Whose Wife Is She?
Could you be committing adultery with your spouse?
I once heard a story about a man who was lost at sea.
He had inherited some land on a point with a magnificent view of the ocean that had a grand house with a tower in the center where one could see for miles in every direction. The man fell in love with a beautiful woman and they were married.
Not long after their second child was born, the man went to sea on a merchant ship. Tragically, a tremendous storm arose when the ship had been at sea for many days. The storm blew the ship far off of its charted course and finally destroyed the ship. Neither the ship nor anyone on the ship was found despite considerable search and rescue efforts.
After a number of years he was declared legally dead and his wife remarried. She had two more children with her second husband and they all lived happily in the house that the man lost at sea had left her in his will.
Unexpectedly the man lost at sea was found living alone on a deserted island far from the area where the ship had been presumed to have gone down and was rescued. The man then returned to his home town and returned to the house that he had inherited from his father.
When the man lost at sea arrived home he discovered that there was another man living in his house with the woman that he had married. He demanded that this other man and his children leave his house so that he could resume his life with his wife and children. The other man refused saying that the woman was his wife and the house belonged to her.
Soon the case went to court where the judge ruled very quickly that the house did indeed belong to the man lost at sea since his will was not in effect as long as he was alive. The real question that remained was that of the woman.
Whose wife was she?
Even though the circumstances have usually been less dramatic than those of the man lost at sea this has been an age old question that has bothered people as long as women have been remarrying.
Fortunately, the Book of Truth (the Bible) gives the truthful answer to this question. To find the answer we will begin by looking at similar case involving David.
King Saul (Shaul) had promised to give his daughter Merab to David to be his wife, but instead he gave her to another man, that she was in love with (1 Samuel 18:19). So he gave his daughter Michal, who in love with David, to be his wife instead (1 Samuel 18:20-21). Later, Michal helped David escape, when her father, King Saul, tried to kill him (1 Samuel 19:11-13). When King Saul hunted David to kill him, he declared David legally dead, and he gave his daughter Michal to a second husband, named Paltiel (1 Samuel 25:44).
Whose wife was she?
After King Saul was dead, then David demanded his wife Michal be given back to him, since he was no longer as good as dead (2 Samuel 3:14). The second husband, Paltiel, protested that Michal was his wife, but she was returned to David (2 Samuel 3:15-16).
David claimed Michal as his wife, and so did Paltiel. In fact, Michal and Paltiel may have had children together, during the many years that King Sual tried to kill David. David hid from King Saul, and may not have been heard from for years. Paltiel and Michael may even have believed, that David was dead at times. But in the end, he returned to claim his wife, like the man lost at sea.
Whose wife was she?
Michal was the wife of David, because David had not died, as King Saul may have made her believe (Romans 7:2). So what about the entire time that she was married to Paltiel, while David was still alive?
Paltiel and her were committing adultery, the entire time they were married, since David was not dead (Romans 7:3). Though Paltiel and Michal could have been sinning in ignorance, but they were still sinning, and had to take corrective action to make things right, when it was revealed, that they had been living in sin (Leviticus 4:27-28).
A woman is the wife of her husband, even when people do not know that she is married.
Pharaoh suffered greatly for intending to make Sarai (Sarah) his wife, even though he was ignorant, that she was the wife of Abram (Abraham) (Genesis 12:17-19).
King Abimelech was as good as dead, when he took Sarah (Sarai) to marry her, even though he was ignorant, that she was the wife of Abraham (Abram) (Genesis 20:2-4). King Abimelech would have died, if he had not taken corrective action, once he was no longer in ignorance (Genesis 20:5-7).
Even though Isaac (Yitzhak) had lied, about Rebecca (Rivkah) not being his wife, anyone who would have married her, would have been sinning (Genesis 26:9-10).
You might be thinking, how often does things like that happen?
The truth is not very often, but there is another far more common scenario, where the same question must be answered.
Whose wife is she?
