107 | Matthew 19:1-12 | Divorce – Because of Your Hard Hearts

"Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended."

Mat 19:1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, He left Galilee and went down to the region of Judea east of the Jordan River. Mat 19:2 Large crowds followed Him there, and He healed their sick. Mat 19:3 Some Pharisees came and tried to trap Him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?” Mat 19:4 “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’ Mat 19:5 And He said, ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Mat 19:6 Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

Mat 19:7 “Then why did Moses say in the law that a man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?” they asked. Mat 19:8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended. Mat 19:9 And I tell you this, whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery—unless his wife has been unfaithful. [And anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.]“

Mat 19:10 Jesus’ disciples then said to Him, “If this is the case, it is better not to marry!” Mat 19:11 “Not everyone can accept this statement,” Jesus said. “Only those whom God helps. Mat 19:12 Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others,  and some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.” [NLT]

Divorce – Because of your hard hearts

It was a common argument in Jesus time that a man could divorce his wife for doing something as simple as burning the toast. There is even a recorded argument from one rabbi that you could divorce if you found someone more attractive. The arguments were mostly over the interpretation of Deuteronomy 24:1-4 , with one group taking the “conservative” side and the other group taking the “liberal” side.

Marriages were still arranged in this time and because of it men had a sense of fear toward marriage. In this way, divorce had become a common place occurrence and marriage as an institution had eroded into something that lost all meaning and all of God’s blessing.

Though we don’t necessarily practice arranged marriages we can clearly see that marriage, as an institution, is losing it’s grip on sacredness and becoming the convenience store of selfish fulfillment with a dash of conscience soothing tradition mixed in. Today, we throw extravagant weddings with much merry making, alcohol, dancing, and large amounts of money being wasted, only to turn around and divorce a few years later because our spouse “just doesn’t make us happy anymore”.

Having a wedding in a church does not make it a God centered marriage. Having a wedding in front of a preacher does not make it a God centered marriage. Calling yourself Christians does not make your marriage God centered; what does make it God centered is submission to God’s Will and taking Him at His word. (Also known as belief)

So what does Jesus have to say about Divorce?

Let’s now look to Jesus as our source of wisdom.

“Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended.

Jesus brings the whole argument back to where it should have always been, a matter of the heart and of the Will of God. Jesus reminds them that divorce was never God’s true intention and that it was only given by Moses as a concession to the hard hearts of the Israelite’s. He takes the argument all the way back to Creation and the joining together of Adam and Eve…the very first arranged marriage. Adam had no choice in the wife he would be given, but I’ll bet Eve was exactly everything that Adam needed in a wife. What a privilege to have your marriage arranged by God, the One that knows us so well.

I submit to you today that we too can have that perfect marriage arranged by God. In verse 19:9-11 Jesus says about his teaching on divorce,

Mat 19:9 And I tell you this, whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery—unless his wife has been unfaithful. [And anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.]“

Mat 19:10 Jesus’ disciples then said to Him, “If this is the case, it is better not to marry!” Mat 19:11 ”Not everyone can accept this statement,” Jesus said. “Only those whom God helps. [emphasis supplied]

If we were more willing to seek God’s counsel on who we should marry and ask Him for guidance in “arranging” the person we should marry, we would find marriage to be the blessing it was intended to be. If we asked Him to bring into our lives that special person that He intends for us to connect with and become one with; taking our fleshly desires out of the equation and allowing Him to lead, we would find ourselves in marriages that could weather any storm.

Sometimes, the starting line has everything to do with how you finish. Think of a race track. Often, the finish line is exactly the same place as the starting line. The point is this…if we start with God we can end with God. We can take our marital troubles to Him and He can guide us to that place where we are reminded that he “made us one”. We can go back to the starting line and remember that God chose this person for me and we can see them through God’s eye’s once again.

This is a big subject and one that I could continue to write on, but, I think I will stop here at the most important point. Make God the center of your marriage. Let Him be the guide and let Him be the one that joins you together. Make Him your starting line and your finish line.

I submit to you today, that even if you didn’t start out with God as the guide to begin your marriage you can create a new starting line right now, today, and He will bless your marriage and become the glue that binds you together.

