What is the right way to interpret Jesus' teachings regarding divorce?

[JohnDB]

In the day and time that Jesus spoke on these matters there are some things to keep in mind.

1) adulterous women were regularly stoned...no need for a divorce. (they even asked Jesus to participate in a stoning)

2) polygamy was a regularly acceptable practice so how could divorcing one and marrying another result in adultery for men under The Law?

3) Women had no access to the courts. No woman was allowed to sue anyone or bring any legal action against her husband. So often women were simply kicked out of a husband's house to wander the street. (this way he didn't have to return to her the dowry her parents paid as a divorce settlement). This was known as "Put Away" wives. (what Joseph was going to do to Mary before an angel told him to do otherwise)

 

[HeIsRisen2018]

Ah,.. I see that looking back on past posts I'm not the only one who thinks that one should get out of an abusive relationship. However, let me make this perfectly clear. I love Reba even though the two of us generally fight like cats and dogs. So, since I don't want to say anything to hurt her,.. I think I'm going to do the smarter thing and back out of this conversation now. You know what they say. If you can't say something nice, then why not say anything at all.

 

[chessman]

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like:

Does this Scripture teach that adultery is immoral?

Does this Scripture teach that hatred, wrath and strife are immoral?

Does this Scripture teach that divorce for reasons of spousal immorality is permissible?

And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery"

 

[reba]

The letter of Word when it fits the spirit of the Word when it fits. Great understanding

 

[JohnDB]

The letter of Word when it fits the spirit of the Word when it fits. Great understanding

Mat_5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

now here is an interesting case. in both locations the same greek is used but the translators varied the words...so which was it "put away" or "divorced"? And at the time of Wycliff's or Tyndale's translation no one actually was familiar with the difference. And to the Jews...there was a very real difference.

What does the word of God say? Matthew 19:7-9 Jesus then answers, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery"

who are we to add to the Scriptures ?

Now again...this is very interesting. Because how could a man capable and legally able to engage in polygamy be guilty of adultery? Jesus wasn't known for violating or endorsing the breaking of the Law...in any shape form or fashion. And if polygamy was actually commanded by God...how except for actually marrying someone else's wife could he be guilty of polygamy...except that wasn't what Jesus was talking about or describing here.

looking for a clarification of your understanding of these scriptures.

 

[reba]

First the Scripture quoted above is from "The Message" i use it for April ,as that is the translation she uses .. ...
The KJ reads this way.
Mat 19:9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

As to chessman posts... God speaks directly to marriage and divorce ... His words are specific

Now again...this is very interesting. Because how could a man capable and legally able to engage in polygamy be guilty of adultery?

my best reply is i do not know..

I have quoted Scripture here the argument is not with me it is with the Scripture

A whole bunch of stuff is sin...couple of examples ....so i am bad mouthing my neighbour gossip gossip so now instead of repenting i justify.. thats how we fix it right? Or i lied to you .. so instead of coming to you and saying John i lied to you about XYZ. i justify it was a little lie the truth would have hurt his feelings..

Some assumptions have been made here in this thread .. that have zero bases.. I have not said stay and get beat ,, I said i would not divorce... I would invoke Romans 13 down the lines of Paul when he said hold up here i am a Roman.

 

[chessman]

now here is an interesting case.

I recently read The Jesus Scandals: Why He Shocked His Contemporaries (and Still Shocks Today) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0857210238?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Revd Dr David Instone-Brewer interestingly points out that in the 1st Century Jewish culture (his PhD) they were implementing relatively recent Law ‘changes’ much like what the USA started implementing in/around the 1970’s; namely ‘no fault divorces’. It was as controversial then (it started around 5th Century BC) as it was in the 70’s for the US. Even in the 2000’s many believe ‘no fault divorce’ to be treacherous. The secularists won out (then and now). The difference is the US just up and changed the law, the Pharisees just ‘re-interpreted’ it.

http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/Tyndale/staff/Instone-Brewer/prepub/Scandal of Equality in Jesus.pdf

Most younger adults now in the US culture doesn’t give ‘no fault divorce’ a second thought. Before the 70’s and for the Jews before the 1st Century, all divorces lawfully required causes, for the law courts to issue them. PI’s made a living snapping pictures of cheating spouses. Today, they don’t even need reasons.

