We’re ready to get started on the third part of our study entitled Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage.

If you missed the first 2 segments, you can see those on the website: eliyah.com/transcripts.

If you haven’t watched the first two parts of the study on marriage, divorce, and remarriage, what I’m going to share with you today may not be convincing.

We really have to start from the foundation.

If you happen to disagree with what I share in today’s study, please don’t dismiss it until you have watched the first two portions.

Then watch this, because in Scripture we don’t believe in pulling things out of context, and this is such a huge topic.

The whole Bible is the context of divorce and remarriage and marriage.

We need to look at the entirety of Scripture on the matter and try to get an understanding of what actually is the will of Yahweh, our Mighty One.

There are some popular views that are out there today regarding this topic, so I’m going to go over those one more time to review.

There is a view popular among Amish, Mennonite, and certain churches that seem to be more set apart a lot of times, but maybe is a bit extreme.

That is that there is never to be divorce under any circumstances.

And if one partner divorces the other against their will, they are not to remarry until the death of the other partner.

That is the prevailing view amongst certain Mennonite or Mennonite background and Amish background circles.

And there are some other churches that follow that.

Probably the most popular view out there today, is that divorce and remarriage are
permissible if one partner has committed adultery against the other.

That is the way most people would read that. I think they’re almost correct, but not quite, because there are other ramifications we need to examine.

In fact many times they’ll be wrong about that particular point.

Other views are, you can divorce and remarry for any reason.

You don’t like her anymore, you don’t like him anymore, then well, it’s not good, you know, if you guys aren’t getting along.

That’s the marry the one you love perspective, whereas Yahweh says, “Love the one you marry.”

That’s the boyfriend/girlfriend game, the game that they play.

You get used to that, you don’t like the other person, you break up, and then you get together with someone else, you don’t like them, you break up.

You get into that pattern, and pretty soon you get married.

And really the only thing keeping you from breaking up is that piece of paper and your willing commitment to them.

But you’re acting as that committed party in the boyfriend/girlfriend relationship which I don’t believe is Scriptural. We’ve already covered that subject.

Another one is just forget marriage, just live together without getting married at all! There’s no prenuptials, no lawyers, no alimony, etc.

But there’s no commitment either. And unless you’re committed to each other that’s not real love. It’s just not.

That’s loving, but in case I don’t want you any more, I’ll go somewhere else. Whereas marriage is a commitment to one another.

Now we have laid a foundation here, and the foundational things that we looked at: Number 1, in Genesis there was no divorce period. Zero divorce, none.

That is the foundatin Yahushua brought us back to.

Matthew 19:8 – He said to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

So there was a time in the very beginning where there was no such thing as divorce. But then Moshe later decided to allow divorce.

That’s what Yahushua said. I didn’t say it, He said it. Now unless we reject what He said, then we’re going to have to go along with it.

I want to believe what He said, and I think as we begin to look at this, what He said makes absolute perfect sense.

So there was no divorce in the beginning. That’s what Yahushua was pointing us back to. What Yahweh has joined together, let not man separate.

Now the major purposes of marriage are as follows: Companionship

Genesis 2:18 – And YAHWEH Elohim said, [It is] not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.

We have the fact that (2) we are called to have dominion over the earth and (3) to be fruitful and multiply.

Genesis 1:28 – Then Elohim blessed them, and Elohim said to them, Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

We see those purposes in marriage, and of course companionship-it’s not good for man to be alone.

I would say it’s not good for woman to be alone either. Actually she was created for the man, so it’s not good for her to be alone.

So we have the major purposes of marriage-companionship, for a man and a woman together to have dominion over the earth, to be fruitful and to multiply.

That’s the Biblical precedence that we’re working off of. That’s the foundational thing that we’re examining today.

When we be fruitful and multiply, we don’t want to multiply a seed of the devil. We want to multiply a seed of Elohim. That’s our goal.

Malachi 2:15 – But did He not make [them] one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.

Hebrew there has seed of Elohim instead of Elohimly offspring. So Yahweh is looking in marriage for something He wants to come out of that.

That is a seed of Elohim.

The most wonderful opportunity there is to produce a seed of Elohim is when you have a baby before they even have any idea of anything to think.

Then you can train them up in the way they should go, and when they are old thy won’t depart from it.

Now it doesn’t say they’ll come back to it; it says they will never depart.

So ideally you’re going to produce the seed of Elohim by putting in their hearts the seed of Yahweh, the Word. His seed.

Of course they have their own choice just like Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.They had a perfect Father, and yet they chose their own way.

There are going to be exceptions, but we have the greatest amount of influence in the lives of our children as to what they are going to be.

Here’s the whole context:

Malachi 2:15 – But did He not make [them] one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.

Malachi 2:16 – For Yahweh Elohim of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one’s garment with violence, Says Yahweh of hosts. Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously.

As we shared last week, the context of that is the people of Israel were divorcing their wives who feared Yahweh.

Then they were marrying these apparently prettier looking pagan women. Maybe younger or something, then their believing wives were left out in the cold.

That is an awful sin. Yahweh refused to even hear their prayers or their tears or anything because of that witness He had against them.

We need to understand the importance of this topic.

Luke 16:18 – Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from [her] husband commits adultery.

That’s a very interesting statement, because if you’ve done this, according to Yahushua, you’re in an adulterous marriage.

So we need to understand what He means, what it is He’s talking about.

We certainly don’t want to find ourselves on that final day of judgment in the condition where the whole time we’ve been married to another man’s wife.

We may think this wife is our wife, but actually we’ve been committing adultery with another man’s wife. That’s not even our wife in Yahweh’s eyes.

Yahweh is the One that holds the record books.

Since He’s the one keeping score, and since He’s the One that invented marriage, He has mastership over what marriage is and what marriage isn’t.

Also over which divorces are legitimate, and which divorces are not legitimate. We need to yield our will to His will, no matter how difficult that might be.

