Abuse and neglect break the marriage covenant. The Lord described the man’s companion as his
wife by covenant and warned him not to deal treacherously with her (Malachi 2:14-15). The Hebrew word
bagad, translated as
treacherously, denotes unfaithfulness to the covenant (Harris, Archer, & Waltke, 1980, p. 90). Conversely, when the man is faithful to the covenant, he fulfills his obligations to his wife. According to Luck (1987, pp. 31-37), the man’s obligations include provision for his wife’s physical needs, protection of her reputation, and protection from abuse. Provision for physical needs includes food, clothing, and conjugal rights (Exodus 21:10). Exodus 21 is traditionally not cited in connection with marriage because it refers to a slave or concubine with whom the master has a
one fleshrelationship. Luck (1987) argued
a fortiori that although Scripture does not delineate similar rights for a full wife, it is reasonable to assume that God’s care for a lesser status
one flesh partner would, at the very least, be applicable to a full wife (i.e., a free woman would not have fewer rights than a slave). In Deuteronomy 22:10, the husband was fined for publicly defaming his wife. This verse established the husband’s obligation not to ruin his wife’s reputation. Exodus 21 established penalties for personal injuries. For example, a master is not to strike a slave’s eye or knock out a slave’s tooth (Exodus 21:26). Using the same
a fortiori argument as above, Luck (1987) argued that a man must never beat his wife. Furthermore, it does not make sense that God would care about the wife’s reputation and then care nothing about her body. It is also persuasive to consider that if the penalty for striking parents was death (Exodus 21:15), it seems incongruous to consider that there would be absolutely no consequence for striking a wife.
Scripture condemns abuse and neglect in all of its forms. The Bible vigorously condemns violence (Kroeger & Nason‑Clark, 2001, p. 77). God abhors and denounces violent behavior, which is an evidence of sin that brings God’s judgment. Because of violence, God destroyed the earth (Genesis 6:11-13). The Lord’s soul hates “the one who loves violence” (Psalm 11:5). Wickedness stirred up God’ anger (Ezekiel 7:3); in His pronouncement of punishment for wickedness, He declared that “violence has grown into a rod of wickedness” (Ezekiel 7:11). Proverbs characterized the violent as wicked (Proverbs 4:14-17) and treacherous (the Hebrew word
bagad, meaning unfaithful, as noted above) (Proverbs 13:2).
Abuse perverts the image of God (Tracy, 2005, pp. 27-35). Instead of nurturing, sustaining, and enhancing a wife’s God‑given craving for love and affection, physical abuse distorts God’s image of responsible dominion in a most destructive way. Neglecting to provide for a wife’s physical needs distorts God’s functional image to care for His creation. Thus, a man who neglects to provide for the needs of his household is described as one who has “denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). Furthermore, verbal abuse distorts God’s image by failing to create life through words. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). “A soothing [healing] tongue is a tree of life, but perversion in it crushes the spirit” (Proverbs 15:14). ”The Pentateuch holds the lives of men and women, slave and free, Israelite and foreigner, born and unborn, to be of utmost value. Each is an image of God, to be respected, protected, and actively loved” (Alexander & Baker, 2003, p. 94).
God’s response to abuse is reflected in His strong statement in Malachi 2:16 that He hates “him who covers his garment with wrong.” The Hebrew word
chamac, translated as
wrong in the NASB, is most often translated as
violence (KJV; NIV; RSV) (Harris et al., 1980, p. 297). However, the Old Testament usually connected
chamac with sinful violence. Hugenberger (1994, p. 75) presented the older view of
garment as a biblical image of clothing to suggest an outward expression of man’s inner state. For example, “pride is their necklace; the garment of violence covers them” (Psalm 73:6); “he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment” (Psalm 109:18); and, “on your skirts is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor” (Jeremiah 2:34). Thus, for a man to cover his garment with wrong includes both the action of violence and an abusive inner state, which violates the covenant of marriage.
When the marriage covenant is broken through abuse and neglect, the abused wife may be faced with the dilemma of whether Scripture supports her decision to leave the marriage. Returning to the opening vignette, both Sarah and Mary entered into marriage with the expectation of a lifelong commitment and an understanding that biblical grounds for ending a marriage only include adultery, desertion by an unbelieving spouse, or death. Is their only recourse for this abuse to pray that God would look down from heaven, see their affliction, and cause their husbands to leave or die? Some New Testament texts appear to support Sarah and Mary’s understanding of marriage: Whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity or immorality, commits adultery (Matthew 5:32; Matthew 19:9). However, if an unbelieving spouse leaves, let him leave (1 Corinthians 7:15). A married woman is bound to her husband while he is alive (Romans 7:2), and she “should not leave her husband” (1 Corinthians 7:10).
https://mendingthesoul.org/resources/general/a-biblical-response-to-the-abused-wife/
hope this helps !!!