This Sunday service Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh preached another sermon in the series titled ‘The Ten Commandments’. Her main scriptures were taken from the book Exodus 20:1-26; Genesis 39:1-23; 2 Samuel 11:1-27.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS – INTRODUCTION
The Ten Commandments are ten laws that God Himself gave to the ancient nation of Israel thru His servant Moses. These Biblical principles apply to men’s relationship with God and with one another. If all people on earth keep at least one of these commandments, the world will be a better place. These Commandments were spoken directly by God at Mount Sinai and written by God’s finger on tablets of stone and given to Moses. This act makes them unique in the Bible. These Ten Laws are commands and not suggestions. They are personal, spoken to individuals.
THE 7TH COMMANDMENT- YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY
“You shall not commit adultery” (Ex 20:14).
Next to the commandment to preserve life, God commands that we should honor the institution of marriage. Adultery is an attack against the unity of the spirit, against peace, prosperity, and honor in a family. It is the destruction of the bond between husband and wife. God created family to be the basic unit that maintains social order. Adultery destroys that, producing sorrow, confusion, and chaos in the family and society.
Adultery is defined as voluntary consensual sex between a married man or woman and someone he or she is not married to. Some call adultery ‘every man’s battle’. The seventh commandment forbids all forms of sexual sins (fornication, homosexuality, bestiality etc). Sex was created to be a unique experience to bind husband and wife together in what the Bible calls a “one flesh” unity (Matt 19:6). Since God invented sex, He alone sets the rules about it. Sex was designed only for marriage! Period! Any sex outside marriage is sin! Marital sex is between a man and a woman, not two men or two women. Marital sex is the consummation of a lifetime commitment and covenant made between a man and a woman. Because the sexual drive is so powerful, the Bible encourages marriage in order to avoid sexual immorality. Marital sex is to be mutual and frequent so that husband and wife are not tempted to commit adultery. The bodies of a husband and wife belong to each other (see 1 Corinthians 7). God places great importance on human sexuality because marital sex is the most intimate relationship two human beings can have. It is a picture of the intimacy God created us to enjoy with Him. Marital sex is the only sexual expression approved by our Creator. It is a sacred gift enjoyed only by husband and wife. We should guard our hearts and eyes from any outside temptations that try to stain or steal sexual intimacy. Pornography, extramarital affairs, and promiscuity damage the beauty and lower the value God has given the sexual act.
In many countries, adultery is not a crime. But adultery is a sin. Adultery is another word for cheating; it is cheating on your spouse with another person. To cheat means to deceive in order to get what you want. Adultery is always connected with lies. Adultery is extra marital sex. It is also premarital sex done by two people who are engaged and ready to marry. In many ancient cultures, adultery was seen as a crime. The punishment was severe including social disgrace, flogging in public, or death penalty. The punishment was applied mostly to the women and sometimes to the men. For the past 200 years, most of the western countries have de-criminalized adultery. But even in these countries, adultery has legal consequences. It may be a ground for divorce, property settlement, the custody of children or denial of alimony. In the Islamic countries under the Sharia Law, the punishment for adultery is stoning to death. In many cultures, adultery with the king’s wife or the wife of his eldest son is considered treason. Treason is the crime of attacking the king or a state authority to which you owe allegiance. For example, King Henry VIII accused his wife, Queen Anne Boleyn of adultery. She was decapitated for treason. There are other legal consequences of adultery. For example, it may affect the paternity of the child. The ‘innocent’ husband is forced to love and take care of children that are not his own. This creates great emotional pain and interferes with the inheritance of the children. In many countries, children born from adultery have suffered socially. In many cultures, adultery is equated to crime, capable of inciting murders. About 22% of all people worldwide confessed to having committed adultery. America, England, Thailand, are counted as the most adulterous countries in the world. The countries that have the least cheaters are Iceland (9%), Greenland, and Ireland. In the Roman empire, a married man could have sex with a female slave or an unmarried woman. It was not considered a crime. The reason why the empire fell was love for pleasure, breakdown of religion and family values.
The truth is that most couples marry expecting faithfulness from the spouse. When adultery happens, it is seen as a serious breach of trust and commitment made to each other. Love is damaged sometimes beyond repair. Both husband and wife suffer feelings of guilt, jealousy, shame, and depression. Research shows that 53% of all marriages that experienced adultery end in divorce, even with therapy. It means that 47% of marriages survive the trauma of adultery but the road to recovery is extremely painful and long. As Christians we say that nothing is impossible for God. Thru fasting, prayers, the study of God’s Word, asking for help from a mature Christian, attending a living church are all tools to help.
