Marriage, divorce reconciliation

I think there are two reasons, maybe more, for this.
One is because the former husband already declared he found some uncleannes with her (verse 1). Kinda like a dog eating his own vomit if he takes her back.
Another is in verse 4:then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled;

That one I don't think needs too much explanation.

I used to tell my girlfriend back in senior high that if she had another boyfriend besides me, I wouldn't want our relationship to continue because I don't like kissing lips that another guy's lips kiss also.

 

Jeremiah 3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.

 

thank you, bro. I was thinking of this verse, too. Isn't the grace and mercy of our Lord so different from our concept of grace and mercy ? Do we see the contrast ?

verse 1 speaks of the mechanics of divorce which was instituted by Moses because of the hardness of man's hearts. A man who divorced his wife will not want her back anymore, not only because that is what Israel's divorce laws say, but because of the more human reason that nobody wants a promiscous, adulterous, used rag doll for a wife.

And God contrasts that with His thoughts and His ways. After all, as Jehovah God, He is married to Israel, and if in the flesh He said, "what God hath brought together, let no man put asunder", how can He be true to Himself if He himself will not take back an adulterous nation ?

But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again. (Psalm 78:38-39).

Truly, this God is worthy of our worship and thanksgiving !

 

This brings up a question that has been bugging me for a long time; so I will ask it here.

In the Old Testament, it was accepted for a man to have more than one wife at a time providing he could provide for them, for example: Samuel's Father, David, amd Solomon. I always wondered just how this practice was treated in light of Deut. 24:1-4. Am I missing something?

 

This is why I try to stay away from physical intimacy. I hope to find a woman who feels likewise.

This is just a personal conviction of mine, and I don't preach at others who don't hold this conviction to the same extent as I do; however, I think it avoids such problems in the future. Say a few years into your marriage your partner asks about your life before you were married and asks about girlfriends that you had and what you did. Then she asks, "So, how was it when you kissed her? Did it ever feel better than when you kiss me?" Now, regardless of what the truth of the answer is, you will still leave her pondering as to how much of your heart you gave away before you were married, and how much you still have left for her.

I am not saying that anyone here who may not think like I do was/is loose in pre-marital relationships. I still will shake hands, hug, and play games that may involve things like holding hands (if the context requires it), however what matters to me is the intent of such actions. I feel that I (and other singles) should resolve to refrain from the practice of physical intimacy as a means of fulfilling a dating relationship. Not in a legalistic way ("What?! You shook hands with her?! How did it feel, pervert?! Wash your hands, now!"), but in a level-headed common-sense way.

I will step down from my soapbox.