Divorce we do know from the Scriptures is sinful, and like all sins it is forgivable. But, the consequences of that sin are with any children of the couple whether we like it or not. Recently I read of some research that picked up on the biblical principle that the God of heaven has concern for the children of the widow. By and large, if children have lost a father to death, they will not necessarily behave like children whose fathers were simply removed from the family by divorce proceedings. There is something else in the generational admonishment in the commandment before us.
Parents teach in many ways that they never realize.
Over the years I have realized that the personality of my sons to a certain extent mirrors my manliness in those crucial years when they were six to nine. It is downright scary at times to remember the transition of my own personality in those crucial years when I was finding my spiritual bearings and a church to which I could give my energy. Eight years old for a young man at least seems to be the most impressionable year in the development of manliness. Young men learn how to be men from watching their fathers. Learned behavior that is not socially nor biblically appropriate can hang around for years until they grow spiritually enough to put away the attitudes and habits of two lifetimes.