So, my point ...:

Jesus’s teaching on divorce in Matt 19 was an answer to a legal question the Pharisees posed about “the Law”. Namely the current court’s interpretation of Ex 21:10

If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish. And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.​

Exodus 21:10-11 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Exodus 21:10-11&version=KJV

They were issuing divorces based on as minor a reason as a wife not preparing enough “food” one evening. Or some other trumped up claim and basing it off Ex 21:10

So the Pharisees asked Jesus basically what He thought about it:

And Pharisees came to Him— testing Him, and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to send-away his wife for any reason?”​

Matthew 19:3 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew 19:3&version=DLNT

Essentially, they asked Him if ‘no fault divorce’ was legal. His answer... ‘no’.

 

[JohnDB]

I recently read The Jesus Scandals: Why He Shocked His Contemporaries (and Still Shocks Today) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0857210238?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Revd Dr David Instone-Brewer interestingly points out that in the 1st Century Jewish culture (his PhD) they were implementing relatively recent Law ‘changes’ much like what the USA started implementing in/around the 1970’s; namely ‘no fault divorces’. It was as controversial then (it started around 5th Century BC) as it was in the 70’s for the US. Even in the 2000’s many believe ‘no fault divorce’ to be treacherous. The secularists won out (then and now). The difference is the US just up and changed the law, the Pharisees just ‘re-interpreted’ it.

http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/Tyndale/staff/Instone-Brewer/prepub/Scandal of Equality in Jesus.pdf

Most younger adults now in the US culture doesn’t give ‘no fault divorce’ a second thought. Before the 70’s and for the Jews before the 1st Century, all divorces lawfully required causes, for the law courts to issue them. PI’s made a living snapping pictures of cheating spouses. Today, they don’t even need reasons.

So, my point ...:

Jesus’s teaching on divorce in Matt 19 was an answer to a legal question the Pharisees posed about “the Law”. Namely the current court’s interpretation of Ex 21:10

If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish. And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.​

Exodus 21:10-11 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Exodus 21:10-11&version=KJV

They were issuing divorces based on as minor a reason as a wife not preparing enough “food” one evening. Or some other trumped up claim and basing it off Ex 21:10

So the Pharisees asked Jesus basically what He thought about it:

And Pharisees came to Him— testing Him, and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to send-away his wife for any reason?”​

Matthew 19:3 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Matthew 19:3&version=DLNT

Essentially, they asked Him if ‘no fault divorce’ was legal. His answer... ‘no’.

I'll agree in part with what you are saying...
Jesus took the role of a schmeekah rabbi...(one haveing the authority to interpret the Law...highest order of rabbi...there were several levels and I can't remember them all at the moment)
Now at that time there were two other high order rabbi who were in complete disagreement as to grounds for divorce. One claimed that if your wife burned your pot of beans you could divorce her and the other claimed that you could divorce her only for adultery...which is odd because adulterous women were regularly stoned...but hey, some guys don't have the stomach for such things...and I can understand that shared sentiment.

Meanwhile back at the Rabbinical center there was something of a scandal brewing...something along the lines of wife swapping. Extremely short term marriages of a few weeks or more just so that you can afford to marry a new prettier woman or whatever. To this day in the Middle East they have "Marriage Parlors" where a guy can get married and divorced in an hour...all legal. Prostitution is illegal there...but marriage and honeymoons and divorce are all legal. (Way to pervert the system eh?)

Now if a woman was "Put Away" status...she had to hide this fact. She was then a known adulteress...but if she was known to be married no guy would marry her. He wouldn't want the sin of adultery on his head. But at the same time...she needed an income and food and clothing and shelter. And without a husband she wouldn't have any. Ruth and Naomi are prime examples of subsistence living and Naomi was looking at dying once she got back to Israel of slow starvation. But she didn't want to die a heathen either for her choices of marriage. (If she was destined to die she wanted to be right with God instead of taking the path of least resistance and staying in Moab to die of starvation)

Many women chose to either keep their Put Away status a secret and get remarried by moving a few towns away or they went to full on prostitutes. No career opportunities for women.

Then if you include the fact that several wars were created and the first church apart from the Catholic church was created over this issue (Church of England anyone?) the scripture is going to be translated as convoluted as possible without making it say something that it doesn't.

