cannot divorce her husband or be divorced from her husband and marry another man while her original husband lives.

1 CORINTHIANS 7:12-16 (NKJV):
But to the rest I, NOT THE LORD, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

Many have read and twisted the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 to mean that if a husband or wife has an unbelieving spouse, and the unbelieving spouse departs, then the believer who has been departed from can divorce, is not under the ‘bondage’ of marriage, and is free to remarry. The Apostle Paul cannot contradict or overrule Yeshua (Jesus) who said that WHOEVER (believer or unbeliever) divorces his wife, except for fornication, CAUSES HER to commit adultery AND WHOEVER (believer or unbeliever) marries her who is divorced commits adultery (Matthew 5:32). Although marriage can feel like bondage, it is not, and marriages between believers and unbelievers are valid. If a husband or a wife is in a bad marriage to an unbeliever who wishes to depart the marriage, the husband or wife is not bound to stay in such a marriage. BUT, the wife who is unbound from a bad marriage MUST REMAIN SINGLE (1 Corinthians 7:10-11), and is NOT FREE TO REMARRY (Romans 7:1-3; 1 Corinthians 7:39).

1 CORINTHIANS 7:12-16 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
But to the rest I [MY ADVICE], NOT THE LORD, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified [THROUGH MARRIAGE] by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified [IN MARRIAGE] by the husband [THE MARRIAGE OF AN UNBELIEVER WITH A BELIEVER IS SANCTIFIED]; otherwise your children would be unclean [BASTARDS – CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK], but now they are holy [BORN OF UNEQUALLY YOKED, BUT LAWFULLY MARRIED PARENTS]. But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage [UNDER RESPONSIBILITY TO TRACK DOWN A FLEEING SPOUSE] in such cases. But God has called us to [LIVE IN] peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? [HOW DO YOU KNOW O HUSBAND OR WIFE, THAT BY CHASING AFTER YOUR FLEEING SPOUSE YOU WILL SAVE YOUR MARRIAGE?]

Nowhere does Paul proclaim that a wife who is “not under bondage” (1 Corinthians 7:15) is free to remarry. She is not under bondage to remain in a bad marriage, and can live peaceably as one single (1 Corinthians 7:10-11), but she cannot marry another man unless her departed unbelieving husband dies (1 Corinthians 7:39).

1 CORINTHIANS 7:39 (NKJV):
A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.

A woman who is lawfully married is ‘bound’ by the marriage law as long as her husband lives and is only free to marry again if he dies.

IS REMARRIAGE ACCEPTABLE FOR DIVORCE, BUT NOT ‘PUT AWAY’ SEPARATION?

There are some King James Version only proponents taking a magnifying glass to the law of marriage, saying that if you marry a woman who is “put away,” this is adultery, but a woman who is properly divorced with divorce papers, she has a God-approved right be remarried and this is not adultery.

The King James verse often quoted is Matthew 19:9. . .

MATTHEW 19:9 (KJV):
And I say unto you, “Whosoever shall PUT AWAY his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her WHICH IS PUT AWAY doth commit adultery.”

The KJV in another verse disputes the falsehood being concocted by the King James only crowd:

MATTHEW 5:31-32 (KJV):
“It hath been said, Whosoever shall PUT AWAY his wife, let him GIVE HER A WRITING OF DIVORCEMENT: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is DIVORCED committeth adultery.”

So in either case, whether a man marries a woman who is put away (separated) from her husband without divorce papers, or a man marries a divorced woman with divorce papers, he enters a forbidden adulterous marriage and commits adultery with her.

CAN A SPOUSE OF A BINDING MARRIAGE LAWFULLY DIVORCE?

DEUTERONOMY 22:19,29 (NKJV):
And she shall be his wife; he cannot divorce her all his days. …
he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days.

MALACHI 2:16 (NKJV):
“For YHWH (the Lord) God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence,” says YHWH (the Lord) of hosts. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

Although God hates divorce, divorce is permissible for certain reasons. Although God hates divorce, He stopped short of calling all divorce sin. There often are very valid reasons for divorce. A husband or wife of a lawful valid marriage is never to divorce for a frivolous or selfish reason, which would be dealing treacherously with a spouse, but only for reasons of self- preservation, when danger to one’s self becomes evident and obvious.

ISAIAH 50:1 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
Thus says YHWH (the Lord):
“Where is the certificate of your mother’s [ISRAEL’S] divorce, whom I have put away? … And for your transgressions your mother [ISRAEL] has been put away.”

