Matthew 19:7-12 Hardness of Heart
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: May 26, 2019 Matthew 19:7-12
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”
(Understanding the Text) Here is where Jesus said that the divorce clause in Moses’ laws was an accommodation. I could not find a verse in the Pentateuch that gave carte blanche for divorce. The nearest I could find was a case study about a man divorcing a wife for indecency and then a second man marrying her and divorcing her and the rule was that the first man could not marry her again. In the verse for the second man divorcing her, it implies for any reason. “and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife” (Deuteronomy 24:3). On the Internet, I could not find any other place about divorce rules that apply except these ones in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. Evidently, in 24:1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house,” (Deuteronomy 24:1), the phrase that is translated “found some indecency in her” is unclear and has been interpreted in different ways. On the Internet, the commentator said that it could not be interpreted as adultery since the sentence for adultery was death, not divorce. On the other hand, it said that Hillel said that it meant adultery while Shimmei said that it could be for anything that displeased the husband. Thus, officially in the Bible divorce for any cause was not directly advocated and the term that is used is ambiguous. When Moses allowed divorce at the man’s choice, it must have been orally.
The twelve men who were Jesus’ disciples did not like to hear that they did not have a right to divorce their wives if their wives had not had sex with another man. Although I think it was more the implications of the one man and one woman example of the earlier verses. They realized that Jesus was saying that they not only could not divorce their wife, but they could not take concubines and second wives either. They were stuck with one woman for their whole lives as long as she did not commit adultery. They said this was hard.
(Revelation of God / Understanding the Text) Rather than step back from His position, Jesus then made it even harder. He started talking about living a life with no sex at all. He gave three examples of men who lived without sex. He said that some men were born without a desire for sex. He said that some men were physically made into eunuchs by life’s actions. He said that some men chose not to have sex because of their service to God. Jesus was not talking about monks here who are forbidden marriage. He was saying to his disciples that they had two choices. They could be married to one wife and not have sex with any other woman, or they could live without having sex at all. He said that not everyone could live without having sex and that was okay. In the end, the disciples realized that they had two options and remaining with their wives was not nearly as hard as being without their wives.
(Understanding the Text) This reminds me of what Paul says in Corinthians “To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife. To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy” (1 Corinthians 7:8-14). Basically, Paul is applying Jesus’ ideas that it is good to not be married, but it is good to be married and that if one is married, he or she should stay with that one spouse. Where I find some questions is the implication that it is okay to divorce an unbelieving spouse who wants a divorce. Can a person remarry after that or is it a case of separation and living without a spouse for the rest of one’s life? Paul has similar advice in the rest of Corinthians. “Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:25-35). Paul says that he is only giving his own wisdom and not a command from God. He says that it is better to be free of worldly worries and not marry, but if you do marry that it is okay.
(Application / Prayer) My application for myself is that Jesus said that it was okay not to be married. Paul gives some advantages for not being married. I am free to remarry since my spouse married another person after the divorce, but I do not need to be remarried. I need to devote myself to service to God. If He chooses to put someone into my life who also has that goal and loves me (and is capable of loving people) and that I love, marriage is fine, but if no one comes my way that meets those criteria, my life is full as long as I keep drawing nearer to Jesus and serving Him. I pray that You will fill all areas of my life so that I have no need of a spouse and am not lonely. I ask to know that You love me and to give that love to others.