This was explained by the Lord. Moses had suffered a man to put away his wife for any cause, as we see in Deuteronomy 24:1,3; but the Lord maintained God’s original ordinance that what God had joined together, man had no right to put asunder, therefore a man must not put away his wife except for fornication, when she herself had broken the bond (Matt. 5:31-32; Mark 19:3-9). A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT must be given to the woman, the drawing up of which, and having it witnessed, was some little check upon a man’s hasty temper.
Divorce is used symbolically to express God’s action in putting away Israel, who had been grossly unfaithful, and giving her a bill of divorcement (Isa. 50:1; Jer. 3:8).