JEREMIAH 3:8-9 (NKJV):
Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.

YHWH (the Lord) Himself divorced Israel for spiritual adultery, idolatry with carved images of stone and wood. YHWH (the Lord) is a jealous God and He could not stand to see His chosen people Israel making idols of stone and wood in spiritual adultery against Him, so He divorced them.

If a husband or wife has a cheating spouse who is committing adultery and becomes aware of the adultery and confronts the spouse over it, and the spouse continues in adultery AND wishes to continue in sexual relations with his or her spouse as well, this is a cause for separation and / or divorce. A husband or wife cannot accept the adultery of a spouse. A husband or wife should not share in the adultery of a cheating spouse, nor share in the possible sexually transmitted diseases acquired by the cheating spouse.

If a wife is married to a husband who is a serial abuser, who likes to beat up and control his wife in unwarranted jealousy fits of rage, then the abused wife should separate, divorce, and seek safety for her physical protection.

If a husband is married to a deceitful wife, who plans to have him murdered to collect his life insurance, then for the safety of his life the husband should separate, divorce, and seek safety from his murderous-minded wife. If a husband is married to a wife who wants out of the marriage, and is willing to bear false witness against her husband, falsely claiming he hits her, the children, or sexually abuses the children, then the husband should separate before he gets into legal trouble through false allegations. If a wife is married to a husband, and she discovers that he is a pedophile and is sexually molesting their own children, then she should flee, separate, and divorce for the safety of her children.

HEBREWS 13:4 (NKJV):
Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Persons who divorce for these valid reasons of safety will not be held accountable for divorcing their spouses, but the adulterers and abusers who did not honor their marriage will answer to God for dealing treacherously with their spouses. Yet women with legitimate valid reasons to divorce are still under their marriage vow and are not free to remarry, even if they are victims of abuse or adultery.

CAN DIVORCED MEN REMARRY?

A divorced woman definitely cannot remarry while her original husband lives according to God’s marriage law, and if she does she will be judged by God to be an adulteress, as this is repeatedly confirmed throughout Scripture. A question arises as to whether or not divorced men can remarry.

Scripture is clear in stating that whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery, but what about whoever marries a divorced man? Is this always adultery as well? This is a grayer part of the marriage law that will be explained.

MATTHEW 19:9 (KJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
“And I say unto you, whoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication [PREMARITAL SEX], and shall marry another [WOMAN], commits adultery…”

MARK 10:11 (NKJV):
Yeshua (Jesus) said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.”

LUKE 16:18 (NKJV):
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery.”

A man CANNOT divorce his wife for the purpose of marrying another woman or for hoping to marry another woman in the future. If he does, this is adultery and he causes his original wife to sin if she ever has sex with another man while he, her original husband, lives.

WHAT IF a wife departs from her husband and she marries another man, or if she just divorces him and wishes to not continue in the marriage with him? In this case, is the divorced man free to remarry?

1 CORINTHIANS 7:26-28 (NKJV):
I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress – that it is good for A MAN to remain as he is: Are you bound [MARRIED] to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed [DIVORCED]. Are you loosed [DIVORCED] from a wife? Do not seek a [NEW] wife. But even if you do marry [SOMEONE ELSE], YOU HAVE NOT SINNED;

A man, if he in good conscience has done no wrong to his wife and has done all that he can to prevent an adulterous-minded or covenant-breaking wife from departing from him, then it will not be a sin for him to marry another wife. However, the wife who is divorced from him IS STILL HIS WIFE and will remain his wife till death, even if she marries another man. In the case that she marries another man, she is still his wife who is living in adultery with another man.

The standards for men and women in marriage are different. Men and women are not equals in marriage, which explains the permissiveness of polygamy in Scripture.

POLYGAMY

It is written in God’s law that a man could have more than one wife at a time, but a woman could only be married to one husband at a time. It would simply be inconceivable if, hypothetically speaking, some of the saints in Scripture had wives who were able to flee from them or divorce them, that these men would have remained celibate for the rest of their lives.

Men of Scripture often had numerous wives simultaneously and God NEVER condemned polygamy as adultery. Polygamy is NOT adultery, because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). If polygamy were adultery today, then it would also have been adultery yesterday, in Scripture times past.

