In a perfect world, free from sin, we would not have to handle the difficult topic of divorce. But we live in a world cursed by man’s disobedience and rebellion.
In the Garden of Eden where God instituted marriage, it was established as a covenant between a man and a woman for life. Many, many years later, when answering a question regarding divorce, the Lord Jesus stated very clearly that “from the beginning it was not so” (Matthew 19:8).
What is the first specific mention of divorce in the Scripture? In the age of the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph—no specific references are made to divorce by that name. Assuredly, plenty of marriage problems abounded, including multiple examples of polygamy: Abraham’s concubinage with his wife Sarah’s servant, Hagar; Jacob’s concubinage with Zilpah and Bilhah (the servant girls of his wives Leah and Rachel); Reuben’s sin with his father’s concubine; and Judah’s sin with his son’s wife Tamar. Yet the word divorce is not used.
In the Law given to Moses, divorce is first mentioned specifically in Deuteronomy 24:1, “When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.” Jesus referred to this verse in particular when He replied to those who asked Him about divorce: “Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so” (Matthew 19:8).
In future articles, we will look carefully at the exact nature of divorce in the Old Testament and what is meant by “no favour in his eyes” and the “uncleanness” that was grounds for divorce.
However, today we will focus our attention upon the meaning of the Hebrew word here translated “divorcement.” It is the word כְּרִיתוּת (k’rithuth). The word means “cutting off” and is derived from the same Hebrew root that is often translated “covenant.”
To get a divorce is literally to “break a covenant.” If to get married is to “make a covenant,” then to get a divorce is literally to break a covenant. A proper understanding of the gravity of this word reveals the serious nature of divorce. It is not merely an agreement, a legal settlement, or a mutual decision to part ways. It is the breaking of a sacred covenant established in the sight of God!
Sadly, our modern world treats divorce very lightly, almost without thought sometimes. We even have “no fault divorce,” as if it were possible to break a covenant with no one at fault. This light view of divorce leads to a flippant view of marriage itself. When marriage vows are not considered seriously, the marriage bond is considered temporary, ready to be severed whenever the covenant becomes unpleasant to either party.
When we understand that divorce is “breaking a covenant,” we can better appreciate the words of the Lord in Malachi 2:15–16. There the prophet declared, “Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.”
God clearly says in this passage that He hates divorce. Divorce is linked with “treachery” and “violence.” In our day of increasing divorce, even among Christians, may God give us the strength and courage to call divorce what God calls it: “breaking a covenant.”
