Read Exodus 20:13
What is adultery?
What did the term adultery mean in OT days?
Originally expressed a male point of view
Wife is property
Term refers to voluntary intercourse of a man either single or
married with a married woman
Read Leviticus 20:10
Why do you think the penalty was so harsh?
Read Deuteronomy 22:22-30
Suppose a Jewish man came home and found his wife with
another man?
Suppose a Jewish woman came home and found her husband
with an unmarried woman?
This commandment is a safeguard for the home and
marriage bond rather than a general commandment about
moral purity
Prohibition of marital infidelity, not fornication
You will cherish the sacredness between you and your mate
Warns against yielding to the dictatorship of the body
If a man has an affair with an unmarried woman, the act is
not considered adultery.
Married men were free to visit prostitutes.
Polygamy was allowed as well as having children with
servants.
A man who committed adultery did not commit a wrongful act
against his own wife, but rather against his male neighbor
A major concern for this commandment was lineage.
Why?
In the world today, would you say our society is complacent
in this area? Why?
Is it OK if both parties agree to an open marriage?
Depends on our perception of marriage
If viewed only as man, woman, and law they probably have no
problem
If God and that relationship is part of the marriage then there is a
problem
Have God’s restrictions on sexual behavior changed? If so,
how? If not, why not?
Why has the punishment changed, ie. no more stoning?
Adultery steals the body from the spouse and kills the one
flesh union
Adultery is a God issue because of the relationship in
marriage
Adultery = infidelity = atheism = idolatry
NT pictures relationship of God and people like a marriage
How do you feel about these statements?
We are bombarded with sex in movies, TV, ads, etc.
Today’s culture talks a lot about sex, but enjoys it so little
because the understanding is so superficial
This generation is knowledgeable about sex but knows little
about the fullness
We mistake the wrapping for the gift
We swap a nice set of abs for lifelong loyalty
Greeks separate body and soul, so pagans had a different view
Scripture speaks of body and soul in terms of unity
Contemporary society says it is my body and I can do as I
wish
Scripture says it is God’s body and temple of the spirit
An exalted view of the body cannot have a casual view of sex
We tend to spend too much time on the physical aspects and
miss what is important
Read Genesis 2:18-24
Adam was looking for completeness
Jerry McGuire movie - you complete me!
Infidelity begins with a disappointment in the present union
Begins to look to others for completeness and perfection when
should be looking to spouse
Contemporary culture is impatient and seeks instant gratification
We are not just physical creatures
We mate not just to reproduce but for a commitment at a higher level
Adultery not driven by lust, but by longing.
Do you agree or disagree?
People tend to forget everything else when caught up in adultery
Adultery does not work because it does not give us what we are
looking for which is completeness in a love relationship at the
spiritual level
Read Exodus 20:14
Read Matthew 5:27-28
Why does Jesus say this?
Divorce was easy and not against the law. The adultery laws
of the OT were still in effect. Women had little or no rights.
It appears that the polygamy allowed in the OT had mostly
given away to monogamy in the NT times. Romans and
Greeks were monogamous as was almost everyone in
Palestine except for the aristocracy.
According to Josephus, Herod the Great practiced polygamy
and had 10 wives.
Matthew 19:3-9
How do you interpret these verses?
There were differing points of view in Jesus’ day
Herod, the ruler had divorced his wife to marry another
The Essenes advocated and practiced celibacy
The school of Hillel that a man could divorce his wife if he
found disfavor with her
The followers of Shammai interpreted disfavor in terms of
adultery
All agreed that the male was dominant and was only
required to give his wife a writ to get rid of her
Depending on what Jesus said, He would offend a certain
group which is why the Pharisees tried to trick Him.
Jesus took the high ground above all the debate. He said
that marriage was instituted by God and the two were to
be made as one. God had made marriage sacred.
When asked why Moses commanded that the custom
where a man could divorce his wife with a writ, Jesus said
Moses didn’t command it but just kind of let it happen and
made a concession to it, because the people were too
hard hearted to obey the intent.
The last part about adultery was probably not in the the
original saying of Jesus, but added by Matthew to reflect
the position of the early Christian church. Not in Mark.
However, Mark adds something else
Read Mark 10:11-12
Is this still true today, why or why not?
How can this be in there if a woman had no rights?
This was added later and not an original saying by Jesus.
At the time it was added, Gentiles were joining the early
Christian church. In Roman society a wife could divorce her
husband so they wanted something in place to counter that
situation.
How do you feel about these words being added later?
So what about today’s society, do you think people who
divorce and remarry consider themselves adulterers?
If not, how do you explain away these verses?
We no longer live under the law although the law dies
provide us guidelines on how to live. The law has changed
throughout the years, even in the Bible.
We are to seek and follow the will of God.
We have the two main commandments, both built around
love and relationship.
Do you think it is God’s will that people should live
alone after they divorce or should they seek to find
love in a new relationship?
You will cherish the sacredness that is
inherent in the relationship between
you and your mate.