One example of this is the case of Herodias. Herodias had married Herod, after his brother Philip had previously married her (Mark 6:17). Herodias had obtained a divorce from Philip under Roman law, but according to the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) it was not lawful, for Herod to marry her (Mark 6:18). It was not lawful for Herod to marry her, because she was still the wife of his brother Philip, even though she had obtained government approval to divorce Philip, and marry Herod (Luke 3:19).
Herodias was still the wife of Philip, because Philip was still alive. (He did not die, until about three years after Yochanon the Mikveh Man (John the Baptist) told Herod, that it was unlawful for him to marry her.) If Philip had died, then she could have married Herod, because she was free to remarry (1 Corinthians 7:39).
In fact, if Philip had died without leaving any children, then Herod would have been required to have married her by the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). In fact, she would had to have kept marrying his brothers, when one of them died, as long as there were any to marry, until she left a child for each of brother, that she had married (Matthew 22:24-26).
Since Philip was still alive, then Herod could not marry her, for she was still the wife of his brother Philip (Leviticus 18:16). In fact, they never had any children, because they were under the curse of the Father of Truth, as long as Herod remained married to Herodias, and his brother Philip was still alive (Leviticus 20:21).
So even though Herodias had obtained a government approved divorce, under the law of the land, she was still the wife of Philip. This is because the government cannot annul any covenant, that the Father of Truth has set up including marriage (Mark 10:7-9).
You might be thinking, that you do not of anyone that has married the same woman as his brother, so how does this apply to most people?
The Pharisees (Parushim) asked the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) these same questions. They want to know if divorce was legal for anyone (Mark 10:2). They were directed to examine the law that the Father of Truth had given to Moses (Mark 10:3). This law said that they could write a bill of divorce to end their marriage (Mark 10:4). The Man of Truth told them that this law of divorce was included because they were hard-hearted but divorce was not the original intention of the Father of Truth (Mark 10:5-6).
In this law of divorce a man could divorce his wife by writing her a bill of divorce if he found uncleanness in her (Deuteronomy 24:1). Once she was given a bill of divorce under those conditions then she was free to marry another man (Deuteronomy 24:2).
It was the phrase "uncleanness causes a wife to lose favor in the eyes of her husband" that was the real issue. The majority of the Pharisees (Parashim) maintained that this phrase meant anything that displeased a man qualified so there was divorce for any cause. In fact, because of this teaching that divorce was legitimate for any cause more than fifty percent of all marriages in Judaea ended in divorce at that time.
One bill of divorce found from that era lists carelessness in seasoning of the gravy as the uncleanness that caused the wife to lose favor in the eyes of her husband. Also a woman could demand a divorce from her husband and the Pharisees would compel her husband to give it to her. They would even write a bill of divorce on his behalf if he refused.
The Man of Truth said that this uncleanness was unfaithfulness that would cause a woman to give her body and affections to another man (Matthew 5:32).
There was also another type of uncleanness that did not apply in the case of those that worshiped the Father of Truth and that was spiritual unfaithfulness to Him. It was this type of uncleanness in their wives that turned the men of Israel from Him (Judges 3:5-7). It was for this type of uncleanness that Ezra commanded that the men of Israel to divorce their foreign wives (Ezra 10:10-12).
What if the woman had been divorced under any other conditions or her husband had refused to give her a bill of divorce? What if she married another man after receiving a divorce on illegitimate grounds?
Whoever married a woman that did not have a legitimate divorce was committing adultery with her because she was still the wife of her former husband (Matthew 19:9). A woman that did not have a legitimate divorce was committing adultery when she remarried because she was still the wife of her former husband (Mark 10:10-12). Anyone that is marries someone that has an illegitimate divorce or that marries again without a legitimate divorce is in an adulterous relationship because she is still the wife of her former husband (Luke 16:18).
