Divorced in Church Roles

Actually, the verse in Leviticus says “put away” not “divorce.” This is a requirement for the priest. Then, later in the chapter (21:10-15) the requirement is made a little stricter for the high priest where it says he can’t marry a widow or a divorced woman (and this restriction is more because the high priest can not marry someone who is not a virgin).

I think we need to really watch our words. The Bible is never against divorce. It is against putting away for the wrong reasons. Divorce is the mechanism God put in place because of our hard hearts.

A weak analogy would be between a sin and a sacrifice to cover that sin. God isn’t against the sacrifice, He is against the sin. He set up the sacrifice to take care of the sin. Divorce is not the sin, divorce is how God set up for us to deal with the sin.

Just my huumble opinion. :wavey:

 

Thank you... That is one of the best posts on this subject I have ever seen in the 4 yrs I have been here.

 

And I don't know why I kept thinking about Hosea when I read that verse from Leviticus . . .

 

I agree with Tiny, you said that well.

Normally you would be right, unfortunately the Bible is not always normal... From another post which used another version.

Mat 5:32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

 

And God "hooked" them up...

 

Well that's the funny thing isn't it.

I didn't comment when I first read it. I had to sit on it a bit, but boy, Hosea sure did pop into my mind first thing and I just couldn't shake it. Spiritual leader of the day. God's man . . .

 

Personally I believe anyone that has been Divorced should have a very large D seared onto their forehead and the palm of their hands so that everyone knows they are DIVORCED and can be sure to properly condemn them in that context.

As well they might even should have their own area to sit in the assembly. This way small pebbles can be tossed indiscriminately toward that section without worrying about hitting someone who isn't DIVORCED but just committing it in their heart.

:laugh: :laugh:

Okay, so I am a bit facetious sometimes. Shoot me.

 

Go for it brother. There is no scriptural prohibition keeping you from this desire that God has placed in your heart. God can and will use you in this capacity inspite of the fact of divorce. Divorce is not foriegn to God.

Jer 3:6 The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.
7 And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
9 And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.
11 And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah. (KJV)

 

Agreeing with Bob ;D

 

Now explain Hosea marrying Gomer. ( not Pyle either)

 

Then why does God say he hates it if the Bible doesn't speak against divorce/putting away?

Divorce is man putting to death a living institution ordained of God as the covenant of Holy Matrimony.

The sin of adultery is against the vow made with God.

You're right, divorce is a mechanism, but that is due to the action of men putting asunder that which has bewen joined together by the marriage vow.

Can you tell us when God allows a mechanism to have subjectivity according to the hardheartedness of men to go against any one of His institutions?

 

So you too think that sin has precedence over the institution of God?

 

No one has done anything of the like. It's not the person that is spoken against, it is the sin, not the sinner.

And I don't find it of a laughing matter.

 

So are you saying that by God calling Israel to repentence, and thereby justifying her,redeeming her, then betrothing the redeemed to the Son as the Bride of Christ commits adultery for His marrying her that was put away for marital unfaithfulness?

Please explain.

 

God told him to.

 

Duh! Really?

 

NKJ Hosea 1:2 When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea: "Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry And children of harlotry, For the land has committed great harlotry By departing from the LORD."


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Hi Salamander.

God never says He hates divorce. He does say, however, that He hates "putting away." If you study the passages in Deut 24:1-4, Num 30:3-9, Lev 21:7, Lev 21:10-15, Lev 22:10-16, Ezra 10:2-3, 19, Isa 50:1, Jer 3:6-11, Mal 2:16, Mat 5:31-32 (where the Greek word for "put away" was mistranslated to "divorce" in the KVJ in verse 32), Mat 19:9, Mark 10:11-12, Luke 16:18, Mat 19:1-12, Mark 10:1-12, 1 Cor 7:10-16 (note that Paul does not talk about divorce here but about putting away and departing) this becomes very clear.

God doen't hate divorce. He hates putting away for all but the most extreme reasons.

Not even sure where you are going with the rest of your comments. I just know that putting away can be a sin. But all of our sins are covered by the blood of Christ. And I also know that God never talks against divorce (as a matter of fact, He is divorced) so we are being a little bit like the pharisees when we start adding conditions to God's word that aren't there beuase we think we are being more conservative than the next guy.

I think the controversy started with the mistranslation of απολελυμενην in Matt 5:31-32 - it is the verb "put away" not the noun "writing of divorcement". Then I think we have taken some liberties with the list of requirements in 1 Timothy and Titus. The passages say nothing about divorce (and, as we see, shouldn't since divorce is never a sin). We have just read into the passage that "one woman man" means never divorced. I think a better reading is that it means a current character trait - a man that is faithful to the woman he is married to (if he is married).

I know this is pretty short and not very well written out. I am in the middle of final touches on tomorrow night's sermon and I am just throwing out some thoughts from an unpublished article I started writing on the subject a while back.

 

And sin is washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ...

God forgives and casts our sins as far as the east is to the west...

But God's children want to go fishin' in the sea of forgetfulness, because if we catch a big sin that was once our brothers our sins don't look as big...

Listen, the little old lady (or men :wavey: ) that loves to Gossip is a worse sinner in the eyes of God than the person that got divorced and remarried before they were saved...

They are forgiven... but a gossiper has not repented of their sin...
They wallow in it....

Once a sin is forgiven... it is forgiven...
And us, the children of God, should never say, "Let's go a fishin'"