Divorce

It's always been somewhat difficult for me to get a hold on how the OT law relates to me, to grace, to the NT.

In our Sunday School lesson, we discussed this relationship. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ raises the bar clearly and unequivically. But he also internalizes things.

It hath been said ... don't kill, don't commit adultery, don't forswear yourself, give an eye for an eye.

But Jesus says ... don't even hate, don't even lust, don't swear at all, love your enemies instead of punching them back.

See, He goes straight for the heart. You can refrain from killing someone but still wish they were dead. You can refrain from adultery but still think about it. You can swear all you want, but still break your promises. You know? But now, with the Spirit of God living inside of us, that's not near good enough.

Ok, that being said, there's another example Christ uses in there that might seem a little out of place. Right in the middle of all this, He talks about divorce. He says you used to be able to divorce but now you shouldn't.

So I think, how does this fit in with the rest of what He's trying to say? What's the concept He's trying to internalize here? Obviously, He's raising the bar, but that alone doesn't mimic the other examples He gives.

But maybe He is internalizing something. Maybe He's internalizing marriage in a way. Maybe it's going from a social arrangement to a spiritual relationship. Maybe. But I don't really know.