Exodus 20 is immensely helpful in centering a Christian approach to divorce.
Jesus Christ freed us from from our shortcomings here, of course. Romans 3:21-24. But “does this mean that we can forget about the law?” as Paul asks at Verse 31. Of course not.
If someone claims, ‘I know God,’ but doesn’t obey God’s commands, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love Him. That is how we know we are living in Him.
Commandment 8 reads: “You must not steal.” Exodus 20:15.
So, common sense would dictate that one not pilfer a spouse’s expensive wristwatch before departing the marital home in anticipation of divorce. “What watch? I haven’t seen it; you must have misplaced it somewhere!” More expansively, assets shouldn’t be omitted from spreadsheets used to negotiate equitable distributions in divorce mediation. Property wouldn’t be undervalued to tip scales.
Then I heard Pastor Peter Rufener of Saline Community Church preach on this with a consideration some might consider uncomfortably out-of-the-box. [1,
It’s possible to steal a person’s dignity. Proverbs 31:25 lists “dignity” among the key characteristics of a noble wife. And yet the very intimacies of marriage give each spouse a unique ability to gratuitously expose the frailties of each other to public spectacle, ridicule.
We readily appreciate the damage of identity theft, and where it sits as an order of magnitude above any single piece or thing deceptively pocketed. Here, however, there is no clear law or precedent bridling a wife’s ability to rob her husband of respect, a husband’s ability to rob his wife of self-esteem.
Yet this is every bit as clearly wrong as any other sin according to Exodus 20.15.
Off-Site References
“Commandment 8 and broader understanding of ‘You must not steal’ x” / September 5, 2009 / Divorce Pastor (accessed October 2, 2024
- “Peter Rufener” / Cornerstone Alliance (accessed October 2, 2024)
- Saline Community Church (accessed October 2, 2024)