The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed by Anjela Paje of Spokane, WA, from the tape, GC 1301-T, titled "Bible Questions and Answers Part 22."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE.  ©1982. All Rights Reserved.

Question

My question has to do with Deuteronomy 24:1-4, which speaks of divorce, and if I may paraphrase that. It says there that, "If a man divorces his wife and if that wife remarries, and then, subsequently is divorced from the second husband or is widowed that the first husband cannot take her back as his wife." Does that law still apply to this day and age?

Answer

I believe, it does. And, I believe the reason it does is this: Now, you are asking a question relative to Old Testament interpretive principles. How do we know what in the Old Testament is for today and what is not? For example: two chapters earlier you have a law that says you are forbidden to take birds’ eggs out of their nests. Are we still forbidden to do that? How do we know this law is in, and that one is out? The answer is this: And, this is the best we can do with it.

1. First of all, if an OT principle is repeated in the NT, we know what is clearly for today, right?

2. Secondly, if it reflects a moral issue, God’s morality never changes. There are certain ceremonies and certain rituals and certain customs and traditions which God gave to the nation of Israel that set them apart uniquely which obviously are obviated in the NT, such as dietary laws and so forth. Acts 10, Colossians 2, and so forth.

3. Thirdly, I believe, that one of the ways we need to deal with the OT is, are we dealing with something that is bigger than Israel, bigger than that one period of time? And, in this case, I think, we are because we are dealing with marriage, and marriage is supraIsrael--it is bigger than Israel. And, so, you are dealing with a topic that stretches from the creation of man to the beginning of the New Heaven and the New Earth. And, marriage will flow through all of the history of mankind, and when God comments on marriage, I think, it becomes binding because the territory covered by marriage is so vast.

So, I believe, here when a person puts away his wife without cause, without biblical grounds, he, then, causes her to become an adulteress. Who marries her becomes an adulterer, and she is an adulteress. And, being an adulteress is defiled, and he cannot take her back because he cannot marry a defiled person. Okay?

Questioner continues

What if there were grounds for a divorce?

Answer

It is the same, I think. You have to sort of stand on the same ground. It is a difficult question. It doesn't deal with that. But, I think, if I were being confronted in a counseling situation and someone said I had grounds for a divorce, I divorced my wife, she went away, she remarried somebody else, she divorced that person, and came back to me. Although, I cannot use a scripture, I would say that is a very tenuous thing. I don't think adultery is the issue here. If there was real grounds for divorce...the Bible does not comment on such a situation. So, you don't have a biblical comment. But, my own thinking, and I am going to offer this only as a result of biblical thinking. This is my thinking as a result of what I know about scripture. If there was that kind of law, that you could divorce your wife with grounds, or your husband, go and marry again, and then, they could come back to you, it would cultivate a myriad more problems than it would solve by giving people options. When, God, if you have already entered into another relationship, would best want you to stay and make the most out of it, even if it was not the first choice, it is better than the third choice. Do you understand what I am saying?

See, the Bible does not talk about every specific because, basically, God hates divorce, and you just do not do it to start with. And, if you do it, then you are dealing with the exceptions and all of them cannot possibly be covered. Now, when you don't have a specific scripture to deal with something, that is where the ministry of the Spirit of God takes place in the heart. And you seek wise counsel, prayerfully talking with those who are mature in Jesus Christ, seeking to know the will of the Spirit of God as He prompts your heart, and walk in obedience to that revealed will in the providence of God and the direction of your own heart.

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur's Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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