RCCG Sunday School Student’s Manual 14th May 2023 – Lesson 37
TOPIC: Divorce Is Costly
MEMORY VERSE: Malachi 2:15 (KJV)
“And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.”
BIBLE PASSAGE: Malachi 2:13-16 (NLT)
13 Here is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure. 14 You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.
15 Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his.[a] And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce!”[b] says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,[c]” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”
Malachi 2:13-16 (King James Version)
13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
16 For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
LESSON INTRODUCTION:
Anyone considering divorce must have experienced months or years of struggle with their spouse. They are familiar with emotional distance, insecurity, fear, depression, anger, and perhaps betrayal. Life has become so difficult that divorce seems like the only path toward peace and happiness. Our High Priest empathises with believers in such state (Hebrews 4:15). However, God clearly explains His reasons for esteeming marriage so highly.
He says it was He who “made them one” (Malachi 2:15). Marriage was God’s idea and any deviation from His design is detestable to Him. Marriage is not just a contract; it is a covenant. This is why God hates divorce and the consequences can be grievous.
LESSON OUTLINES:
- GOD HATES DIVORCE
- DIVORCE HAS GRAVE CONSEQUENCES
1. GOD HATES DIVORCE
Marriage is a picture of the covenant God has with His people (1Cor.6:17) and He wants us to understand how serious it is. When a husband or wife chooses to violate the covenant of marriage, it mars and makes a mockery of the God-created concept of covenant relationship. (Rev.19:7-9; 2 Cor.11:2). God never intended divorce to be a part of human experience and it grieves Him when we harden our hearts and break a covenant that He created (Matt.19:4-8).
Malachi 2:15 gives us another reason God hates divorce. He says He is “seeking godly offspring.” God’s design for the family was that one man and one woman commit themselves to each other for life and rear children that will understand the concept of covenant as well. Children reared in a healthy, two-parent home have a far greater likelihood of establishing successful marriages themselves.
2. DIVORCE HAS GRAVE CONSEQUENCES
There is a direct correlation between the way a man treats his wife and the effectiveness of his prayers. God does not listen to the pleas for blessing from those who have broken the covenant of marriage (I Pet 3:7).
Divorce is associated with many negative outcomes. Here are some;
Divorce is a death of a union, and therefore the death of a dream, a promise and a family unit. Everyone involved -even a perpetrator- will feel grief and loss during a divorce. If there are children involved, they will experience severe grief over the loss of being with both parents together and living under the same roof.
Divorce marks a pivotal moment in a person’s life, especially for children; life as they know it changes forever and they become different versions of themselves, adapting to new routines and new versions of their parents (who have also changed).
Children of divorced parents are more likely to experience poverty, educational failure, early and risky sexual activities, non-marital childbirth, early marriage, cohabitation, marital discord and divorce.
Following a divorce, parents and children often experience emotional and psychological problems, that can last for years, even for the rest of their lives. Anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, fear of abandonment, distrust, insecurity, lack of intimacy, confusion over sexuality and/or gender, guilt, faithlessness, loneliness, bitterness, and rebellion manifest themselves in children who have lived through divorce of their parents.
Divorce matters can lead to a poor sense of judgment especially on marital issues, increase in crime, drug/alcohol addiction and even suicide attempt.
The productivity of divorcees/divorced men may reduce at work and in their service to God.
There is a chance of another divorce. Research shows that about 60% of divorcees/divorced men who remarry will divorce again. Realistically, most people carry the unresolved issues from their last failed marriage into the next marriage.
CONCLUSION: If God hates divorce, believers should do everything possible, including consulting with the Author of marriage – God, to make the marriage work.
QUESTIONS:
- Why does God hate divorce?
- What are the consequences of divorce?
FURTHER READINGS:
MONDAY: Matthew 19:6,8 (KJV); 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
TUESDAY: Mark 10:24 (KJV); And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
WEDNESDAY: 1 Corinthians 10:22 (KJV); Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
THURSDAY: Ephesians 5:22-31 (KJV); 22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
FRIDAY: Colossians 3:18-19 (KJV); 18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
SATURDAY: Revelation 19:9 (KJV); And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
SUNDAY: Matthew 5:32 (KJV); But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
RCCG Sunday School HYMN
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
O how I love Thee well,
I am happy, it makes me glad
To rejoice at Thy birth.
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
Thy friendship suits me well,
Both young and old will sing Thy song,
We long for Sunday School.
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
Christ was Thy first teacher,
The Holy Spirit, great teacher,
Does manifest in thee.
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
This testimony is sure,
That God, the Father Almighty,
Poured His blessing on Thee.
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
Though the sun be so bright,
Or if the clouds black with rain,
I’ll be in Sunday School.
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
I rejoice to see Thee,
Will thou pass over me today?
Without my being blest?
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RCCG Sunday School manual is used in Sunday School Classes in the RCCG.
The RCCG Sunday school manual is written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye and is available online for easy access. See the previous RCCG Sunday school Manual for 2023 here
