There is a narrow provision for divorce & remarriage, self-defense, etc in the law of God. The LAW gives us those circumstances which such things are righteous and consistent with biblical love. ANYTHING outside these narrow parameters is SIN!

We are going to explain the narrow, righteous view.God’s original design of marriage. God intended that a man and a woman leave their parents and become one family unit in which children come forth and the children will be taught in God’s way in submission towards God. The children see the man’s headship over his wife as he submits to God. This is God’s intention.

Genesis 2:21-25
Gen 2:21  And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 
Gen 2:22  And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 
Gen 2:23  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 
Gen 2:24  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 
Gen 2:25  And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

In the very next chapter of Genesis, SIN comes in the world. When God’s law comes through Moses, it comes with remedies for sin! Jesus IS the GOD of the Old Testament, HE is the WORD made FLESH! He wrote the ENTIRE BIBLE! Let’s not forget that. So the law of God was not given to man to pick and choose what law(s) he wants to obey.

In Deuteronomy 24 we have God giving Moses instruction regarding a unclean wife(a bad moral influence on the home). This can happen to a righteous believer he has married a false believer OR a believer that has wickedly backslidden. This person can’t dwell with the wicked person without the wicked person potentially corrupting the righteous spouse and/or children. God here gives a NARROW provision for divorce.

Deu 24:1  When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her(SIN/IMPURITY- literally “nakedness” in the Hebrew): then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 
Deu 24:2  And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife. (BOTH MAY REMARRY WHEN THE DIVORCE IS COMPLETE)
Deu 24:3  And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; 
Deu 24:4  Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
Deu 24:5  When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year (to help strengthen the marriage bond), and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.

GOD NEVER CHANGES. His judgments are always the same when the circumstances are the same.  

When Israel was operating according to God’s law, people had to get divorces approved as lawful/righteous by the godly elders in their cities who served as Judges.  People could not just put away their spouse for foolish reasons while citing Deuteronomy 24.  Leadership in the New Testament churches should serve a similar function as these local Judges.  They should be counseled with before any church member attempts to put away their spouse and only let the one putting away their spouse remain in the church if their reason falls within the narrow provision that the law of God gives for putting away one’s spouse.

Deu 22:13  If any man take a wife, and go in unto her(BECOME ONE FLESH), and hate her,  
Deu 22:14  And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid: 
Deu 22:15  Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel’s virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate: 
Deu 22:16  And the damsel’s father shall say unto the elders(JUDGES), I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her; 
Deu 22:17  And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 
Deu 22:18  And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him(BEAT HIM-USE OF FORCE); (HAS BEEN PROVEN A FALSE-ACCUSER)
Deu 22:19  And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days. (BECAUSE THERE WAS NO BIBLICAL REASON TO PUT HER AWAY)
Deu 22:20  But if this thing be true (NOT A VIRGIN/SIN), and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: 
Deu 22:21  Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.

Rank adultery and apostasy were also reasons for divorce according to the law of Moses. We must obey the law of our lands yet stoning would be the just judgement for these sins- but we can’t do it as to obey our local laws as the Jews in Jesus’ time also couldn’t.

Fornication (drunken flirtation/purposeful improper touching of others/purposeful immodesty, etc/all sexual sin, adultery; idolatry=spiritual fornication)

A few passages the “NEVER DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE” deceivers typically use:

Rom 7:1  Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law (OF MOSES-WITH NARROW PROVISIONS),) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 
Rom 7:2  For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 
Rom 7:3  So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 
Rom 7:4  Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

1Co 7:39  The wife is bound by the law (OF MOSES-WITH NARROW PROVISIONS FOR DIVORCE) as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord (She is bound by the law since she can’t initiate a divorce contrary to the narrow provisions of the law).

The following is NOT a new teaching!
Mat 19:1  And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan; 
Mat 19:2  And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there. 
Mat 19:3  The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause (THEY WERE ABUSING THE LAW)? 
Mat 19:4  And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 
Mat 19:5  And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 
Mat 19:6  Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 
Mat 19:7  They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 
Mat 19:8  He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. 
Mat 19:9  And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication (MEANS Basically the equivalent of UNCLEANNESS WHICH WE FIND IN DEUTERONOMY 24-lewd drunkard/all sexual sin, adultery, pornography addiction; idolatry=spiritual fornication)(and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. 
Mat 19:10  His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. 
Mat 19:11  But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. 
Mat 19:12  For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

God is angry at the priests in the last book of the OT. Jesus was rebuking the same thing to those who were seeking to justify their ungodly divorces! Jesus was UPHOLDING the LAW OF MOSES!