So what was He talking about here?

2Corinthians 6:14 – Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

2Corinthians 6:15 – And what accord has Messiah with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?

He says do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, but if you’re married to an unbeliever, what do you do then?

On one hand He doesn’t want any divorce.

On the other hand, if you’re dealing with an unbeliever, you’re not even supposed to be yoked with them let alone married to them.

So what fellowship are you going to have together? What accord has Messiah with Belial? What part has a believer with an unbeliever?

Where do we draw this line?

Genesis 18:19 – For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of YAHWEH, to do righteousness and justice, that YAHWEH may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.

What had He spoken to him? That He (Yahweh) would be the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Unless Abraham had done what he said, and taught his children in the way after him, there would have been no Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

It just would have been the Elohim of Abraham.

Abraham had done his job and taught his children and his household after him to keep the way of Yahweh.

Otherwise Yahweh could not have brought upon Abraham what He had spoken.

He chose Abraham because he was willing to command his children to keep Yahweh’s ways. So Isaac and Jacob chose to worship Yahweh.

They both, particularly Jacob, had to have their own conversion experience. That’s sometimes the case, especially with grandchildren.

But they all did serve. Then of Jacob’s sons it seemed that Joseph was the most faithful. So getting back to the text here.

We’re going to look at Matthew 19 in a greater level of detail, and look at the exception He gives and try to discern what He means here.

Matthew 19:3 – The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for [just] any reason?

Matthew 19:4 – And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made [them] at the beginning `made them male and female,’

Matthew 19:5 – and said, `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?

He’s bringing them back to Genesis.

Matthew 19:6 – So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what Elohim has joined together, let not man separate.

Matthew 19:7 – They said to Him, Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?

Matthew 19:8 – He said to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

In verse 6, He’s basically saying no divorce at all. We examined verse 7 earlier. He didn’t give a command for a divorce, He allowed for a divorce.

That’s what Yahushua responded with -verse 8- permitted not commanded-because of the hardness of your hearts. He gives a reason.

We need to understand that just because Yahweh allows something doesn’t mean He approves of it.

For instance, no where in the Torah does it command Thou shalt pray to Me.Yahweh never said, “You must pray to me or you’ll be stoned.”

No, He wants you to pray to Him voluntarily of your own free will. Besides it’s just known. Of course you’re going to pray.

But He never commanded it, so can we say, “Well, the Torah never commands me to pray, so I’ll just not pray. I’ll never have to pray.”

No, but He allowed that, He allowed people to not pray, but of course His will is that we would pray.

Maybe there were specific instances He said you must pray this or something, but my point is, He never said you need to have a daily prayer life.

He never said anything about that. Why? Well, I don’t presume to know all the reasons, but I can imagine that He wants it to be of your own free will.

Not just something you do because you’re commanded to. He wants it to be of your own heart that you pray.

But it’s never forbidden in the Torah to refuse to pray. Does that mean it’s His will? Of course not. So here we have Moshe permitting divorce.

Matthew 19:6 – So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what Elohim has joined together, let not man separate.

Matthew 19:7 – They said to Him, Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?

Matthew 19:8 – He said to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

Does that mean that divorce is His will? Does that mean that Yahweh wants divorce? Not necessarily.

So never get confused with the difference between what Yahweh commands and what He allows.

That was the confusion that was going on there in first century Judaism. Moshe allowed divorce. It doesn mean he approved of it, but he allowed it.

Yahushua informed us of the reason He allowed it. It was hardness of hearts. So we’re going to put a microscope on that word: the hardness of hearts.

He’s looking for a seed of Elohim. The word is #4641sklerokardia in the Greek, a compound word meaning hardness of heart.

One of the things we know, that is just a fact, that Yahushua, in the first century, when He was speaking to Jews, He spoke in their language.

It was a Semitic language, either Aramaic or Hebrew. So what were the actual words He used when He was speaking?

We can do a little investigation by examining the Septuagint.

The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Old Testament that was completed in the 2nd or 3rd century B. C.

That’s quite a number of years before Messiah came. It was a translation into the Greek language.

So if we’ll look in the Septuagint and see how the Septuagint translated Hebrew words into Greek.

Then maybe what we can do is look at these Greek words that are in our Matthew text and see what Hebrew words they would trace back to.

We can get an idea of what Hebrew He was using by looking at Greek translations of Hebrew texts of the Old Testament.

So let’s take a look at the Septuagint and find this word, sklerokardia.

Deuteronomy 10:16 – Therefore ye shall circumcise the hardness of your heart, and ye shall not harden your neck.

(Septuagint)

Deuteronomy 10:16 – Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer.

(NKJV)

So foreskin means closed heart. Your heart is closed. It refuses to hear the Word. So circumcise the foreskin of your heart.

Jeremiah 4:4 – Circumcise yourselves to your [Elohim], and circumcise your hardness of heart, ye men of Juda, and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my wrath go forth as fire, and burn, and there be none to quench it, because of the evil of your devices.

(Septuagint) Hardness of heart is sklerokardia.

Jeremiah 4:4 – Circumcise yourselves to YAHWEH, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench [it], Because of the evil of your doings.

It’s talking about rebels here, people who were just uncircumcised in heart.

Some people think that in the New Testament it’s no longer concerned about being uncircumcised in the flesh.

It’s all about the heart now, and that’s a new thing that Messiah told us. No, it’s been something that Yahweh has toldabout from the beginning.

In Deuteronomy He said not to have an uncircumcised heart.

Leviticus 26:40 – `[But] if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me,

Leviticus 26:41 – and [that] I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt —

Leviticus 26:42 – then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.

This is when they are in exile.

If they repent and their hearts are humbled and circumcised, if their hearts become softened, then He will remember the land and bring them back.

But they have to repent. Here’s an example of an uncircumcised heart being an unrepentant person.

