“You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:13).

Adultery is voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse (Google Dictionary). Jesus allows that it is grounds for divorce. “But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Matthew 5:32).

And as we are learning in our ongoing study of the Ten Commandments, Jesus has more to say about this commandment. “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). (And I am quite sure that the same goes for looking at men lustfully.)

What is adultery? We read the dictionary version above, but what is adultery in God’s eyes? Adultery is unfaithfulness. Faith is what binds us together. Adultery is unfaithfulness. It is cheating on our spouse; it is cheating on a covenant made before God. If faith binds us together, adultery tears us apart.

God created marriage. He holds marriage in such high regard that he uses marriage as a metaphor to describe the Church. John Piper describes it this way:

Ephesians 5:31 is a quotation of Genesis 2:24, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one.” Then Paul adds in verse 32: “This is a great mystery, and I take it to mean Christ and the church.”

The union of man and woman in marriage is a mystery because it conceals, as in a parable, a truth about Christ and the church. The divine reality hidden in the metaphor of marriage is that God ordained a permanent union between His Son and the church. Human marriage is the earthly image of this divine plan. As God willed for Christ and the church to become one body (Galatians 3:28, 1 Corinthians 12:13), so He willed for marriage to reflect this pattern—that the husband and wife become one flesh.

Just as the Apostle Paul used marriage to describe the union of Christ and the church, Old Testament writers used adultery as a metaphor for idolatry and unfaithfulness to God. In the book of Hosea, “God brings to life a consistent picture used throughout the Old Testament.  In this picture, the LORD is the husband of Israel, and their passionate, chronic attraction for idols was like the lust of an adulterer.  His people were as unfaithful as a prostitute was.” (Blue Letter Bible, David Guzik commentary on Hosea).

Throughout the Bible, God makes it very clear that he created the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman as the foundation of our society. It is also clear that this covenant was designed after the beautiful covenant between Jesus and his church. It is thrilling to imagine that glorious wedding celebration described by John in his Book of Revelation:

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:6-9)

This subject is hard. Many of us find ourselves with a history of unfaithfulness. Perhaps a spouse has been unfaithful to us, or perhaps we have been unfaithful, either to a spouse or to God, or both. Praise God that he is a God of forgiveness.  Let us take comfort, indeed relief, because of His everlasting faithfulness to us, from the words in Joel 2:23-27; 32:

Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts, and the locust swarm—my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed…. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

Do you find that being faithful, whether to God or to your spouse, is a challenge?

• Being faithful requires intention: “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 34)

• Being faithful requires active obedience: “Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” (Philippians 1:27)

• Being faithful requires prayer: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

• Being faithful is one of the fruits of the spirit, meaning that it can only be accomplished with the help of the Holy Spirit: “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

Faithfulness brings rewards. Let us be faithful to our spouses, to our families, to church, to God.

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:6-7)

And let us rejoice in the knowledge that God is always faithful to his people. We can rely on his faithfulness to us. We can take joy in his faithfulness to us. Jeremiah wrote: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Because of God’s faithfulness to us, we can sing that wonderful hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.”

In Christ,

Judy

“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

“You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13)

We are continuing our study of the Ten Commandments. The first four are the “vertical” commandments, which speak to our relationship with God. The last six commandments are “horizontal,” dealing with our relationships with others. Last week the devotion was on the fifth commandment, “Culture of Honor.” Now we begin a series of “thou shalt nots.” Jesus had much to say about this sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not murder,” which was intended to protect innocent life. He teaches in Matthew 5:21-26, during his masterpiece Sermon on the Mount:

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you,leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

We have an incentive not to murder. It is a crime against the law of the land and if we are found guilty, we will most likely serve time in prison if not receive a death sentence. However, the judicial system can only take action on our behaviors. The court system will not judge us on the condition of our hearts.

Jesus, on the other hand, is at least as concerned about our hearts. We will be called on Judgment Day to account for our motives as well as our behaviors. It is good that we do not act on a sincere desire to murder someone, but Jesus says we will be judged similarly for having hate in our hearts and for holding on to grudges and ill will and for failing to do whatever is in our power to reconcile with each other.

What is hate? Hate is an intense or passionate dislike. It can be directed toward people or places or things. Hate is usually an unhealthy emotion; however, the Bible identifies seven things that God hates. “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community” (Proverbs 6:16-19). Romans 12:9 tells us “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”

Does this mean that we should hate what God hates? Franklin Graham advises: “However, as we learn to love righteousness and hate sin, we must never, ever, turn to hating our fellow man.” His advice is supported by Scripture. “Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness … and does not know where he is going” (1 John 2:11); “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15).

Graham continues, “So while the world ratchets up its contempt and cruelty, especially toward disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called not to return evil for evil, or insult for insult (1 Peter 3:9). Instead, we are to love our enemies and pray for those who launch attacks against us.”

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighborand hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)

Obeying the letter of this commandment is not nearly as difficult as obeying the spirit. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if everyone obeyed the spirit of this commandment, we would never experience murder. But obeying the spirit of this commandment is difficult. Sure, it is easy to love those who love us back, but Matthew 5:46 points out, what reward is there for that? Let us go out of our way to lavish love on everyone, including our enemies, and in so doing so enjoy the abundant, unmerited love the Father has for each of us.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).

^“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10)

In Christ,

Judy

“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

“Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise” (Ephesians 6:2).