DEUTERONOMY 21:15-17 (NKJV):
If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved, then it shall be, on the day he bequeaths his possessions to his sons, that he must not bestow firstborn status on the son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the unloved, the true firstborn. But he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

If polygamy were adultery, then God needs to correct His law. Deuteronomy 21:15-17 should therefore read: If a man has two wives, the first wife is his wife and the second woman who he calls his wife he commits adultery with. Scripture DOES NOT SAY THAT!

Polygamy is still practiced throughout the world, mostly in Middle East and African nations, but has been outlawed in most Western Christian nations.

GENESIS 29:31 (NKJV):
When YHWH (the Lord) saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.

Jacob married two sisters, Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29:21-28). God never said a word about Jacob being in a polygamous marriage, but He did punish Jacob for not loving Leah, by blessing Leah with more children than Rachel. Jacob, as well as Abraham, King David, and Moses – the prophet formally given God’s laws, all had multiple wives in polygamy. It is not God’s laws that forbid polygamy, but man’s laws.

“And the two shall become one flesh” – Genesis 2:24, is often cited as a verse to oppose polygamy, as the two (not three) shall become one flesh. What the phrase actually means is that the two, a husband and wife, shall become one flesh (through sexual intercourse), not spiritually one flesh. So the men in Scripture who had two or more wives, would go into them and become one flesh (have sexual intercourse) with one wife, then afterward go into wife number two, etc., and become one flesh physically (have sexual intercourse) becoming one flesh with each of his wives, one at a time.

KING SOLOMON’S MULTIPLE WIVES

DEUTERONOMY 17:17 (NKJV):
Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.

1 KINGS 11:3-4 (NKJV):
And he [KING SOLOMON] had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to YHWH (the Lord) his God, as was the heart of his father David.

A restriction to polygamy that God did command against was multiplying (not adding) wives. It is obvious that King Solomon, with his seven hundred wives, could not possibly love or control them all. They turned his heart away from God. King Solomon disobeyed the command for kings to not multiply wives unto themselves. Even if King Solomon were capable of having sexual relations twice a day, skipping the Sabbath day to rest, and each time with a different wife until he went through all seven hundred of them, it would have taken him over a year to have sex (become one flesh) with each of his wives. King Solomon was obviously collecting wives like a man collects and hordes cash, gold and silver, treasure that he would never be able to appreciate, spend, or use. King Solomon was the wisest man alive, but his wives turned his heart away from YHWH (the Lord).

MARRIAGE ESTABLISHED, AS ARE OTHER UNIONS, AT THE CREATION SCALE

LEVITICUS 19:19 (NKJV):
You shall not sow your field with mixed seed.

While Leviticus 19:19 concerns farming, the universal application of God and His creation remains, which helps explain why polygamy was acceptable under God’s laws. A man is the sower of seed, a woman is the field or garden where the seed gets planted. A man, as a sower, can sow his seed in different gardens, but a woman, as a garden, cannot have different seeds from different men sown in her.

Many people believe that polygamy does not legally exist any longer in the Westernized nations, but will be surprised to find out that marriages do not end in divorce. Therefore, a man who had a wife who left and divorced him, and he then went on to marry another woman, is actually a polygamist whether he knows it or not.

This article is NOT advocating a cultural return to polygamy in this age, as it is quite evident that the current state of society in keeping a marriage together between just one man and one woman is challenging enough and is something that people as a whole are failing at dismally.

YESHUA (JESUS) DIVORCED ISRAEL, BUT REMAINED FAITHFUL TO ISRAEL

Yeshua (Jesus) is our High Priest, and as such He remained faithful to backsliding, sinning Israel and did not align Himself (marry) with another nation after He divorced Israel (Jeremiah 3:8).

MATTHEW 10:5-6 (NKJV):
These twelve Yeshua (Jesus) sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

When Yeshua (Jesus) came to Earth as the Messiah (Christ), He came exclusively for the Jews. He was honoring His ‘marriage’ covenant with them even though the Jews had committed spiritual adultery (served other gods) against Him.

MATTHEW 28:18-20 (NKJV):
And Yeshua (Jesus) came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of ALL THE NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Death ends a covenant made by a vow, including the marriage covenant. Upon His death, Yeshua’s (Jesus’) exclusive covenant with the Jews ended and He was free to make a covenant with ALL THE NATIONS.

