By Maria Merola אריאל
© Copyright Double Portion Inheritance, August 2002-2023
Have you been the victim of an unwanted divorce? Have you been made to believe that you are never allowed to remarry, or else you will be committing adultery?
Well, I am here to give you the truth of the word of Elohiym, that shall set you free. The Towrah (Mosaic Law) makes provision for a victim of an unwanted divorce.
When a man LEGALLY divorces his wife (with a written divorce certificate), she is no longer his wife, therefore, she is able to marry another man:
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 24:1-2 When a man has taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he has found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.
In Jeremiah 3:8, we read that YaHuWaH divorced the Ten Northern Tribes of Yisra’el, (and he sent them away into the nations). At that point, they were no longer called “Yisra’el,” because they were called “Gentiles,” (goyim, heathen nations).
This is what YaHuWaH said concerning his divorced bride:
Howshea 2:2 Plead with your mother, plead: for SHE IS NOT MY WIFE, NEITHER AM I HER HUSBAND: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts.
As a matter of fact, YaHuWaH prophesied that in the last, days, Yisra’el would return to him and say the following words:
Howshea 2:7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I WILL GO AND RETURN TO MY FIRST HUSBAND; for then was it better with me than now.
The fact that Yisra’el said she would return to her “FIRST” husband, implies that she had more than one husband. Yisra’el went after her “lovers” (her Baalim), and she was married to them.
Do you realize what this means? It means that YaHuWaH will remarry Yisra’el, even after she has been divorced!
And furthermore, Hosea 2:7 says that she will remarry her “FIRST HUSBAND,” even though in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 says this is unlawful, and an abomination!
So how is this possible? It is only possible for Yisra’el to remarry her “FIRST HUSBAND,” because YaHuWaH came in the flesh, in the person of Yahuwshuwa (1st Timothy 3:16; John 1:14; Colossians 1:16; 2:9-14).
This is why our Messiah had to die, so that “THE LAW OF DIVORCE” (which prevented Yisra’el from remarrying him again) would also be put to death with him, thereby enabling Yisra’el to REMARRY him!
Often-times, I hear people using Romans 7 as an argument against a woman being allowed to remarry after an unwanted divorce:
Romans 7:1 Know you not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the Towrah/law,) how that the Towrah (law) has dominion over a man as long as he lives?
Romans 7:2 For the woman which has a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he lives; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
*Explanation: Paul is specifically addressing a woman who is still legally married. In such cases, the woman is “bound” by the law to her husband, which means she may not marry another man while he is still alive. But if a husband legally divorces her, he is no longer her husband, and therefore, Romans 7:2 does not apply to her.
Romans 7:3 So then if, while her husband lives, 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.
As a matter of fact, the same Paul who wrote Romans 7:2, says that in the case of an unbelieving spouse (who has abandoned the marriage), a brother or a sister is not “bound” in such cases to the marriage.
1st Qorintiym (Corinthians) 7:15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but Elohiym has called us to peace.
To those who would condemn a person who has remarried after an unwanted divorce, just remind them that YaHuWaH divorced Yisra’el in Jeremiah 3:8, but he promised to remarry her again at the second coming of Messiah!
This is what Shaul (Paul) meant when he said the following:
Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the law [of divorce] by the body of Messiah; THAT YOU SHOULD BE MARRIED TO ANOTHER, EVEN TO HIM WHO IS RAISED FROM THE DEAD, that we should bring forth fruit unto Elohiym.
*Explanation: Even though the Father & Son are one Spirit, the Son came in a different form (in the flesh). In Exodus 19:5-8, Yisra’el took wedding vows, and married YaHuWaH on Mount Sinai in the Spirit.
However, our Messiah made a distinction between being “born of the flesh,” versus being “born of the Spirit” (John 3:6). This explains why our Messiah came “In the likeness of sinful flesh,” even though he never sinned (Romans 8:3; Hebrews 4:15).
In the 4th chapter of the gospel of Yahuwchanon (John), our Messiah asked the Samaritan woman to bring her husband to the well. This is the conversation that followed:
Yahuwchanon (John) 4:
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Yahuwshuwa said unto her, You have well said, I have no husband:
18 For you have had five husbands; and he whom you now have is not your husband: in that, you said truly.
*Explanation: The Samaritan woman is a metaphor for the ten divorced Tribes of Yisra’el (Ephraiym). In Ezekiel, the 16th & 23rd chapters, Samaria is referred to as the capital city of Ephrayim.
The Ten Northern Tribes had been previously married to YaHuWaH, and they were obeying the Towrah, (the five books of Moses). Hence the woman having been married to “five husbands” is symbolic of being in the Mosaic Covenant. But this Samaritan woman was now divorced from the Towrah, (symbolized by her previous five husbands); and she was now living with a man who was not her legitimate husband.