Mal 2:14  Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. 
Mal 2:15  And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. 
Mal 2:16  For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away (ALWAYS WICKED TO PUT A WIFE AWAY ON ONE’S OWN TERMS! ONLY RIGHTEOUS WHEN HONESTLY DONE IN KEEPING WITH THE NARROW PROVISION IN THE LAW OF MOSES): for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously. 
Mal 2:17  Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?

Mal 3:1  Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. 
Mal 3:2  But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: 
Mal 3:3  And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. 
Mal 3:4  Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. (GOD IS GOING TO RESTORE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS IN ISRAEL LIKE IN FORMER YEARS. THE TRUE BELIEVERS “THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL” FROM THE BEGINNING ‘TIL THE END. JEW & GENTILE BELIEVERS IN THE MESSIAH- Galatians 6:15-16)
Mal 3:5  And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers (NOT TRUE SWEARERS), and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. 

If Jesus was going to correct Moses, that would TURN THEM AWAY from the Law of Moses.   Notice again how heeding the law of Moses is COMMENDED AND COMMANDED HERE in the last book of the OT as the stage is set for the Messiah’s coming!!!

Mal 4:4  Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. 
Mal 4:5  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 
Mal 4:6  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

1Co 6:16  What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. (one flesh is only lawful when a man and woman are married)

Joh 4:15  The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 
Joh 4:16  Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 
Joh 4:17  The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 
Joh 4:18  For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

1Co 7:6  But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. 
1Co 7:7  For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. 
1Co 7:8  I say therefore to the unmarried(whether they were ever married before or not) and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. 
1Co 7:9  But if they cannot contain, let them marry (to another faithful believer): for it is better to marry than to burn. 
1Co 7:10  And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord (Jesus’ words in the Gospels), Let not the wife depart from her husband: 
1Co 7:11  But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. 
1Co 7:12  But to the rest speak I, not the Lord (a situation Jesus did not cover in the Gospels): If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. (THE BELIEVER SHOULD NEVER INITIATE A DIVORCE EXCEPT FOR FORNICATION AS PER DEUT 24)
1Co 7:13  And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. 
1Co 7:14  For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy(UNDER SPECIAL PROTECTION AND CARE UNDER A BELIEVER). 
1Co 7:15  But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart(MEANING: IF THEY LEAVE OR THERE CAN’T BE PEACE AS THEY ARE SO UNCLEAN SO AS THE CLEAN CAN’T LIVE HOLY). A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. (And those not under bondage CAN LAWFULLY REMARRY- see verses 27 and 28 below)
1Co 7:16  For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?
1Co 7:17  But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches. 

1Co 7:25  Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. 
1Co 7:26  I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be. 
1Co 7:27  Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed(OPPOSITE OF BONDAGE-IF THE UNBELIEVER LEAVES THEY ARE LOOSED FROM THE MARRIAGE). Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. 
1Co 7:28  But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you. 

When it comes to someone seeking a divorce, it must be because of moral uncleanness (FORNICATION). Always a last resort. When all is exhausted, then a divorce is lawful. If the leader of a church sees a person seeking to get divorced after meeting another person they “love”, this is a reason to step in and insist anything improper stop!  They must honor their marriage covenant or they forsake Christ! If church members have divorce and remarriage in their past, they must be faithful to their current spouse.  There is no point in making things worse by divorcing the current spouse they have as a believer to try to right the former failure.  When there is a divorce that has happened in a single believer’s past before their conversion, if the believer has repented from any and all failure on their part that contributed to that marriage ending AND there is no possibility of being reconciled to their former spouse (and there’s certainly not if the former spouse has already remarried), they are free to remarry with another faithful believer.

A father speaking to his daughter:
1Co 7:36  But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry. 
1Co 7:37  Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well. 
1Co 7:38  So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better. 
1Co 7:39  The wife is bound by the law (OF MOSES) as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord. 
1Co 7:40  But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.