Namely that If someone married a put away wife...they committed adultery.
Because some guys liked having such power over their wives...and had no compunction about stoning a woman...all the while claiming that they were super-righteous because they knowingly never broke the Law.

but in Essence....Jesus agreed with neither of the two Rabbi and their positions of extreme opposites.

 

[UberMink]

I'll agree in part with what you are saying...
Jesus took the role of a schmeekah rabbi...(one haveing the authority to interpret the Law...highest order of rabbi...there were several levels and I can't remember them all at the moment)
Now at that time there were two other high order rabbi who were in complete disagreement as to grounds for divorce. One claimed that if your wife burned your pot of beans you could divorce her and the other claimed that you could divorce her only for adultery...which is odd because adulterous women were regularly stoned...but hey, some guys don't have the stomach for such things...and I can understand that shared sentiment.

Meanwhile back at the Rabbinical center there was something of a scandal brewing...something along the lines of wife swapping. Extremely short term marriages of a few weeks or more just so that you can afford to marry a new prettier woman or whatever. To this day in the Middle East they have "Marriage Parlors" where a guy can get married and divorced in an hour...all legal. Prostitution is illegal there...but marriage and honeymoons and divorce are all legal. (Way to pervert the system eh?)

Now if a woman was "Put Away" status...she had to hide this fact. She was then a known adulteress...but if she was known to be married no guy would marry her. He wouldn't want the sin of adultery on his head. But at the same time...she needed an income and food and clothing and shelter. And without a husband she wouldn't have any. Ruth and Naomi are prime examples of subsistence living and Naomi was looking at dying once she got back to Israel of slow starvation. But she didn't want to die a heathen either for her choices of marriage. (If she was destined to die she wanted to be right with God instead of taking the path of least resistance and staying in Moab to die of starvation)

Many women chose to either keep their Put Away status a secret and get remarried by moving a few towns away or they went to full on prostitutes. No career opportunities for women.

Sounds fun.


Marriage for life no matter what. Keep in mind the scriptures and the culture as related in Deuteronomy 22.
Life was different then. Women were property. Not today. But that's not been the case in America for all that long. At one time we were property of our husbands. Remember, male former slaves obtained the right to vote their national future before any woman did.

 

[Edward]

How do you not?

We each live as temples of the Holy . Some choose to be martyrs.
Those who choose to be martyrs, think suffering in marriage makes God proud, choose that. Respect for God's word and sisters and brothers in Christ would entail not being angry that not everyone makes that same choice. Especially when we're told God ordained marriage and then are to believe he insists we suffer to the point we wish we could just die, because we think of all things God has to pay attention to in all creation, he would expect one in a horrible marriage to stay there to make him happy!
When scripture says that doesn't have to be the way it is.

Proverbs 27:15 A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;

That would apply to husbands too.
God ordained marriage. Show the scripture where he says it should be a living suffering Hell in order to please God. Who would hear the prayers of one who endures in that way.
One key to know if you have a marriage ordained by God is to ask if you like your spouse. Being perfectly honest because why lie.
Then ask yourself if you respect your spouse. Trust your spouse. Love your spouse. Trust them with your life.
Take an inventory and then imagine how your spouse would answer those about you.

If the answers are no, even once, you're not in a relationship. You're serving a sentence.
We get one life. Imagine living it for decades hating every minute with the one you sleep beside .
God wants that?
God is love.
I'd say the answer is, no.
I respect people make their choices for their life. They live it. They feel it. In a bad marriage , to the day they die. One way or the other. Because in a bad marriage there are a great many ways to die.
Some women go numb. They don't feel anything. Chronic depression sets in. They can't remember who they were before they felt like "this".
I knew a woman who died of malignant melanoma. Her husband was evil. I knew them both. On her death bed her daughter came to visit in hospital and while her husband and the ladies evil were down at the snack bar to take a break from their bedside vigil the daughter-in-law asked her mum if she was afraid to die.
"No." The lady said, "Because now I can finally be free of him." Meaning her evil husband. Then she took a deep breath still looking into her daughter-in-laws eyes, exhaled into her face and died.

Was God happy?
That woman lived with evil for 60 years.
He made her totally dependent on him. And when she was 77 she finally found a way to leave him.