1 TIMOTHY 3:1-5,12 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop [OVERSEER / CONGREGATIONAL MINISTER], he desires a good work. A bishop [OVERSEER / CONGREGATIONAL MINISTER] then MUST be blameless, THE HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God, the assembly of Elohim?); … Let church attendants be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

TITUS 1:5-9 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
You should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you – if a man is blameless, THE HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop [OVERSEER / CONGREGATIONAL MINISTER] must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

A man who is a congregational minister, or a congregational assembly attendant, he is to be the husband of one wife. Congregational ministers and assistants are not permitted to have multiple wives. Therefore, hypothetically, if in the current culture a congregational minister had a wife who departed and divorced him, the congregational minister would still be permitted to preach, but if he were to marry another wife, he should then step down in his church assembly position, as he would have two wives, the first who divorced him, and the second who he married afterward.

FEMINISM

Men and women were not intended to have equal roles in marriage. Equality-minded feminist women have done much harm to the institution of marriage.

1 CORINTHIANS 11:3,8-9 (NKJV):
The head of every man is Messiah (Christ), the head of woman is man, and the head of Messiah (Christ) is God…
For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man.

Countless marriages have gone through needless hardship and have ended in divorce, because feminist-minded wives refused to accept their role as being a helpmate to their husbands. Often wives choose poor husbands to marry to lead them, but once a marriage is finalized, it cannot be undone.

Feminism goes against a woman’s natural desire to be led by a man. A wife instinctively wants to look up to her husband, which is why women seek men who are taller than they are. In a marriage, there is nothing more revolting and unnatural than to observe a husband being controlled, led, ordered around, and being submissive and subservient to his wife.

Equality of authority in a marriage doesn’t work well. A marriage is like a ship and if a ship has two co-equal captains, both captains wishing to manage the ship in the direction of their choosing, constantly vying to take control from the other captain, it will not be long before the two captains come to blows. There can be only one leader of the ship, and one of the captains must submit authority to the other captain, which at sea is usually done by seniority, or whoever is better qualified to captain the ship due to experience with the vessel. The family ship is no different, and if husband and wife act as two co-equal partners, the wife being unwilling to submit ultimate authority to her husband in matters concerning the family ship, then conflict in the family ship will likely be the norm.

GOD COMMANDS HOSEA TO MARRY A WHORING WOMAN

HOSEA 1:2-3 (NKJV):
When YHWH (the Lord) began to speak by Hosea, YHWH (the Lord) said to Hosea: “Go take for yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry by departing from YHWH (the Lord).”
So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim…

It is uncertain if Gomer was an actual prostitute, but she was certainly a promiscuous woman, a non-virgin. It may seem extremely unfair that God would allow a promiscuous, whoring woman to marry, but would restrict a righteous divorced woman from remarrying. People throughout millennia have wondered why a whoring woman can marry, but a divorced woman, according to Scripture, cannot. The reason is that the divorced woman is under a covenant vow till the death of her spouse, but the promiscuous whoring woman is not under a covenant vow, could repent, and marry.

GOD IS HOLY AND CANNOT GO BACK ON HIS WORD

All throughout Scripture, it is repeated and emphasized that our God is holy. God keeps His covenants, He keeps His vows, and cannot go back on His word. He, therefore, expects us to keep our covenants and keep our vows. We are made in His image and were created to be like Him. The fact that God is holy is the reason that He will not allow spouses out of the lawful vows that they have made, and why He will not allow divorced women to remarry.

HOMOSEXUALITY / CROSS DRESSING

LEVITICUS 18:22 (NKJV):
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.

LEVITICUS 20:13 (NKJV):
If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.

DEUTERONOMY 22:5 (NKJV):
A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to YHWH (the Lord) your God.

ROMANS 1:26-27 (NKJV):
For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

The due penalty that men often receive for engaging in the vile sex act of homosexuality is HIV and AIDS. Homosexual men are largely responsible for spreading HIV and AIDS throughout America and the rest of the world. That is not homophobia; it is a homo-fact and Scripture prophecy fulfilled.

Anal intercourse is an abominable sex act between two men, or between a man and woman, even a husband and wife.

No court of man can overturn the laws of God. The United States Supreme Court legalized sodomy through gay ‘marriage’ on June 26, 2015. This is a decision that America will pay the ultimate price for: its own destruction.

JEREMIAH 13:23 (NKJV):
Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?

Any man or woman who has undergone an operation to change the appearance of his or her gender is a walking, talking, breathing abomination. There is no such thing as a sex change operation. One cannot change his or her gender any more than a person can change his or her skin or a leopard can change its spots.

