Exodus 20:14
“You do not commit adultery.”
Sleeping with another man’s wife is so serious to YHWH that the Pharaoh and Abimelek almost died for taking Sarah, even though Abraham told them both that she was his sister and not his wife fearing that he would be killed. These scriptures show the severity of the situation:
Genesis 12:11-17
“And it came to be, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See, I know that you are a lovely woman to look at. And it shall be, when the Egyptians see you, that they shall say, ‘This is his wife.’ And they shall kill me, but let you live. Please say you are my sister so that it shall be well with me for your sake, and my life be spared because of you.” And it came to be when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very lovely. And Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her before Pharaoh, and the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. Verse 17 But YHWH plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.”
Genesis 20:2-7
“And Abraham said concerning Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelek king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But ELOHIM came to Abimelek in a dream by night, and said to him, “See you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a MAN’S WIFE.” However, Abimelek had not come near her, and he said, “YHWH, would You slay a righteous nation also? Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister? And she, even said herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and in the innocence of my hands I have done this.” And ELOHIM said to him in a dream, “Though I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart, and so I kept you from sinning against Me, for this reason I did not let you touch her. And now, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and let him pray for you and you live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall certainly die, you and all that are yours.”
Then Isaac the son of Abraham did the exact same thing that his dad did:
Genesis 26:7-10
“And when the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” “Lest the men of the place should kill me for Rebecca, because she is good-looking.” And it came to be, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelek king of the Philistines looked through a window, and he watched and saw Isaac playing with Rebecca his wife. So Abimelek called Isaac and said, “See, truly she is your wife! So how could you say, ‘She is my sister?’ And Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” And Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people had almost lain with your wife, AND YOU WOULD HAVE BROUGHT GUILT ON US.”
We see how serious adultery is! Abimelek knew that guilt would have been brought upon his land even if they were unaware that Rebecca was his wife. So be careful and make sure you pray before jumping into situations with a woman and vice versa.
Sirach 23:18
“An adulterer, says thus in his heart: “Who sees me? I am surrounded with darkness. The walls cover me, and no one sees me; what do I need to fear? The Most High shall not remember my sins.” Such a man only fears the eyes of men, and does not know that the eyes of YHWH are ten thousand times brighter than the sun, watching all the ways of men, and observing the most secret places.”
The definition of adultery is: voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse. This is where the term home-wrecker comes from, where a person would intentionally seek out married men or women with the intent to either destroy the home or have a relationship with a married person so they don’t have to worry about the commitment.
Definition of a home wrecker is: a person who is blamed for the breakup of a marriage or family, especially due to having engaged in an affair with one member of a couple.
Divorce and remarriage
Firstly, a man will leave his dad and mother and cling to his wife and the two shall become ONE flesh. So they are supposed to be one spiritually, one family, and love each other as their own being.
Genesis 2:23
“And the man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one is called ‘woman’, because she was taken out of man.” For this cause a man shall leave his dad and mom, and join unto his wife, and they shall become one flesh.’
Mathew 19:5-6
“For this cause a man shall leave his dad and mother and join unto his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So that they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what ELOHIM has joined together, let man no separate.
Marriage is supposed to be a holy union between man and woman as they have made a vow before YHWH. They are to be ONE flesh, which is why YESHUA says LET NO MAN (court judges too) separate what ELOHIM has joined together. Couples will go to a church to get married making a vow before ELOHIM, then run to the courts to divorce them for any reason. The courts do not uphold the law of YHWH when it comes to grounds for divorce. YESHUA said "have you not read..?" He was saying that they should have already known the answer to that question if they had only read about it in Genesis. YESHUA points out that the plan for YHWH between man and woman is to be one flesh.
Which is why YHWH hates divorce as He states:
Malachi 2:16
“For I HATE DIVORCE,” said YHWH ELOHIM of Yisra’el, “and the one who covers his garment with cruelty,” said YHWH of hosts.”
Mathew 5:31-32
“And it has been said, ‘Whoever puts away his wife, except for the matter of whoring makes her commit adultery. AND (in addition to) whoever marries a woman who has been put away commits adultery.”
Mathew 19:7-9
“They said to Him, “Why then did Moses COMMAND to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away? He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts, Moses ALLOWED you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever puts away his wife, EXCEPT on the grounds of whoring, and marries another commits adultery. And whoever marries her who has been put away commits adultery.’
Mark 10:11-12
“And He said to them, “Whoever puts away his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman puts away her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Luke 16:18
“Everyone divorcing his wife and marrying another commits adultery. And everyone marrying her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
It’s interesting to note that the accounts of Mark and Luke both do NOT mention “except for whoring or fornication.” Their accounts both say who ever divorces their wife and marries another commits adultery.
