Commandment Seven Series

Thou shalt not commit adultery Exodus 20:1-14

There were three guys who escaped from Dorchester prison; one of them was from Moncton, one from Shediac and the other guy was from Cape Breton. They ran through the fields and hitched a ride in the back of a pick-up truck and made it to the Amherst mall. And just when they thought they were free they saw a cop car pulling up in front of them. So, the guy from Moncton said, “Everybody act cool and don’t give them your right name whatever you do.” But, the cop was suspicious of them because he had never seen any of them around before. So, he started asking them who they were.

The guy from Moncton looked around and saw the various restaurant signs and said, “My name is Johnny MacDonald.” Then the guy from Amherst looked across the street and when he saw the car dealership he said, “I’m Tommy Ford.” But, the guy from Cape Breton was kind of stumped for a second and couldn’t see any other names, so he said, “My name is Ken.” And the police officer asked, “Ken who?” And he said, Ken-tucky Fried Chicken”

“And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 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. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

Today we’re looking at that last verse, “Thou shalt not commit adultery” and this verse was the key to what’s known as the Wicked Bible. Now, way back in 1631 there was a translation of the Bible that was published by Robert Barker and Martin Lucas and they were the royal printers in London. The king had commissioned them to put out this translation they put every penny they into this but during the last phase of the printing their printer asked them for a raise. Well, they said no and he was so angry that he took the word ‘not’ out of the eighth commandment, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ So, it read, “Thou shalt commit adultery” and without knowing this the men printed the first thousand copies and when word came to the king he ordered the entire printing destroyed and they were fined 300 pounds which was a years salary. Today, there’s actually eleven of them left and one is on the internet for sale for $89,500. So, this was an important commandment back then and it still is today.

The first four of these commandments deal with our relationship to God and they tell us we are to worship God and God alone. I mean, nothing and no one is ever to take the place of God. We are to worship Him from our heart and according to the word of God and He also tells us we are not to use any kind of image to represent Him whether it’s physical or even mental one.

And then we’re told; we are never to take His name in vain. Now, let me ask you a very simple question. Who was God talking to? Well, obviously, He was talking to believers when He gave these commandments and He’s still talking to believers today. I mean, since the non-believer doesn’t even believe there is a God; there was no sense warning him about taking God’s name in vain. So, this is telling those of us who believe in God, how we are to show respect not only for God’s name and ultimately this also refers to how we live our lives because if we live like the rest of the world, then we are taking His name in vain.