Yeah, I never said that last part. And quite frankly, you're way too aggressive when thinking to talk to me about my personal opinion. I'm not here to change your mind. Or Reba's. Respect occurs, since you talked about respect earlier, in realizing an opinion is not a law. Everyone is entitled to one. No one has to live someone elses ideal. And they certainly don't deserve to be verbally abused for not conceding to do that.






WOW!
I dare you to show me one scripture where God says let a husband send you to him by killing you when you're his wife. Just one. Doesn't exist. But that paragraph I just quoted of yours is very dark and very troubling. Scripture tells us we are able to divorce when we find we're yoked with an unbeliever.


Your prior paragraph said quite enough. God does not think like you do.
And respect for Reba entails capitalizing the "R".

Prayers to the wife.

I meant no offense, but don't worry! God did say, Be strong, endure to the end...nevertheless, I understand that all can not endure such treatment as you describe, and so does God understand, so He gave you a concession. He wont hold it against you if you divorce. You are ok in that. But scripture does say that it was not always so (Matthew 19:8). Reba is right...and so are you. That was my point all along. I thought I was being clear. You might be being a wee bit overly defensive about this.

 

[Edward]

Prayers to the wife.

You'd like to think that life was horrible for her with me, huh? Lol. We were married for 26 years...I couldn't have been that bad for her stay that long, lol. We had a great marriage and she was a wonderful Wife. I wish her well.

 

[chessman]

I'll agree in part with what you are saying...

I’m just posting what Dr. Instone-Brewer’s saying. (With links to his PhD works)

Now at that time there were two other high order rabbi who were in complete disagreement as to grounds for divorce.

Correct, Hillelite Rabbis would issue divorces (legal divorces mind you) to husbands (but not wives) if the husband petitioned for causes like ‘burning the toast’.

Whereas the Shammaite Rabbis only allowed divorces (for husbands or for wives) for adultery cause.

 

[JohnDB]

Moderator Hat ON​

Emotions are running rather high in this thread. Please be respectful of others and not hyperbolize the things that the others say. IOW don't go to extremes of what you claim others are saying or call each other names.
Be respectful of other's beliefs and where they are in their walk.
Try to be nice to each other during the discussion of how Jesus said for husbands and wives to be nice to each other.

 

[JohnDB]

Sounds fun.


Marriage for life no matter what. Keep in mind the scriptures and the culture as related in Deuteronomy 22.
Life was different then. Women were property. Not today. But that's not been the case in America for all that long. At one time we were property of our husbands. Remember, male former slaves obtained the right to vote their national future before any woman did.

Jesus was quite the trendsetter by actually allowing women to be included in his teaching sessions (Mary and Martha) And later by stating that men who looked at women lustfully were guilty of adultery. A woman could access the courts for a husband guilty of adultery. (No daughter of Israel should have to remain married to one who so flagrantly broke the Law...the results would be deathly )

 

[Edward]

Edited by moderator
. Here, here's some scriptures about suffering for you to peruse and consider. These are not my words, they are the Lord's, from scripture.

2 Timothy 4:5, 2 Timothy 2:3, ACts 9:16, Philippians 1:29, Matthew 10:38, Matthew 16:24, 1 Thessalonians 3:3-4, Acts 20:23, 1 Peter 3:17 4:15-17, 1 Peter 5:10, 1 Peter 2:20<I think you asked for this one specifically, 2 Corinthians 4:8...

I have more but this should really be enough. Reba is to be commended for what she has endured. She is not wrong and it is more than mere opinion, it is truth what she said.

 

[WinterPuma]

Immorality as a cause for divorce is a broad encompassing umbrella term that would allow a woman to get out of a bad marriage today.
Thanks for that reminder that would apply to woman and man in today's marriage.

It is worth noting that the scripture language when it does address divorce speaks to it being a man's prerogative. While the woman's supplicant role is defined after the fact. I've seen no scripture that expressly states cause for a woman to divorce.
That speaks also of the times when those scriptures were written.
A time when a daughter who was raped would need be purchased by her rapist who would give her father 50 pieces of silver. That, just to put that into context, is 20 pieces more than Judas received for betraying Jesus.

That then would mean that raped daughter would be made to live for all time with her rapist.

That's rather a sobering thought when thinking edicts of old times scripture as pertained to God's law , Jesus Law being he and the father were the same, must be applied to today's woman.

 

[WinterPuma]

Someone who isn't married trying to tell someone who is that they should remain in a violent marriage sounds really silly.

