What God has Joined Together

When asked about the lawfulness of a man divorcing his wife, Jesus exposed a culture of legalized adultery. When asked "What did Moses command?" they appealed to Deuteronomy 24:1-3 which they used as a pretext to justify divorce rather than seeing it for what it really was: a concession to their stubborn hearts. Jesus pointed them to the first book of Moses to discover God's positive command for marriage.

In Genesis 2:24 the joining together of a man and woman as a 'one flesh entity' clearly reveals marriage as a unique and unbreakable bond, established by God, that goes right to the heart of God's purpose in creation. Man should not try to separate what God has joined together. Divorce, according to Jesus, cannot undo this 'one flesh union' - only death can. The recovery of God's design for marriage along with the grace and power to honour such a gift is as crucial in our day as it was in theirs.