Because a woman is still the wife of her husband unless he divorces her for unfaithfulness the Man of Truth has commanded that a wife to not depart from their husband (1 Corinthians 7:10). If she does depart then she must not remarry because she is still his wife and will be committing adultery if she should remarry but the same thing applies to her husband (1 Corinthians 7:11).
In the case of a Child of Truth (one who obeys the Father of Truth because they love Him) that has married someone that has not came into the House of Truth then they are not to divorce their spouse (1 Corinthians 7:12-13). They need to stay married for the sake of their children (1 Corinthians 7:14). If their spouse then leaves them for following the Man of Truth then the divorce was over spiritual uncleanness and they are free to remarry because the spiritual uncleanness of the one that did not come into the House of Truth made the divorce legitimate (1 Corinthians 7:15). The goal of the Child of Truth should never be to seek a divorce from their spouse but to bring their spouse into the House of Truth (1 Corinthians 7:16).
So what are you supposed to do if you realize that are married to the wife or husband of someone else?
First of all you must recognize that you will not be saved if you continue in this adulterous relationship (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Your flesh will want the adulterous relationship to continue (Galatians 5:19). Continuing in this adulterous relationship will bring the judgment of the Father of Truth upon you (Hebrews 13:4).
Secondly, you must recognize that you must repent from this sin. It is not enough for you to just confess that you have been committing adultery with the wife or husband of another person - you must take corrective action (Matthew 3:6-8). You must end this adulterous relationship now that you are no longer ignorant that you have been sinning against the Father of Truth (Acts 17:30).
Finally, realize that this sin is not unforgivable if you will repent. The blood of the Man of Truth was shed to cleanse you from all sin when you repent including being married to another man's wife or another woman's husband (1 John 1:7).
The Man of Truth will give you the strength to repent if you will come into the House of Truth (Philippians 4:13). You can come into the House of Truth by submitting to the Man of Truth in every area including this area because you believe that the Father of Truth raise him from the dead (Romans 10:9).
Come into the House of Truth.
I once heard a story about a man who was lost at sea.
He had inherited some land on a point with a magnificent view of the ocean that had a grand house with a tower in the center where one could see for miles in every direction. The man fell in love with a beautiful woman and they were married.
Not long after their second child was born, the man went to sea on a merchant ship. Tragically, a tremendous storm arose when the ship had been at sea for many days. The storm blew the ship far off of its charted course and finally destroyed the ship. Neither the ship nor anyone on the ship was found despite considerable search and rescue efforts.
After a number of years he was declared legally dead and his wife remarried. She had two more children with her second husband and they all lived happily in the house that the man lost at sea had left her in his will.
Unexpectedly the man lost at sea was found living alone on a deserted island far from the area where the ship had been presumed to have gone down and was rescued. The man then returned to his home town and returned to the house that he had inherited from his father.
When the man lost at sea arrived home he discovered that there was another man living in his house with the woman that he had married. He demanded that this other man and his children leave his house so that he could resume his life with his wife and children. The other man refused saying that the woman was his wife and the house belonged to her.
Soon the case went to court where the judge ruled very quickly that the house did indeed belong to the man lost at sea since his will was not in effect as long as he was alive. The real question that remained was that of the woman.
Whose wife was she?
Even though the circumstances have usually been less dramatic than those of the man lost at sea this has been an age old question that has bothered people as long as women have been remarrying.
Fortunately, the Book of Truth (the Bible) gives the truthful answer to this question. To find the answer we will begin by looking at similar case involving David.
King Saul (Shaul) had promised to give his daughter Merab to David to be his wife, but instead he gave her to another man, that she was in love with (1 Samuel 18:19). So he gave his daughter Michal, who in love with David, to be his wife instead (1 Samuel 18:20-21). Later, Michal helped David escape, when her father, King Saul, tried to kill him (1 Samuel 19:11-13). When King Saul hunted David to kill him, he declared David legally dead, and he gave his daughter Michal to a second husband, named Paltiel (1 Samuel 25:44).
