Matthew 19:9 "And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery: and whosoever marries her which is put away does commit adultery."
MATTHEW 19:7-9 NKJV
7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality,[a] Or fornication and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality,[a] Or fornication and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
Although adultery denotes one who has unlawful intercourse with the spouse of another, in its much broader term, it means to violate or pollute. Israel violated or polluted their covenant with God. Jeremiah says, "She (Judah) defiled the land, and committed adultery" (Jer. 3:9).
Adultery in relation to marriage also reflects a violation of the covenant of companionship. Sex outside of marriage is adultery because it violates or pollutes the covenant of marriage by introducing another party and bringing that relationship into the marriage. "They two shall be one flesh"
(Eph. 5:31).
31 “For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” also see:Gen 2:24
Divorce also adulterates or pollutes marriage because it disrupts or denies the divorced parties the right to be faithful to their covenant of companionship. Anytime one divorces his mate (except for fornication) and marries another, he is guilty of adultery. He has polluted and destroyed a relationship intended by God to be permanent and pure.
Why the "except for fornication" clause?
Jesus is not saying that if fornication is involved, we must divorce, but rather, when fornication is involved, that is the only time when the person getting the divorce is not guilty of adultery.
That is because the partner who had an extra-marital relationship has already polluted the marriage vow.
In God's original design for marriage, He intended marriage to be sacred, precious, pure, and permanent. The marriage covenant represents a final, irrevocable commitment where the man and the woman renounce the right to live for themselves and become "heirs together of the grace of life"
(1 Pet. 3:7).
7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
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