I was a counselor at a rape crisis hotline. Women would call and they were married to their rapist. More than one woman in the few years I served on the phones.
Without fail each woman would sooner or later ask the same question. Can I be raped by my husband?
Yes, you certainly can.
Without exception those men would be under the influence of something at the time. And each woman in that predicament I spoke with said they were a Christian. While a few said their husband was too. One said their husband was an atheist but had lied when they were dating so she'd want him.

I left the hotline when I found out through reading the details in the paper and recalling a lady that called me and reached my extension a few times that her rapist husband had killed her.
She'd sought spiritual advice from her pastor, as I suggested, which was part of the guilt that made me leave. Her husband, the fake Christian, was approached at the garage where he worked, self-employed, by that pastor. This pastor was told by the wife the husband was atheist and had lied he was Christian during the courtship but the pastor made a go for it anyway. Thinking to appeal to his better nature.
There was none.
The husband turns out was all contrite and apologetic and humble to the pastor. A man. Who likely wouldn't take to being abused should the hubby decide to go that route.
But when the husband got home having drank himself into oblivion first, drunk driving to get there. Imagine the roads victims. He confronted the wife in a rage that she'd brought their personal business into the streets. He beat her near to death, raped her, held her at gunpoint for a day and when neighbors awoke in the morning and heard her screaming they called police. They surrounded the house, got on the phone with a mediator, which is how all these details came to us, since we worked with police and had police radio in the break room, and finally after many hours the lying husband ended the whole thing by lying again.
She's alive. She's fine. They'll come out and seek counseling.
A very short time later police heard two pops.
He'd killed her but the autopsy said she was actually dead already from being beaten to death. Husband was so in a after drunk fog he apparently didn't realize he'd been raping a corpse all night. And beating her. And he shot himself after laying beside her with their framed wedding picture on her back. That's how they were found.
Him shot through the head via mouth. Her shot in the back of the head . The bullet burying in the floor.

God have mercy.
Because she stayed. Because her pastor said the vows they took before God even when the hubby was lying, unbeknownst to the soon to be wife and pastor, God made them one forever. No divorce.

If any woman in a bad marriage is reading this that still haunts me and the sisters I worked with and still keep in touch with at the hotline, please know you are worth more than being beaten to death by your husband.
So many women I talked to who would say they were married , remember, while calling a rape crisis hotline, would say when asked why do you stay? Why don't you get out? "I love him!"

If this saves one woman from a bad marriage the tears I'm crying now recalling that lady I knew as a voice and then as a tragic report from police , will be worth it.
When you're in an abusive marriage, or even a relationship, male or female, and someone asks why don't you leave? And your first thought or answer is, "because I love him/her!" Think! Of what you're saying about love. And abuse.
"I love him who beats me till I black out. " As the man did to the young woman I told you about dying in the end.
"I love him who refuses to let me have friends and family because he's hyper jealous!" That's called an isolationist. They're dangerous. They're the type that make headlines that include, he killed her because he said if he couldn't have her no one would!

I love him......who terrifies me to the core of my being!

That is not love! That is terrorism. That is horror. That is violence. That is abuse. That is enslavement. That is rape, when he takes you against your will. YES! YES! A wife can be raped by her husband! YES!

Here is my deepest prayer and advice to anyone reading this far. If you are in an abusive relationship please, please, please, please, GOD PLEASE, let this ring through to someone reading this if they are in an abusive relationship, love yourself first!
AND GET OUT!

Don't let that you have no family or friends to run to stop you from getting away. Like isolationists want to make happen because then all you have is him/her. RUN! GET OUT! Go to a neighbor, go to police, call police, knock on someone's door away from your house if you have no transportation and ask them even if they don't open the door to call 911!

There are women's shelters that can help you. There is even an underground if you have children that can get you away.
Run to a church. If your husband or boy friend doesn't let you go to church don't worry. Run to one anyway. Most are open . But if they're not go to the back and hide till they do open. Go to a 24/7 store, like a WAWA, a Royal Farms, a 7/11, a 24 hour grocery and to the manager or counter employee and ask them to call 911.

File a complaint against your husband or wife, boyfriend or girlfriend. And no matter what do not back down. Even if that one you're pressing against beg you. Because it is a lie! You know it is. When they say, baby, I promise, I'll change! I'll never do it again! Please! Please! I don't want to go to jail baby.

