Jesus does not set aside the Law of Moses. Instead He fulfills it.
Matthew 5:17-18 New King James Version (NKJV)
Christ Fulfills the Law
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
Does all mean "all" or "some"? If all means "all" then this would have to include Moses' holy law regarding divorce and remarriage inspired by God.
The Law of Divorce and Remarriage
Deuteronomy 24:1-4 New King James Version (NKJV)
1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house,
2 when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife,
3 if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife,
4 then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Divorce, though not God's original design for marriage (His original design is Gen 2:24-25) still cannot be considered a sin since it was allowed in God's holy law as written by Moses. Divorce was a necessary PROVISION in the Law due to sin... the sin of Israel.
As we will see, God the Father uses this law Himself to divorce His adulterous wife, Israel.
Divorce ends the covenant, the contract is over. REMARRIAGE is the HOPE of SCRIPTURE to start AFRESH with someone NEW! NOTE that the only "abomination" mentioned in Deut. 24:1-4 is if the FIRST husband attempts to remarry his ex-wife AFTER divorcing her and AFTER she has had a new husband. There is no other sin or abomination in this passage.
And Jesus FULFILLS it ALL with Israel, the Ten Divorced Tribes! Jesus is the NEW HUSBAND that made it possible for individuals of the divorced Wife to be remarried! Jesus is the Husband and New Jerusalem is the Bride!
(For more teaching on this, follow this link: https://view-finder-blog.blogspot.com/2019/05/new-life-and-healing-after-divorce.html )
So how does Jesus Christ fulfill this law? Either He fulfills ALL the Law, or He has failed and is lying. And since we know Jesus is TRUE and FAITHFUL, we KNOW He has succeeded and He is telling the truth! So we should study Israel and the promises God made to Israel after they cheated on God the Father and abandoned Him. God the Father was her husband in the Old Testament. In order for Christ to fulfill Deut 24:1-2 He cannot forget the divorced tribes altogether or replace them. He cannot ignore the promises of remarriage made to natural Israel in Hosea, especially in chapter 2.
Why? Because Jesus fulfills the actions of Hosea. (Hos. ch.1 and 3)
Follow God's process in Holy Scripture:
The Father divorced Natural Israel (hardness of heart caused her to commit adultery/idolatry)
Jeremiah 3:8 New King James Version (NKJV)
8 Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.
Hosea 2:2 NKJV
2 “Bring charges against your mother, bring charges;
For she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband!
Let her put away her harlotries from her sight,
And her adulteries from between her breasts;
Such a statement "I am Not her Husband" serves to support the "dismissal and divorce certificate" principal of Deut 24:1-4 and Jer 3:8. The Father's marriage to the wife is over, ended, finished. But He does not leave this divorced woman who is NO LONGER HIS WIFE in dispair. He promises her a betrothal! WHAT? Yes!! A betrothal for a divorced woman?? Wow!! That flies in the face of the legalist's claim that remarriage is a sin. Follow along with me in Hosea chapter 2.
The Lord does not replace Israel. Instead He promises a remarriage to her (It will be to the Father's Son NOT to the Father):
Hosea 2:19-20 New King James Version (NKJV)
19 “I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And you shall know the Lord.
- Note that "know" is a marriage term here, indicating the consummation of a marriage.
The Father prepared the Divorced wife (Israel) for a NEW HUSBAND, His Son Jesus:
Mat. 22:2 NKJV
2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son,
The Son is the Groom = Jesus Christ (Son of God) and His Body the church (attached to the Head).
The Bride is....the Heavenly New Jerusalem (Rev 21:2, 9-12) which includes....
the Redeemed of Divorced Israel. Israelite indivduals are redeemed only in the Blood of Jesus Christ. This is shown symbolically with the number "12,000" repeated 12 times. (Twelve is a symbolic number of godly government and also of the 12 tribes of Israel). 1000 = Divine perfection.