Never does YESHUA say that you can remarry another spouse! He is saying that if you divorce her due to her marital unfaithfulness then you will be in good standing with ELOHIM as long as you DO NOT REMARRY, although ELOHIM still doesn’t want to see divorce. Look at the wording the Pharisees used, they said Moses commanded! Then YESHUA said “allowed” meaning tolerated or put up with it due to the hardness of men’s hearts. The only example we have in the Renewed Covenant (New Testament) is Joseph and Mary.
Mathew 1:18-20
“And the birth of YESHUA ha’Mashiach was as follows: After His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, BEFORE THEY CAME TOGETHER (sexually), she was found to be pregnant from the Ruach ha’Kodesh (Holy Spirit). And Joseph her husband being righteous, and not wanting to make a show of her, had in mind to put her away secretly. But while he thought about this, see, a messenger (angel) of YHWH appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is in her was brought forth from the Holy Spirit.”
It’s interesting to note that Joseph was engaged to Mary, yet he was still called her husband. This shows that times have changed in our modern day society versus what the Bible says. Engagements are not taken as seriously as they were in Biblical times and we see unfaithfulness was the reason Joseph thought about putting away his engaged wife. Paul goes on further about the subject:
1 Corinthians 7:10
“And to the married I command, NOT I, but the ADON (YESHUA): a wife SHOULD NOT separate from a husband. But if she is indeed separated, let her remain UNMARRIED or be restored to favor with her husband, and let a husband NOT SEND AWAY A WIFE.”
Paul says this command is from YESHUA and not himself that a wife should not separate from her husband, but if she leaves him then she CANNOT remarry and that a man should NOT divorce his wife. But if she works things out with her husband then she will be restored back to him. You cannot leave the marriage and go marry another person because it literally is “Til death do you part!” Married couples are bound by the Torah as long as their spouse is alive. Further proof of this is in:
1 Corinthians 7:39
“A wife is BOUND by Torah as long as HER HUSBAND LIVES, and if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she desires, only in the ADON.”
I just want to point out that after the husband dies, Paul says marry another only in the Adon YESHUA meaning that they would have to be a believer. As we already know that we are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers.
Romans 7:1-3
“Or do you not know, brothers-for I speak to those knowing the Torah-that the Torah rules over man as long as he lives? For the married woman has been bound by Torah to the LIVING HUSBAND, but if the husband dies, she is released from the Torah of her husband. So then, while her husband lives, she shall be called an adulteress if she becomes another man’s. But if her husband dies, she is free from that Torah, so that she is not an adulteress, having become another man’s.
Sirach 23:22-27
“So it shall also be for the wife that leaves her husband, and brings forth an heir by another. For firstly, she has disobeyed the Law of the Most High (separating/divorcing her husband who is STILL LIVING based off the scriptures above); and secondly, she has trespassed against her own husband; and thirdly, she has committed whoring by ADULTERY, and brought forth children by another man. She shall be brought out in to the assembly, and inquiry shall be made of her children. Her children shall not take root, and her branches shall not bring forth fruit. She shall leave a cursed remembrance, and her reproach shall NOT BE BLOTTED OUT.”
Deuteronomy 24:1-5
“When a man takes a wife and shall marry her, then it shall be, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found a MATTER OF SHAMEFULNESS in her, and he shall write her a certificate of divorce, and put it in her hand and send her out of his house, and if she left his house and went and became another man’s wife, and the latter husband shall hate her and write her a certificate of divorce, and put it in her hand and send her out of the house, or when the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled, for that would be an abomination before YHWH.”
Jeremiah 3:1-3
“If a man puts away his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man’s does he return to her again? Would not that land be made greatly unclean? But you have committed whoring with many lovers. And would you return to Me? declares YHWH.”
The matter of shamefulness would be adultery because other than death, that’s the only reason for divorce, yes it is “Until death do you part.” As we see from the letter of Paul to Corinth and in Romans is that a woman is to remained UNMARRIED, unless she finds favor with her husband again. That way if they work things out while they are separated then they can REJOIN without being defiled and committing adultery.
However, we know that most people will begin dating while being SEPARATED which means that they are committing adultery; or if they get divorced they will marry someone else while their spouse is still living and it makes them commit adultery, why? Because they are still married to their first husband or wife in the eyes of YHWH!
As we read in Deuteronomy 24 the woman after being divorced from her first husband married another man, although she is bound by the Torah as long as her husband lives which made her an adulteress. This is why she cannot go back to her first husband because she has been defiled, and if that first husband took her back then he commits adultery. Keep this mind as we will discuss how YHWH handled this situation with Yisra’el in the next section.