MAINTAINING AND REPAIRING A MARRIAGE

Marriage, once lawfully entered into, is a state of permanency that cannot be dissolved except through death. Divorce does not end a legitimate valid marriage. In societies that encourage and promote easy divorce, and permit remarriage, the land has been defiled by adultery. The state of marriage and broken families in America and the Western nations attests to this reality.
If people understood the permanent sacred status of marriage, they would bear with it, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, till death, as they have vowed to do so before a holy and righteous God who bears witness.

ADULTEROUS AND GAY MARRIAGES

1 CORINTHIANS 6:9-10 (NKJV):
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the reign of Elohim (kingdom of God)? Do not be deceived. Neither FORNICATORS, nor idolaters, nor ADULTERERS, nor EFFEMINATE, nor HOMOSEXUALS, nor thieves, nor covetous (greedy of gain), nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the reign of Elohim (kingdom of God).

GALATIANS 5:19-21 (NKJV):
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: ADULTERY, FORNICATION, UNCLEANNESS, lewdness, idolatry, drug sorcery, hatred, quarrels, jealousies, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the reign of Elohim (kingdom of God).

REVELATION 21:7-8 (NKJV):
He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. The cowardly, untrustworthy, ABOMINABLE, murderers, SEXUALLY IMMORAL, drug sorcerers, idolators, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Fornication, adultery, and homosexuality, if unrepented of, will cause a person to lose his or her inheritance of the kingdom or God, the millennium reign of Yeshua (Jesus). Being married into adultery or homosexuality only makes matters worse, as now the sin is compounded by an unlawful vow.

Many believers today would argue that homosexuals who are in gay marriages should repent of their homosexuality and come out of their abominable marriage and repent of their unlawful vow, and rightly so. However, most would not take such a strong stance against those who are divorced and remarried, against a man who married a divorced woman. Homosexuality is indeed a worse sin than adultery, because homosexuality is a perverted unnatural sex act, whereas heterosexual sexual intercourse between a man and woman is a natural act, but both of these sins unrepented of will equally keep a person from inheriting God’s millennium kingdom.

 
IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NO EXCUSE TO CONTINUE IN SIN

2 CHRONICLES 7:14 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
If My people who are called by My name [CHRIST-IANS] will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

HOSEA 4:6 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
My people [CHRISTIANS] are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you for being priest for Me [IN THE MILLENNIUM KINGDOM]; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

Some who are remarried will argue that they did not know that it was against God’s marriage law to divorce and remarry. Many will say that their church or pastor permitted it. The lack of knowledge excuse may be true, but it will not spare the unlawfully remarried from the judgment of God.

REPENTANCE OF AN UNLAWFUL ADULTEROUS MARRIAGE

It is not a pleasant thing to call for the remarried to repent of an adulterous marriage, but it is a requirement to rightfully rebuke such unions, as John the Baptist did, so that those who are in unlawful remarriages are made aware to come out of them, so as to prevent them from continuing in adultery.

EZEKIEL 33:11 (NKJV):
‘As I live,’ says YHWH (the Lord) GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.

LUKE 13:3,5 (NKJV):
“But unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

When God commands a man not to do something, in this case divorce and remarriage, and a man does it anyway – even if through ignorance and lack of knowledge, then he will be judged and punished by God. If the man comes to the knowledge of God’s word, after he has sinned, but repents and corrects his ways, that man can avoid the judgment and punishment of God, because he has repented and chosen to live rightly.

MATTHEW 14:3-4; MARK 6:17-18:
For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Because John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

John the Baptist was the greatest prophet who ever lived according to Yeshua (Jesus) (Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28). John knew the law of marriage and knew that King Herod married a divorced woman, his brother’s wife. John didn’t ask about and likely didn’t know the circumstances of why Herodias left her husband, as it did not matter. John only knew God’s marriage law, which was that is was unlawful for King Herod to have Herodias, a divorced woman, as his wife. John wound up losing his life for rebuking King Herod over his adulterous marriage to Herodius.

The adulterous remarried might say that they are living just fine, they love each other, they may or may not have children together, they cannot financially afford to break apart their marriage, and are not going to break up their remarriage and family based on God’s law. These issues are difficult ones to deal with, for sure, but it would be better to deal with them immediately, rather than wait on God to act in judgment, punishment, and wrath.

EZRA 9:10-12 (NKJV):
And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’

The Hebrews, when they were originally given the land of Israel to possess, were commanded by God through the prophets to drive out its inhabitants and to not give their daughters to marry the local inhabitants, nor take women from the people to make them wives. Many Hebrew men disobeyed God in this matter and married pagan wives.

