The Fifth Commandment – Thy Shall Not Divorce

[ugmug]

The Fifth Commandment – Thy Shall Not Divorce

The simplest of biblical principles are often the most overlooked but have a profound impact on our daily lives. Take for example the senseless deaths of young lives lost to drugs, alcohol, crime, murder,etc. Some will say that this is a result of poverty or a lascivious culture hell bent on constant pleasure. But if we look closer at the bible we see hope, and also a curse (the double edge sword), for those who either follow a simple principle or neglect it.

If we look at the 10 commandants there is only one commandment that comes with a blessing. The 5th Commandment says,

Exodus 20:12
New International Version (NIV)
*12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Here, not only is God telling us that we can attain a long life, but also a way to achieve it.

Look at society and its disintegration into decadence and violence. If we follow societal behavior we see a statistical correlation in the rise in divorce rates with the rise of young adult deaths. Follow the 5th Commandment and see what happens when two parents divorce or split up leaving the children in a one parent household. Satan is no fool and when he can eliminate the presence of one parent the children have no ability to earn the blessing of a long life that is promised for honoring “BOTH†parents.

For centuries the family unit, with both parents, gave children the protection from God to fulfill his promise of a long life when the children were able to honor both parents. God shielded the children from the menace of Satan to fulfill the blessing of the 5th commandment of a long life especially into and throughout adulthood. But with society throwing away its parental responsibility so haphazardly with quick and easy divorces you can rightly say that divorce is tantamount to child neglect and spiritual child abuse.

It is clear that the 5th commandment is not only meant for the children to honor thy father and mother but it is also a commandment for the parents to stay together for the future protection of their children throughout their lives.

Just imagine the force of God's spirit steering children away from drugs, alcohol, promiscuous sex, and many other life shortening vices that permeate society. If children just followed one simple commandment to honor thy father and mother, and parents stayed married to ensure that the honor is received with a loving heart, God will be faithful and guide his faithful through the hazards of everyday living to bring about a long life. Society would then straighten itself out without all the billions of dollars thrown at helping others defy God's Holy Commandments.

So the next question is why would God have two people stay together in a bad marriage just so their children can fulfill the 5th commandment? If one looks at Matthew 16:23 and Mark 8:33 we can find an answer.

Matthew 16:23
New International Version (NIV)
*23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.â€

Mark 8:33
New International Version (NIV)
*33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!†he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.â€

In both Matthew and Mark Jesus says the same thing, “Get behind me, Satan!†Here you have Satan talking to Jesus through Peter. Now if Jesus recognizes the thoughts of Satan coming from another person why then do we not realize the same thing. Arguments, especially marital arguments, are nothing more than Satan talking to himself through us. Satan has the ability to coach each person in an argument, to say what he wants us to say. In effect he is speaking to himself through both persons and we are just listening thinking we are the originators of the thoughts. We may think it is all of our own thoughts and feelings flying back and forth between spouses in an argument but we are being deceived. It is nothing more than Satan talking to himself (and to us) through our words in order to spread martial discord.

God Bless

note:

Notice that the commandment to honor thy father and mother is 5th , near the top. If one would follow that commandment it will protect the person from all those who would violate the remaining commandments.

Bring honor back into the family – stay married.

Now that we see that divorce is not an option in God's word maybe now we'll take more care when choosing a marriage partner. Being a 'fun and highly entertaining' person only means that Satan is supplying the merriment.

According to Matthew 16:23 and Mark 8:33 gossip is also nothing more than Satan talking to himself through us. Satan loves to spread rumor, greed, pride, innuendo, falsehoods and every other evil by hiding his thoughts in ours which then emerge out of our own mouths in the form of gossip.

Also the judgment of others by those not involved (gossip) is nothing more than reliving somebody else's sin. Which is why God says not to judge others for all we are doing is reliving the sin of others and incurring the same judgment from God for that sin. Leave the judgment of others to God, unless of course some crime as been committed.




- Gossip is nothing more than forcing a person to relive somebody else's sin, real or imagined -

 

[stovebolts]

You make some very good observations and I agree with them.

I hope this doesn't derail your thread, but if we look at the proximity of this commandment, we see that it is the dividing commandment between how we are to respect and honor God, and how we are to respect and honor the rest of the community in which we live.

The way in which we honor and respect our parents, is a reflection on how we honor and respect God, just as marriage between a man and a woman is a reflection of the relationship God has with the Church. I wish more parents would get on board with this way of living...

What becomes difficult for a child in a broken or abusive family, is to honor or respect somebody who is not worthy of respect, say a father who molested his daughter, or a mother who was physically and emotionally abusive with her son.

In the above case, the child would need to come to an understanding where they would honor, at the very least, the title of Mother and Father, while drawing firm lines in the sand for acceptable behavior, even if that means never seeing their Mother or Father again. Sometimes this work is never done, or comes when they are middle aged etc. But it needs to be done.

There is a reason why God hates divorce, as it puts a heavy strain on the child to obey this commandment. Some are never able too

 

[n2thelight]

ugmug

Now that we see that divorce is not an option in God's word maybe now we'll take more care when choosing a marriage partner. Being a 'fun and highly entertaining' person only means that Satan is supplying the merriment.

While divorce is bad, it is not unforgivable,and there are reasons why to get divorced....God divorced Israel