Here’s what the bible say about those struggling with their marriage vows and the topic of divorce
The Reality of Divorce: Its Truth and Grace
Hello everyone. Welcome back to Spiritual Podcast, your podcast for authentic Bible teachings for a righteous spiritual journey. I’m Elder Dan, your host. Pull up a chair. I’ve got my coffee here—black, as usual—and I’m sitting in my study room looking out at a particularly cloudy morning. It feels appropriate for what we’re diving into today.
We’re talking about divorce.
I know, I know. Some of you just felt your chest tighten. Maybe you clicked on this because you’re in the middle of a storm, or maybe you’re the child of a split home, or maybe you’re just someone trying to understand what the Bible actually says when the “happily ever after” falls apart.
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Before we open the Bible, I want to tell you about a couple I knew years ago—let’s call them Jake and Sally. They were the “pillars.” They hosted the small groups; they smiled in the lobby. Then one Tuesday, Jake sat in my office, put his head in his hands, and said, “Elder Dan, I can’t breathe in our house with my wife anymore.”
It wasn’t a scandal. It was just… death by a thousand cuts. And it leads us to the verse every kid at the church school knows but many fear.
The Heart of the Creator
Let’s address the elephant in the room, shall we? Let’s read Malachi 2:16. In the older translations, it’s blunt. It says and I quote: “For I hate divorce, says Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel.”
Now, let’s be very careful here. Yahweh doesn’t say He hates divorced people. He hates the thing itself. Why? Because marriage was designed to be a living, breathing icon of how He loves us. When a marriage breaks, an icon is shattered. It hurts Him because He knows the shrapnel it sends into the lives of children, families, and the soul of the two people involved. He loves wholeness. Divorce is, by definition, a tearing of what was meant to be one.
But here is where we have to get real: We live in a world that hasn’t been “whole” since the Garden of Eden.
The “Except” Clauses
I often get asked, “Elder Dan, if Yahweh hates divorce, is it ever okay?”
Yahshua the Messiah dealt with this directly in Matthew 19. The Pharisees—who were always looking for a legal loophole—asked Him if a man could divorce his wife for “any and every reason.”
Yahshua pointed them back to the beginning, back to the design. But then He acknowledged the reality of human hardness. He provided what theologians call the “Exceptive Clause.”
In Matthew 19:9, Yahshua says: “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
Sexual immorality (porneia) is a profound breach of the covenant. It’s not just a mistake; it’s a fundamental breaking of the “one flesh” union. In His loving mercy, Yahweh provides a way out for the faithful spouse because the covenant has already been discarded by the other.
The Abandonment Issue
Then there’s the Apostle Paul. He’s writing to the church in Corinth—a city that was basically the Las Vegas of the ancient world. People were getting saved, but their spouses weren’t. It was messy.
In 1 Corinthians 7:15, Paul writes: “But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; Yahweh has called us to live in peace.”
If a spouse abandons the marriage—whether physically walking out or, as many spiritual leaders (myself included) argue, through the abandonment of the marriage vow via repeated abuse—the remaining spouse is “not bound.” Yahweh is an Elohim of peace, not an Elohim who demands you stay in a cage of destruction.
A Word to the Weary
If you’re reading this and you’ve been through a divorce, I want you to hear me: Your divorce is not the “unforgivable sin.”
I remember sitting with a woman who had fled a truly dangerous situation. She was shaking, holding her Bible, convinced she was headed for eternal damnation because she left. We turned to Psalm 34:18: “Yahweh is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Yahweh’s hatred of divorce is actually rooted in His love for you. He hates that you had to endure the pain of it. He hates that sin entered the world and rotted something that was supposed to be beautiful.
Where Do We Go From Here?
If your marriage is struggling, my plea to you is this: Fight. Fight to save your marriage if it’s a righteous one, and fight to walk away from it if it involves carnal impurity from either the husband or the wife. Exhaust every resource. Seek counseling. Pray until your knees ache. Yes, marriage is worth the work.
Also, if the covenant has been shattered by infidelity or abandonment, know that the sacrifice of Messiah Yahshua at the stake is big enough to cover the broken pieces. There is life after the papers are signed. There is grace for the single parent. There is a seat for you at the table of the living Elohim in heaven.
Yes, Yahweh Almighty loves marriage between a man and a woman. But He loves you as His creation even more!
Thanks for listening today. We’ll talk again next week on the 7th-day Sabbath.
Peace be with you. Kindly share this podcast episode with those who are struggling with marriage vows and needing righteous spiritual guidance about the issue of divorce.
Friends, if you’d like to continue this conversation or share your thoughts on this topic, leave a comment below or reach out to me directly. You are also welcome to peruse our previous podcast episodes on this website and visit our sister website by clicking here to read and learn more genuine truths from the Bible.
Brethren, before I go, let me pray this prayer for you: May Yahweh bless you and keep you; may Yahweh make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; may Yahweh lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. I humbly pray all these things to Yahweh through Yahshua the Messiah, our Master and coming King, amen. Kindly keep praying for the shalom of Israel. Take care. Halleluyah!