Baby? You don't want to go to an early grave do you?
Call a women's crisis hotline. We're anonymous and someplace far away most likely. We can't come get you but we can certainly send police. Please, God didn't make you to die at the hands of another. Even when they're wearing a wedding band.
God made marriage!

Man made divorce because evil men don't deserve the right to abuse wives.

Links

Rape Crisis Hotlines - A DuckDuckGo list of links

Spousal Abuse Crisis Hotlines Links

Links Sanctuaries for Abused Women

DuckDuckGo search engine allows you to search by region. Which is another reason I used it as a source.

If you're reading this as one who is suffering in relationship, make sure you clear your browser cache before "he" or "she" gets home. Abusers want you to have no privacy and it is likely if they do let you on a computer that they'll check your browsing history.

Anyone who has IT knowledge please add to that information if you know other ways to keep someone safe on-line.

God be with every woman and man who cries themselves to sleep because they're terrified of the one sleeping next to them. And of course in the case of those who have children, well, that's just too much but it should go without saying that they see it all. They deserve better than to be afraid. And they will imprint watching relationship in a dysfunctional house. Boys will learn to be like bad daddy. Girls will learn to take it like sad mommy. And vice versa. Abuse is abuse. Male or female.

God bless.

God rest the soul of that poor woman.
As to her vile abusive husband, at least he's dead and shall never torture another woman.
Hell has one more coming home.

 

[WinterPuma]

What does the word of God say? Matthew 19:7-9 Jesus then answers, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery"

who are we to add to the Scriptures ?

You're aware that the scriptures that refer to divorce are regarding men having that right? While women are to be supplicant , put away, not to remarry as long as he lives?
We add to scripture all the time in the new century thousands of years removed from when the OT laws on divorce were written.

Today a man goes to prison if he stones his wife to death. Today a man goes to prison if he tries to sell his daughter to her rapist.
Immorality being a cause for divorce gives a woman quite a number of options in getting out of a bad marriage. If we live according to the old testament jews we as women remain enslaved to our husbands.
That's contrary to the oneness Jesus imparted about those who are in him. We are all one in Christ.

 

[Edward]

Immorality as a cause for divorce is a broad encompassing umbrella term that would allow a woman to get out of a bad marriage today.
Thanks for that reminder that would apply to woman and man in today's marriage.

It is worth noting that the scripture language when it does address divorce speaks to it being a man's prerogative. While the woman's supplicant role is defined after the fact. I've seen no scripture that expressly states cause for a woman to divorce.
That speaks also of the times when those scriptures were written.
A time when a daughter who was raped would need be purchased by her rapist who would give her father 50 pieces of silver. That, just to put that into context, is 20 pieces more than Judas received for betraying Jesus.

That then would mean that raped daughter would be made to live for all time with her rapist.

That's rather a sobering thought when thinking edicts of old times scripture as pertained to God's law , Jesus Law being he and the father were the same, must be applied to today's woman.

Amen. My Wife cited "irreconcilable differences" as a reason to divorce me, being as I never cheated on her nor was rough on her. It's all she had to go on was the vague modern cliche for a reason.

I didn't agree and made them chase me across several states (just luckily worked out that way, lol) and two different process servers and one sheriffs office. It cost her plenty to have me served, lol.

 

[WinterPuma]

Amen. My Wife cited "irreconcilable differences" as a reason to divorce me, being as I never cheated on her nor was rough on her. It's all she had to go on was the vague modern cliche for a reason.

I didn't agree and made them chase me across several states (just luckily worked out that way, lol) and two different process servers and one sheriffs office. It cost her plenty to have me served, lol.

She must have had a very bad attorney to make it that costly. Or, he/she was a very greedy attorney.
A spouse can't refuse a divorce in America. If they run, that says everything to the court. When they are served at their local known address and they're not there, there is a time frame for respondent to answer the cause of action; divorce.
Not that long a time either.
After that, the spouse seeking divorce is granted one based on the running spouse being a non-respondent.
My sister gained her divorce that way. He didn't run, he just watched the process server through the peephole in his door each time the man knocked with the papers.
Then after about two weeks I think it was, being they had no children my sister proceeded pro-say, he received a registered letter in the mail that he did sign for at the post office. It informed him he was now single.
All in all it cost her less than $200.00.