Jeremiah 9:25 – Behold, the days are coming, says YAHWEH, that I will punish all [who are] circumcised with the uncircumcised —

Jeremiah 9:26 – Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all [who are] in the farthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all [these] nations [are] uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel [are] uncircumcised in the heart.

That was His concern, this hardness of heart. That was Yahweh’s concern continually. Even into the New Testament, we see it.

Stephen is addressing the Sanhedrin, the council.

Acts 7:51 – [You] stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers [did], so [do] you.

Acts 7:52 – Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,

Acts 7:53 – who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept [it].

Romans 2:26 – Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?

So a Jew is one who is one inwardly, of the heart. That’s where circumcision of the heart is.

So if someone will not repent, then they are uncircumcised in heart, and they are not Yahweh’s children. They are in rebellion.

They have despised the riches of His grace. Yahweh says He will punish all those who are uncircumcised in heart.

So this phrase, uncircumcised in heart, this hardness of heart and the word unbeliever could be pretty much synonomous.

The main characteristic of an unbeliever is that they’re not circumcised and their heart is not turned to the Father. Their heart is closed.

They don’t want to hear anything about Yahweh’s Word.

Those who are of a hardened or uncircumcised heart aren’t going to believe His Word and follow His Word.

The foreigner’s who served idols were not only called unbelievers.The most uncommon term for them was uncircumcised.

So he did.

1Samuel 17:26 – Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who [is] this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living Elohim?

The uncircumcised and the unbeliever are kind of used synonomously here.

Isaiah 52:1 – Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean Shall no longer come to you.

When the Torah was given, there were people who had circumcised hearts.

They were open and willing to listen to what Yahweh had to say and to walk in it and follow it. And there were people who had closed minds.

They had hardness of hearts. They wanted nothing to do with it. They wanted to do their own things and follow their own way.

The one who has a hardness of heart is going to be like the one in Zechariah 7, talking about the people of Israel.

Zechariah 7:12 – Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which YAHWEH of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from YAHWEH of hosts.

Zechariah 7:13 – Therefore it happened, [that] just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen, says YAHWEH of hosts.

I wanted to establish this very, very firmly because it’s going to help us in our understanding.

This is the reason why Yahushua says there is an exception later is because of hardness of hearts. That’s the reason we’re going to get into.

Now we have an understanding of what is meant by hardness of hearts.

It becomes easy to see why Yahweh would not outright forbid divorce in Israel at that time. There were still people in Israel who had hardened hearts.

There would continue to be Israelites who were unbelievers in this nation that Yahweh was trying to establish.

Suppose that Yahweh had just outright forbidden divorce in Israel and said no one can divorce in all the land of Israel.

There were people there with hardened hearts who were married to people who didn’t have hardened hearts.

This would have forced a believer to be married to an unbeliever.

Just beause a person had Israelite lineage, didn’t necessarily mean they were any more righteous than an outright heathen from another nation.

There were wicked Israelites, and there were wicked Moabites and Hittites.

Yahushua’s comments about Moshe not forbidding divorce was due to the hardness of hearts.

It would seem to me that Yahweh wanted to leave a way for faithful Israelites to divorce an Israelite spouse who had a heartened heart.

Although they weren’t from forbidden nations to marry, they were as much an unbeliever in the way they were acting as a heathen from another nation.

So I think that is the reason Yahushua points this out.

If Yahweh had outright forbidden divorce in ancient Israel, it would have been illegal for unbelievers with hardened hearts to divorce their wives.

They might be true handmaidens of Yahweh. It would have been illegal, according to the law.

So these wives, being believers, and being ruled over by unbelieving men, could be treated with cruelty and be caused to stumble.

They might even stumble into the same wickedness their husband was falling into.

Or they could be cast out of the home and forbidden to remarry a husband that feared Yahweh.

Now couldn’t Yahweh just leave a provision and say, “Okay divorces between believers and unbelievers are okay, but otherwise no divorce.”

He could have done that, but the last thing Israel needed at that time especially, was there to be any motivation to become an unbeliever.

If all you had to do to divorce was to become an unbeliever, what would have happened? ‘Oh, okay, I guess I’ll become and unbeliever for awhile.

Then I’ll get divorced.’ But Yahweh didn’t want there to be unbelievers in Israel.

He’s dealing with these hardhearted Israelite, and He knew there would be hardness of hearts.

So consider the implications of Yahweh’s decision to not specifically forbid divorce over all.

Anyone with a heart that’s really attentive to the Word of Yahweh, would be able to see from the book of Genesis that divorce was not really His will.

Yahushua pointed out when He said, “Haven’t you read that He put them together, so don’t separate.”

So the children of Israel were commanded to come together every week and have a holy convocation every Sabbath.

The Torah would be heard by people who sought Yahweh.

At the time the Torah was given there was nothing other than the 5 books of the Law: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

That’s all there was, so there was no Isaiah, Psalms, or New Testament, so if you read the book of Genesis the will of Yahweh for marriage is quite clear.

Two people come together, be fruitful and multiply. He’s not looking for people to come together and produce children for the devil.

But He’s looking for people who will be walking in the image of Elohim.

Anyone with a heart that’s attentive to that Word will say I can’t divorce my believing wife. That would be wrong.

Yahweh caused us to be one flesh, and we can’t separate that. So divorce is not mentioned until later on.

Leviticus 21:7 – `They shall not take a wife [who is] a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for [the priest] is holy to his Elohim.

This is the first place divorce is mentioned in the Bible. It’s talking about the priest here.

When divorce is mentioned finally and addressed in the following verse, it talks about the remarried wife being defiled.

Deuteronomy 24:4 – [then] her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that [is] an abomination before YAHWEH, and you shall not bring sin on the land which YAHWEH your Elohim is giving you [as] an inheritance.

To those who have the ears to hear, a very clear impression was given that divorce really isn’t a part of Yahweh’s plan for Israel.

