Matthew 19:3–6 (ESV) — 3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by
asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the
beginning made them male and female, 5 and said,
‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his
wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no
longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man
separate.”
NOTE: This is a
difficult passage without some good study and background. The chief view of the
day among the Rabbi's was Hillel's view that essentially was unconditional
divorce. And Jesus response, is to bring the issue back to its foundation and
to its importance. When God created Adam and Eve, marriage was intended as a
"forever" relationship where two people become one. That was prior to
sin, and so the original goal is tainted by the introduction of sin. But
technically, the relationship was never intended to end. The big difference is
"sin." Why is this eternality so important? Because the becoming one
flesh is important to God. We are made in his image and that image is best
understood as male and female, not any other combination. Male and female are
differently created, and the understanding of that image is best seen in a
marriage relationship. Satan is doing his best to destroy this aspect of
creation, marriage. Satan is even working to destroy the idea of gender, male and
female. All of this is to destroy our understanding of God and what it means to
be made in his image.
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