NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

Is Divorce Allowed In The Old Testament?

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Moses instituted the bill, divorce was common before and after.

Marriage Is The Issue
Not Divorce

Divorce is definitely allowed in the Old Testament, even for silly reasons.

Disclaimer: Divorce is not being encouraged here but the reality is, it does happen. Realism demands we allow for it and graciously work with those who experience it. A first step in accomplishing this is understanding what the Old Testament actually says on this topic.

If divorce was not allowed ever, under any circumstances, we would expect to find the Bible clearly stating this fact or at least indicating the rare conditions under which it is only occasionally allowed. What we find is quite different.

Casually Described

The Old Testament plainly says divorce is allowed and puts very few restraints on when and why this option may be exercised. In almost a casual manner, Deuteronomy 24:1 makes the following remarks…

If a man marries a woman and then it happens that he no longer likes her because he has found something wrong with her, he may give her divorce papers, put them in her hand, and send her off.

If there were any restrictions disallowing divorce they would surely have been mentioned here. Instead, we find nothing. Divorce is described as just a matter of procedure and the only condition – he no longer likes her because he has found something wrong with her – is extremely broad. It could mean anything from she’s a serial murderer to she’s overweight.

Marriage, Not Divorce, Regulated

The only regulation in the passage applies to marriage, not divorce. The passage goes on to say, if wife “A” is married and divorced by husband “A” and then is later married and divorced by husband “B” she is not allowed to remarry husband “A.” Frivolous marriage is being disallowed not “senseless” divorce.

It is important to note that Moses instituted only the “Bill of Divorcement” not divorce. Divorce was widely practiced before Moses and could be quite barbaric. Remember that Abraham tried to get rid of Sara twice, albeit in a way that looked out for her material well-being. In both cases, he tried to unload her on another man, not the street, and both men were well off, to say the least.

Women could be “thrown out” with no required procedure and no legal repercussions to the man. And since the culture – not God – allowed men to have multiple wives, he could marry a second woman while the first woman was still viewed as married. Not only would others not know the rejected woman was now available but she now had to fend for herself.

The divorce ruling was gender-driven. It brought a little more fairness to a seriously abusive cultural trend, particularly for the ladies. God was taking special measures in the early stages of social development to protect the fairer sex from the abuses of men.

Moses’ “Bill” offered official proof that the first marriage contract was aborted and she could now be married to another.

Both the “Bill” and the regulation disallowing the wife’s remarriage to husband “A” were designed to protect property rights and security issues, again for the wife. These laws had nothing to do with allowing or disallowing divorce or remarriage.

Divorce was a fact of life then and is still a fact of life today. Instead of hammering people who navigate this difficult experience with pontifications about the sanctity of marriage we need to graciously provide support.

That was Moses’ approach and he was led by God in the matter.

No Condemnation Attached

Also, if divorce was seriously damning, as some people suggest, we would certainly expect to find this clearly stated. Instead, there’s not even a hint of condemnation to be found in this passage or anywhere else. [Read more…] about Is Divorce Allowed In The Old Testament?

OT Law Allows Parents To Stone Children

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Did OT Law Really Allow Parents
The Option of Stoning Rebellious Children?

Yes, according to the following passage:

If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, 20 and they shall say to the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. 21 Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear. Deuteronomy 21:18-21

But, as far as we know this law was never invoked in OT days and there is good reason to believe God never expected it to be. It was intended to make a point not prescribe a rule. It reads more like satire. No doubt Jonathan Swift got the idea for “A Modest Proposal” from this very text.

Then and now, parents were the primary influence in molding the character of a child’s life and, as the following text indicates God expects parents to use every waking moment to nurture good qualities in the lives of their offspring. [Read more…] about OT Law Allows Parents To Stone Children

Book Review: Archeology And The Structure Of Genesis

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Ancient records and the structure of Genesis: A case for literary unity by P. J. Wiseman

P. J. Wiseman was neither an archeologist nor a scholar of ancient languages but he was a keen observer, an avid reader and a diligent Bible student. These qualities and the fact that he was stationed in close proximity to live Middle Eastern archeological digs in the 1920’s and 30’s made him a reliable source for some thought provoking ideas about the structure and composition of Genesis.