Tobiyah 3:7-8
“It came to be the same day, that in Ahmetha a city of Madai, Sarah the daughter of Raguel was also reproached by her dad’s female servants; because she had been married to seven husbands, whom Ashmedai the evil spirit killed before they had lain with her. “Do you not know,” they said (female servants), “that you have strangled your husbands? You have already had seven husbands, neither were you named after any of them..” verse 17 Raphael was sent to heal them both, that is, to scale away the whiteness of Tobiyah’s eyes and to give Sarah the daughter of Raguel AS A WIFE to Tobi the son of Tobiyah…”
So this woman named Sarah had 7 husbands but all of them died because of an evil spirit and she was able to remarry ONLY after the deaths of her husband’s which released her from the Torah. So she was given to the righteous Tobiyah’s son named Tobi.
YHWH gave us the perfect example!
YHWH married Yisra’el at Sinai exchanged vows in Exodus 19:5-6:
“And now, if you diligently obey My voice, and shall guard My Covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession above all the peoples-for all the earth is Mine-and you shall be to Me a reign of priests and a holy nation.’ Those are the words which you are to speak to the children of Yisra’el.”
Jeremiah 31:33
“Not like the Covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My Covenant which they broke, though I was a HUSBAND to them,” declares YHWH.”
Notice in verse 32 YHWH says He was a “Husband”? Therefore, Yisra’el was His wife! But due to their unfaithfulness to YHWH He divorced them in:
Jeremiah 3:7-8
“And after she had done all these, I said ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Yisra’el had committed ADULTERY, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not reverence, but went and committed whoring too.”
Even in verse 7 she (Yisra’el) was unfaithful to Him (YHWH) by committing adultery and He did not immediately divorce her, but told her to “come back to Me”. That is love beyond comprehension and not responding with the “hardness of heart”. YHWH gave her a chance and was willing to forgive the unfaithful act; but humans are less forgiving and immediately seek a divorce. Humans see unfaithfulness and are ready to divorce, because they feel betrayed and rightly so, nobody wants to be cheated on because you wonder if you could ever trust that person again.
Even though YHWH was angry with Yisra’el He showed love despite her adultery, but when He saw that Yisra’el continued in rebellion and would not turn back then He wrote her a certificate of divorce and she continued with her many lovers and Judah saw it and did worse than Yisra’el. Which is why I believe YESHUA said “because the hardness of your hearts did He allow divorce” because they wanted to divorce their wives for ANY REASON! So the Pharisees tried YESHUA with their question.
Mathew 19:3
“And the Pharisees came to Him, trying Him, and saying to Him, “Is it right for a man to put away his wife for EVERY REASON?”
So can you remarry after divorce? I say take it the Father on any matter, but I believe that YHWH gave us the perfect example of what He expects in Genesis that two become one flesh and YESHUA restated it. YHWH illustrated how Yisra’el was unfaithful to Him and He divorces her but never married anyone else He remained unmarried, meaning that Yisra’el was always His chosen people. YHWH did not divorce Yisra’el and then replace her by finding and marrying “another chosen people”.
We read that the spouses of the marriage are bound by the Torah as long as the other spouse is LIVING even after divorce! So our ELOHIM took it up Himself by sending His Son YESHUA to die releasing Him from the Torah and becoming a New Man so He could remarry Yisra’el. It was “until death do you part” in His eyes and by doing this He would not violate His own word.
The New Covenant with the blood and resurrection of YESHUA puts the Torah on the tablets of our hearts instead of the tablets of stone and poured out the Holy Spirit on all who believe in Him, which allowed the gentiles to become ONE with the nation of Yisra’el and YESHUA is the “a light for the unveiling of the gentiles” in Luke 2:32, although there are many scriptures showing this was always a part YHWH’s plan in the Old Covenant (Exodus 12:49, Lev 19:34, Numbers 15:15-16). And the Holy Spirit would dwell within us so that we all can walk in His commandments and DO THEM! He did this all out of love for us!
Ezekiel 36:26
“And I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. And I shall take the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I shall give you a heart of flesh, and put My Spirit within you. And I shall cause you to walk in My Law and guard My Right-Rulings and shall DO them.”
Jubilees 1:23-24
“And after this they shall turn to Me in all uprightness and with all their heart and with all their being, and I shall circumcise the foreskin of their heart and the foreskin of the heart of their seed, and I shall create in them a holy spirit, and I shall cleanse them so that they shall not turn away from Me from that day unto eternity. And their beings shall cling to Me and to all My Commands, and they shall perform My Commands, and I shall be their Father and they shall be My children.”
Hebrews 9:16-17
“For where a covenant is, it is necessary for the death of the covenanted one to be established. For a covenant over those dead is firm, since it is never valid while the covenanted one is living.”
