I am a
product of divorce. Some of you have no clue about this fact, but it's true.
Divorce has greatly impacted my family down the line. But... that's something
to expound upon later -- in Part 2.
The focus
of this particular post, which is lengthy, will be how these 12 verses applied
in first-century Judaism. And it will give you cause to pause.
Jesus and
his disciples have now traveled back to the land of Herod Antipas where the
Pharisees are ready to pounce. Their hope is to publicly discredit Jesus'
ministry. With what? With one of the most volatile issues at the time: divorce.
How? Entrap him to choose a side between two schools of rabbinical
interpretation. Why? To then charge heresy against him so he might suffer the
same fate as John the Baptist.
Before
journeying further down the "divorce" trail, let's reflect on
marriage. It's a hot topic these days, especially around church circles, but
I'm not going to stir the pot with my views of same-sex marriage. Contact me if you wish to discuss the matter. What's imperative here in Part 1 is,
which bears repeating, we're dealing with life in first-century Judaism.
Marriage.
"To be joined." This literally means "to glue" and in
Jesus' eyes that was super-glue.
"One flesh" forms an indivisible union. Jesus goes back to the Garden of Eden. Fidelity to each other is God's
original intent. "It was his belief in the very constitution of the
universe that marriage is meant to be an absolute permanency and unity." [i]
Glued.
Indivisible. Absolute. Permanency. God's original intent. Do those words give
you pause?
There's a
wonderful, moving story written by Rob Bell (another one of favorite religious
authors) about marriage in the first century. It's long but well-worth sharing.
It'll also give you pause.
"Generally
a young woman would be married in her early teens, often at thirteen or
fourteen. ...Her father would entertain offers from the fathers of young men
who were interested in marrying her. If the fathers agreed on the terms of the
marriage, there would be a celebration to honor the couple and announce their
engagement.
At this
celebration, the groom would offer the young girl a cup of wine to drink. But
she doesn't have to drink it. She can reject the cup. She can say no to his
offer of marriage. Even though everything has already been arranged, she can
still say no. It's up to her.
...If she
says yes, the groom gives a sort of prepared speech about their future
together. Because if she takes the cup and drinks from it, that only means that
they are engaged. They aren't married yet. Something still has to happen. Or to
be more precise, something has to be built.
If she
says yes, then the groom goes home and begins building an addition onto his
family's home. This is where he and his bride will start their new family
together. ...And here's the interesting part: he doesn't know when he's going
to finish. Because he doesn't have the final say on whether it's ready. That's
his father's decision. And so his father periodically inspects his work.
The
father has considerations as well. If he has many sons, and they've all built
additions, then his house is getting quite large. There are many rooms in it.
This was called an insula, a large
multifamily dwelling.
Back to
the story. The future bride is at home, learning how to run a household. She also
doesn't know when the work will be done, so she's preparing herself for a date
that's coming, she just doesn't know when.
And then
the day comes. The father inspects and tells the son that it's time. So the son
gets his friends, and they set out for her house to get her. But how will he
know what room is hers? He'll know because she has filled her lamp with oil
each night and set it in the window, so that when he comes, he'll know which
rooms is hers.
And so he
goes to get her, and they gather their friends and family, and there's a giant
procession back to his house, where the party starts. When she takes the glass
of wine at their engagement party and drinks from it, the groom says to her: My father's house has plenty of room; if
that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a
place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and
take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the
place where I am going." [ii]
Sound
familiar? Jesus says these words to his disciples later: John 14:2-4. Hmmmm. Jesus uses the wedding
metaphor, which would've struck a heart chord with some of his disciples who
would've said those words to their brides. This event -- a wedding -- is used
to describe heaven. And we can choose to say "yes" or reject it.
Powerful stuff!
So if
marriage was made in heaven, who's opinion on earth matters more than God's?
Because that's where Jesus is headed.
Also, it's
important as we move forward,... women didn't have many rights, being clearly
limited in the first century. They were treated more like property, similar to
the buying and selling of land. [iii] With little more status
than a slave, a woman was meant to have children and maintain the proper
dietary laws at home. [iv] Yes, she could reject the
offer of marriage, but consider the incredible, stressful pressures from family, community
and culture.
Back-tracking
now to verse 2... "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" asked
the Pharisees of Jesus. How did he reply? With a direct question. "What
did Moses command you?" Their response? Look carefully at their response.
Jesus didn't ask what Moses allowed
but what he commanded. "The Pharisees
thought Jesus meant the commandment of concession, not the ideal state." [v] Jesus turns the tables on
them and goes straight to Scripture; making it not a legal issue but one that's
spiritual.
"The
Mosaic law, as the Pharisees were forced to concede, nowhere commanded divorce.
The passage in question, Deuteronomy 24:1-4, recognized the reality of divorce
and sought to protect the wife's rights and reputation and also regulated
remarriage." [vi]
Hillel
and Shammai, who lived in the generation before Jesus, took opposing sides in
interpreting this passage -- "...because
he has found in her indecency in a matter."
"The
School of Shammai interpreted the matter with utter strictness. A matter of
indecency was adultery and adultery alone. Let a woman be as bad as Jezebel,
unless she was guilty of adultery there could be no divorce.
The
School of Hillel interpreted that crucial phrase as widely as possible. They
said it could mean if the wife spoiled a dish of food, if she spun [using the
spinning wheel] in the streets, if she talked to a strange man, if she spoke
disrespectfully of her husband's relations in his hearing, if she was a
brawling woman (who was defined as a woman whose voice could be heard in the
next house). Rabbi Akiba even went the length of saying it meant if a man found
a woman who was fairer in his eyes than his wife was." [vii]
Did
You Know...?
"The
only grounds on which a woman could claim a divorce were if her husband became
a leper, if he engaged in a disgusting trade such as that of a tanner, if he
ravished a virgin, or if he falsely accused her of prenuptial sin." [viii]
Such
trivial events as interpreted by the School of Hillel made divorce
"legitimate." A certificate of dismissal (or divorce) would serve as
the wife's formal release from the marriage. It also affirmed her right to
marry again.
Where was
forgiveness in this mix? Where was maturity? Where was spiritual well-being?
"The Pharisees mistook God's gracious provision in permitting divorce
(under certain circumstances) for his ordaining of it." [ix] The Deuteronomy
regulation was a concession because forgiveness was rare.
What did
Jesus state? "What God has joined together, let no one separate." In
the Gospel of Mark, Jesus' words are against divorce and remarriage. In Matthew
19:7-9, Jesus' words are still against remarriage but permit for divorce on
one ground -- adultery.
Cause to pause. Especially for those who take the
Bible literally, as black-and-white.
So what would Jesus say to us today? We'll
explore that and more in Part 2.
NEXT
What
controversy?; Jesus stands by women; jaw-dropping stats; today versus then
[i]
The Gospel of Mark, Barclay -- p. 240
[ii]
Sex God, Rob Bell -- pp. 169-170
[iii]
The Living Application Bible, p. 1755
[iv]
Don't Know Much About the Bible, Kenneth C. Davis -- p. 384
[v]
The Renaissance New Testament, Randolph O. Yeager -- p. 159
[vi]
The MacArthur Study Bible -- p. 1481
[vii]
The Gospel of Mark, Barclay -- p. 239
[viii]
The Gospel of Mark, Barclay -- p. 238
[ix]
The MacArthur Study Bible -- p. 1481
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