Whose wife was she?
After King Saul was dead, then David demanded his wife Michal be given back to him, since he was no longer as good as dead (2 Samuel 3:14). The second husband, Paltiel, protested that Michal was his wife, but she was returned to David (2 Samuel 3:15-16).
David claimed Michal as his wife, and so did Paltiel. In fact, Michal and Paltiel may have had children together, during the many years that King Sual tried to kill David. David hid from King Saul, and may not have been heard from for years. Paltiel and Michael may even have believed, that David was dead at times. But in the end, he returned to claim his wife, like the man lost at sea.
Whose wife was she?
Michal was the wife of David, because David had not died, as King Saul may have made her believe (Romans 7:2). So what about the entire time that she was married to Paltiel, while David was still alive?
Paltiel and her were committing adultery, the entire time they were married, since David was not dead (Romans 7:3). Though Paltiel and Michal could have been sinning in ignorance, but they were still sinning, and had to take corrective action to make things right, when it was revealed, that they had been living in sin (Leviticus 4:27-28).
A woman is the wife of her husband, even when people do not know that she is married.
Pharaoh suffered greatly for intending to make Sarai (Sarah) his wife, even though he was ignorant, that she was the wife of Abram (Abraham) (Genesis 12:17-19).
King Abimelech was as good as dead, when he took Sarah (Sarai) to marry her, even though he was ignorant, that she was the wife of Abraham (Abram) (Genesis 20:2-4). King Abimelech would have died, if he had not taken corrective action, once he was no longer in ignorance (Genesis 20:5-7).
Even though Isaac (Yitzhak) had lied, about Rebecca (Rivkah) not being his wife, anyone who would have married her, would have been sinning (Genesis 26:9-10).
You might be thinking, how often does things like that happen?
The truth is not very often, but there is another far more common scenario, where the same question must be answered.
Whose wife is she?
One example of this is the case of Herodias. Herodias had married Herod, after his brother Philip had previously married her (Mark 6:17). Herodias had obtained a divorce from Philip under Roman law, but according to the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) it was not lawful, for Herod to marry her (Mark 6:18). It was not lawful for Herod to marry her, because she was still the wife of his brother Philip, even though she had obtained government approval to divorce Philip, and marry Herod (Luke 3:19).
Herodias was still the wife of Philip, because Philip was still alive. (He did not die, until about three years after Yochanon the Mikveh Man (John the Baptist) told Herod, that it was unlawful for him to marry her.) If Philip had died, then she could have married Herod, because she was free to remarry (1 Corinthians 7:39).
In fact, if Philip had died without leaving any children, then Herod would have been required to have married her by the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). In fact, she would had to have kept marrying his brothers, when one of them died, as long as there were any to marry, until she left a child for each of brother, that she had married (Matthew 22:24-26).
Since Philip was still alive, then Herod could not marry her, for she was still the wife of his brother Philip (Leviticus 18:16). In fact, they never had any children, because they were under the curse of the Father of Truth, as long as Herod remained married to Herodias, and his brother Philip was still alive (Leviticus 20:21).
So even though Herodias had obtained a government approved divorce, under the law of the land, she was still the wife of Philip. This is because the government cannot annul any covenant, that the Father of Truth has set up including marriage (Mark 10:7-9).
You might be thinking, that you do not of anyone that has married the same woman as his brother, so how does this apply to most people?
The Pharisees (Parushim) asked the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) these same questions. They want to know if divorce was legal for anyone (Mark 10:2). They were directed to examine the law that the Father of Truth had given to Moses (Mark 10:3). This law said that they could write a bill of divorce to end their marriage (Mark 10:4). The Man of Truth told them that this law of divorce was included because they were hard-hearted but divorce was not the original intention of the Father of Truth (Mark 10:5-6).
In this law of divorce a man could divorce his wife by writing her a bill of divorce if he found uncleanness in her (Deuteronomy 24:1). Once she was given a bill of divorce under those conditions then she was free to marry another man (Deuteronomy 24:2).
