What is a certificate of divorce (Matthew 5:31)?

Response

During Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He discussed the topic of divorce. He mentioned that “it has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Matthew 5:31-32).

According to the law, these divorce certificates allowed a husband to dissolve his marriage (Matthew 5:31;Deuteronomy 24:1-4). The process of obtaining this legal document was time-consuming. A priest or Levite issued the certificate, and it likely involved the return of the wife’s dowry (“Certificate of Divorce,” www.freebiblecommentary.org/special_topics/divorce_certificate.html, Bible Lessons International, 2014, accessed 6/19/23). Witnesses were also present to ensure accountability (Henry, M., Commentary on the Whole Bible). This procedure prevented hasty or anger-driven divorces by requiring husbands to follow legal channels deliberately. This approach increased the possibility of reconciliation between spouses.

The certificate of divorce mentioned by Jesus is found in various passages in Scripture (Deuteronomy 24:1-4;Isaiah 50:1;Jeremiah 3:8;Matthew 19:7;Mark 10:4). When Joseph was considering divorcing his betrothed, Mary, in Matthew 1:19, he would have needed a certificate of divorce because the betrothal agreement was as binding as marriage. Certificates of divorce are typically associated with adultery between spouses and Isra.

El’s unfaithfulness to God. It is not difficult to comprehend a certificate of divorce between a husband and wife. However, a certificate of divorce between God and His people seems unexpected and alarming.

It was lawful for a husband to divorce a wife due to her unfaithfulness, and the Mosaic Law prevented the husband from remarrying the wife. This seems disheartening when we read in Jeremiah that God “gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries” «And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. », (Jeremiah 3:8a). Israel was repeatedly unfaithful to God, and He had every right to “divorce” Israel and never return to her. However, God, being rich in mercy, chose to remain faithful to Israel and redeem her for all eternity! Despite her repeated unfaithfulness to God, He asks Israel to return «Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. », (Jeremiah 3:12).

In Matthew 19:8, we see how God’s design of the permanence of marriage was tainted by sin. Jesus says, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.” God created marriage covenants to last until death. Sadly, sin hardened our hearts, and divorce entered the world. The good news is that with heartbreaking divorce comes immeasurable grace and mercy, and this is true both for Israel and for husbands and wives. God’s overwhelming faithfulness to His people reminds us that the marriage between Christ and HisThe union between the bride and the church is eternal (Revelation 19:7-9).