At one time, I thought that perhaps, her fifth husband had put her away, but failed to give her a written divorce decree (according to Deuteronomy 24:1-2). This would’ve left her unable to remarry; and I wondered if this was the reason why she was cohabitating with a man outside of wedlock.
However, the more I thought about it, that would have made her still legally married to husband #5. But our Messiah acknowledged that “She had no husband,” therefore she was legally divorced all five times.
This woman’s situation was a metaphor for those in the nations who were divorced from the five books of Moses, the Towrah! If she was still legally married to husband #5, she would still be married to the Towrah, but she wasn’t.
In any case, our Messiah recognized all five of her former husbands as her legal, and legitimate husbands. However, the man she was cohabitating with, was not her legal husband.
If the Samaritan woman had been in sin when she married her second husband, our Messiah would not have said to her “You have had five husbands.”
If divorce and remarriage is a violation of Towrah, our Messiah would’ve said this to her: “You’ve had one husband, but after that, you cohabitated with five other men outside of wedlock.”
The point that I want to bring out from our Messiah’s interaction with the Samaritan woman, is that she was legally divorced, and remarried a total of five times. In all five cases, Yahuwshuwa did not tell her that those marriages were illegal, or that she had been committing adultery by having been in those marriages.
It is entirely possible that all five husbands died, leaving her a widow five times in a row, but that seems highly unlikely. But even if that was the case, it doesn’t change a thing. She is still eligible for remarriage, according to Deuteronomy 24:1-2.
Yet, many in the Christian Church have misunderstood our Messiah’s words regarding divorce and remarriage, because of English mistranslations.
In all modern translations, the translators interchangeably use two different, and distinct words for “divorce & putting away.” The King James Version is the only version that gets it right in most cases, except for in Matthew 5:32, where they also make the same mistake as other modern translations do.
Here is the one place, where the King James translators got it wrong:
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 5:31 It has been said, Whosoever shall put away [apoluo] his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement [apostasion]:
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall PUT AWAY [apoluo] his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, CAUSES HER to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is DIVORCED [apoluo] commits adultery.
*Explanation: Did you catch that? In Matthew 5:31, the translators accurately translated the Greek word “apostasion” as “a writing of divorcement.” But in verse 32, they inaccurately translated the word “apoluo” as “divorced!”
Notice, that there are two different English words in these two verses:
The term “PUT AWAY” is #G630, which is the Greek word “APOLUO,” which literally means “To send away,” but without a divorce decree.
The the word “DIVORCED” is #G647, “APOSTASION,” which means “A writing of divorcement.”
*Example: In Matthew 27:17-26, when Pontius Pilate was offering to “release” Barabbas, the same word is used, which is “apoluo!”
The word in Matthew 5:32 should be “PUT AWAY!”
The word “DIVORCED” is a MISTRANSLATION BY THE ENGLISH TRANSLATORS!
When a spouse is merely PUT AWAY, (BUT NOT LEGALLY DIVORCED BY HER HUSBAND), SHE IS NOT FREE TO REMARRY!
This is what our Messiah was telling us!
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 24:1-4 says that once the man divorces his wife LEGALLY, (with a written certificate), “SHE MAY GO AND BE ANOTHER MAN’S WIFE!”
The only time that a spouse is NOT free to remarry is when they are MERELY SEPARATED, BUT NOT LEGALLY DIVORCED!
In Malachi 2:16, did YaHuWaH say that he “HATES DIVORCE?”
What he actually said in Hebrew is, that he “HATES PUTTING AWAY!”
There are two different words in Hebrew, but many modern translations of the Bible inaccurately translated the words “putting away” (shalach) as if it says “divorce” (kriythuwth).
#7971 shalach shaw-lakh' a primitive root; to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications):--any wise, appoint, cast away, cast out, forsake, give up, leave, let depart loose, push away.
#3748 kriythuwth ker-ee-thooth' from 3772; a cutting of the matrimonial bond, i.e. divorce:--divorcement.
The Hebrew word for “divorce” is “kriythuwth,” which means “To legally divorce with a written decree.”
The Hebrew word for “put away” simply means “to send away.”
The reason why YaHuWH “hates putting away,” is because men were doing this to their wives, and leaving them unable to remarry. In biblical times, women did not have careers, and they were often-times forced into prostitution to survive financially. It is an act of cruelty for a man to simply send his wife away, but not make it legal, thus enabling her to remarry.
This is why our Messiah stated that if a man merely “puts away” his wife, (without making it legal), he “CAUSES” her to commit adultery!
In other words, a man who merely puts away his wife, (without a written divorce decree), forces her into a lifestyle of adultery, because she would not be able to survive financially, unless she had support from another man. This is why YaHuWaH in his mercy and wisdom decreed through Moses that a woman may remarry, once she is legally divorced by a hand-written decree.
YaHuWaH would not say in Malachi 2:16, “I hate divorce,” when he also divorced Yisra’el in Jeremiah 3:8, for that would make him a hypocrite.
In most instances, the King James Version gets it right, but only in Matthew 5:32, did the translators get it wrong.