It’s not something He’s commanded or even is desirous of, but it makes sense.

If you didn’t have a hardened heart, and you would read this then you could see just like Yahushua saw.

Matthew 19:3 – The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for [just] any reason?

Matthew 19:4 – And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made [them] at the beginning `made them male and female,’

He expected them to know already.

Matthew 19:5 – and said, `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?

Matthew 19:6 – So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what Elohim has joined together, let not man separate.

That’s the point He’s making: The first book of the Torah tells us what Yahweh’s plan for marriage is. It’s all laid out there in the very beginning of Torah.

Therefore those who did not have the hardened heart, would see clearly what the will of Yahweh was.

Those who did have a hardened heart would be looking for reasons to divorce their wives.

Those who didn’t have a hardened heart would see that it’s important and wouldn’t have to be told like the Pharisees had to be told, ‘Have you not read?’

And they would see that it’s important not to marry an unbeliever. They would see that it’s important not to divorce a believing wife.

What would the fruits of that be for Israel? This is what Yahweh’s desire was. This is why I believe Yahweh allowed divorce.

The fruits of this would be: Those with hardened hearts would have troubled, broken homes.

Those who were attentive to the message in Genesis, and beyond, would have peaceful, holy, and loving homes.

They would have happy children who would typically want the same for their families.

Even in our own generation, it’s very evident that those who grow up in broken homes are more likely to have children who rebel against their parents.

That can be good, if their parents were doing things wrong.

When those children see the Yahweh centered, peaceful, secure homes of the righteous, they would be compelled to want the same for their children.

I don’t see why it would be any different for Israel.

Through Yahweh allowing divorce for those with hardened hearts, they would have the broken homes and the big messes.

Those who didn’t have hardened hearts, would see they shouldn’t divorce, that Yahweh put them together and will choose to follow Yahweh.

They would have the homes that were together and focused on the will of Yahweh.

Children from broken homes with unbelievers would rebel against their parents’ way and be compelled to walk in the ways of the righteous.

To me, it’s a beautiful plan. I see why Yahweh allowed it.

When we consider that there were so many within the nation of Israel that had hardened or uncircumcised hearts…

When we look at the options available and the ramifications, it’s easy to see why Yahweh would not outright forbid divorce, but kind of leave it open.

According to Yahushua, the lack of a commandment forbidding divorce was really a commentary on their hardness of hearts.

It wasn’t a revelation on Yahweh’s will for us. Yahweh’s will for us is outlined, as He pointed out, in Genesis 1, Genesis 2.

Let’s hear His voice. Let’s not allow our hearts to be hardened as in the rebellion. Let’s be among those who have soft, moldable hearts.

Let’s be among those who fulfill the Word of Yahweh because the book of Genesis is part of the Torah.

When we come to Him on that filnal day of judgment, we shouldn’t have to hear those words, “Have you not read?”

Yahushua already said, “Have you not read?” He reminded us of theses words from the very beginning.

Yes, Yahweh did not command Moshe to forbid divorce outright in the context of Yahweh building a physical nation of Israel in the land.

What about us?

Among the assembly or remnant that Yahushua is building, among the body of the Messiah, among two believers, there should never be divorce.

Believers aren’t supposed to have a hardened heart. A true believer will have a heart that is yielded to the influence and direction of Yahweh’s Spirit.

His heart hungers and thirsts for righteousness and desires to walk in the way of Yahweh. For that reason Yahushua took us back to the beginning.

For His remnant, the body of the Messiah, there is no such invention as divorce. The Word does not exist in the household of 2 believers. Period.

What Yahweh has joined together, no man has any business separating, If it happens that they are separated then there is no remarriage. Period.

I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, Yahushua did give an exception.

We’re going to examine that exception in the book of Matthew, in one particular scenario where divorce is permitted.

Yahushua wanted to bring us back to Yahweh’s plan.

He wanted from the very beginning, from the very first part of Torah, man and woman to be one flesh, to be fruitful and multiply children of Elohim.

So Yahushua’s not contradicting Torah when He says, “Let’s go back to the way it was in the beginning.”

He is instituting what Yahweh’s will was from the very beginning upon His assembly, His body of the Messiah.

So let’s interpret what He said in that light.

Matthew 19:7 – They said to Him, Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?

Matthew 19:8 – He said to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

Matthew 19:9 – And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.

This word translated sexual immorality is \i porneia\i0 in the Greek. The word means harlotry including adultery and incest.

Figuratively it means idolatry. That’s kind of interesting. Most people would assume that Yahushua is only talking about some literal physical porneia.

Something that violates the marital covenant, but you there’s another meaning behind this word, \i porneia\i0 , that is often overlooked.

That is spiritual harlotry. In fact, this term does refer to idolatry in a number of places and is very plentiful, especially in Revelation.

Revelation 17:1 – Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

Revelation 17:2 – with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

This is talking about spiritual fornication, false doctrines, etc.

Revelation 17:3 – So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast [which was] full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

Revelation 17:4 – The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.

Revelation 17:5 – And on her forehead a name [was] written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Spiritual harlotry.

Revelation 14:8 – And another angel followed, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Revelation 14:9 – Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives [his] mark on his forehead or on his hand,

This is also talking about spiritual fornication.

Revelation 18:2 – And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!

Revelation 19:2 – For true and righteous [are] His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants [shed] by her.

This is talking about the harllot who commits fornication. The reason she is a harlot is because she commits porneia.

That spiritual harlotry is the worship of other gods. Other examples of this kind of figurative language are plentiful throughout the Law and the Prophets,

Here are a couple of examples.

Exodus 34:13 – But you shall destroy their altars, break their [sacred] pillars, and cut down their [wooden] images

Exodus 34:14 – `(for you shall worship no other god, for YAHWEH, whose name [is] Jealous, [is] a jealous Elohim),

Exodus 34:15 – lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and [one of them] invites you and you eat of his sacrifice,

Exodus 34:16 – and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.