ONCE UPON A TIME there was a little old man. His eyes blinked and his hands trembled; when he ate, he clattered the silverware distressingly, missed his mouth with the spoon as often as not, and dribbled a bit of his food on the tablecloth. Now he lived with his married son, having nowhere else to live, and his son’s wife was a modern young woman who knew that in-laws should not be tolerated in a woman’s home. “I can’t have this,” she said. “It interferes with a woman’s right to happiness.” So, she and her husband took the little old man gently but firmly by the arm and led him to the corner of the kitchen. There they set him on a stool and gave him his food, what there was of it, in an earthenware bowl. From then on he always ate in the corner, blinking at the table with wistful eyes. One day his hands trembled rather more than usual, and the earthenware bowl fell and broke. “If you are a pig,” said the daughter-in-law, “you must eat out of a trough.” So, they made him a little wooden trough, and he got his meals in that. These people had a four-year-old son of whom they were very fond. One suppertime the young man noticed his boy playing intently with some bits of wood and asked what he was doing. “I’m making a trough,” he said, smiling up for approval, “to feed you and Mamma out of when I get big.” The man and his wife looked at each other for a while and did not say anything. Then they cried a little. Then they went to the corner and took the little old man by the arm and led him back to the table. They sat him in a comfortable chair and gave him his food on a plate, and from then on nobody ever scolded when he clattered or spilled or broke things. (a Grimm’s Fairy Tale)

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12).

We are in a series on the Ten Commandments. This fifth commandment is given twice in the Old Testament (Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16) and five more times in the New Testament gospels of Matthew (15:4, 19:9), (Mark 7:10, 10:19), and Luke (18:20). There are no exceptions given for our obedience to this command, even for absent or bad parents. This is quite interesting, especially in our culture today of honoring our children at the expense of adults, and in our experiences of loss of traditional family structures. Of course, we are to care for and raise our children well; and the rule in my day of “children should be seen and not heard” may be a little too harsh. However, the western culture of promoting youth at the expense of our elderly is clearly not biblical. And it is short-sighted, because we will all be getting older one day, if we live long enough. This commentary is not meant to be self-serving. It is meant to enlighten us to the dangers of not following this command and to the blessings when we are obedient.

As Paul says in Ephesians, this is the first commandment with a promise. Moses says to honor your father and mother so that you may live long in the land God is giving you, so that it may go well with you. Jesus says to honor your father and mother so that you will not die. That gets my attention!

What does it mean to honor?

• It means to respect the position, the role. Even if the person in the role is not worthy of respect, we should respect the purpose that God gives to fathers and mothers and do what we can to uphold it, to learn, to teach, to model godly fatherhood and motherhood.

• It means to love our fathers and mothers. Some parents are easy to love. However, for many, growing up was not idyllic. Loving will be a challenge. Regardless, Jesus teaches us “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). That does not mean that we should put ourselves in danger or subject ourselves to any type of abuse. However, as Paul writes to the Corinthians: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) And “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

• It means to seek wisdom from our elders. Who of us is not wiser than we were 5, 10, 20 years ago? We have much to learn from our elders and we will shortchange ourselves and those who come after us if we do not intentionally seek to learn from such a valuable resource. And to those of us who are “elders,” (and if you live long enough you will be an elder, too) we should strive for wisdom. Read Titus 2 for more on this subject.

One of Nashville Rescue Mission’s Core Values is Culture of Honor. “We honor those that have laid the path before us and bless those that labor among us, as we embrace the future ahead of us.” That kind of says it all.

If you have a belly button, you have a mother and a father. If you are a believer, you have a Heavenly Father, a good, good Father who loves you, who is perfect in all His ways. Let us honor Him above all with our obedience to His Word.

In Christ,

Judy

^“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).

We are in a series of devotions about the Ten Commandments. Last week we took up commandments 1-3, in which God spoke all these words specifically to tell us how to worship. Jesus summed them up by telling us in Matthew 22:37 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” The last five commandments are the famous “shalt nots:” Do not murder, commit adultery, steal, lie or slander, or covet. We will take these up in a future Chaplain’s Corner.

Today we take up the fourth commandment, and next week we will take up the fifth. I think it is instructive that God starts with the verb “Remember.” I realize that our minds are very active, and thoughts race unbidden about so many things and people and events from the distant past up to the present. In a sense, we are passively remembering all the time. But in Exodus 20:8, we are commanded to intentionally remember, or as the Oxford Dictionary states it in this case, “to not forget to do something; to actually do what you have to do.” We are to intentionally observe the Sabbath.

Again, going to the Oxford Dictionary, Sabbath means “a day of religious observance and abstinence from work.” Sabbath is traditionally observed by Jews on Saturday and by Christians on Sunday, but the command is not specific to a particular day of the week; it is to follow God’s example and to rest one day each week. As the Scripture states: “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:9-11)

Just as we looked to the New Testament to see what Jesus had to say about the first three commandments, it is important for us to understand Jesus’ teaching on this fourth commandment. To the Jews, the command to remember the Sabbath means to remember the rest. The Jews in Jesus’ day became very legalistic about what it meant to rest and do no work. But when the Pharisees criticized Jesus for working on a Sabbath by plucking some grains to eat, “Then he (Jesus) said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.  So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27-28)

The writer of Hebrews gives us even more insight. “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:9-11) *.

Under the Law, the Jews entered into rest by ceasing from their work. Under Christ, we enter into rest by receiving the grace of God for our salvation. When we remember Jesus’ finished work on the cross, we remember that Jesus is our rest.  Now here is where we are encouraged to honor the spirit of this law rather than the letter. Paul teaches: “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. “(Colossians 2:16-17).

Under Christ, the idea is not that Sabbath has been abolished, but that every day is a day to remember to rest in the finished work of God.

In Christ,

Judy 

*This passage refers to the Exodus when God tested the Israelites during their journey, and ultimately, their unfaithfulness resulted in all but two (Joshua and Caleb) of the adults who fled Egypt dying in the wilderness before being able to enter the Promised Land (their rest).