In Matthew 19, the King James Version translates the words correctly from Greek to English:
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 19:3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to PUT AWAY [apoluo] his wife for every cause?
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 19:4 And he answered and said unto them, Have you not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 19:5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they two shall be one flesh?
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 19:6 Wherefore they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore Elohiym has joined together, let not man put asunder.
Mattithyahuw (Matthew)19:7 They said unto him, Why did Mosheh (Moses) then command to give A WRITING OF DIVORCEMENT [apostasion], and to PUT HER AWAY [apoluo]?
Mattithyahuw (Matthew)19:8 He said unto them, Mosheh because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to PUT AWAY [apoluo] your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
Mattithyahuw (Matthew)19:9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall PUT AWAY [apoluo] his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery: and WHOEVER MARRIES HER WHICH IS PUT AWAY [apoluo] does commit adultery.
As you can see from the above verses, the thing that causes one to commit adultery is to marry someone who is “PUT AWAY,” (separated), but not legally divorced!
To further illustrate this, I will show you that the Hebrew word for “DIVORCED,” is in the same category as “WIDOWED!”
A woman who is divorced (especially for an unjust cause) by her husband, is no different in the eyes of YaHuWaH, than a woman who is “FORSAKEN, ABANDONED, OR WIDOWED!”
Yeshayahuw (Isaiah) 54:4 Fear not; for you shall not be ashamed: neither be you confounded; for you shall not be put to shame: for you shall forget the shame of your youth, and shall not remember the reproach of YOUR WIDOWHOOD [almanuth] any more.
The Hebrew word for “widowhood,” is as follows:
#491 almanuwth al-maw-nooth' feminine of 488; concrete, a widow; abstract, widowhood:--widow, widowhood.
The root word for “widow” is the following:
#488 alman al-mawn' prolonged from 481 in the sense of bereavement; DISCARDED (A DIVORCED PERSON):--FORSAKEN.
As you can see, to be widowed, is the same in the eyes of YaHuWaH as to be discarded, forsaken, or divorced!
Yeshayahuw (Isaiah) 54:6 For YHWH has called you as a woman FORSAKEN [azab] and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when you were REFUSED [ma’as], says your Elohiym.
Yeshayahuw (Isaiah) 54:7 For a small moment HAVE I FORSAKEN [azab] YOU; but with great mercies will I gather you.
#H5800 `azab aw-zab' a primitive root; TO LOOSEN, i.e. relinquish, permit, etc.:--commit self, fail, FORSAKE, fortify, help, LEAVE (destitute, off), refuse, surely.
#H3988 ma’as to abhor, to despise, to cast away, to reject.
As you can see, YaHuWaH calls Yisra’el “divorced” because he did divorce her in Jeremiah 3:8, making it legally binding with a written certificate. However, Yisra’el also crucified her own bridegroom when he came to earth for her, thus also making her a “widow!”
This is the reason why Yisra’el is able to remarry YaHuWaH, even though he legally divorced her, according to Deuteronomy 24:1-4. YaHuWaH came in the flesh as a human being, enabling him to “put to death the law of divorce,” thus nullifying the original marriage covenant!
Most Christians read Romans 7:3-4, and assume that Shaul (Paul) is telling us that we are free from having to obey the Towrah (Mosaic Law). But that is not what Paul is saying. He telling us that we are freed from the law of divorce, which would prevent us from remarrying YaHuWaH:
Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the law [of divorce] by the body of Messiah; that you should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto Elohiym.
*Explanation: Our Messiah is the visible, bodily image of YaHuWaH. He came to earth in a different form (in the flesh), and then he put to death that mortal flesh. This enables us to remarry YaHuWaH in a resurrected, incorruptible form! This is why Paul wrote “That you should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead.”
This is why our Messiah offered a “Renewed Covenant,” in his own blood the night before he died:
Mark 14:24
And he said unto them, This is my blood of the Briyth Chadashah (Renewed Covenant), which is shed for many.
1st Qorintiym (Corinthians) 11:25
After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the Briyth Chadashah (Renewed Covenant), in my blood: this do you, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
Now we understand what Shaul (Paul) meant in Colossians 2, when he said the following:
What was nailed to the TWO TREES/TWO STICKS, or the cross? It was the “Handwriting of ordinances,” which means “The original divorce decree,” which would then prevent Yisra’el from being allowed to remarry him!
Now we know why YaHuWaH said the following to Yisra’el:
Yirmeyahuw (Jeremiah) 3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, says YHWH; for I am married unto you...
Even though YaHuWaH legally divorced Yisra’el, and said “She is not my wife,” (Hosea 2:2) he had a plan all along! He knew that he would send his son (a visible image of himself in the flesh), and that he would die in the flesh, thus destroying the “The law of divorce!” And because we are dead to that law, we are free to remarry him!
To learn more, see my other blog: Does Israel Have Two Bridegrooms?
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