Revelation 7:4-8 NKJV
4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.
Israelite individuals from all 12 tribes (Not just the Jews/Judah) who trust in Jesus Christ's Grace for salvation are the sealed ones who are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Israel is restored through Christ, the Only Door of Salvation (John 10:9). They are not replaced, nor do they get a different way into Heaven (no dual covenant theology and no replacement theology).
Jesus is the ONLY way into Heaven for both Jew and Israelite and Gentile.
The seal of Revelation 7 is identified here:
Ephesians 1:13 In Him (Jesus) you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Acts 26:23 NKJV that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”
The Heavenly City is The Bride. Christ the Son (Who is Head of His Body the Church) is the Husband who takes a remnant of the divorced tribes (whoever believes on Him).
Rom 10:12-13 NKJV
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Hebrews 12:22 New King James Version (NKJV)
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,
Revelation 21:2 New King James Version (NKJV)
2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:9b-11 New King James Version (NKJV)
The New Jerusalem
9b ...“Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
The Heavenly City New Jerusalem is the mother of us all.
Galatians 4:26 New King James Version (NKJV)
26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.
The remanant/redeemed individuals of Natural Israel are remarried to the Son of the Father, Jesus Christ. Israel is restored through Christ and Christ FULFILLS the Mosaic Law in Deut. 24:1-2.
The Law of Divorce and Remarriage is fulfilled in Christ who takes a remnant of divorced Israel as His Bride forever, and she will never be divorced again!
Deuteronomy 24:1-2 New King James Version (NKJV)
Law Concerning Divorce
24 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, 2 when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife,
Jesus fulfills Deuteronomy 24:2--- HE IS "ANOTHER MAN". He is the Heavenly Man, the Last Adam! (1 Corinthians 15:45-49) He DIED, then ROSE again... the purchase price for the divorced woman has been PAID IN HIS BLOOD. The purchase price for the adulteress was originally found in Hosea chapter 3:1-5. But Jesus has PAID FOR HER SINS! He desires MERCY on those who are divorced, whether they were innocent or guilty. He desires a NEW START for divorced folks. The old covenant is finished. The New Covenant is HERE!
The Father does not remarry. It is the Father's SON, Jesus Christ who became the Husband of the Bride, who is New Jerusalem. And part of this New Bride are the redeemed ones from the divorced tribes of Israel. Jesus Christ (Husband) and New Jerusalem His Bride are the fulfillment of Natural Israel's remarriage!
This article/Bible study in no way is meant to promote divorce as an easy way out of marriage. Instead, Jesus always promoted healthy and holy marriage between one man and one woman for a lifetime. That is also what I do... I encourage married people to try and stay together, try to make it work, with the power and help of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus Name. Pray together, love each other sacrificially. Study the Word together. Attend church together. Die daily to self. Live to Christ's will in your marriage. Unless you are abandoned or cheated on or are oppressed (modern word: abused/threatened) then you should make the effort to stay together.
However, sadly, hardness of hearts sometimes causes people to leave their spouse and divorce becomes necessary. But there is HOPE!!
Even when Israel had been a cheater and an adulteress, who was divorced... God STILL gave her a way to be REMARRIED.... not to Him, but to HIS SON, Jesus Christ! She is redeemed in Christ alone, and has become a part of the Bride, the New Jerusalem! Jesus is the HEAVENLY HOSEA!
-CJA
Sat Jul 27 2019, 10:34pm
However, sadly, hardness of hearts sometimes causes people to leave their spouse and divorce becomes necessary. But there is HOPE!!
Even when Israel had been a cheater and an adulteress, who was divorced... God STILL gave her a way to be REMARRIED.... not to Him, but to HIS SON, Jesus Christ! She is redeemed in Christ alone, and has become a part of the Bride, the New Jerusalem! Jesus is the HEAVENLY HOSEA!
-CJA
Sat Jul 27 2019, 10:34pm