In the context of marriage here, He’s talking about spiritual harlotry going on. He’s not even talking about physical harlotry.

He’s talking about spiritual harlotry with other gods. So when Yahushua is speaking in the context of marriage, it’s not outside the examples in the Torah.

Even there, within the context of marriage, spiritual harlotry is brought to light.

Leviticus 17:7 – They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.’

This in the Septuagint, which is a Greek translation of the Old Testament,

“Spiritual Harlotry” (Idolatry)

Numbers 14:33

2 Kings 9:22

Isaiah 47:10; 57:9

Jer 2:20; 3:2, 9; 13:27

Ezek 16:15, 22, 25, 33f, 36, 41; 23:7f, 11, 14, 17ff, 27, 29, 35; 43:7, 9;

Hos 1:2; 2:4, 6; 4:11f; 5:4; 6:10

Micah 1:7

Nah 3:4

In the Septuagint, which is a Greek translation of the Old Testament, in every one of these verses, porneia is only speaking of spiritual harlotry.

That is the worship of other gods. The Pharisees, scribes and Jews in the first century were well acquainted with how this word was used in the Torah.

How many times is it used for spiritual harlotry? We see there’s a ton of times. How many times does that word refer to physical harlotry? Two.

Only twice is this word \i porneia\i0 , in the Old Testament, used to refer to physical harlotry.

“Physical Harlotry”

Genesis 38:24

Hosea 1:2

The rest is all spiritual harlotry. So when Yahushua says porneia which one is He talking about. He’s talking about both to some extent.

I was able to get hold of a Hebrew Matthew called the Dutelay. The church fathers even believe the book of Matthew was originally penned in Hebrew.

There was a Hebrew that was found among the Jews. Wherever the name Yahweh originally stood in this text, they put 3 yods and a triangle.

They didn’t use kurios or adonai. In this Hebrew Matthew, it uses the word zenuth for porneia.

It was actually my examination of the Hebrew in this particular instance years ago, that set me on course to try to understand.

Could Yahushua have been speaking of spiritual harlotry?

In other words, yes, divorce is permitted between a believer and an unbeliever, but never between 2 believers.

Now in the Hebrew language, this word zenuth is actually referred to as spiritual harlotry in each of the following verses:

Instances of “Zenuth”

“Spiritual Harlotry (Idolatry)

Numbers 14:33,

Jeremiah 3:2,9; 13:27

Ezekiel 23:27; 43:7, 9

Hosea 4:11; 6:10

There are some cases where it is talking about physical harlotry, maybe, in 2 instances.

Instances of “Zenuth”

“Physical Harlotry”

Genesis 38:24

Hosea 1:2

I’m not really clear on those. You can look at those yourself. Look for that Hebrew word zenuth in those instances.

My point is that this particular word zenuth is probably the word Yahushua used.

Since the word most often refers to playing the harlot, worshipping other gods, when they heard this, they could very well think back to the Torah

There this particular word was used, especially the place I shared earlier about their sons playing the harlot with other gods and so on.

So if you have a wife who is playing the harlot or a husband who is playing the harlot in the worship of other gods, that may be among the exceptions.

We’re going to look into that.

When you look at the full context of everything that’s been said about marriage up to this point. Yahweh forbade marriages to heathenwomen.

He said not to do it.Yahweh even divorced part of Israel because of their unfaithfulness, because they were playing the harlot.

We see in the book of Ezra that they were actually commanded to divorce their wives because they had married wives that were pagan unbelievers.

So when Yahushua comes, would He be saying anything different? I don’t think so. He’s saying they allowed you to divorce between unbelievers.

But you can see if you go back to the beginning, that between believers, it was not so. I’m not making this up.I’ve got more text to see this.

Let’s look at the book of 1Corinthians and see if this doesn’t shed any more light on this possibility.

1Corinthians 7:10 – Now to the married I command, [yet] not I but the Master: A wife is not to depart from [her] husband.

1Corinthians 7:11 – But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to [her] husband. And a husband is not to divorce [his] wife.

Very clear. Very easy to understand. No ifs, ands, or buts. No difficulties. No problems whatsoever.

What’s most interesting to me here is he says, “I’m not the one commanding this. This is comanded by the Master.”

If the Master is actually the One who is commanding it, do we have an example where the Master Yahushua actually said that the wife is not to depart

from her husband and a husband is not to divorce his wife? Of course, we just read it.

He said if a man divorces his wife and marries another he commits adultery. If she remarries someone else she commits adultery.

That’s where the Master actually did command.

I want to mention as a side note here: There are some people who think it’s okay for a wife to leave her husband.

Because it says there even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled with her husband.

If a wife leaves her husband, and she uses verse 11 to justify it, I don’t know what she does with verse 10 because it’s a flat out command.

It says that she’s not to depart from her husband. Now if she disobeys this command, then don’t make it worse by getting married to someone else.

That’s basically what He’s saying in verse 11. I know there’s cases of abuse and so on. I’m going to get into that later.

I want to point this out because we need if you’re married to a believer, you need to get this out of your mind that divorce is even an option.

This is the Master’s commandment. He says a wife is not to depart from her husband, and a husband is not to divorce his wife.

Very Clear. So Paul was evidently referring to Yahushua’s words when he commanded not to separate what Elohim has joined together.

That is the actual command here.

Matthew 19:4 – And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made [them] at the beginning `made them male and female,’

Matthew 19:5 – and said, `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?

Matthew 19:6 – So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what Elohim has joined together, let not man separate.

We don’t want to separate what Yahweh has joined together. Yahweh’s not going to join together a believer and an unbeliever. He said that’s forbidden.

So when you’re looking for a spouse, don’t even consider an unbeliever because that’s not going to be a marriage that Yahweh says he joined together.

He forbade it.

