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Gleanings From The Word

Tag: adultery

  • Beautiful But Deadly: What the Bible Says About Adultery

    Beautiful But Deadly: What the Bible Says About Adultery

    Siberian Iris - Beautiful but deadly

    There are several stands of this Siberian Iris in our backyard. For a short time, they display beautiful purple bearded flowers like these. The rest of the season, its long, tall green leaves provide visual interest in the landscape. Unlike some of the flowering plants we grow, no part of this iris species is edible. They can be toxic to pets and cause severe abdominal issues for the human folk. They could be labeled beautiful but deadly.

    The Bible speaks of many things that could fit the label beautiful but deadly, including many forms of sin. Our world largely ignores the warnings. Often, the warnings are not only ignored, but the issue is at best winked at and at its most outlandish, celebrated as both normal and desirable.

    While that could apply to many sins, this morning I’m thinking of adultery. It comes in many forms, but it makes the list of the Ten Commandments.

    You shall not commit adultery. Exodus  20:14

    Almost 9 chapters of the book of Proverbs speak against it.

    My son, pay attention to my wisdom,
    Incline your ear to my discernment;
    That you may keep discretion
    And that your lips may guard knowledge.
    For the lips of a strange woman drip honey
    And smoother than oil is her speech;
    But her end is bitter as wormwood,
    Sharp as a two-edged sword.
    Her feet go down to death,
    Her steps take hold of Sheol. Proverbs 5:1-5

    Depending on how you count, there are between 50 and 80 verses that speak against adultery in the Bible. Some commentators take the count even higher, to over 100.

    Adultery isn’t just a sin issue and rebellion against God. It’s a covenant issue, breaking the covenant of marriage between husband and wife. It isn’t a gender issue; both genders break the covenant, although women report doing so at a slightly lower ratio.

    Popular culture tells us it’s fun, freeing and might even be good for marriages. God says don’t do it.

    The attraction may be beautiful, but beware. Remember, it is beautiful but deadly.

    Keep your covenant. 

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    General Revelation: Why No One Can Claim They Didn’t Know

    SUMMARY

    Like the beautiful but toxic Siberian Iris, adultery is an attractive sin that Scripture repeatedly and clearly warns against — a covenant-breaking choice that culture celebrates but God forbids.

    KEY POINTS

    The Bible addresses adultery extensively, from the Ten Commandments to nearly 9 chapters of Proverbs, with somewhere between 50 and 100+ verses speaking directly against it

    Adultery is fundamentally a covenant issue — a breaking of the marriage bond — not merely a moral infraction or a gender-specific failure

    While popular culture frames adultery as liberating or even beneficial, God’s consistent message across both Testaments is unambiguous: keep your covenant

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  • Fear Factor and the forbidden fruit

    Fear Factor and the forbidden fruit

    Warnings against sexual sin

    Four of us sat around the campfire talking about skydiving and  bungee jumping. Two of the four of us have jumped out of a perfectly good aircraft, but none of us had been brave (foolish?) enough to jump off of a perfectly good structure while tied to a rubber band. 

    Neither of the two skydivers was particularly experienced. My friend had jumped once, and I have two jumps to my credit (one with a problem chute and the other a crash landing). We are far from experts.

    Of the two non-jumpers, one has taken advanced helicopter survival training, which involves jumping from a substantial height into the water while wearing a specially designed flotation suit. My friend is a non-swimmer, so this literally involved a great leap of faith. It was an experience that he will never forget, but prays he will never have to repeat.

    All of us agreed that there is a critical moment of no return. You realize, if only for a second, that you have crossed a fine line and there is no going back. You have up to that exact moment to say no. Afterwards, it is too late.

    The four of us “got to pontificating” about the myriad of ways that people seek to find that adrenaline rush that pushes you to the enjoyable edge of fear. Insert too much fear, and the experience becomes simply frightening. Not enough adrenaline, and it is a waste of time.

    Some people have pushed themselves so far and so often that they have become adrenaline junkies. They seek the rush no matter what the cost. Many have died in the pursuit of it. They keep pushing the fear factor, seeking more thrills. Like any other addiction, it soon takes more and more to satisfy the “need” for adrenaline.

    I will probably never again jump out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft. Yet, the adrenaline rush was enough that just seeing someone do it actually makes my heart race a little faster, and the adrenaline kicks in. It would not have taken much more to “hook me” into the “need for the rush”. I think that sin often functions the same way.

    Many things seem all the more exciting and inviting just because they are “forbidden” or there is a risk of some form involved in getting caught. Once a person falls into the trap, they keep going back again and again. It is no wonder that the writer of Proverbs tells us to exercise godly wisdom over sin.

    The verses I have chosen to illustrate this point deal specifically with the sin of adultery, but the precepts can be applied to any sinful temptation.

    My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding,that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.For the lips of a forbiddenwoman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol;she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless,lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.” Proverbs 5:1-14 ESV

    Run away! Take off! Remove yourself from temptation.

    If you have fallen, Christ will forgive you, but you will always carry the scarring. All sin creates scars. It wounds relationships, destroys trust, and brings consequences that will follow you. 

    Perhaps in the end, you will be able to keep it secret from everyone except God, but even that secrecy will have cost you something.

    You are far better off to have run away in the first place.

    Until next time, resist the temptation to look over the precipice into sin. You never know when the ground will collapse and suddenly find yourself someplace that you will forever regret going.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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