It also involves spiritual warfare. There are other negative consequences of sexual sins. Adultery is a source of sexually transmitted diseases to the couple. The ‘innocent’ victim gets sick with chronic incurable diseases. That adds another trauma to the marriage. Historically, male adultery is more acceptable by the society. Female adultery often resulted in extreme domestic violence, including murder of the woman, her lover, or both, committed by her jealous husband. Adultery is a tragedy!
Honor killings are often connected to accusations of adultery. Honor killing is the murder of a person, by a family member, trying to protect what they see as the dignity of their family. Honor killings are connected to religion, or caste system. Most often, it involves the murder of a woman or a girl by male family members, because they believe that the victim has brought shame upon the family name, by committing different sins, especially, adultery. Honor killings continue to be practiced in some parts of the world, mostly in South Asia and the Middle East and immigrant communities in Europe, Canada, and the U.S. In some parts of the world, honor killings enjoy considerable public support. In the western Law, honor killings are condemned as a serious human rights violation especially to the women.
WHY DID GOD COMMAND THAT WE SHOULD NOT COMMIT ADULTERY? BECAUSE GOD INVENTED MARRIAGE! (Genesis 2 and 3)
God created the man and the woman. God invented marriage. It was to be between one man and one woman. The husband is the leader of the home, and the wife is his helpmeet. Together, they are a mirror of God’s image. Animals do not marry. They are not God’s image on earth. Only human beings reflect the glory of the Creator God. The first marriage ceremony happened before sin entered. It is God’s perfect will that people marry and have godly children. God created a perfect environment for Adam and Eve. The Garden of Eden had many trees ‘pleasant to the sight and good for food’ (Gen 2:9). God told Adam that he can ‘freely eat’ from any of there trees. But he should not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. On the day he eats that fruit, he will die. The devil deceived Eve telling her that she will not die. He made God a liar. Eve looked at the forbidden fruit and saw that “the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise” (Gen 3:6). Remember that all the trees were pleasant to the eyes and good for food. But the devil made this tree look better. Lesson: Sin always looks better than what you already have. Eve wanted to become ‘wise’ but without depending on God for wisdom. This desire to be independent of God led her to fall into sin. She gave it to her husband to eat, and he ate it. This is how sin entered into the human race. It affected them individually and as a married couple. The devil came as a ‘boyfriend’. Eve committed adultery with the devil and damaged her marriage. Because of that, God made some declarations that affect all their descendant and the institution of marriage. Eve will experience pain as a mother. The work of bringing children into the world and training them will be combined with much pain. Thru this pain, she experiences God’s pain as a Father, when she, God’s daughter, broke His heart. This pain will humble her so that she will desire to draw closer to God. She will find healing and fulfillment as a mother only in her relationship with God. She has to learn to submit to her husband, who will ‘rule over her’. She will not be able to lead him into sin, into adultery again. Apostle Paul warns the wives of the danger of making friends with strange men who like the snake of old ‘creep into households and take captive gullible women who are led astray by various lusts’ (2 Tim 3:6). Lesson: Adulterers cannot stand straight. They always creep like snakes. God told Eve that from now on, Adam will be able to resist her deception. The husband loves his wife, but he will be able to resist her seduction and foolishness. God cursed the ground so that work for man will be hard. By working hard to put bread on the table the man will be busy enough. He will not have time or energy to think about adultery. Lesson: Working for God and for man is God’s way of protection against adultery. Selah!
Adultery destroys God’s perfect plan for man. God created marriage and family to be the building blocks for society. God commanded that man should multiply and have dominion over the animals on the earth (Gen 1:26-28). The way the human race will obey God’s command to multiply and have dominion over the earth is mostly thru marriage. God expects godly children born in the honorable institution of marriage that He has ordained. God is the heavenly Witness in marriage. Adultery is still the main cause of divorce. God hates divorce. Adultery is the work of ‘violent, treacherous spirits.’ God sees adultery as a crime of treason. God doesn’t answer the prayers of adulterous people (Mal 2:10-16).
