Welcome to The IN SEASON Lifestyle’s Thursday bible study called COME AS A CHILD. Today we are going to take a look at the scriptures found in Deuteronomy 24: 1-4:
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.
God hates divorce; but mankind can be so human and so unchangeable in their ways sometimes; that divorce is the only solution that can be found in certain circumstances.
Say we have a situation like the one mentioned in the scripture passage above, where a couple is married and a man finds fault with his wife, divorces her and sends her away. She goes out and remarries a second time and this husband too finds fault with her, divorces her and sends her away. Then (after many years have passed) the first husband reconsiders how he felt about her and wants to remarry her.
Would this be possible?
No.
God does not approve of such decisions and circumstances.
When the people came into the land of their inheritance, as the nation of Israel at its birth; they were not to sin in such a way. Israel should be pure and have no flaws. These types of arrangements are not allowed for the times of the forming of the great new nation.
This law was given by God in order to make a perfect place/nation from which to enter the lives of mankind in a physical way, yet; in giving this law God created an impossible situation for Himself.
I know it is hard to think of things being impossible for God; but consider the fact that the only thing God CANNOT do is to break his own rules.
He made the rule and He has to keep it.
It was just that simple and just that complicated.
Why?
Because we will see in later studies that Israel did not stay true to God.
Israel, the Bride of God, rebelled and committed spiritual adultery. It was said that God and Israel took marriage vows at Mt. Sinai with the giving of the law of Moses. But every law was broken. God was forced to divorce Israel because God is completely holy and cannot be married to one that is unclean.
Israel turning to other gods was like unto the way the wife went out of the first husband’s home because she had fallen out of favor with him. Usually when a wife falls out of favor it is because she has committed adultery. Israel committed spiritual adultery with other gods. That is the thing about idolatry where many fall victim today. I’m referring to the fact that the false gods will only use you and abuse you and turn their backs on you when they are tired of dealing with you, they throw you away like yesterday’s trash.
That was also what happened spiritually to Israel.
The false gods of the other nations could never lead them or satisfy their desires.
Like a dirty, ragged, torn, beaten-up, prostitute; Israel opened her eyes and saw the truth. She realized that God had been a good husband and knew that she should not have committed the adultery that led God to divorce her.
So Israel comes crawling back and begs and pleads with God for forgiveness.
Guess what?
In spite of every bad thing that has happened and all of Israel’s sin; God still loves her!
It is a miracle; yet it seems to be a miracle in vain because God cannot take back his own ruling and remarry her.
We know that God is Three in One, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You cannot separate them or pull them apart; the three are one, like the yoke of an egg inside its shell.
When One loved, all Three loved.
When One suffered; all Three suffered.
Jesus wanted to provide a way that God could re-marry Israel and a way for everyone to be happy together.
He knew that God could not remarry Israel because of her great sin.
Jesus knew that God had proclaimed that when someone had divorced and married again; the first couple could never remarry.
There was only one way to make this right.
The first husband had to die.
If the first husband died; the woman would be free again to marry.
If the first husband who had died came back to life again after death; it would be okay for Him to remarry the bride who had once been unfaithful; but had now returned with repentance and remorse for her actions.
This is all a part of the story of how Jesus saved us. It is the part of the story that isn’t often explained.
Israel started out as a pattern nation to set the example for all nations. Eventually this chosen nation produced those who grew into what we now call The Church.
Jesus was the way that the church was now able to become reunited with God. HIs life-giving sacrifice was the ONLY way that God could be reunited with His first-love. Israel (both natural born and grafted-in), until Jesus died on the cross; could not be reunited with her first love.
It was a whole big glorious impossible miracle.
God is always making glorious impossibles happen.
It all started way back there in Deuteronomy when the law was being reviewed for the new nation that was about to enter into their inheritance.
One day we all will enter into our inheritance.
God has a plan and we are part of that wonderful plan.
Our Savior; Jesus is coming again.
He will make all things new!
So let the hopeless turn their eyes up in hope and let the morning turn their ways to joy.
Keep looking up – Jesus is coming soon.