EZRA 10:2-4 (NKJV):
And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this. Now therefore, let us make a covenant with our God TO PUT AWAY [DIVORCE] ALL THESE WIVES AND THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BORN TO THEM, according to the advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it.”

Men who have married divorced women, and in many cases have born children with them, have knowingly or unknowingly disobeyed the commands of God to not marry a divorced woman. It is the responsibility of every man who realizes that he is in an adulterous marriage to put away (divorce) in repentance from it, and do it.

Ezra 9-10 is Scripture’s example of a massive putting away (divorce) for repentance. Many people say that God forced the divorce on the men of Israel, because they married foreign pagan wives. That is not exactly correct. In this SPECIFIC instance, at this SPECIFIC time in Israel’s history, God gave a SPECIFIC command to the Hebrews, while they came to possess the land, that they were not to marry the people of the land.

God’s law allowed foreign women to be grafted into Israel through marriage, such as Ruth and other women (Deuteronomy 21:10-14).

CAN A PERSON WHO REPENTS OF AN ADULTEROUS MARRIAGE GET MARRIED AGAIN?

If say, a man marries a divorced woman, and realizes afterward that his marriage is unlawful, repents and puts her away in a divorce, can he then seek a wife? An unlawful marriage vow is not one that should be upheld, but one to be repented of. If the man’s marriage is adulterous, according to God, then it is NOT a marriage, but it is a sin. Therefore, a man should be able to repent of his unlawful marriage sin of adultery, put away the divorced wife of another man who he had married, and seek an available unmarried woman or widow, if he desires a wife and can find one.

1 CORINTHIANS 6:9-11 (NKJV):
Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor ADULTERERS, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous (greedy of gain), nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the reign of Elohim (kingdom of God). AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Yeshua (Jesus) and by the Spirit of our God.

1 CORINTHIANS 7:2 (NKJV):
Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have HIS OWN WIFE, and let each woman have HER OWN HUSBAND.

If a man repents of adultery, even an adulterous marriage, he repents of the unlawful marriage, comes out of it, and has repented of adultery. The man did not leave or divorce his wife of a valid marriage, and he should be free to marry. Likewise if two men are in a homosexual ‘marriage,’ then this marriage is an abomination. If a man repents of a homosexual marriage, and is able to dedicate himself to heterosexual chastity, then he has repented of homosexuality, not a valid marriage, and he should be free to lawfully marry a single woman or a widow.

1 CORINTHIANS 7:1 (NKJV):
It is good for a man not to touch a woman.

Paul wrote that it is good for a man not to touch a woman. It is obvious that fornication is a sin, and fornication, adultery, and other unlawful sexual union are sins that can cause a person to acquire a sexually transmitted disease.

What about touching a woman without having sexual intercourse with her?

1 CORINTHIANS 7:8-9 (NKJV):
But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. FOR IT IS BETTER TO MARRY THAN TO BURN WITH PASSION.

If a couple is dating and having sex, Scripture calls this fornication and they should either marry or break off the relationship immediately. Fornicators will not inherit the kingdom of God (reign of Elohim).

Popular Western culture greatly promotes the touching of women. It may seem extremely prudish, but there was a time when kissing, French-tongue making out type kissing, was reserved for husbands and wives. When an unmarried man and woman engage in tongue kissing, they are becoming one flesh and are exchanging bodily fluids – saliva, through their mouths, even though it is not sexual intercourse.

After a wedding vow is made, the man marrying the groom says to him, “You may now kiss the bride.” What is meant by that statement is that she is now your wife, and you may now lawfully kiss her. Prolonged kissing leads to sexual arousal, causes thoughts of lust, makes many to lose self-control, and leads many to burn with passion and satisfy their passion through fornication or masturbation. One can get a sexually transmitted disease (mononucleosis – mono) from kissing alone, which indicates that God does punish this lighter form of sexual expression outside of marriage, as well as the greater sins of sexual immorality.

PORNOGRAPHY, MASTURBATION, ONANISM, AND VOYEURISM

MATTHEW 5:27-30 (NKJV):
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever LOOKS AT A WOMAN TO LUST for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your RIGHT HAND CAUSES YOU TO SIN, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”

Many have falsely proclaimed that if a man merely looks at a passing attractive woman, that Yeshua (Jesus) calls this adultery. This is not true and would make beauty itself a sin.
Yeshua (Jesus) addresses the sins of pornography and masturbation through voyeurism in Matthew 5:27-30. If a man views pornographic images of a woman engaged in sex, for the intent purpose TO LUST, he commits adultery with her in his heart. What accompanies voyeurism is that the man uses his RIGHT HAND to masturbate, committing adultery with his right hand.

