RECENTLY we said that by look of things marriage is abused, one big reason being that this generation does not seem to understand the purpose of marriage.
We explained that above all, marriage is a covenant and not contract. A covenant by its nature ends at death one of the partners. This is the reason we say in our vows “till death do us part”.
Today I want us to look at how divorce is an abuse of the marriage sanctuary. Let me again emphasise that I am writing primarily to those in the Church, who confess Jesus is Lord and call themselves Christians.
To you divorce is foreign and must not be heard of among you. We saw that according to Malachi 2:11 that “marriage is the Holy sanctuary of the Lord which He loves”.
Always have this in mind when you think of marriage. It is holy and God loves it and it is His sanctuary. Divorce then is against the holiness and purity of this sanctuary. It defiles it. Let me show you why.
For I hate divorce, says the Lord the God of Israel. He loves marriage and hates divorce. As I have said already, divorce violates the purpose of marriage and makes it common and not holy anymore.
Divorce cheapens the sanctuary of God and makes it like any other human relationship. Beloved, marriage is not just a human relationship.
It is a relationship symbolic of the relationship Christ has with the church or believers. Jesus does not divorce anyone of us no matter how much we sin. He forgives and continues to love and stalk.
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Divorce is violence. The New International Version of the Bible says in Malachi 2:16: “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect.”
Other versions say you are dealing treacherously with the wife of your youth. God hates divorce because it is violence. Marriage is not a place of violence, but of love, kindness, forgiveness and oneness. These days there is so much violence unleashed against marriage and many children and spouses have fallen victims.
What breaks the heart is that the justice systems of the world sanction this violence on a daily basis. Even as I said last week that my dream is to see courts refuse to grant divorce, but instead compel couples to attend Bible-based counselling which is God focused as far as marriage is concerned.
Our biggest challenge in this generation is approaching everything from a humanistic and westernisation approach. Beloved, God hates divorce and it is violence against those we are supposed to protect.
In Matthew 19, Jesus is teased by His enemies on the subject of divorce. Moses had permitted them to divorce and issue a certificate, but Jesus takes them back to the original plan and purpose of God.
“But from the beginning it has not been this way,” Matthew 19: 8c. Right from the beginning, divorce was not in God’s plan and it is still not. Moses allowed it because of the hardness of the heart.
In other words, the reason for divorce even in this generation is the “hardness of the human heart towards God”. It reveals the condition of the heart. When you divorce and you are a Christian, you reveal the condition of your heart towards God.
The heart of a husband or wife towards each other must always reveal the Heart of God towards His people. This is the reason God rejects divorce because it tries to portray Him as a violent God. He is a loving and forgiving God. I know this sounds hard, but it’s the truth. The truth you know shall set you free.
As a generation of believers, we need to constantly check our hearts towards God. We are called to love God with all our hearts, souls and strengths.
How much we love God is demonstrated by how much we love our spouses. Marriage, beloved, is an earthily union that witnesses the love Jesus has for His believers.
Our marriages must not portray anything contrary. The unsaved world must look at our marriages and see Christ and His saving love and grace. Beloved, marriage is a place of grace and forgiveness. A hard heart does not forgive. It keeps grudges and a diary of wrongs.
This is anti-Christ and violates marriage.
There is need for this generation to seriously consider the teachings of Christ on life in general so we can fulfil his mission. The word encourages us to “occupy till I come”.
We cannot do this while we are so humanistic in approach and we walk the wider path of justifications and conforming to worldly standards. Divorce is so wrong.
I pray that the Church will rise up and teach on marriage the way of Christ because as long as the marriage bed is defiled, society is defiled.
Kilton Moyo is a pastor, guidance and counselling consultant and author of The Sex Trap. Call and WhatsApp on +263 775 337 207 or +263 712 384 841.