There are two parts to obeying this command. The negative part is simple. Do not commit adultery. Avoid sexual relationships with people outside your marriage. We must avoid anything that will tempt our minds or emotions towards fornication or adultery. We are to avoid watching pornographic movies, sexual suggestive movies, or listen to worldly songs. Songs with ‘baby, baby’ are clearly sexually indecent. We must live a pure life of moderation. Practice self-control, especially over your eyes. Avoid buying extremely expensive clothes. Dress modestly. God designed we find sexual fulfilment in the boundaries of heterosexual marriage. Satan temps us to look for pleasure outside the marriage bounds. Like Moses, choose to carry the cross with its pain and reject the seasonal pleasures of sin (Heb 11:25).
Fornicators and adulterers often escape man’s punishment. But God knows all people. He promised to punish them, in this world and in the next. Covetousness, also called the love of money, has led many towards adultery. These sins are connected. “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So, we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Heb 13:4-6). It is great wisdom to learn sexual and financial contentment in your marriage. Remember that in poverty or riches, God is with you. God’s presence is the shield against sexual lust and desire to be rich without God. Satisfied by God’s grace, man can ‘do’ you nothing. You will not be deceived by men who want you to love money and adultery. God commands His people to be holy like Him, to be spiritually and morally pure. “I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11:45). Sexual purity is a major part of living holy as a disciple of Christ!
One purpose for the institution of Marriage is to avoid fornication and adultery. Marriage is God’s way of protection. “Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment. For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion” (1 Cor 7:1-9). Adultery destroys the hedge of protection. “He who digs a pit will fall into it, And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent” (Ecc 10:8).
GOD PUNISHES SIN
Sin is bondage to the devil. It is only in Christ, that we become truly free to love God and our family. The devil always works through deception. He is trying to convince you that committing sin is not serious, that God will not punish sin. That is the deception of the devil. How can we be deceived? First, our heart is deceitful. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings” (Jer 17:9, 10). Secondly, you can be deceived by people who are the agents of the devil. These can be religious people, pastors, or friends. To lose heaven and to gain hell it is the greatest tragedy men can ever experience. Many religious unbelievers deceive themselves by living in sin and attending churches. They think that adultery does not matter to God. God said: “Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the Lord. “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel” (Jer 7:8-12). God destroyed his house at Shiloh. The priest Eli and his adulterous sons all died the same day. Selah!
POLYGAMY
Polygamy is a form of marriage when one has more than one mate at the same time. Polygamy is not counted as adultery. It was permitted but not advised in the Old Testament. God commanded the kings in Israel to show self-control even in marriage or wealth. The King “shall not acquire multiple wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away [from God]; nor [for the same reason] shall he acquire great amounts of silver and gold” (Deut 17:17; AMP).
Polygamy is practiced mostly in the West and Central Africa. The countries that have the highest polygamy in the world are Burkina Faso, Mali, Gambia, Niger, and Nigeria. The sharia Law in the Muslim countries allows Polygamy. In the pre-colonial era in Nigeria, polygamous marriage was common. It was practiced mainly for economic reasons and family growth. These days, the number of polygamous marriages has decreased because men do not need many wives and children to work the farm. About 28% of the population in Nigeria, mostly in the northern states, still practice polygamy. In Nigeria is quite fashionable. A man with many wives is seen as wealthy and powerful. Those who argue that polygamy is good say that it is better than adultery. The negative side of polygamy is that these relationships are done mostly for sexual satisfaction and not for spiritual or emotional fulfillment. Generally, the women suffer more. They are at a higher risk of having depression, inferiority complexes and becoming victims of venereal diseases. They have low satisfaction in marriages. It is on record that the regions where polygamy is practiced are poor. Under the civil law, Nigeria does not recognize polygamous unions. However, 12 out of the 36 Nigerian States recognize polygamy. Nigeria practices “a dual system”. This system recognizes two marriages: Islamic/customary (traditional) marriage and statutory marriage. The Islamic/customary marriage allows for polygamy. Under the Islamic law, a man can marry up to four wives. The condition is that the man has the capacity to treat their wives equally. Similarly, men who choose to marry under customary (traditional) law can marry several wives. Statutory marriage or what is referred to as “court marriage”, is a marriage contracted or regulated by the Marriage act. It is the “voluntary union of one man and one wife to the exclusion of others” otherwise known as “monogamy”. The marriage is either celebrated in the marriage registry or in a licensed place of worship which is usually in a church after the issuance of a registrar’s certificate. This kind of marriage is often called a “white wedding”. Once marriage is contracted under the civil law, the man cannot marry another wife. If a person marries someone else while the first marriage subsists, he or she is liable to five years imprisonment.