Prior to any real knowledge of ancient literary methods, in fact, at a time when scholars weren’t convinced that any type of writing was done much before the 1st millennium BC, the compilation of Genesis was surmised only through subjective reflection on the text alone. The result was a variety of theories involving several different and unconnected sources – named by the letters J, E, D and P – none of which are substantiated by copies of any kind. [Read more…] about Book Review: Archeology And The Structure Of Genesis

Spend Sabbaths – Save Money – Live Longer

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There are several events in the Bible that critics love to focus on, one of which is the stoning of a Sabbath-breaker (Numbers 15:32-36). The event occurred about a year and a half after the Exodus and within a few months of leaving Mt. Sinai. Unfortunately, it is one story that is easily construed to impugn God’s benevolence. Following are the facts:

A man was found picking up “sticks” on the Sabbath and immediately taken to Moses. This was a no-no. Work on the Sabbath was not allowed. It was declared a day of rest in perpetuity and the penalty for breaking this law was death (Exodus 31:13-17). Sounds a bit severe. Even the Israelites hesitated. Before acting on what the law clearly stated they put the man in hold while Moses consulted with God.

And the answer?

Execute the man publicly. All Israel was to stone him to death which means everyone, young and old alike, were aware of this stoning, and the reason for it, in real-time. They not only witnessed it they participated. Seems gruesome! Glad I wasn’t there. [Read more…] about Spend Sabbaths – Save Money – Live Longer

Evangelism – Nation to Nation

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Answering An Atheist

Original arguments are found in the post “Top Ten Worst Bible Stories”
On the web site “Not A Potted Plant” (NAPP)
Author – Transplanted Lawyer (TL)

This post is number four in a continuing discussion on the conflict between Israel and Moab/Midian as recorded in the Book of Numbers, chapters 22-25 and 31. The original observations – complaints – regarding this event are made by TL which can be read here (number one on his list of ten). My first response is here and his first counter is here.

Because TL is widely read and has an exceptionally quick mind I consider it a privilege to have him as a sparring partner. No doubt his abilities will suit him well for the bench should his aspirations in that regard be realized. His quick thinking has made me sharpen my game.

The discussion with him is incisive without insult and firm but in a respectful way. I know you will enjoy the read also.

Suffice it to say that the event under discussion seems particularly gruesome. It was war and war is never nice even under the best of circumstances. As TL and countless others have pointed out, a certain number of deaths are expected but in the case of Midian it seems a bit extreme. The entire community was destroyed, even young boys, with the exception of virgin girls. I can’t imagine anyone not being disturbed by it.

Obviously, because God was involved in this situation – He ordered the counter attack in the first place – it is easy to assume that everything Moses ordered was exactly God’s plan. I don’t presume to understand everything God does but I do believe there are reasons He should not be implicated every time difficulties arise. He is a third party, sometimes silently so, and we must at least try to see where the fault lines lay before assuming His guilt. Previously I have suggested that Moses acted in the extreme and went beyond God’s original intent.

My primary arguments are:

  • Israel was not the aggressor.
  • The intentions of Moab/Midian were clearly violent but their strategy was cleverly deceptive. They tried to divine a curse on Israel and when that failed they used wile, enticing them with their sexually oriented religion, to demoralize them. The second plan worked but not sufficiently enough to destroy Israel’s or God’s resolve.
  • God ordered the attack on Midian but did not specify the extent to which it should be executed.
  • The women who were destroyed were frontline soldiers or spies, not collateral damage or the subjects of a genocidal frenzy. Without them the ruse would not have been effective. His order to execute them, therefore, is not completely without justification.
  • I have argued that the order to destroy every male came from Moses not God. This is the real issue.

Everyone is very quick to take the Midianite side and speak of their anguish but not fair minded enough to spread that love around, ascribing to Israel (and God) a venomous nature. The truth is, Israelites were just as human as any and “rising above” was sometimes out of reach for them as well. Israel had very good reason to be hurting from this event and it doesn’t take a degree in psychology to figure it out.

It was only because Midianites were distant relatives of Moses and because Israel’s first encounter with a Midianite (Jethro – Moses’ father-in-law) was positive that the ruse was as effective as it was.

It is not unreasonable to see this was personal for Moses and it isn’t strange that his response would be so vengeful.

As mentioned previously, his worst characteristic was his anger and it had gotten him into trouble on more than one occasion. He also had a tendency to take action impulsively and God pronounced a final judgment on Moses as recent as Numbers 20. He was to die before entering the promised land and Joshua would take his place.

Even as God gave the order to counter Midian aggression He reminded Moses that he would be removed from the scene following the battle. I’m sure that reminder laid heavily on his mind. It doesn’t justify his actions but it does explain it.

In his rebuttal TL makes additional suggestions which I would like to answer here: [Read more…] about Evangelism – Nation to Nation