It was the phrase "uncleanness causes a wife to lose favor in the eyes of her husband" that was the real issue. The majority of the Pharisees (Parashim) maintained that this phrase meant anything that displeased a man qualified so there was divorce for any cause. In fact, because of this teaching that divorce was legitimate for any cause more than fifty percent of all marriages in Judaea ended in divorce at that time.
One bill of divorce found from that era lists carelessness in seasoning of the gravy as the uncleanness that caused the wife to lose favor in the eyes of her husband. Also a woman could demand a divorce from her husband and the Pharisees would compel her husband to give it to her. They would even write a bill of divorce on his behalf if he refused.
The Man of Truth said that this uncleanness was unfaithfulness that would cause a woman to give her body and affections to another man (Matthew 5:32).
There was also another type of uncleanness that did not apply in the case of those that worshiped the Father of Truth and that was spiritual unfaithfulness to Him. It was this type of uncleanness in their wives that turned the men of Israel from Him (Judges 3:5-7). It was for this type of uncleanness that Ezra commanded that the men of Israel to divorce their foreign wives (Ezra 10:10-12).
What if the woman had been divorced under any other conditions or her husband had refused to give her a bill of divorce? What if she married another man after receiving a divorce on illegitimate grounds?
Whoever married a woman that did not have a legitimate divorce was committing adultery with her because she was still the wife of her former husband (Matthew 19:9). A woman that did not have a legitimate divorce was committing adultery when she remarried because she was still the wife of her former husband (Mark 10:10-12). Anyone that is marries someone that has an illegitimate divorce or that marries again without a legitimate divorce is in an adulterous relationship because she is still the wife of her former husband (Luke 16:18).
Because a woman is still the wife of her husband unless he divorces her for unfaithfulness the Man of Truth has commanded that a wife to not depart from their husband (1 Corinthians 7:10). If she does depart then she must not remarry because she is still his wife and will be committing adultery if she should remarry but the same thing applies to her husband (1 Corinthians 7:11).
In the case of a Child of Truth (one who obeys the Father of Truth because they love Him) that has married someone that has not came into the House of Truth then they are not to divorce their spouse (1 Corinthians 7:12-13). They need to stay married for the sake of their children (1 Corinthians 7:14). If their spouse then leaves them for following the Man of Truth then the divorce was over spiritual uncleanness and they are free to remarry because the spiritual uncleanness of the one that did not come into the House of Truth made the divorce legitimate (1 Corinthians 7:15). The goal of the Child of Truth should never be to seek a divorce from their spouse but to bring their spouse into the House of Truth (1 Corinthians 7:16).
So what are you supposed to do if you realize that are married to the wife or husband of someone else?
First of all you must recognize that you will not be saved if you continue in this adulterous relationship (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Your flesh will want the adulterous relationship to continue (Galatians 5:19). Continuing in this adulterous relationship will bring the judgment of the Father of Truth upon you (Hebrews 13:4).
Secondly, you must recognize that you must repent from this sin. It is not enough for you to just confess that you have been committing adultery with the wife or husband of another person - you must take corrective action (Matthew 3:6-8). You must end this adulterous relationship now that you are no longer ignorant that you have been sinning against the Father of Truth (Acts 17:30).
Finally, realize that this sin is not unforgivable if you will repent. The blood of the Man of Truth was shed to cleanse you from all sin when you repent including being married to another man's wife or another woman's husband (1 John 1:7).
The Man of Truth will give you the strength to repent if you will come into the House of Truth (Philippians 4:13). You can come into the House of Truth by submitting to the Man of Truth in every area including this area because you believe that the Father of Truth raise him from the dead (Romans 10:9).
Come into the House of Truth.
Labels: Adultery, Divorce, Parable, Remarriage
posted by The House Of Truth @ August 17, 2013
<< Home