HOMOSEXUALITY IS SIN!
Homosexuality is defined as sexual or romantic attraction to others of one’s same sex, It is the state of being ‘gay.’ In different cultures, homosexuality has been approved of, tolerated, punished, and banned. There are now 64 countries that criminalize gay sex, many of them in Africa. Countries that have the death penalty for consensual gay sex include Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Uganda, Yemen, and some northern states of Nigeria. So far, 33 countries in the world recognize same-sex marriages. In Africa, same-sex marriages and civil unions are legal only in South Africa. In Nigeria, homosexuality is illegal. It is punishable with a maximum of 14 years imprisonment. In the northern states that apply the Sharia law, a practicing homosexual may be stoned to death. A survey said that 97% of Nigerians believe that homosexuality is a way of life that society should not accept. This is the second-highest rate of non-acceptance in the world. The estimated homosexual population in Nigeria is about twenty million. The majority of LGBT Nigerians identify as Christian in denominations such as Anglicanism.
The Bible condemns homosexuality as sin. God created humans as male and female and commanded them to multiply on earth and to have dominion over all other created beings (Gen 1:27, 28). Homosexuality rejects God plan and purpose for the creation of man. When Jesus came in human form, He told Abraham that He wants to inspect two cities. Many prayed and cried because of the evil found there (Gen 18:20, 21). Abraham interceded the best he could. But Jesus destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. They have not been rebuilt till today. Lesson: Even now, there is a cry coming out against cities and nations. It is the cry of intercessors calling God to come and see the suffering sin has brought in the land. In Sodom, men, old and young, were not ashamed of their sexual sins (Gen 19:4). When sin becomes a national ‘treasure’ and in spreads all over the city, God comes down to inspect and judge sin. Homosexuality is sin! There are many contrary voices claiming that being ‘gay’ is normal. But this is God’s Word. “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination” (Lev 18:22). “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due” (Rom 1:26-27). “Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 1:7). As believers, we hate sin but love and pray for the sinners.
WHY DO PEOPLE CHEAT IN AN RELATIONSHIP?
According to surveys, the first reason for committing adultery is anger, a desire for revenge. People are angry at their spouses for not understanding their emotional or physical needs. A quarrel can lead to anger, to adultery and even to murder. Some say that they are falling out of love. The romantic feelings they experienced during the honeymoon are gone. They are ignorant that love is more than feelings. It is a covenant before God. The water can become wine through prayer. The romance in the marriage can be revived. Others cheat because there is an opportunity to do so. They find people who are ‘available’ to commit sin. Many say that they committed adultery just to experience variety. They see adultery as a game, or as fun. Others commit adultery because of an inferiority complex. They feel ugly or rejected. If somebody offers them ‘love’, they go with it thinking that they now become beautiful and sexy. As you see, adultery is a choice. Adultery damages the marriage, but it does not have to end in divorce. The relationship may survive but it takes hard work to repair it. Thru prayer and the study of God’s word, after adultery, the relationship can become stronger and more spiritual. Only a believer in Christ can achieve this testimony of life after death.
SPIRITUAL ADULTERY
God calls Israel His ‘wife.’ As a husband expects his wife to be faithful, so God expects His people to obey His commands and to worship Him only. When God’s people worship other gods, God calls that sin adultery. God is jealous and punishes spiritual adultery. But God is merciful. His Son Jesus Christ died on the Cross to bring His adulterous people back to him. This is the prophetic love story of Hosea. He loved his adulterous wife and redeemed her from her life of sin. See what God is saying about His wayward people: “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and wall her in, so that she cannot find her paths. She will chase her lovers, but not overtake them; Yes, she will seek them, but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, for then it was better for me than now” (Hos 2:6, 7).
ADULTERY AND SHEDDING OF INNOCENT BLOOD DEFILES THE LAND
The shedding of innocent blood and sexual sins ‘defile the land’. “You shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. Therefore, do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel” (Nu 35:33, 34). “Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. For the land is defiled; therefore, I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants” (Lev 18:24, 25). The land can be polluted physically by toxic waste and garbage. It makes the land dangerous and ugly to look at. There are sicknesses connected with environmental pollution. Spiritually, a man or a place can also be polluted. What are the effects of spiritual defilement?