GENESIS 38:8-10 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he EMITTED [HIS SEMEN] ON THE GROUND, lest he should give an heir to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased YHWH (the Lord); therefore He killed him also.

YHWH (the Lord) once killed Onan for emitting his semen to the ground. How many millions of people today casually watch pornography through videos or the Internet and masturbate to them without any fear of God? Yeshua (Jesus) said that it would be better for a man who views pornography and habitually masturbates, to pluck out his eyes and chop off his right hand, rather than to keep his members and continue in these sins and be cast into hell. Therefore, any believer trapped in the habitual sin of pornography and masturbation MUST work to repent of these serious sins for the sake of his or her very soul (Philippians 2:12).

REMAINING CELIBATE FOR SAKE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

MATTHEW 19:9-12 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication [PREMARITAL SEX] and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”
But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”

In these end times, in this age of marriage and rampant divorce, there are some men who will choose NOT to marry, as finding a righteous available woman who has not been divorced to wed is something that is not easy.

PROVERBS 31:10:
Who can find a virtuous wife?

Most men don’t actually castrate themselves for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (Yeshua / Jesus was speaking figuratively here), though there have been reported cases of men who have. There are men who will obey God’s commands to not marry a divorced woman and therefore they will not otherwise find a desirable righteous woman to marry. These righteous single men will not engage in fornication, masturbation, or otherwise have sex, and will remain celibate (like a eunuch) living sexually pure and righteous lives for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.

There are men who will find themselves in an adulterous marriage, having realized through God’s word that they are living in sin, repent and put away (divorce) the divorced woman who they married and then live celibate (like a eunuch) by not engaging in adulterous sex any longer for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.

BUT GOD WANTS US TO BE HAPPY

LEVITICUS 11:44 (NKJV):
For I am YHWH (the Lord) your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy.

2 PETER 3:11-12 (NKJV):
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.

God does want for us to be happy, but not at the expense of holiness. If a woman is divorced and her husband lives, God does not permit her to marry another man for the sake of her happiness. God wants us first to be holy and secondly to be happy. God wants us to be holy, and will reward us in His coming kingdom for being holy, even if it means unhappiness in this life.

THE FUTURE OF MARRIAGE IN GOD’S COMING KINGDOM

What will become of marriage in the future, when the saints are living in God’s kingdom?

MATTHEW 22:30; MARK 12:25 (NKJV):
“For in the resurrection (when they rise from the dead) they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.”

Many have read the statements of Yeshua (Jesus) concerning marriage after the resurrection with alarm. Yeshua (Jesus) didn’t reveal everything about how we will live after the resurrection, or how the angels live in heaven.

Many have assumed that we will live solitarily, not in family units, and there will be no intimacy in heaven, but there otherwise will be joy.

There are a few things that a believer must understand…

Marriage is until death. Since there will be no death in heaven, any marriage would be for eternity. Therefore, marriage may be given a new name in heaven, if men and women are destined to cohabitate within God’s kingdom.

SOUL MATES?

A problem is that if the two soul mates become unhappy with one another in heaven throughout eternity, then what? Be stuck with someone for all eternity? Mankind does not have a great track record of remaining together till death on Earth or remaining faithful within an earthly marriage. Yet the thought of remaining in solitary quarters throughout all eternity is not appealing to many either.

THERE WILL BE CHILDREN BORN AFTER THE RESURRECTION

Historically, in Scripture times and up until the Christian reformation of the 1500’s, many divorced women did not remarry and remained childless. Scripture prophecy states that these women who remained faithful to their wedding vow after being divorced, will give birth to many children. Isaiah 54 has comforted many childless divorced women throughout the generations.

