0925 Week 4 {Commitment} found here:
https://oscraps.com/community/threads/september-art-journaling-challenge-week-4-commitment.42859/
“Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” Matthew 19:4-6
“...from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’
‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” Mark 10:6-9
In these passages, Jesus is answering a question from the Pharisees about divorce, referencing that God created humanity as male and female and that a man and woman are meant to become "one flesh" in marriage. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 2:24 says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
The phrase "what God has joined together" acknowledges God's active role and sovereignty in uniting a couple in marriage. God created marriage, and Jesus is saying man is not to interfere with or divide what God has united. The verses are a command for people not to separate what God has united. It serves as a reminder of the permanence and sanctity of the marriage bond, which is meant to last until death.
The decision to marry is not a decision to be made hastily. In the Bible, "one flesh" refers to a profound, indivisible union between a man and a woman in marriage, signifying their physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual oneness. Stemming from the creation account in Genesis, it means that the married couple becomes a single entity, surpassing their previous individual relationships and forming a new, unified life together. This concept extends beyond mere sexual intercourse to represent a complete bond where the couple complements and fulfills each other in every aspect of their lives.
That being said, I do believe there are Biblical reasons that allow for divorce. The Bible outlines two primary grounds for divorce, supported by Jesus and the Apostle Paul: sexual immorality (or "fornication," as stated in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9) and abandonment by an unbelieving spouse (as outlined in 1 Corinthians 7:15). While some interpretations include other factors like abuse or addiction, these two are the explicitly stated exceptions to the permanence of marriage......