1-Separation from God. He will not answer prayers.
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity” (Is 59:1-3).
2-Poverty. People living in polluted lands do not prosper. They are often sick. “He who covers his sins will not prosper” (PV 28:13).
3-The land ‘vomits’ its inhabitants. The people living in some areas are permanently affected by a spirit of anxiety and fear of untimely death.
What does it mean the Land vomits its inhabitants? Because of the sins of the people, God says that the land is defiled. God wants to punish the land. But the Land refuses to take the punishment and instead, it will ‘vomit’ (or drive away) the people from it. Selah!
ADULTERY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
In the Old Testament, adultery is sin and a crime, in the same class as murder. It was punished by death. “The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer, and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed perversion. Their blood shall be upon them. If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.” (Lev 20:10-13). The adulterer and the armed robber are men of the night, serving the devil. “There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways nor abide in its paths. The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night, he is like a thief. The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me’; And he disguises his face. In the dark they break into houses which they marked for themselves in the daytime; They do not know the light” (Job 24:13-16).
“My son, keep your father’s command, and do not forsake the law of your mother. Bind them continually upon your heart; Tie them around your neck. When you roam, they will lead you; When you sleep, they will keep you; And when you awake, they will speak with you. For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life, To keep you from the evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a seductress. Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids. For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared? So is he who goes into his neighbor’s wife; Whoever touches her shall not be innocent. People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; He may have to give up all the substance of his house. Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding. He who does so destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonor he will get, and his reproach will not be wiped away. For jealousy is a husband’s fury; Therefore, he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will accept no recompense, nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts” (PV 6:20-35).
Beware of Adultery! Obeying God’s word as taught by his parents will keep a child away from sin. Nothing but God’s Word has this power to protect the emotions. Here the woman is the aggressor in leading men to commit sexual sins. She is called ‘an evil woman’. She has a ‘sweet’ flattering tongue. Flattery is the act of praising someone too much, often in a way that is not sincere, having the desire to gain something from the person. Flattery is the beginning of cheating of adultery. Be careful! “A man who flatters his neighbor [with smooth words intending to do harm] Is spreading a net for his own feet” (PV 29:5; AMP). This evil woman is skilled in seducing men. She knows how to make up her face and how to dress seductively. Even if she is ugly, she looks beautiful. If the man is caught in her net, he will become poor. He will spend all his money on her. He will be reduced to ‘a crust of bread’. The woman’s intent is to destroy his soul. He will feel guilty. This guilt is like fire in his heart. God wants him to confess his sin and repent. If not, he will have no peace. Adultery destroys man’s intelligence and understanding. He becomes a fool. Eventually he will be exposed. His disgrace may last a lifetime. The cheated husband may seek revenge and wish him dead. The husband will not accept money as compensation. This is the sad end of all who commit adultery and do not repent of it. The evil spirit of seduction is extremely proud and stubborn. “This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, and says, “I have done no wickedness” (PV 30:20). This woman has committed adultery in the secret. In the morning, she ‘wipes her mouth’ leaving no visible trace of her sin in the night. She looks innocent as a virgin. She does not see adultery as wickedness, but as pleasure. In Nigeria, the spirit of adultery is called Jezebel, Mammy water, or Ogbanje spirit. It is only a believer that can win the battle against this wicked spirit that destroys marriages.
JOB’S COVENANT WITH HIS EYES
Job says: “I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman? For what is the allotment of God from above, and the inheritance of the Almighty from on high? Is it not destruction for the wicked, and disaster for the workers of iniquity? Does He not see my ways and count all my steps… “If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, Then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down over her. For that would be wickedness; Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment. For that would be a fire that consumes unto destruction and would root out all my increase” (Job 31:1-4; 9-12)
Job hates sin, especially sexual lust, and adultery. He has made a covenant with his eyes before God that he will not look lustfully towards a woman. Why did he do that? Because Job fears God. He knows that God must judge sin. Sexual lust is wickedness, and it connects with lies and deception. It ends in poverty, destruction, and disaster. Sexual sin is the root of working like a slave. The harvest will be rooted out and kill any profit. Adultery is bondage and it leads to poverty. Sexual sins may lead to divorce. Sin begets sin. The wife of an adulterer become a slave to the devil and a concubine to another man. This is a tragedy beyond words and a crime against marriage.
