Can a man who divorced his wife for witchcraft marry again?
Question:
Sir,
How do I advise my sister? A man from our town is proposing marriage to her, but here is the issue. The man had been married last year to a lady. The marriage only lasted six months or so. Under the power of God, the lady confessed to being a witch and responsible for the miscarriages recorded in the marriage. She also claimed responsibility for the downward trend of the man. Needless to say, the man is completely wrecked: lost his good job, car, etc. He has opted out of the marriage and got the divorce. Last month, he proposed to my sister. She wants my opinion. I want to be sure I am giving good Bible advice. What can I tell her? What option is open to a man under this condition?
Answer:
The man did not divorce his wife because she was committing adultery. Therefore, he does not have a right to marry another person. "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery" (Matthew 19:9). Because he claims to have divorced his wife for witchcraft then he falls under the rule, "Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife" (I Corinthians 7:10-11).
Allow me to also point out that things are not as they seem. This man has blamed his misfortunes on his wife. If he lost his job, it was his fault, not his wife. If he lost his car, it is because he wasn't making the payments (probably because he lost his job). Unless this woman was taking an abortive, miscarriages do happen naturally and have nothing to do with witchcraft. This "under the power of God" makes me suspect that a bunch of people, falsely claiming to be prophets (I Corinthians 13:8-10) pressured her into lying.
Everything you've told me tells me that this man's character is poor, that he did his wife wrong, and that he does not have the right to another marriage.
