What God has joined

THE DIVORCE DILEMMA
God's Last Word on Lasting Commitment
By John MacArthur. Day One. 104 pages. £6.00
ISBN 978-1-84625-107-8

Divorce is a difficult and controversial issue. So it is rather surprising to read MacArthur's forthright first sentence of this book, that confusion is due to ‘the fact that sin has clouded men's minds to the straightforward simplicity of what God has said’. The author believes that his humble consideration of Scripture will provide, as the subtitle suggests, the last word on the subject.

MacArthur spends time making the uncontroversial point that God hates divorce. He outlines the creation purpose, and shows that at the root of divorce is our sin. Much of the book is devoted to urging strong and enduring marriage relationships which will survive tensions and trouble and even offer forgiveness for sexual unfaithfulness. There is pastorally helpful material about our expectations when we go into marriage, and that it is in self-sacrificial, unconditional and life-long union that we find the satisfaction of marriage that God intends.