Nougat 7

Hello siblings,

The dust has settled, and I’m confident that the electoral college won’t quibble. Mr Donald Trump is the president elect of the United States of America. We pray for the best, regardless of how folks voted.

It’s interesting that we’re at the short commandments at this juncture, given that some of them have featured in the campaigns. The timing was incidental. God’s plan, eternal.

Despite the unequivocal phrasing of these commandments, they still seem to be challenging for many of us. We press forward in our reflecting as we consider Today’s Holy Nougat

Exodus 20:14 NLT

[14] “You must not commit adultery.

No to Adultery

Adultery.

It’s a big one. And the commandment itself doesn’t leave wiggle room for alternate interpretation. (Of course, this was after the patriarchs, who had several wives). It’s worth noting that adultery features in several biblical texts represent King David’s downfall and has subsequently been appropriated in multiple national laws. Yes, indeed. It is a significant commandment.

Now it didn’t say no bigamy i. e., multiple wives, it says no to adultery, sexual relations with someone else’s husband or wife (usually it was about the wife). Some argue that it was connected to ideas of women as ‘property’ rather than integrity and mutual love or respect. I do not think it would be the sole reason. In fact, there is a greater link to the second commandment … Love the Lord, our God, our Lord alone. Inasmuch as we consider it unhealthy to worship more than one God or serve multiple masters, so should we view the sanctity of marriage!

Self-Check

Do your views on adultery match that of the Bible? How do you measure up?

Application

As was the case yesterday, we visit with Y’shua for His take on adultery. Again, we find His core views in the historic Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:27-28 (NLT) quotes Y’shua as follows,

[27] “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’’

[28] But I say, anyone who *even looks at a woman with lust* has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

For Y’shua, adultery begins with the heart and the thought.

If we expand the teaching to include His follow-up comment, we’d have many blind and de-limbed people walking around. Y’shua was clear in verse 29:

So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. I believe that translates loosely to Paul’s admonition … ‘Shun the very appearance of evil.’

Ironically, Y’shua does not seem to adhere to the eye for eye approach to adultery practised in the Levitical codes. When confronted with the lone (possibly naked) woman in John 8, He did not condemn her to death by stoning. For the act of adultery requires at least two. His dismissing word to the woman assures us that Y’shua does not condone adultery. He simply does not condone murder as the justification for addressing adultery, and Y’shua certainly had zero tolerance for hypocrisy.

John 4 shows that Y’shua was not averse to calling out adultery when He saw it. In fact, His take was somewhat radical in Luke 16:18. Y’shua saw divorce and remarriage as an act of adultery also. That was probably connected to the letter of the law approach by some who would divorce a wife, then engage in sexual relations with a new wife in short order. It might even have been a response to Herodias and Herod’s union. What we do know is that Y’shua, though unwilling to impose the death sentence, regarded adultery of the eyes, mind, and sexual organs as sinful.

Assignment

For those of us who are married or in a committed relationship, remember that the commitment extends to all aspects of our life. If there’s any point of disregard (including porn, mild flirtation, suggestive actions), remove self from the source of the temptation asap. Repent of our actions to Y’shua.

For those of us not involved in committed relationships, have we been encouraging others to disregard their commitment? If we’ve consciously done so … let’s repent of our actions to Y’shua.

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May all we seek be found in Christ