37. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - The Fruit of Disobedience

We are busy discussing God's perspective on adultery based on Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:31-32: It has been said, “Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.” But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Maybe you'd like to refresh the context in your mind by reading posts 35 and 36 again.

Jesus always meant what He said. It is we who do not always take Him seriously, but He is the one who will one day do the judging. In this section, we will focus on the disasters of marrying a divorced person.

God always has a reason for what He says. When Israel was about to destroy Jericho as recorded in Joshua 6:18, He said, “But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise, you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.” 

We then read that Achan had taken some of the goods that the Lord had forbidden. Next, we read that Israel had lost against the little city of Ai, and when Joshua sulked about it, the Lord told him to call on Israel to consecrate themselves. We then read in Joshua 7:15, “He who is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done a disgraceful thing in Israel!” Achan was discovered and he and his family destroyed.

Why did God forbid them to take of the devoted things, and why was His punishment so severe? (It was not only of Achan, but also of the whole of Israel through the withdrawal of His support during their battles.) The devoted things were given to other gods. The spirits of the other gods (effectively God’s enemy Satan) were attached to these things and would have claimed their worship in due time, which is why they should have been destroyed as per God’s command.

The same principle applied throughout the Old Testament in Israel’s relationship with ungodly nations. God’s basic command to His people was, “Stay away from the heathen nations, don’t mix with them, and when you go to war against them, destroy them completely.”

They did not destroy the people, as the Lord had commanded them, but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they became unclean by their acts and played the whore in their deeds (Psalm 106:34-39). The reason Israel had to destroy the heathens completely, which they didn’t do, was that failure to do so would cause them to be corrupted by the heathens, which often happened as we read above. When Israel was obedient to this command, it went well with them. When they committed adultery with the heathen, it went disastrous with them.

What does this principle have to do with our study? Jesus Christ (also the God of the Old Testament) is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The heathen nations of the Old Testament were a type of the evil forces of today, and Israel was a type of the church of today. Remember Nathan’s words to David in 2 Samuel 12:14: “Only, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme.” Every time Israel committed adultery with heathen nations, they caused these nations to laugh at God. Every time the church commits adultery with evil forces, she causes the evil forces to ridicule God.

The result is that God has to deal with the adulterer. How does He do that? He may withdraw his support and protection, causing us to experience the devil’s attacks directly (Isaiah 59:1,2). He also disciplines through circumstances (Hebrews 12:4-11).

How do we commit adultery with the evil forces? Having a relationship with God means that we trust His commands and judgment concerning our lives. If He decided that a certain person would be a suitable spouse, then we need to trust His judgment. If we then use our own judgment and ignore His commandment, we are saying to God that we don’t trust a relationship with Him. We’d rather trust him who suggested the “better” idea, in other words, the evil forces or our carnal nature. We then enter into a relationship with God’s enemies and commit adultery. This affects our love for God and violates the first Great Commandment to love Him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind.

God said that we are not to divorce our spouse because it causes the spouse to commit adultery. We are not to marry a divorced person because then we also commit adultery. As we know, both practices occur every day. We also know that the result is often gross unhappiness for all parties, children included. This affects our love for our neighbour, which violates the second greatest commandment. May this be because God withdrew His blessing due to disobedience and ridicule? Deception is very subtle and we often content with a second-grade life, having chosen to harbour disobedience, instead of enjoying the fulness Jesus promised in John 10:10 by living in complete obedience. To be continued with a real-life example.

For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za.

36. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - God's Power made Perfect in Weakness

We are busy discussing divorce in the light of Jesus' words in Matthew 5:31-32: It has been said, “Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.” But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Let’s talk a bit about the practicalities of divorce and marrying divorced people. Apart from Him being humiliated, God had another reason why He forbids adultery through divorce: He loves us and doesn’t want to see us hurt.

In Matthew 19:6, Jesus said that married people are no longer two, but one. In order to separate them, you have to tear them apart, causing terrible wounds. I want you to picture this spiritual process as if it were physical. Imagine you take Siamese twins and tear them apart. Can you picture the violence, the agony, and the cries? Divorce is not much different, except it is emotional instead of physical. The pain, however, is the same; the wounds are the same: large and agonizing.

But what if your spouse has been hurting you all your life? Jesus stated that divorce is not allowed “except for marital unfaithfulness.” If the spouse has been unfaithful, divorce usually is a release, but the hurt and effect on children and other family members will still be there. However, if it is a case of just having difficulty living together, misunderstandings, or weak communication, there is no reason to divorce. God can solve the problem. It will take time, effort, and assistance from able servants of God, but He will do it if we are willing and if we call on Him. To divorce and run from our problems says to God, “You are not able to help us make it work. We would rather make our own decision.” Jude 24: “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy.” The Lord can do anything if we trust Him, wait on Him, and rely on him.

A lady we know lived a godly life, but her husband did not care much for the Lord. She served and loved her husband until and even after he divorced her. Although he was unfaithful to her, she stayed faithful to him and to the Lord as an example of obedience to Jesus’ commands.

