“Matthew 18 and Adultery Part 3” is part eight of our continuing series on Set-Apart Communities, and part three of our sub-series on Matthew 18 and adultery. While adultery is something that should not happen within the body of Yeshua, we need to know how to properly deal with adultery when it does happen. And scripturally, this is done by utilizing what is called the Matthew 18 Process.

Headship and divorce

In “Matthew 18 and Adultery part 2” we saw that the modern-day concept of permanent divorce is not found in Scripture and that Scripture does not support it. What we need to understand instead is, when a woman is born she is born under her father’s headship. She remains under her father’s headship unless and until she marries, which in legal terms is a transfer of her headship from her father to her husband. Once her headship transfers to her husband that is where it should remain until either her husband dies, or unless she remarries. And, ideally, remarrying is something she should not do as long as her husband lives.

For more on the topic of headship and divorce, and why Yeshua HaMashiach was adamantly against divorce, we encourage you to refer to the video study “Yahweh’s Heart in Marriage” the written study in the Covenant Relationships collection, and to review “Matthew 18 and Adultery part 2“.

Rabbinical divorce vs biblical separation

The modern-day concept of permanent divorce is a rabbinic invention which Yeshua was adamantly against. Ironically, this concept has found its way into the legal code of most western-Christian nations. Yeshua tells us in Matthew chapter 5, verse thirty-two that the only valid reason for a man to divorce his wife is when she is committing active physical adultery. That is one factor we need to take into account.

Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:32
32 “But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.”

Receiving a repentant adulterous wife back again

Another factor that we need to understand is that Scripture tells us in many different ways how the adulterous wife is to be received back again (willingly, eagerly) by her husband and is to be forgiven completely, once she repents. And we know this is the case because this is the same pattern that Yahweh uses with His bride (the house of Israel, or the house of Ephraim).

For example, in Jeremiah chapter 3, verse 8, we see that Yahweh divorced the house of Israel (the house of Ephraim), put her away, and gave her a certificate of divorce. And yet we see six verses later (in verse 14) that Yahweh says He is still married to her.

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 3:8
8 “Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery [idolatry], I had put her away [i.e., divorced her] and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also” [by instituting the rabbinical order (I.e., making up man-made traditions and teachings of men that have nothing to do with what Yahweh says to do)].

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 3:14
14 “Return, O backsliding children,” says Yahweh; “for I am [still] married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Tsion.”

The Book of Hosea (Hoshea)

What we need to know is that what Yahweh has in mind is for men to form a fraternity, or a true brotherhood, with a code of honor and a code of duty. Men are supposed to have righteousness, they are supposed to do the right thing at the highest possible levels. We will see how the book of Hosea gives a biblical pattern of Yahweh’s love for the house of Israel, and how like Yahweh, we should always desire repentance and return from those who have committed transgression.

Repentance vs rebellion

We will take a look at what to do in the instance that an adulterous repents and returns to her husband. And also, what to do in the instance that an adulterous wife does not repent or return to her husband. And how to apply the Matthew 18 process outside the land of Israel, under the Melchizedekian order (in the dispersion). And how this will be different for those who return to the land of Israel at the second exodus (the ingathering), post Armageddon.

We hope “Matthew 18 and Adultery part 3” was a blessing for someone. Click here to view “Matthew 18 and Adultery part 1 and part 2”

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