Biblical Interpretations of Marriage and Divorce

Biblical Interpretation

In the Bible, it talks about divorce, marriage and birth. This is designed to provide humankind with a blueprint as to areas that should be respected and those tactics which are most effective in the process. To fully understand what is taking place requires examining each one. This will be accomplished by looking at these concepts in order to gain a greater understanding of them. Together, these elements will highlight theological principles and their impact on stakeholders.

Divorce

In the Bible, divorce is designed as an avenue to prevent couples from effectively running away from their problems and not respecting the institution of marriage. This is occurring with God discouraging these practices and associating them with adultery. Evidence of this can be seen in Deuteronomy 24: 1 -- 4 which says, "If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance." (Holly Bible New International Version, 2007)

In general, divorce is considered to be adultery. This is because it is breaking the scared covenant between a man, woman and God. However, if the either partner has engaged in adultery with someone else, the husband can seek out a divorce. As they have been defiled by the other and are no longer pure. In this case, the true individual is not considered to be the adulterer. Instead, it is the other person who is at fault, which makes divorce acceptable under these circumstances.

Marriage, Paul and New Birth

Marriage is considered to be a sacred bond between a man and woman. This means that it must be protected and cherished. During this process, neither person should cheat on their partner and protect this covenant at all costs. Instead, they should have a sense of respect and honor for their bodies. Evidence of this can be seen in 1 Corinthians 6: 18 -- 20 which says, "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." (Holly Bible New International Version, 2007) This is illustrating how the individual must not engage in abusive practices with their body. Adultery is something which destroys it and the character of the person.