When a Mate Is Unfaithful

Does God Hate ALL Divorce?

"The thing that bothered me a lot," admits Pat, "was the thought that 'Jehovah hates a divorcing.' Always in the back of my mind was the question, 'Am I doing what pleases Jehovah?'"

Let us look at the context of Malachi 2:16 to answer that question. In Malachi's time many Israelite men were divorcing their wives, possibly to marry younger, pagan women. God condemned this deceitful, treacherous conduct. (Malachi 2:13-16) Hence, what is hateful to God is the frivolous putting away of one mate so as to take another. One who deceitfully commits adultery and then either divorces his mate or pressures her to divorce him has committed a treacherous, hateful sin.

However, these verses do not condemn all divorce. This can be confirmed by Jesus' words: "Whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of fornication, and marries another commits adultery." (Matthew 19:9) Here Jesus acknowledged that fornication is an acceptable ground for a Scriptural divorce—indeed, the only acceptable ground that allows for remarriage. An innocent spouse might decide to forgive the erring marriage mate. However, a person who chooses to use Jesus' statement as a basis for divorcing an adulterous mate is not doing something that Jehovah hates. It is the unfaithful spouse's deceitful conduct that is hated by God.

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