So Paul’s statement that a wife must not depart from her husband, and a husband not to divorce his wife is in line with what Yahushua is saying here.

In other places, however we have exceptions.

Matthew 19:9 – And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.

Matthew 5:32 – But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Notice it says causes her. In other words, he causes her to stumble into adultery if he divorces her and she marries someone else.

So we have some responsibility in that.

Mark 10:11 – So He said to them, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.

Mark 10:12 – And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.

These don’t even mention the exception. Because of what Yahushua said, Paul said, “I don’t command this, the Master commands it.”

1Corinthians 7:12 – But to the rest I, not the Master, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.

I don’t see how it could get any clearer. She would have to remain unmarried in order to avoid committing adultery against her husband.

That’s what he’s referring to. In the eyes of Yahweh, even if she does depart they are not divorced. They may claim to be unmarried in their eyes.

But in the eyes of Yahweh, He is still honoring their marriage.

What about the exception we read earlier? Except for porneia? Paul also dealt with this exception. In verse 12:

1Corinthians 7:12 – But to the rest I, not the Master, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.

Let him not divorce her? Why would that be? First I want to examine this a little more closely. Paul declares, he’s speaking on his own here.

Not what the Master Himself has commanded, and he makes a very important point. I’m not saying that Paul was wrong.

It’s extremely important to understand, not because Paul was wrong, but the fact he clearly told us it was his own opinion,

It was not a command from the Master that a believer and an unbeliever should try to stay together, if possible.

Yahushua’s statement, ‘what Yahweh has joined together, let not man separate,’ did not apply to marriages between believers and unbelievers.

If it did apply, then Paul would have said, ‘The Master has commanded, believers and unbelievers, you’re not to divorce.’

Instead, he said the Master has not commanded that. It’s very important to grab this, because to me this is the utimate proof.

Yahushua was talking about believer versus unbeliever. That’s going to shed some light on the exception He gave us.

Yahushua never commanded that a believer and an unbeliever must remain married.

If he did, Paul would have said, “To the rest, not I, but the Master says” that believers and unbelievers must stay together.

It’s very important to understand that. It says the Master has not commanded this.

When Paul heard this statement, he knew that He was making the exception for the believer and the unbeliever having to stay together. to not divorce.

He did say, don’t divorce. Why did he say don’t divorce? Why did he say if she’s willing to live with him, let him not divorce her?

1Corinthians 7:13 – And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him.

Again, Paul’s advice, not Yahushua’s command. We’re not dealing with a situation where a believer is looking for a wife and found an unbeliever to marry.

That’s clearly a sin. You’re not supposed to do that.

This is dealing with a situation where a person who was already married, was an unbeliever at one time, and was married to an unbeliever.

They had come to faith in Yahushua, but their spouse had not come to faith.

He’s encouraging the unbeliever to stay with the unbeliever if the unbeliever is pleased to dwell with him. Why would he say that?

What about Yahweh’s plan for salvation, His plan for a man and a woman to come together and be one flesh and be fruitful and multiply?

And what about producing a seed of Elohim? Wouldn’t a believer and an unbeliever being married be a hindrance to that?

Wouldn’t that cause their children to be defiled with idolatry? How is that going to fit with Yahushua’s statements regarding Yahweh’s plan?

Paul must’ve known the first question they would ask when he said that was, ‘What about the children?’

Because that’s the purpose of marriage is to produce a seed of Elohim. What about them? What’s he say the very next verse?

1Corinthians 7:14 – For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

He addresses the very thing I have been trying to address: the purposes of marriage, producing a seed of Elohim.

When a believer and and unbeliever are together, he’s saying, ‘Don’t worry about their children. They’re sanctified by you, by what you’re doing.

This is true whether you’re a husband or whether you’re a wife.’ And why would the children be clean?

As long as the unbeliever is pleased to dwell with the believer, they should remain together.

An unbeliever who is pleased to dwell with a believer would not be someone who is rebellious and wicked toward Yahweh.

They may just not be convicted, not see it yet. They’re not there yet. Otherwise they’re well-meaning people.

In most cases, the person would not be pleased to dwell with a believer because a rebellious and wicked person does not want the light to dwell with him.

If it’s constant logger heads and fights and that’s the nature of things, it shouldn’t be. There’s a principle you have to follow.

If it’s becoming a situation where the children are being defiled, the children are not clean because the person you’re married to is utterly wicked.

If that person is trying to lead them to hell, and meanwhile you’re trying to lead them to righteousness and there’s a constant clash.

Then a decision will have to be made by the leading of Yahweh’s Spirit at some time.

If they’re utterly wicked and they hate the light and want nothing to do with it, what’s going to happen? Something’s got to to give,

When light hits darkness, something going to move. When lies meet truth, something is going to happen eventually.

At the same time we have to realize that all of us at one time practicing darkness, unless we were raised a believer and remained faithful.

We were drawn to the light and we eventually desired the forgiveness and salvation offered through Yahushua the Messiah.

In the case of an unbeliever not necessarily being an utter rebel and hard hearted toward anything to do with Yahweh, there is a potential.

Sometimes even for the hard hearted there is a potential for that spouse to be converted to the faith. We’ll cover that more in a moment.

How and why is the unbelieving spouse sanctified by the believing spouse?

If the believing spouse is holy and the unbeliever is not rebellious then the unbeliever is sanctified.

The children are holy as well because the children are not being corrupted by rebellion and hard heartedness.

It’s not yet known, is that unbeliever going to make the same decision. It’s not yet known whether they’re going to come to salvation in Messiah.

It’s possible that that marriage is one that Elohim has joined together in one flesh to produce this holy seed of Elohim, if patience is exercised.

If the example of Yahushua is made manifest in the household by the believe, then it is possible, through a Messiah like example.

If that other person becomes drawn to that Messiah like example, then there’s a potential for there to be a marriage that Yahweh has ordained.

He has just revealed one person at a different time than the other. That’s what Paul brings up next.

