<p>10:9 <i>What therefore God has joined together- </i>As a couple &quot;cleave&quot; to one another, so they become one flesh (Gen. 2:24). But this becoming one flesh is interpreted by the Lord Jesus as meaning that God actively joins the couple together; as<i> they</i>&nbsp;cleave to each other in the process of their relationship, so&nbsp;<i>God</i>&nbsp;joins them together. Clearly the Lord understood Gen. 2:24 as speaking of the process of marriage, rather than simply the ceremony of a wedding. In passing, note that the Hebrew idea of two becoming one had already been used in Genesis- the morning and evening, the day and night, were fused by God into one day (Gen. 1:5- the same Hebrew phrase is used). Similarly we read of the waters becoming, or being made one, by God (Gen. 1:9). It's as if the immense power of God in creation is unleashed in His bonding of man and wife together. To put that asunder is to fight against the very creative power of God.</p><p><i>Do not let man- </i>By sundering relationships, we are pitting ourselves against the intentions and processes of God&rsquo;s Spirit and His actions amongst men. But of course we can indeed put asunder what God joined. He does not force His ways and processes upon people. The parallel see on :1 is with how we can refuse acceptance to the &lsquo;little ones&rsquo; by despising and not forgiving them. God&rsquo;s processes intend to create unity between His people as well as between marriage partners; but we can choose to disallow the effect of His work, both in our own lives and those of others. By rejecting people, the Lord had taught in the previous section of the chiasmus, we make them stumble and damage the &ldquo;little ones&rdquo;. And those same principles apply in marriage- the little ones are made to stumble, and the rejection of a marriage partner often leads them into sin, i.e. they are made to stumble. This I think is the sense of Mt. 5:32, that divorcing a partner causes her to commit adultery- i.e. we will lead her to a sinful life.</p><p><i>Divide</i>- See on :7. The dividing can be by other parties in addition to the two parties to the marriage. We are not to &quot;let&quot; them do that. The same Greek word is used in 1 Cor. 7:10,11,15 of how Paul allows for a wife to &ldquo;depart&rdquo; or &lsquo;sunder&rsquo; from her husband. Clearly, therefore, the Lord is presenting here an ideal state. But that presentation doesn&rsquo;t mean that God will not tolerate lower levels of living before Him. Man can put asunder what God has joined not simply in our own marriage. It can just as much be done by parents seeking to keep their children within the sphere of the family of origin, not letting go; by pressurizing one side of a marriage to adopt a position against their partner, etc. Especially is this true of those who demand that a believing husband or wife not have fellowship with their believing partner because of theological or &lsquo;fellowship&rsquo; differences.</p>