Suggested Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 24-27
Devotional Thought:
Title: “The Important Institution of Marriage.”
The eastern culture was definitely different and still is different from the western culture. Unfortunately, there have been two main deviations to God’s design for marriage. (1) Polygamy, which is the practice, started by Cain, of taking more than one wife. (2) Divorce, which was the breaking of the covenant relationship by sending the wife away. In chapter 24, Moses deals with the issue of divorce. The Gentile nations allowed women few rights and within marriage a wife could be divorced at the whim of her husband, after which he had no responsibility to support her. Being influenced by the world around them, even in Israel this became a widespread practice. (Mal 2:14-15) The Lord was not “neutral” in His attitude toward divorce, for “he hateth putting away.” (Mal 2:16) However, just like in America today, the Israelites began to harden their hearts against what God wants and husbands did put away their wives and arrangements had to be made to safeguard the rejected wife. In our western way of thinking, it is crazy that this passage never gives any room for the wife to ever make a decision. If she were found an adulterous, then she would be stoned. In this passage, the husband is the only one making a judgment on how he feels about the wife and there is never a reference to how the wife may feel about the man. Two phrases must be understood. The first when the husband finds in his wife “no favour in his eyes,” (vs. 1) that is when he no longer wishes to have her as his wife. There is no specific reason given, but rather it is just stated that the husband no longer wanted to be married to this woman. The second phrase is the reason for this change of attitude towards her, which is that he, has found “some uncleanness in her.” The point stated here is that the “uncleanness” is not clearly stated as adultery, for that punishment was death by stoning. Something indecent or unclean has been found about her. This could cover improper behavior with another man that did not go as far as adultery. One author implies that the noun teaches the idea of being immodest or naked in public. Whatever the culture or reason, God makes it clear that His plan for the institution of marriage was for life without divorce. Moses uses the next portion of this chapter to teach how much a priority the man should make of his new wife. He was instructed to not go to war or go away for pubic business for a one-year period. The specific purpose given here is that the husband would be able to “cheer up” his wife. She was undertaking new responsibilities; she had left behind her family home with all its memories and associations; she faced the double new responsibilities of running a home and being a wife and, if children were born, becoming a mother. In all this she needed the support of her husband. He had taken her as his wife and it was his responsibility to provide security for her. God makes it clear in the New Testament that divorce comes from a heart of selfishness where people want what they want, more than they want what God wants. God, in His grace, allowed Moses to write a bill of divorcement to protect these women from husband who manifested hard hearts… “but from the beginning this was not so.” God’s plan is for the husband to show the wife the same love that Christ has for His church. The husband is to care for her and nurture her so as to provide a strong security for her. It is God plan for the wife to respond to her husband in a submissive and supportive manner so that the marriage can be a testimony of love and grace for all who see it. How is your marriage?
Personal Prayer Requests:
- Lord, please help me to provide the security you have designed for Michelle to experience from our marriage.
- Lord, please help me to love her just like you love the church, and may I be willing to sacrifice continually in order for her to find joy in the marriage relationship.
- Lord, please help me to model your design for marriage so my boys may know how you expect them to treat their wives as you provide them as a gift to each of them.