Friday
Read Mark 10:2-16
2 Some Pharisees came to him and
tried to trap him. “Tell us,” they asked, “does our Law allow a man to divorce
his wife?”
3 Jesus answered with a question,
“What law did Moses give you?”
4 Their answer was, “Moses gave
permission for a man to write a divorce notice and send his wife away.”
5 Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote
this law for you because you are so hard to teach. 6But in the
beginning, at the time of creation, ‘God made them male and female,’ as the
scripture says. 7‘And for this reason a man will leave his father
and mother and unite with his wife,q 8and the two will
become one.’ So they are no longer two, but one. 9No human being
then must separate what God has joined together.”
10 When they went back into the
house, the disciples asked Jesus about this matter. 11He said to
them, “A man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery
against his wife. 12In the same way, a woman who divorces her
husband and marries another man commits adultery.”
13 Some people brought children to
Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples scolded the people.
14When Jesus noticed this, he was angry and said to his disciples, “Let
the children come to me, and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God
belongs to such as these. 15I assure you that whoever does not
receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16Then
he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on each of them, and blessed
them.
Think
God's heart for marriage is that couples should stay together. Moses offered a compromise - a man could
write a divorce notice and send his wife away.
This compromise was abused.
Jesus rewrites the rules:
1 - He reminds us that it is not God's will that people get divorced.
2 - He eliminates polygamy and makes it possible for a man to be found
guilty of adultery for unfaithfulness to his wife.
(Some marriages are so toxic and violent that after much prayer and effort
separation turns out to be the only option.)
Pray
Pray for people who are in broken or breaking marriages. Ask for God to restore them.
Pray for churches and organisations that exist to help people in their
marriages.
If you are married - pray for your relationship to be strengthened.
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