Yeshua Explored
Marriage
Why is adultery an attack on God?
You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)
The key word here is na’aph (commit adultery). It is primarily used in human terms in the sense of the betrayal within a marriage. But it also has spiritual connotations in the prophetic writings:
I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. (Jeremiah 3:8)
Consequences here were extreme as they were, in the previous articles, for adultery of the fleshy variety.
“‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death’”. (Leviticus 20:10)
Either way, God likes this not a bit! A further clue is given when we return to the Hebrew word, na’aph, which is a contraction of two words that give the meaning “make anger”. The adulterer is in a select group that particularly arouses the great anger of God.
So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. (Malachi 3:5)
Murder may be an attack on God in the sense of destroying the Image of God that is within us, but adultery scythes at the very heart of God’s covenant with us, be it the marriage covenant or the one we make when we join the Kingdom of priests and become one of His people. Adultery arouses His Divine anger more than any other sin because of the disharmony it brings to relationships all around. Also, as we saw in the previous chapter, it was said that God etched the “Ten Commandments” so that the second group of five matched the first group of five. Consequently, the seventh “commandment”, you shall not commit adultery, was a reflection of the second, you shall have no other gods before me. Spiritual adultery was and still is a serious business.
Adultery these days, in the sense of a betrayal of a marriage, is so commonplace as to be socially acceptable and certainly not the stuff of gossip behind net curtains as it would have been a generation ago. In a survey in Divorce magazine in 2018 it was noted that, in America, 45-50% of married women and 50-60% of married men cheat on their spouses and this accounts for around 30% of divorces. It was also stated that around 70% of couples stay together after an affair is discovered. This is a high figure but perhaps is a reflection of changing times, when marriage was once considered for life, ‘til death us do part, but is now mainly viewed as an optional extra in the game of life. God sees it far more seriously than we do (including some Christians). The level of Christian divorces, even without extenuating circumstances, is running almost as high as in the secular world.
Sex is seen these days as a ‘divine right’ for all, however one may indulge (within the law, of course). A telling indictment of the current licentious climate is illustrated by a poster I have just seen for HIV/Aids prevention. Here is the wording:
There are many ways to prevent HIV: having regular tests, using a condom, taking preventative drugs. Do it your way …
How about the only 100% proven way to have sex and avoid HIV? Abstinence or waiting for marriage? Not acceptable options these days as they impinge on our human right to pursue pleasure without consequence and so not an option in our ‘brave new world’!
Adultery is seen as entertainment, with soap opera ratings spiking when there are fleshy shenanigans on offer and lurid tabloid headlines showcasing the latest celebrity affair guaranteed to add a few million to the circulation. Just like young toddlers having to be instructed to do good, because naughtiness is so natural for them, the same goes for us adults; there’s something about the breaking of marriage vows that piques our interest and sense of superiority. Even celebrities / royalty / politicians are only human like the rest of us. What fun to see them suffer! But God suffers too. This is because marriage is so important to Him.
This is an extract from the book, Sinner’s Charter: Are the ten commandments for today?, available for £10 at https://www.sppublishing.com/the-sinners-charter-260-p.asp
