Chapter 2

V. The Termination Of Marriage

    A. The case of the death of a spouse.

    B. The case of the "exception" clause.

 

C. The case of abandonment.

— Please read I Corinthians 7:10-16, and fill in the following blanks.

    1. Verse 10 says, "Let not the ________ ____________ from her husband."

    2. Verse 11 says, "But and if she depart, let her ____________ __________________, or be ____________________ to her husband..."

    3. The last half of verse 11 says, "and let not the ______________ put away his wife."

 

The Bible is clear that a wife is not to leave

her husband, and a husband is not to leave his wife.

If they leave anyway, then the Bible says that they are to remain

single, or to be reconciled back together.

 

Note: What about the case of when one mate is not saved? Should the saved person remain with an unsaved person?

    4. Verse 12 says, "If any ______________ hath a wife that believeth ______, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him ______ put her away."

    5. Verse 13 says, "And the __________ which hath an husband that believeth ______, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her ______ leave him."

    6. Verse 14 says, "For the ______________________ husband is sanctified by the wife, and the ______________________ wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they ________."

Note: The Bible is very clear that even if a Christian woman finds herself married to an unsaved man, she is not to leave him; and the same with a saved man who finds himself married to an unsaved woman — he is not to leave her.

 

The reason that the Christian is not to leave

the unsaved mate, is that the goal is to see the

unsaved person saved. As long as the Christian

spouse is still in the home, there is a witness

there to the husband/wife and to the children.

 

    7. Verse 15 says, "But if the ______________________ depart, ______ him depart. A brother or a sister is not under ______________ in such cases: but God hath called us to __________."

Note: What does that verse mean? It means that if the unsaved mate wants to leave, then there is no way that you can stop him/her. As much as it hurts, you are to let that one depart. God has called us to a life of peace, and if you try and stop someone from leaving, there will more than likely be quite a scene of fighting — either physically, and/or verbally.

Illustration: Imagine a Christian husband trying to stop his unsaved wife from leaving. What is he going to do? Block the door? Physically restrain her from leaving? None of these things will win her back, but will only make her more determined to leave, and more afraid of what her husband might do to her in the future.

Imagine a Christian wife trying to stop her unsaved husband from leaving. What is she going to do? Try to block the door with her body so he cannot leave? She may very well get hurt in the process, if he decides to barrel on through the door in a rough manner. If she clings to him and will not let go, she may also get hurt if he gets rough and shoves her away. None of these things will win him back, but will only make him more determined to go his own way.

Scenes such as the above do not serve to make the home one of peace, but of fighting. Separations and divorces often get real nasty. During such times of trial, the Christian must flee to the Scriptures and embrace the promises of God.

    8. Psalm 61:2 says, "From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is ______________________: lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

    9. I Peter 5:6,7 says, "____________ yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your ________ upon him; for he ____________ for you."

Note: What does I Corinthians 7:15 mean when it says, "But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under BONDAGE in such cases..."? What does the word bondage mean here?

First, the verse is NOT teaching that the Christian is then free to go and remarry someone else. That would be contradicting the other Scriptures at which we have just looked.

 

What it DOES MEAN is that if the wife leaves of her

own free will, then the husband is not under bondage to protect her,

to provide for her, and to cherish her.

 

Note: The only way that he could protect her, would be to follow her everywhere that she goes. If she goes back to her parent’s house to live, then he would have to go and live there also. The only problem is that he probably is not going to be welcome there! Should he camp out in their yard, or on the sidewalk? That probably will not go over very well, either.

The fact of the matter is that if the wife leaves of her own free will, then SHE IS PLACING HERSELF OUT OF THE PROTECTION AND PROVISION OF HER HUSBAND. The husband is not under bondage to try and protect and cherish a wife that leaves the home. There is no way that he can, when she is not there.

The matter of supporting a wife that leaves the home will probably be determined in a court of law, and the husband must obey the court’s decision.

    10. Romans 13:1-3 says, "Let every soul be ______________ unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the __________________ of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is ________, and thou shalt have praise of the same."