ISAIAH 54:1-8 (NKJV) [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
“Sing, O barren, you who have not borne [CHILDREN]! Break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the deserted [DIVORCED WOMAN] than the children of the married woman [OF THIS AGE],” says YHWH (the Lord).
“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare. Lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your DESCENDANTS will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities [OF THE EARTH – AFTER THE GREAT TRIBULATION] inhabited.
Do not fear, for you will not be put to shame, nor hurt, you shall not be humiliated. For you will forget the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood any longer. For your Maker is your husband, YHWH (the Lord) of hosts is His name, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. He is called the God of all the earth. For YHWH (the Lord) has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused [PUT AWAY – DIVORCED], says your God.
“For a mere moment [A LIFETIME COMPARED TO ETERNITY IS A MERE MOMENT – ROMANS 8:18] I have forsaken you, but with great mercy I shall gather you [IN THE AGE TO COME]. With a little wrath [DUE TO YOUR SIN] I hid may face from you for a moment [DURING THIS LIFE], but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says YHWH (the Lord), your Redeemer.

ISAIAH 54:13,17 (NKJV):
All YOUR CHILDREN shall be taught by YHWH (the Lord), and great shall be the peace of YOUR CHILDREN…
This is the heritage of the servants of YHWH (the Lord), and their righteousness is from Me, says YHWH (the Lord).

Isaiah 54:5 proclaims that our Maker, YHWH (the Lord) will be our husband and that there will be children born to women of the resurrection, after the resurrection. Who will be the fathers of those children?

JEREMIAH 31:31-34 (NKJV):
“Behold, the days are coming, says YHWH (the Lord), when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah – not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says YHWH (the Lord). But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says YHWH (the Lord): I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know YHWH (the Lord),’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says YHWH (the Lord). For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

HOSEA 2:16 (NKJV):
“And it shall be, in that day, says YHWH (the Lord), “That you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘My Master (Lord)’”

HEBREWS 8:7-12 (NKJV):
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah – not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

REVELATION 19:7-9 (NKJV):
“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’”

REVELATION 21:2-3 (NKJV):
Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”

The marriage of God and man will be an everlasting covenant marriage. This renewed covenant will be similar to the original covenant God made with the Hebrews, that He would be their God and they would be His chosen people, but the new covenant with God and the resurrected saints will not be broken. The resurrected saints will be regenerated, renewed into incorruptible, righteous beings (Matthew 19:28; Romans 8:21-23; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53) and will forever be with God (Revelation 20:6). God will live and dwell with us, and will protect us from harm, and provide for us, as a good husband takes care of his wife.

Yet what of the children born to the women of Isaiah 54? Who will be the fathers of those children?

Yeshua (Jesus) will be the Husband of the saints. The children born of women of the resurrection will probably be fathered by male saints of the resurrection, who come in the name of YHWH (the Lord). It will be the resurrected male saints, with all the righteousness of God within them, who will likely be the fathers of the children of the resurrection.

All the resurrected, both male and female saints, will be made righteous by God in the regeneration of their bodies, which will occur in the twinkling of an eye (Matthew 19:28; Romans 8:21-23; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53).

ISAIAH 4:1 [WITH INTERPRETATION]:
And in that day [OF THE RESURRECTION] seven women will take hold of one [RIGHTEOUS] man saying, “we will eat our own food and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by your name, to take away our reproach.”

In God’s coming kingdom, the righteousness and the works done by the saints on Earth will be rewarded. Those who have lived righteously, did good works, and served God well will be rewarded and will be rich in His kingdom (Matthew 16:27). There will be many in His kingdom who did very little works and they will not be rewarded as well in His kingdom (Matthew 5:18- 19). Many women will approach the most righteous men and seek to be greater through the righteousness of these men.

Though seven women will take hold of a righteous man, this does not necessarily mean that the righteous man will accept them all, as wives, in polygamy.

MATTHEW 22:30; MARK 12:25:
For in the resurrection (when they rise from the dead) they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.

Yeshua’s (Jesus’) words must also be considered concerning whether or not there will be any kind of ‘marriage’ in His coming kingdom. Marriage is until death, and after the resurrection there will be no more death. God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16), so he cannot have His resurrected saints marrying for eternity, then complaining and filing for divorce sometime during eternity.

There will be children born to women of the resurrection (Isaiah 54) and seven women will take the hand of a righteous man to be called by his name (Isaiah 4:1), yet there will not be marriage in God’s kingdom as man has commonly known marriage.

 
1 CORINTHIANS 2:9 (NKJV):
But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Something is coming to replace marriage, and it will be superior to the earthly institution of marriage that man has known. What that something is remains a mystery that will one day be revealed to the saints of God.

1. ‘Fornication,’ Oxford Dictionaries, © Oxford University Press,
<http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/fornication>.
2. ‘Adultery,’ Oxford Dictionaries, © Oxford University Press,
<http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/adultery>.