3 CURTAINS

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

MICAH 6:8

Explaining Marriage, divorce, polygamy, single parent, widows and orphans………

Posted: 19 July 2011

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Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (Jas 1:27 KJV)

We start our bible lesson with this exhortation from the book of James. To visit the fatherless (orphans) and widows (single parent-consider Elijah and the Shunnamite woman and her child). It was not easy for the woman to take her last meal but to serve it to Elijah first. Humanly speaking, who in their right sense would make such a request? Taking from the woman and only son, the very last meal they could eat before they die? What a strange request from a man of God. Isn’t selfish and self-centered? Mentally, by reasoning it would be so, but this is no human act. It was an order of God. What did God told Elijah? Let us go back a few verses.

He said: Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. (1Ki 17:9 KJV)

Notice it was God who told Elijah to go to the Widow’s house and take care of her and her son, the fatherless. This is how revelation of the Word comes to us that God don’t make mistakes and throughout the bible, He is the One who brings us back and indeed remind us of His perfect Will by the Word.

We should be aware, He never said to Elijah or to James, that we should take care of the divorced woman, divorce meaning the putting away of the wife. He never considered the children to be fatherless in a divorce case because the father is in effect still alive.

Elijah never hesitated to ask the widow to feed him first because he had the Thus saith the Lord, that he being the mouthpiece of God knew God’s Word is perfect, because God had said to him, “I have commanded a widow there to sustain thee!”

No true prophet will even question God on His Word which is as Eternal as God Himself, for in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. When Jesus was tempted of the devil, He answered by the Word, It is Written.

Bro Branham said in the Contest below:

THE.CONTEST_ JEFF.IN V-10 N-7 MONDAY_ 62-1231
10 Now, this great contest has been going on for many years. It started in heaven, and Satan was kicked out into the earth, and then he become a enemy to God's people. And since then, he's used all of his strength and his strategy to try to pull God's people across the fires, or, into his fires. And we know that Who has the most power: God does. And God, when He gave His people the best Thing that He could to combat Satan with, was His Word. Now, because the Word is God, and who's stronger than God? So the Word is God, and the Word becomes our Strength. God in the church, becomes its Strength to pull Satan to his own fires that he has made. And the tug goes on.

See, Elijah knew and he expressed that knowledge or that faith in God’s Word by asking the widow “but first make me some nice hoe cakes…..with the only last resource you have…”

Rom 3:4 …..let God be true, but everyman a liar

And Elijah fulfilled the law by being the doer of the Word. Expressing and putting the Word in action.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. (Jas 1:22 KJV)

For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: (Jas 1:23 KJV)

So now let’s apply that with what Jesus said pertaining to marriage and divorce.

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Mat 5:19 KJV)

It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: (Mat 5:31 KJV)

But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. (Mat 5:32 KJV)

What is more clear than these very Word of Jesus. But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Why should the wife that has been put away be committing adultery? Because she will remarry in spite of having a living husband. Not a dead one. She is not a widow.

And whosoever marry her that is divorced is committing adultery. That is what the Word said. Are we then doers of the Word or do we break the the least of commandment?

So James added in verse 25:

But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (Jas 1:25 KJV)

What is this perfect law of liberty? Is it not that we are not to be judged in anything we now do because Christ has made us FREE?

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. (Gal 5:13 KJV)

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Gal 5:14 KJV)

So we have to realize that this liberty works not for occasion to fulfill our lust, but to love and serve one another. And that according to Paul in the book of Galatians that All the LAW is fulfilled in one Word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love they neighbour as thyself. So we do have a greater law at work, which is Love the very fulfillment of all, ALL the Law.

So in Love, do you simply disobey Jesus Word by marrying her that is put away and caused her to commit adultery? Would you not rather believe that the Love of God in us put us in a higher order to pray that she be reconciled with her husband and her husband to her? She has a living husband not a dead one.

The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord. (1Co 7:39 KJV)

But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God. (1Co 7:40 KJV)

See, ministers have a responsibility to rightly divide the Word of God. He represents the full authority of God and he should be held accountable if he teaches men and women to go against the Word of God., It shows clearly this minister who acted contrary to the Word is not called to the ministry but is appointed by the arms of flesh, himself or others, but not by the Spirit. Worst if the minister himself partakes of this very act.

Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. (1Co 7:27 KJV)

Seek not to be loosed! There is no room for divorce but there is plenty of room for forgiveness of a repenting spouse, if there is true repentance. We shall examine further……………..for some are even teaching that polygamous marriages are allowed and we shall examine this, the issue of polygamy from the biblical viewpoint for example:-

The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? (Mat 19:3 KJV)

And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, (Mat 19:4 KJV)

And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? (Mat 19:5 KJV)

Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Mat 19:6 KJV)

PARDON_ TUCSON.AZ MONDAY_ 63-1028
188 Then finally they remembered there was some stuff in the attic. So they went up into the attic and they pulled out an old trunk. And they begin to lay out different things, say, "You can have this, and you can have this." And finally both of their eyes fell on a certain little object, and they both grabbed for it. And they looked at each other. What was it? A pair of little white shoes that belonged to a baby that had deceased. It was part of both of them. There, with their hands clasped like that, over this baby's shoe. Really, who did it belong to? Whose was it? It belonged to both of them. They had things in common.
189 In a few minutes, as one looked to the other, tears begin to run down their cheeks. What was it? They could divide everything else, but when they come till they had something in common, the child, and it was in heaven, then the fuss was over. In a few minutes, they were in each other's arms. The divorce was settled. Peace reigned.

(There we have it. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. See what God put together).

They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? (Mat 19:7 KJV)

He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. (Mat 19:8 KJV). Yes, IN THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO. JESUS BROUGHT THEM, THE PHARISEES BACK TO WHERE BEFORE GOD INSTITUTED MARRIAGE IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN. WE ARE NOW WAY PAST THE LAW INTO THE LAW OF LIBERTY IN LOVE. BACK TO GENESIS 1:27. See next topic on Polygamy.

And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. (Mat 19:9 KJV)

Or

And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. (Mar 10:11 KJV)

And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery. (Mar 10:12 KJV)

The book of Luke cuts it shorter.

Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery. (Luk 16:18 KJV).