A couple I know, Mark and Cindy, had a difficult relationship. Even though they were very much alike in their interests, they always clashed. But they both loved the Lord and had decided long ago that divorce was not an option. Apparently, a lot of prayer and intense and open communication went into their marriage. During a time of weakness, Mark was even tempted to get involved with other women, an issue which the Lord dealt with, but Cindy was true to her commitment before the Lord and fought for her man. Mark repented and came clean before the Lord and Cindy.
They knew the Lord had put them together and had a purpose with them as a couple. Satan. however, wanted to destroy the power of their unity and worked on their weaknesses to urge them on to break their unity. But the power of the Lord was made perfect in their weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9) and they came through as conquerors; still married after several years and as happy and fruitful as never before.
In a study like this, we don’t attempt writing a handbook on marriage, but rather just try to see things from God’s perspective. Next time I want to spend some time considering the consequences of divorce and marrying a divorced person.

For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za.

35. Sermon on the Mount Secrets - Have you Humiliated God?

It has been said, “Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.” But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Matthew 5:31, 32) 

This is a challenging command. How could Jesus have been so radical? People do make mistakes in their choice of marriage partners, don't they? When you're young you do not always have wisdom in your choice of marriage partner, have you? 
I've been thinking and praying about Jesus'words "except for marital unfaithfulness" and will first give some of my impressions. We tend to see marital unfaithfulness as having an affair with a third party. However, an abusive partner or one neglecting you physically and emotionally and who refuses to change is also unfaithful to their marriage vows. Therefore, if after you've done everything in your power to make the marriage work and having prayed much for help, the partner continues to make life unbearable for you, I guess divorce can be seen an acceptable option in God's eyes based upon the passage above.
If, however, you want to opt out for selfish reasons, or are too unconcerned to work out solvable problems through communication and changing of yourselves with the help of God and other professionals, divorce is not an option and it is to you that Jesus is talking.

How does God regard divorce?

If anything is a serious issue to God, the devil makes serious effort to cause us to sin in that area. Have you ever wondered why divorce is so widespread?

            How could Jesus, in His infinite love, put two people who seemingly made a mistake in a position like that? Why call a divorced woman an adulteress? Shouldn’t such people be forgiven and allowed to remarry? Many Christians believe this is the human thing to do, even if it is directly against Jesus’ commands. 

We hear and read much about divorce. Many teachers talk about the feelings of the parties and practical aspects around them, about forgiveness and restoration after the divorce. Very few, however, seem to notice or consider important the second part of our passage, or maybe for the sake of convenience, they ignore it. “Whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” Based on this instruction of Jesus divorce should be discouraged. 
Why is marrying a divorced woman considered adultery? Jesus called such a woman an adulteress simply because sleeping with another man while her husband is alive is adultery in God's eyes. Anybody sleeping with another person outside of marriage is an adulterer/ess. She was chosen by God for another man. Why don’t people notice or obey it? Why do ministers marry divorced people left, right, and centre without blinking an eye?

It is because most Christians have a humanistic worldview. As long as it does not damage the human body or another’s rights, it is okay. 
However, the Great Commandment Jesus gave in Mark 12:30-31 has two legs on which it stands: (1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength,’” and (2) “and ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”

Too few Christians are God-minded (considering His rights so to speak), loving the Lord their God with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their strength and with all their mind. Nathan challenged King David with an eye-opening statement. He confronted David concerning his adultery with Bathsheba and said the following in 2 Samuel 12:14: “But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”

God forgave David and even blessed him. We know this because the heir to the throne was born from Bathsheba, an expression of God’s amazing love. But God got humiliated through his behaviour. Both God's human enemies and the evil spirits in the heavenly realms mocked God because of the behaviour of "the man after God's own heart".  In Mark 12:30-31, much more emphasis is placed upon love for God than upon love for neighbours, like the song says: “It’s all about Jesus.”

Many Christians are too man-oriented and too little God-minded, doing what is acceptable to people rather than fearing God and obeying His commands. We tend to see things from a physical or carnal perspective instead of a spiritual perspective. When we disobey God’s commands, even though nobody sees us, there are still beings that see us: the evil spirits. We give them great occasion to blaspheme God, to laugh at Him. We cause God to be humiliated in the eyes of His enemies.

         Whenever Jesus gave a command, He kept both God and man in mind, but especially the honour and glory of God. He is gracious and loving, but in order for us to live a life of blessing, it is better to obey (1 Samuel 15:22) and to believe and trust (Hebrews 11:6), because that pleases God. He is more than able to save a marriage if we trust Him. If a couple, therefore, divorces, the woman becomes an adulteress and if a man marries a divorced woman, he commits adultery according to Scripture. Disobeying this New Testament command brings dishonour to God before his enemies, even though it is acceptable to man, just like with any other act of disobedience. So what are we to do? To be continued.

For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za.