JOSEPH REFUSED TO COMMIT ADULTERY (Genesis 39)
Joseph in the Old Testament is type of Christ. Nothing bad is said about him. God gave him dreams of future prosperity and leadership. His father, Jacob, loved him more than the rest of his sons. He made for Joseph a robe of many colors, signifying leadership. His siblings hated him because of his dreams, and because of the beautiful robe made by his loving father. They tried to kill him. They eventually sold him as a slave. Potiphar, an officer of Pharoah, bought him as a slave. Potiphar discovered that God is with Joseph. He put him in charge of his household. Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph. She failed. For refusing her, Jospeh ends in prison. But God is with Joseph even in prison. His gift of leadership manifests there too. His dreams eventually come true. He becomes the Prime Minister of Egypt, the greatest country in the world at that time. Thru his position, he saves his family from hunger and death. He was a handsome man. Beauty, for both men and women, has proven to be a snare of pride. To be handsome and humble at the same time is the work of God’s Spirit. Joseph experienced all the normal passions like any other young man. He was possible lonely. Potiphar’s wife offered him pleasure and prosperity. Refusing her meant prison or death. How was Joseph able to resist and reject the evil spirit of seduction? The first reason why Joseph refused to commit adultery is because he feared God. He believed that God punishes sin. The second reason is because he was a loyal servant to his master who trusted him with all the work in his household. Be careful! This type of attack comes to successful people. The woman was wicked and shameless. She was persistent. Joseph avoided her. When at last she got hold of him, he ran away, leaving the garment behind. He did not stay to explain or talk to her. Lesson: avoid sin if you can. If not, run away! Joseph was grateful and faithful to Potiphar, his master. But he saw adultery as sin against God. To many men, adultery seems like a little sin. Not so for Joseph. He called it ‘great wickedness’.
Lesson: call sin to be wicked! Sin is not a form of pleasure. Joseph ran away from sin! This is God’s Word: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor 6:15-20). Remember that you belong to Christ. He shed His precious blood for you. Refuse the harlot! Run away from her! Be jealous over your testimony as a child of God! Your body belongs to God! He will protect you!
DAVID COMMITS ADULTERY AND MURDER (2 Samuel 11: 1-5)
King David was a sinner saved by grace. God called him ‘a man after His heart’ (Ac 13:22). David lied, pretended to be someone else, and lusted after women. But the lowest time in his life came when he committed adultery with Barsheba and killed her husband. This sad story is found in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. At this time, David was at his peak. He was 50 years old. He has been a king for 20 years. He was rich and famous. He was married to a number of women and had children. The story starts one ordinary evening. The troops led by general Joab were fighting the Ammonites. Usually, David was with his troops, leading them in battle. Then we read these words: ‘But David remained at Jerusalem.’ He was to be on the field, sleeping in a tent, with his weapons around him. But now, David chose to stay in his palace, relaxing on his rooftop. From over there, he saw a beautiful woman taking her bath. She was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah, the Hittite, one of David’s loyal men of valor. David called for her and he slept with her. She went back to her house. David thought that the affair was over. Then she sends a message to him saying ‘I am pregnant’. The sin David tried to cover up has ‘found him out’ (Nu 32:23). He calls her husband, Uriah, from the battlefield. He tries to deceive him to sleep with his wife, so that the child will be his. He made him drunk. He bribed him with gifts. But Uriah was too loyal to David as a soldier. Uriah did not go home. He slept at the gate of the palace with David’s servants. Though he was a high-ranking officer and could have used some time of relaxation at home, he refused to go home because the army and God’s ark were in the open fields. Uriah was a foreigner who married a Jewess. But in this dark moment, he was more righteous than King David himself. Failing to deceive Uriah, David decided to kill him. He handed him a letter to give to the general Joab describing how to betray and kill Uriah in battle. Joab was himself guilty of murder. To do David a favor, he obeys his king. This is how good man Uriah dies. “But what David did displease the Lord!” (2Sam 11:27).
What are the steps that led to this horrible sin?