1Corinthians 7:15 – But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such [cases]. But Elohim has called us to peace.

1Corinthians 7:16 – For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save [your] husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save [your] wife?

1Corinthians 7:17 – But as Elohim has distributed to each one, as YAHWEH has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches.

This is consistent with the theme in a lot of Paul’s letters.

We are encouraged if we are called when we’re in a marriage to an unbeliever, to wait patiently and let Yahweh work through the issues in our life.

In the case of an unbeliever being called to be a believer while married to this unbeliever, we are encouraged to remember that we are called to peace.

We don’t need to create for ourselves unnecessary division in our households.

If that unbeliever created a division, we should remember that we are not under bondage in such cases.

The unbeliever could do this by departing or by rebellion and hard heartedness toward Yahweh.

The Master has not commanded that a believer and an unbeliever must stay together. The principle is, be patient with the other person.

They might come to faith, and there may be something beautiful in store. Be attentive to the leading of Yahweh’s Spirit as to whom you’re going to marry.

And be attentive to the leading of Yahweh’s Spirit in whether or not you should divorce that unbelieving spouse.

The meaning of “not under bondage in such cases” has been a source of controversary amongst divorce and remarriage opponents.

1Corinthians 7:15 – But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such [cases]. But Elohim has called us to peace.

“Not under bondage in such cases.” Does that mean if the unbeliever departs that the believer is free to marry somebody else?

Those who believe the person can remarry after divorcing an unbeliever would interpret this as Paul giving authorization, saying it is permissible.

Those who believe a person can never remarry, no matter what would interpret this differently.

They would say they’re not bound to fulfilling the normal marital duties if the unbelieving spouse departs.

So how you interpret this statement is going to depend on how you already view all the other Scriptures on this issue.

You can’t necessarily prove just from this one verse alone the proper understanding.

But I think the context of this verse, by and large, supports the idea that they can remarry. I’ll explain this to you.

Let’s look at this whole thing in context here.

1Corinthians 7:10 – Now to the married I command, [yet] not I but the Master: A wife is not to depart from [her] husband.

1Corinthians 7:11 – But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to [her] husband. And a husband is not to divorce [his] wife.

1Corinthians 7:12 – But to the rest I, not the Master, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.

Verse 12 is not necessarily Yahushua’s opinion that they need to stay together because the Master didn’t specifically say that in Matt 19, Matt 5, etc.

So he has to judge a situation that’s a little different, but it’s still related.

1Corinthians 7:13 – And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him.

1Corinthians 7:14 – For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

1Corinthians 7:15 – But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such [cases]. But Elohim has called us to peace.

1Corinthians 7:16 – For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save [your] husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save [your] wife?

I read this whole thing so we can grab the context and understand the summary here.

Summary

The Master Yahushua commanded that there is to be no divorce between believers.

If a believing woman departs from her believing husband, she not permitted to remarry. That would be adultery per Yahushua’s words.

The Master Yahushua did not command a believer to remain married to an unbeliever.

If the unbeliever departs, the believer is not in bondage in such cases. This would be in line with Yahushua’s ‘porneia’ exception if this meant

the believer could remarry.

Looking at the context, there are clearly 2 situations that are being addressed. There is the situation of 2 believers being married.

There is a situation of a believer and an unbeliever being married.

If the first time this is brought up, he’s addressing the question of remarriage, then why would he not be addressing remarriage in the second instance?

That seems to be the flow of things. When I look at this, he speaks of 2 believers being married, he says not to divorce.

Yahushua didn’t say the believer and unbeliever have to stay together, so let them go if that’s what they want to do.

This is in perfect line with what Yahushua actually said in Matthew 19.

Matthew 19:9 – And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.

If you are married to a person who is an unbeliever practicing porneia, spiritual harlotry, playing the harlot with other gods, then He did not address you.

He did not say if you remarry you commit adultery.

He is only talking about those who have not met this criteria of having a spouse that committed porneia.

So it makes sense to me that when Paul the exceptions, he’s addressing the same thing that Yahushua said.

He makes a distinction between a believer and an unbeliever in regards to the rules regarding divorce and remarriage.

With the marriage of the believers, he says there is no divorce. With the marriage of a believer and an unbeliever, he says there is divorce.

It’s permitted. The Master didn’t say you have to stay together, but
try to stay together if you can to save the other person, but if they go, let them go.

You’re not in bondage in such cases. Whereas you are held to that marriage in the case of 2 believers divorcing.

This is in perfect unity, from what I see, with the rest of Scripture, with the whole of Scripture, with Genesis through Revelation.

It’s only marriages between 2 believers that Yahushua is declaring and commanding that no man separate.

And Paul reiterated that. “Let no man separate what Yahweh has joined together.”

In fact, it’s maybe worse for a believer to married to a wicked. hard hearted, rebellious unbeliever than for 2 believers to be together.

I’m not saying that a marriage between a believer and an unbeliever isn’t a marriage.

It is a marriage, but really it’s like nothing because it’s not fulfilling anything that Yahweh wanted for a marriage. Darkness is darkness. Light is light.

But please don’t mix darkness with light. He isn’t looking for a mixed seed. He’s looking for a pure, undefiled seed of Elohim.

We don’t mix righteous and wickedness. It’s that kind of syncretism that brought Christmas and Easter and Sunday worship into the faith of Messiah.

We can be sure Yahweh does not want rebelliousness and abominable to be one flesh with the righteous.

Yahweh doesn’t transgress His own Word. He considered those marriages between believers and unbelievers to be what the following Scriptures show.

Scriptures

Malachi 2:11 – Judah has dealt treacherously, And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, For Judah has profaned YAHWEH’S holy [institution] which He loves: He has married the daughter of a foreign god.

Nehemiah 13:27 – Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our Elohim by marrying pagan women?

