Bible in a Year - Women’s Thematic Reading Plan | Day 139

Day 139 of the Women’s Bible Plan: Read Matthew 19:1-12 and reflect on Jesus’ teaching about God’s original design for marriage. From the Pharisees’ question about divorce to Jesus’ return to creation, this devotional helps women consider the holiness, unity, commitment, and grace within God’s purpose for marriage.

🌸  Dear Sister, welcome to Day 139 of our reading journey. 

Marriage is one of the deepest hopes in many hearts, and for some, it is also one of the deepest places of pain. Some have experienced love, companionship, and support in marriage. Others have known disappointment, loneliness, conflict, or tears. Some are preparing for marriage, some are working hard to nurture their marriage, and some come before God with complicated feelings because of brokenness, separation, or loss.

In Matthew Chapter 19, the Pharisees come to test Jesus and ask Him, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?” Their question sounds like a discussion about the law, but it also reveals how people can try to justify brokenness, protect selfish desire, and use religious language to manage what is happening in the heart.

Jesus does not remain trapped in their argument. Instead, He brings them back to “the beginning”—back to God’s creation of male and female and His purpose for marriage. Jesus reminds them that marriage is not merely a convenient human contract, but a covenant joined by God. It is not a relationship to be entered lightly or torn apart carelessly, but a life-union of faithfulness, commitment, and becoming one.

A Minute of Grace

In Matthew 19:1-12, Jesus leaves Galilee and comes into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan. Great multitudes follow Him, and He heals them there. Then the Pharisees come to test Him, asking, “Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?”

Jesus’ answer is deeply important. He does not begin by listing possible reasons for ending a marriage. Instead, He brings the conversation back to God’s purpose in creation: “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female?” He then says, “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh.” Therefore, husband and wife are no longer two, but one flesh; what God has joined together, man must not put asunder.

This passage shows us that in God’s eyes, marriage is not a disposable arrangement, but a covenant with holy meaning. God established marriage not only to meet human emotional needs and not only to form a household structure, but also to teach commitment, faithfulness, mutual support, mutual building up, and love that reflects His heart.

At the same time, Jesus points out that Moses allowed a writing of divorcement because of the hardness of human hearts. In other words, the breaking of marriage is not only a matter of legal permission. It is often connected to deeper realities of sin, selfishness, coldness, harm, and hardness of heart. Jesus is not ignoring the pain within broken marriages, nor is He simply placing burdens on those who are wounded. He is revealing a deeper issue: when people turn away from God’s original design, marriage can easily be damaged by selfish desire, pride, and hardened hearts.

Today’s theme, “Jesus on God’s Original Design for Marriage,” invites us not to begin with the question, “What rights can I claim for myself?” but to come before God and ask, “Lord, what was Your purpose when You established marriage? How do You want me to learn love, faithfulness, humility, forgiveness, holiness, and commitment in my relationships?”

This passage speaks to women in many different situations. Married sisters can consider again how to live out covenant love in marriage. Single sisters or those preparing for marriage can learn to see marriage through God’s Word rather than through romance alone. Sisters who have experienced pain in marriage can bring their brokenness and tears before the Lord, trusting that He knows human weakness and is able to heal with both truth and grace.

Whispers for the Heart

1 When Jesus faced the Pharisees’ test, He did not first answer, “Under what conditions is divorce allowed?” Instead, He brought them back to God’s original design in creation. When you think about marriage, love, husband-wife relationships, or intimate relationships, are you willing to return first to God’s Word rather than being guided only by culture, emotion, personal experience, or expectation?

2 Jesus said, “they twain shall be one flesh.” How do you understand unity in marriage? In daily life, is oneness only a romantic feeling, or does it also include communication, self-giving, faithfulness, shared responsibility, mutual building up, and facing difficulties together?

3 Jesus points to hardness of heart as something that damages marriage. Whether you are married or not, are you willing to let God shine light on hard places in your relationships—such as refusing to apologize, refusing to listen, refusing to forgive, insisting on your own way, withdrawing coldly, or hurting others with words?

As you read Matthew 19:1-12 today, do not see this passage only as a discussion about marriage law. Let Jesus’ words lead you back to God’s holy purpose for relationships from the beginning.

Take a quiet breath before you begin. Bring your expectations, fears, wounds, confusion, responsibilities, and hopes about marriage before the Lord, and let His Word meet you there.

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🪕 Response Hymn: 

Matthew 19:1-12 (KJV)

19 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

2 And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.

3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

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.

9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

🪕 Response Hymn: 

💡 Closing Thought · Returning to the First Love and Covenant

After reading Matthew 19:1-12, we see that Jesus did not allow people to remain in a debate about “what is permitted.” He brought them back to God’s original design for marriage. In God’s eyes, marriage is not a relationship to begin casually or end carelessly, but a covenant of cleaving, commitment, and becoming one before Him.

As we close this page and return to real life, perhaps you are learning love and patience within marriage. Perhaps you are preparing for future marriage. Perhaps you have been wounded in relationships and carry fear or complicated feelings about marriage. Remember this: Jesus’ words are not meant to crush the brokenhearted, but to bring us back to God’s first, beautiful, and holy purpose.

May today’s Scripture remind you that broken relationships need both truth and grace, and unity in marriage requires both love and humility. May God soften our hearts, heal our wounds, renew our vision, and teach us in every intimate relationship to love, commit, protect, and grow according to His heart.

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