Q: Does adultery give one immediate grounds for divorce? Are there any exceptions to the adultery clause?

A: Most would quote Matthew 19 as the summation of grounds for divorce from the Bible:

"Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery." (verses 8 , 9)

I still believe marriage is worth fighting for. When I counsel with a couple who is recovering from an affair, I do not start on the basis of divorce. I always start with the goal of complete and total restoration of the marriage and family.

Scripture gives us a beautiful, yet stunning, picture of a husband who never gave up on his wife. God commanded the prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute. We are not to take from this passage that God would have us to do something immoral. Hosea is commanded to use his life as a testimony to how God goes after his people:

Then the LORD said to me, "Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the LORD still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them." Hosea 3:1 (NLT)

Marriage has always served as a word picture in Scripture portraying our relationship with God. He never gives up on us. He is always going after us, just as he did the children of Israel.

God is all about going after his people and making them whole:

"Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God.
     Your sins have been your downfall!
I will heal their waywardness
     and love them freely,
     for my anger has turned away from them." Hosea 14:1, 4 (NIV)

He wants no less for your marriage! Blessings!

© Copyright 2008 Smalley Relationship Center

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