Note: Our government leaders will be held accountable for making divorce so easy to obtain.

    11. Mark 10:9 says, "What therefore ______ hath joined together, let not ______ put asunder."

    12. Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 says, "When thou vowest a ______ unto God, defer not to ______ it; for he hath no pleasure in __________: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an __________: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?"

Note: Saying before God that, "The marriage was a mistake in the first place!" is not going to do. When we vow to God to stay together "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, till death do us part," then He will hold us to that vow.

To encourage people to stick to their vows, the court system should not allow the person who leaves the marriage to take anything from the marriage with him/her.

 

What does I Corinthians 7:15 mean when it says, "But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under BONDAGE in such cases..."?

 

What it DOES MEAN is that if the husband

leaves of his own free will, then the wife is not

under bondage to submit to him.

 

Note: If he leaves the home of his own free will, then she is not under his authority any longer (unless he makes things right and comes back and takes his rightful place in the home). She does not have to submit to him in any decisions that are made in the running of the home, and she does not have to submit to his pleas for affection, should he come around demanding such.

If the husband leaves the home, then there is no way that the wife can be his helpmeet any longer. A wife is not under bondage to run around following her husband that has left the home. She does not have to track him down and do his dirty laundry, or prepare his lunch and take it to him, etc.

 

A Christian husband or wife does not have to fulfill

the duties of marriage that the Bible commands,

if his/her mate leaves the home and forsakes

the family. Does that mean giving up hope of

reconciliation? No. It means continuing to pray

for it; but in the mean time, running the home

in a godly manner in the absence of a husband/wife,

and not allowing sin to rule and reign.

 

REVIEW:

    1. Romans 7:2 says, "For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be ________, she is ____________ from the law of her husband."

    2. Romans 7:3 says, "So then if, while her husband ____________, she be married to another man, she shall be called an ____________________: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man."

    3. I Corinthians 7:39 tells us, "The wife is __________ by the law as long as her husband ____________; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord."

    4. The Bible is very clear that a husband and wife are bound together in marriage by the law, until one of them ________.

    5. What if you did remarry while your former mate was still alive? What should you do? Admit that it was ______, and confess it to the Lord.

    6. This exception clause only appears in the Book of ____________.

    7. "Espoused" means "__________________" (engaged).

    8. "Betrothal" means "a mutual promise or contract for a future ________________."

    9. In the Jewish system, there had to be an official writing of divorcement to break off an engagement. This allowed for there to be an official settlement of the __________ that had been given in promise of the young lady.

    10. The engagement period is where the two are supposed to fall in love with each other (and that is okay, because they are actually called "______________" and "________" during that period). If you make provision to lightly break off engagements, then you simply end up with a system of dating, and a string of broken hearts.

    11. So only in the Book of Matthew is the "exception" clause given. There is a good reason for it, because it was the Jewish practice that an engagement could only be broken by a ______________.

    12. Interestingly, the compilers of the above dictionary, whose job it is to find the exact meaning of words, used the very verses of the "exception" clause as an illustration that fornication means "immorality between __________________ people."

    13. Many husbands/wives have opened the door for __________ to enter into their marriages with temptation, because they have denied their spouses love and affection when they came to them.

    14. The Bible is clear that a wife is not to leave her husband, and a husband is not to leave his wife. If they leave anyway, then the Bible says that they are to remain ____________, or to be ____________________ back together.

    15. The fact of the matter is that if the wife leaves of her own free will, then SHE IS PLACING HERSELF OUT OF THE __________________ AND __________________ OF HER HUSBAND. The husband is not under bondage to try and protect and cherish a wife that leaves the home. There is no way that he can, when she is not there.

    16. If the husband leaves of his own free will, then the wife is not under bondage to ____________ to him. If he leaves the home of his own free will, then she is not under his authority any longer (unless he makes things right and comes back and takes his rightful place in the home). She does not have to submit to him in any decisions that are made in the running of the home, and she does not have to submit to his pleas for affection, should he come around demanding such.

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