Praise God that He can make ALL things new! Hallelujah!

Prayer:

Dear Father in Heaven,

Thank you for being a part of my life. Thank you so much for what you accomplished through Jesus’ life and death and resurrection. I deserve none of it and yet you freely offer it to me today. Lord, I ask a special blessing for marriages today. Please help those who are married to make you the center of their lives. Please help those who are seeking a partner to make you the guide in their lives. Please help us all to no have hard hearts and to let You into our lives.

I praise You Lord today! I praise You for Your promises and Your assurances. I ask you for forgiveness of my sin. I praise You for seeing Jesus when you look at me. I ask for the Holy Spirit to guide me today and I ask to be used by You in any way that You see fit.

Thank You for all that You provide and I ask for the wisdom to use it for Your glory. Amen

100 | Matthew 18:12-14 | Finding the Lost Sheep

And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn't wander away!

Finding the Lost Sheep

¹² “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? ¹³ And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! ¹⁴ In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.

Read also Ezekiel 34 which may be the scriptural reference that Jesus would have used.

Let’s consider the characters of this passage briefly and see what can be learned from their actions.

The Lost Sheep

How does the dictionary define “lost”?

1. no longer possessed or retained: lost friends.

2. no longer to be found: lost articles.

3. having gone astray or missed the way; bewildered as to place, direction, etc.: lost children.

4. not used to good purpose, as opportunities, time, or labor;wasted: a lost advantage.

5. being something that someone has failed to win: a lost prize.

What does a lost sheep look like?

When I think of a lost sheep I think of a poor helpless four legged cotton ball wandering off getting stuck in a rut or ravine and not being able to get back to the fold. Lost, weary, scared, unsure and vulnerable the sheep just lays down where it is and gives up. The lost sheep are much more vulnerable and if found by the lion or wolf will be quickly devoured.

The 99 Sheep

What do the sheep that the shepherd left behind look like?

The 99 are cared for and loved. They are under the protection of the shepherd even while he is away.In Jesus’ time, it was understood that a shepherd would be tending his flock in the proximity of other shepherds and if there was ever a need they could ask each other for assistance with watching each others flocks.The sheep in the fold may not always realize the protection that they receive unless they do wander away or unless they consider what happened to other sheep that wandered away. While under the care of the shepherd, the 99 do what he shows them to do so that they can stay safe; this is obedience and the real reason for obedience. They go where he tells them to go.

The Shepherd

What does the Shepherd look like?

The Shepherd is the protector of the sheep. He is responsible for their survival. He is responsible for their well being, for leading them to sustenance and places of rest. When the sheep are in his presence they can feel secure and cared for because they see the actions that the shepherd takes to secure and care for them. The shepherd works to train the sheep to trust him so that they will listen to him and do what he says. This makes it easier for him to keep them safe from lions, or pitfalls and other life threatening situations.

How have I been a lost sheep?

I was once a lost sheep. Jesus continued to watch for me and look for me and knock on the door to my heart the whole time, but for years I ignored Him and did my own thing.

I was lost in such a way that I was actually running away from the Shepherd because  I thought I was a pretty darn smart sheep. I wasn’t like the other sheep because I didn’t need a shepherd to survive. I was fully convinced that I could take care of myself and those other sheep were just weaklings who didn’t have a clue. I even sought to convince myself that there really wasn’t a shepherd. But He kept searching…

I saw this beautiful tuft of grass on another hill that the shepherd was not leading us to. I thought to myself;

“Why doesn’t the shepherd want us to go enjoy that certainly tasty green tuft of grass”? He never seems to want us to have any of the good things to eat. That’s not fair! How could that grass do anything but taste good and fill my little sheep belly with yummy tastiness?”

But, as I wandered mesmerized by the idea of eating that beautiful green grass, I got myself stuck in a swamp that surrounded the hill. I hadn’t noticed the swamp was there. I struggled but I couldn’t move much and was just stuck there, not thriving. Luckily I was stuck in a place with plenty of grass around so that I was able to survive. Every once in awhile I would think about the shepherd, but I knew that I would find a way out of the swamp and then the tuft of grass would be mine.

