Does the bible says that you should ONLY divorce if adultery has been commited?
In Jesus’ day the Jewish religious system allowed men to divorce their wives for very little reason. Jesus told his followers that the only acceptable grounds for divorce was adultery – BUT it was not compulsory to divorce, even if adultery had been committed. The principle is that marriage is a divine, sacred institution, blessed by God and what God has joined together, no man (or woman) should try to separate. Check out Matthew 19: 3-9 and Luke 10: 1-12 for the account of how the Pharisees tried to find fault in Jesus’ teachings. In Malachi 2: 16 it says that God hates divorce. With regard to men abusing their wives I do not know of any specific examples in the Bible, but, human nature being the way it is, you can be certain it was going on. Peter advised husbands to be considerate of their wives, and to treat them with respect (1 Peter 3: 1-7). In Hebrews 4: 4 we are told that ‘Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and a
