What God Joined Together - Family Radio

the cause had to be a specific word or matter of fornication. Matthew 5:31
states that all that was required for divorce at that time was the writing of
divorcement. Jesus, therefore, restates Deuteronomy 24:1-4 in verse 32.
Jesus accomplishes three things by this restatement. First, He
underscores the Jews’ total disregard for the sanctity of marriage and will
show that the cause for divorce was to have been something quite adulterous.
Second, He reveals the awful sinfulness of divorce in that it causes the
divorced wife to commit adultery even though she, by her own action, might
be innocent of adultery.
Third, He restates Deuteronomy 24:2-4 to show that the wife who was
divorced should not remarry.
DEUTERONOMY 24 ALLOWS DIVORCE ONLY FOR FORNICATION
The first phrase we must understand in Matthew 5:32 is, “saving for the
cause of fornication,” which relates closely to Deuteronomy 24:1.
The word “saving” is the Greek word “parektos,” which is used in only two
other places in the Bible. It is translated “except” in Acts 26:29: “And Paul
said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were
both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.” In this verse
“parektos” carries the meaning “without,” or “without these bonds.” The word
“parektos” is translated “without” in II Corinthians 11:28: “Beside those
things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the
churches.” Here the Biblical meaning of “parektos” is “without.”
Returning to Matthew 5:32, we discover that the English phrase “for the
cause” is the Greek word “logos,” which is translated as “word” more than 200
times in the Bible. It is also translated in a few instances as “matter” or “thing.”
Thus, “logos” can mean either “word” or “matter” or “thing,” and is the Greek
equivalent of the Hebrew word “debar” used in Deuteronomy 24:1.
The word “fornication” used in Matthew 5:32 is the Greek word “porneias”
which is always translated “fornication.”
Therefore, the phrase “saving for the cause of fornication” can be
accurately translated “without a word or matter of fornication.” This is
surprisingly close to the literal rendering of the Hebrew “ervah debar” of
Deuteronomy 24:1. Remember, the usual translation of “debar” was “word” or
“talk” or “matter,” and the usual translation of “ervah” was “nakedness” in the
context of fornication.
Thus, we see evidence that Jesus was focusing in on Deuteronomy 24:1 by
the specific language He used in Matthew 5:32. He was teaching that the
“uncleanness” of Deuteronomy 24:1 was not meant to be understood as some
ceremonial uncleanness such as menstrual blood or a diarrhea discharge.
Rather, the “uncleanness” was meant to present fornication as the only cause
for which a man could divorce his wife.
DIVORCE CAUSES AN INNOCENT SPOUSE TO BE ADULTEROUS
14 What God hath joined together...