Then the lion showed up. I was so bewildered by my stuck condition that I thought he might be able to help me out. He pulled me out of the swamp and told me that he could help me to get that tuft of grass. However, he led me down a path to a corral instead and told me that I needed training to reach the tuft of grass. He shut me up in that corral and then began to feed me his tasty things.

The food and the drink were so enticing and full of flavor, and there was alluring music with every meal. I was allowed to do anything I wanted in my corral and I loved it! As time went on my corral started to stink. I wasn’t very good at taking care of myself and the lion only kept feeding me fun and yummy things. I was becoming a fat little sheep and my wool was all matted and dirty and I really didn’t like it. All the fun seemed so important but it confused me and I started to wonder if the shepherd might know what to do to help me get cleaned up.  I started to wonder if maybe the lion was feeding me all these wonderful things just so he could fatten me up and eat me later.

At this time the lion changed tactics. While increasing the amount of fun and tasty treats, he started to mix it with cruelty. Sometimes he would give me great amounts of beautiful fattening foods, and other times he would take it all away laughing as I lay helplessly hungry. Sometimes he would poke me with a stick through the bars of my corral so that I felt pain and he would giggle to watch me suffer. Then one day he came with a sharp knife and he actually cut a large hole into my chest, straight to my heart. Though I was technically alive, the pain was unbearable. The very next day the lion came back and with a big smile on his face poured salt on my wound. The pain was so consuming that I just wanted to die. I lay in my corral helpless and broken.

Then a small bird landed on the bars of my corral and he whispered in my ear,

“The shepherd was good to you. He LOVED you.”

,and I remembered what it had been like with the shepherd. Peaceful, comfortable, and safe – and I wanted it back again. I wanted it so bad that I bleated out at the top of my little sheep lungs,

“SAVE ME Good Shepherd! Save me from the lion. Forgive me for ever leaving You!”

All I wanted was for the Shepherd to hear me. And He did.

The lion also heard this plea and he immediately came with knife in hand ready to kill me once and for all. But the Good Shepherd quickly came in time to knock the lion down with his staff. The lion was immediately defeated, damaged and bruised, he crawled away on his belly. The Good Shepherd picked me up in his arms and lovingly began to walk me out of the corral.

But wouldn’t you know it! I got scarred when we started to leave the corral. I begged the Good Shepherd,

“Do we have to leave the corral? Can’t you stay here with me in the corral so I can still enjoy the tasty things it has to offer?”

,and I jumped out of His hands and back into the corral. But now things were different. He talked to me through the bars and told me how nice it was to be with the other sheep. Over time he helped me to see how dirty I was becoming from all the things I was doing in the corral. He reminded me that he could wash my wool clean and help me to keep it that way. At times the lion would try to sneak back but I would ask the Good Shepherd to chase him away and He always would. Slowly, very slowly, I became uninterested in the corral and as time went on it started to feel more like a prison than a safe place to be. I remembered the wonderful comfort of being in the Good Shepherds arms and I started to long to always be in them. I remembered how it felt to be with other sheep who were also under the care and protection of the Good Shepherd. So I went to the gate of the corral and pushed against it with all my own strength, but I couldn’t get out.

Panic began to set in; but I remembered that the Good Shepherd could help me. So I asked Him to open the gate for me, and he did! Hallelujah! Free at last.

Now I revel in the company of the Good Shepherd. I love being a part of His flock. I love knowing that He is there to protect me and that He will always help me to accomplish great sheepy things. He always feeds me only those things that are good and wholesome for me. Sometimes I think of the corral, but now I see it for the prison that it was. I do slip and fall at times and I do get distracted by tasty green tufts of grass. My wool gets dirty, but the Good Shepherd is always there to pick me up and clean me up and help me to be a better sheep because now I want only to run to him.

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Have you strayed away from the Good Shepherd? Do you feel the need for His loving arms? Do you want to spend time with His flock? Fill out the comment section of this blog post and let me know your interested in learning more. We can talk, share and learn together – no strings attached. Jesus is calling you. He is knocking on the door of your heart. You don’t have to stay in the corral…