Hebrews 12:24
“And to YESHUA the Mediator of a New Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling which speaks better than Abel.”
Which is why YESHUA is called our Husband after remarrying Yisra’el:
2 Corinthians 11:1-2
“I would that you could bear with me in a little folly. But indeed, you are bearing with me. For I am jealous for you with a jealousy according to ELOHIM. For I gave you in marriage to ONE HUSBAND, to present you as an innocent maiden to Messiah.”
Lusting is adultery!
Sirach 9:5
“Do not stare upon a maiden, so you do not fall by that which is precious in her.” Our modern day society says it’s okay to stare, gawk, and look as long as you don’t touch, but that is not what scripture says. Satan has twisted scripture to make man justify for his “undressing” of a woman with his eyes.
Proverbs 6:25
“Do not desire her prettiness in your heart, neither let her captivate you with her eyelids.”
Mathew 5:28
“But I say to you that everyone looking at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’
So as YESHUA said that once you lust in your heart for the woman you have already committed the act to Him.
Other examples!
Leviticus 18:20
“And do not have intercourse with the wife of your neighbor, to defile yourself with her.”
Deuteronomy 22:22
“When a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then BOTH of them shall die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman. Thus you shall purge the evil from Yisra’el.”
John 8:4-5
“And the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And having put her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher this woman was caught in the act of adultery. And in the Torah Moses commanded us that such should be stoned. What then do You say?”
The Pharisees understood the severity of the act of adultery when they brought the woman to YESHUA! But this Scripture is two-fold, firstly YESHUA said He who is without sin cast the first stone, but also the Pharisees brought the woman ONLY but did not bring the man as YHWH commanded in Deuteronomy 22:22 saying that they BOTH shall die. The Pharisees were always trying to test YESHUA’s knowledge to catch Him in a lie.
So based off these scriptures death and sexual immorality are the only ways out of marriage, but you cannot remarry another while your spouse is still living otherwise you will be committing adultery. So if you decide to divorce because of an unfaithful spouse and for that reason only, then remain unmarried as long as they are alive. Do not divorce a spouse simply because you grew apart or do not get along because these are not valid reasons and I showed with the patience of YHWH do all you can to make it work and pray for them.
Also, stay away from married flirtatious women so you won’t even be tempted.
Sirach 9:4
“Do not keep company with a flirtatious woman, lest you be taken by her attempts.”
Proverbs 7:6-27
“For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice, and I saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, a young man lacking heart, passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark and dark night. And look, a woman met him, dressed like a whore, with a hidden heart. She was boisterous (rowdy, lively, frisky, wild) and stubborn, her feet did not stay at her own house. Now in the street, now in the square, and at every corner she lurks. And she took hold of him and kissed him; she hardened her face and said to him: “Peace offerings are with me; today I have paid my vows. Therefore I came out to meet you, to earnestly seek your face, and I found you. I have spread my bed with coverings, colored linens from Egypt. I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with love. FOR MY HUSBAND is not at home; he has gone on a long journey; he took a bag of silver with him; he comes home on the day of the covering.” With her many words she leads him astray, with her smooth lips she seduces him. He goes after her immediately, like an ox he goes to the slaughter, and as in chains, a fool to the punishment, till an arrow strikes through his liver; like a bird rushing into a snare, and did not know it would take his life.”
The perfect example of fleeing from a married one is Joseph. who blessed in everything that he did because YHWH was with him. And when he was presented with an opportunity to commit adultery with a married woman who was the wife of Potiphar, what did he do?
Genesis 39:6-14
“And he left in Joseph’s hand all he had, and he did not know what he had except for the bread that he ate. And Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after these events it came to be that his master’s wife lifted up her eyes to Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he REFUSED and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has given into my hand all that he has. No one is greater in this house than I, and he has not withheld whatever from me but you, because you are HIS WIFE. And how shall I do this great evil and sin against ELOHIM? And it came to be, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not listen to her, to lie with her, to be with her. And it came to be on a certain day, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.”
If Joseph had accepted the offer to sleep with a married woman then look how many blessings he would have missed out on because of this great sin. ELOHIM made him as a dad to Pharaoh, the master of his house, the governor of Egypt being second in command, plus the entire world came to buy grain from him because of the famine, and even fulfilling the dream of his brothers bowing down to him as he was sold to the Egyptians to preserve life and to save his family. Sadly, most men would not reject a woman throwing themselves at them, but all should follow Joseph’s example.
I pray that this has been a blessing to you and that you will share this with those who need to hear this important message. If you are in the situation as recommend you going to our Father YHWH and YESHUA in prayer as He is the ultimate Judge!
May YHWH bless you in YESHUA’s Name!