Note 16 at Mk. 10:10: Jesus' comments here on marriage and divorce were not corrective, but rather, He revealed God's original intent for marriage and the reasoning for this strict adherence to only one mate. Jesus did not personally teach in recorded scripture on what to do if there had already been divorce and remarriage for some other reason than fornication. However, there are scriptures that minister to that need.

In 2 Samuel 11-12, we have the story of David and Bathsheba. David committed adultery with Bathsheba, murdered her husband, and then married Bathsheba in an attempt to conceal his sin. God rebuked David for his sin and the child that was born through that union died. However, when David repented, the Lord did not have him divorce Bathsheba but God Himself blessed that union (after full repentance) and the next child that was born to David and Bathsheba was Solomon whom God named Jedidiah meaning "beloved of Jehovah" (2 Sam. 12:24-25).

Jesus ministered forgiveness to the woman taken in the very act of adultery (Jn. 8:3-11). God hates sin but He loves the sinner. Paul said concerning marriage that we should abide in the same marital state that we were in when we committed our lives to the Lord (1 Cor. 7:20).

From these examples, we can see that God hates adultery and divorce (Mal. 2:16) because they destroy people, but He loves the people involved. Divorce (for any other cause than fornication) is adultery (see note 6 at Mt. 19:9, p. 324) but it is not the unpardonable sin (see note 1 at Mt. 12:31, p. 128). Jesus ministered complete forgiveness to a woman taken in the very act of adultery. Through Jesus we can be totally cleansed from all sin (including adultery or divorce) and any accompanying guilt or condemnation (Acts 13:39; 1 Cor. 6:11; Heb. 8:12; 9:14; 1 Jn. 1:9).

When a person gets born again and he is already in an adulterous marriage, he cannot make things right by divorcing his present partner and returning to a previous partner. Deuteronomy 24:4 makes it clear that it is an abomination to divorce a second mate and return to the first mate. We should simply repent and allow God to sanctify the present relationship even as He did with David and Bathsheba. Just as two wrongs don't make a right, so a second (or third or fourth, etc.) divorce won't erase the first divorce. We should simply appropriate God's forgiveness and cleansing (1 Jn. 1:9) and let Him make all things new in that relationship.