*David was careless with his feet and duties. His feet were supposed to go to the field and fight with the soldiers. This was the season when ‘kings go to battle’. God hates “feet that are swift in running to evil” (PV 6:18). Be careful with your holy responsibilities. Thank God that you go to work and to church. Considered how must God protects you from sexual sins just by going to the house of God and your business?
*David was careless with his eyes. It is not a sin to see a naked woman by mistake. But it is a sin to look at her more than once. It is a sin to gaze long and to imagine her as object of sex. Pornography is sin! David should have done what Job did. Make a covenant with his eyes before God.
David coveted another man’s wife. He broke the 10th commandment even more than he lusted after her. Be careful to repent of covetousness. Be content with what you have. God did not tell Bathsheba to leave David because by now, she is a widow. We are not told if Bathsheba lusted after David or not. At that time, a king had total authority over his subjects. He could kill her for refusing him. David had to take responsibility for their sin. God forgives sin but there are consequences to sin that cannot be avoided. There are three direct consequences inflicted upon David:
1-Violence became part of his family. Nathan said the sword would never depart from David’s house (2 Sam 12:10). This was fulfilled in the successive violent deaths of at least three of his sons—Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah.
2-Disgrace entered the family. Nathan prophesied to David that his own wives would be humiliated before all Israel (2 Sam 12:11). This was fulfilled when Absalom “lay with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel” (2 Sam 16:22).
3-Untimely death. Nathan said the son conceived by David’s sin with Bathsheba will die (2 Sam 12:14, 18). Seven days later the baby died.
Lessons taken from the sin of David: It is easy to fall into sin when you are idle. Jesus commanded: “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt 26:41). The devil knows that the flesh is weak and attacks it. Be faithful to God and diligent in your duties to God and man. God cursed the ground. It is hard to work now. But hard work will keep you busy so that you don’t become idle and sin the more. Thank God for your job and for the opportunity to go to church and serve God! At the end of this bitter experience, David was brought to a complete repentance. And this was the Lord’s goal. David prayed for mercy and forgiveness. He promises God to use his pain to teach others about the terrible effects of sin. Psalm 51 is a great encouragement to many who have fallen into sin and found mercy. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You” (Ps 51:10-12).
JESUS SAYS: ADULTERY IS IN THE HEART BEFORE IT MANIFESTS IN THE BODY
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. “Furthermore, it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery” (Matt 5:27-32).
Like it was with the sin of murder, the Pharisees saw adultery only as a physical act. Jesus directs our attention to the heart. God looks at the heart, at the root of all sin, at the motives for committing sin. If you commit adultery, the first thing to do is to repent to God. Give your live to Christ. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. That is the only was you can overcome the power of sin. Repentance has to be total. Confess our sins and repent. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9).
THE GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE
The Bible gives two clear grounds for divorce: (1) sexual immorality (Matt 5:32; 19:9) and (2) abandonment by an unbeliever (1 Cor 7:15). Even in these two instances, though, divorce is not required or even encouraged. The most that can be said is that sexual immorality and abandonment are grounds (an allowance) for divorce. Confession, forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration are always the first steps. Divorce should only be viewed as a last resort. If there is domestic violence, drug abuse, mismanagement of finances thru addiction to gambling, and other terrible crimes committed, the wife and the children should leave the house and seek help.
God forgives sin immediately, but consequences remain. Do not be discouraged. Even in the times of Pain, God will not forsake you. His presence, mercy and grace are enough for us. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:9-11). Is there hope for the fornicators, for the adulterers, for the homosexuals, for the drunkards? Are you telling me pastor that there is hope for me? Yes! Give your life to Christ! His Blood washes all sinners who surrender to Him. Cry to God, Son of David, have mercy on me! Ask God to forgive you! Like Jacob, wrestle with God. The greatest thing you can do is to wrestle with God and become a prince with God! Pray! Stand from your knees and walk with God! Be a child of light! Live to the glory of God!
“Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren” (Jam 1:12-16). Do not be weakened. Do not be deceived. The tempter is a liar. Don’t be confused. Do not cooperate with your emotions. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Do not argue with the devil. Run for your life! Do not be disappointed if you suffer for standing for Jesus. Trust God to vindicate you! Sexual purity is powerful purity! God will reward it! Learn to say NO to sin! Be jealous over your testimony! Resist and kill sin for God’s sake alone! You can do it! I pray for you! Worship the Lord!
Green Pastures 