Ezra 9:2 – For they have taken some of their daughters [as wives] for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of [those] lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass.

Ezra 9:10 – And now, O our Elohim, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments,

Ezra 9:11 – which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, `The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity.

Ezra 9:12 – `Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave [it] as an inheritance to your children forever.’

Ezra 9:13 – And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our Elohim have punished us less than our iniquities [deserve], and have given us [such] deliverance as this,

Ezra 9:14 – should we again break Your commandments, and join in marriage with the people [committing] these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed [us], so that [there would be] no remnant or survivor?

Joshua 23:11 – Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love YAHWEH your Elohim.

Joshua 23:12 – Or else, if indeed you do go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations — these that remain among you — and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you,

Joshua 23:13 – know for certain that YAHWEH your Elohim will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which YAHWEH your Elohim has given you.

The Torah says you should not make marriages with them.

Deuteronomy 7:3 – Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son.

Deuteronomy 7:4 – For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of YAHWEH will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly.

What I’m basically trying to say is, the exception that’s given in Matthew and the exception that’s given in 1 Corinthians are the same.

Marriages between believers and unbelievers are something Yahweh had actually forbidden in the Torah.

It goes against the very thing that Yahweh was trying to establish in Genesis.

One man , one woman being fruitful and multiplying a seed of Elohim, so that
righteousness maybe established on the earth.

To me that understanding brings the whole
Scripture together on this issue.

2Corinthians 6:14 – Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

2Corinthians 6:15 – And what accord has Messiah with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?

2Corinthians 6:16 – And what agreement has the temple of Elohim with idols? For you are the temple of the living Elohim. As Elohim has said: I will dwell in them And walk among [them]. I will be their Elohim, And they shall be My people.

2Corinthians 6:17 – Therefore Come out from among them And be separate, says YAHWEH. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.

2Corinthians 6:18 – I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says YAHWEH Almighty.

We’ve been addressing this, the clean and the unclean, and the holy and the unholy in previous broadcasts.

2Corinthians 7:1 – Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of Elohim.

Other Scriptures are in complete unity with this view of divorce and remarriage.

1Corinthians 15:33 – Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits.

James 4:4 – Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with Elohim? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of Elohim.

1Corinthians 10:20 – Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to Elohim, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.

1Corinthians 10:21 – You cannot drink the cup of YAHWEH and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of YAHWEH’S table and of the table of demons.

1Corinthians 10:22 – Or do we provoke YAHWEH to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

Ephesians 5:8 – For you were once darkness, but now [you are] light in Yahweh. Walk as children of light

Ephesians 5:9 – (for the fruit of the Spirit [is] in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),

Ephesians 5:10 – finding out what is acceptable to Yahweh.

Ephesians 5:11 – And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose [them].

Ephesians 5:12 – For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.

The witness of numerous Scriptures seems to be very clear that Yahweh does not want us to be in a marriage that He calls an abomination.

He calls it a snare, a trap, a trespass against Him, one that profanes Yahweh’s holy institution that He loves.

It causes us to be unequally yokes and in fellowship with evil company that corrupts our good habits.

And it corrupts the good habits of our children that we might bear.

So it makes perfect sense that Yahushua, the Messiah, would address this when talking about divorce and remarriage.

That’s why I believe spiritual harlotry is one of the exceptions that He spoke of. This understanding has the support of numerous Scriptures.

It brings them all together as one unit speaking the same thing as the full counsel of Elohim.

It has the potential, actually to effectively eliminate the confusion and the division in the body of Messiah between people on this issue.

That is, if we look at it in full context.

And when we understand this and we implement it into our understanding of this issue, the moral integrity of the people of the body of Messiah is upheld.

This is because you don’t have believers mixing with unbelievers in marriages that are creating major problems for their children.

You don’t have people saying, “Oh, I think I’ll just divorce my wife over here and marry someone else in the congregation.”

So it upholds the moral integrity of the congregation. It upholds Yahweh’s plan for marriage: the spiritual and physical unity of one man and one woman.

It upholds the plan of Yahweh for us to bear the seed of Elohim and to produce an environment that is most conducive to that.

It upholds the banning of marriages that mixed believers and unbelievers in the Torah and in the New Testament.

The Scriptures in Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi decrying the marriage of believers to
unbelievers is upheld.

The decision that Ezra had to divorce the unbelieving wives is upheld.

The statements Paul made about there being no divorce between believers is upheld.

The statement Paul made where divorce is permitted between believers and
unbelievers is upheld.

And most importantly, families and children and the assembly are not corrupted with leaven, evil company, lawlessness, Belial, idolatry, uncleanness,

and unfruitful works of darkness by having wickedness dwelling within their houses.

Our homes can be a safe haven and a lamp which gives light to all who enter our homes. When our homes are full of light, we build a city of peace.

Jerusalem, Yerushayim, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden, and the light of Yahushua shining through a loving husband and a submissive wife.

That light will draw Yahweh’s people back to His plan, just as He wanted all along.

I will continue this topic next week. We will look more deeply into the topic of marriage, divorce, and remarriage.

Until then please, listen, do not run down to the divorce court if you’re married to an unbeliever.

There are some other Scriptures we need to examine on this issue and I have a lot more to share in that department.

We need to look at all the Scriptures on this topic so we have a balanced view of this issue.

If Yahweh called you when you were already married to an unbeliever, then He may have called you to save that unbeliever.

We’re going to get into that more as we continue this subject in the coming weeks. In the meantime, may Yahweh reveal His will to us on this matter,

What I think it basically boils down to is, Yahweh has certain rules for who you’re allowed to marry and certain rules for who you’re not allowed to marry.

It’s the rules that deal with who you’re not supposed to marry where divorce is actually permissible. To me, that makes perfect sense.

May Yahweh reveal to all of us His will on this. If I’m wrong, feel free to share.

Until then may Yahweh bless you and may Yahweh truly have mercy on each and every one of us.