The Ten Commandments Part 4

The Ten Commandments

Part 4

Exodus 20:14, “You shall not commit adultery.” Deuteronomy 5:18, “Neither shall you commit adultery.” The seventh commandment protects your marriage and your neighbor’s marriage. It assures a stable environment in which to raise a family. God planned this from the start.

Genesis 2:18 speaks about a helping relationship, “a help mate,” to tend the Garden. It also speaks to the physical union, becoming one flesh. Genesis 2:23-25, “The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman, for she was taken out of man.’ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”

Traditional Protestant wedding vows honor the first marriage and this commandment: (Groom’s name), wilt thou have this woman (Bride’s name), to be thy wedded wife to live together after God’s ordinance in the Holy Estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live? ("I will.")

(Bride’s name), wilt thou take thee (groom’s name), to be thy wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better – for worse, for richer – for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, and thereto I pledge thee my faith." ("I will.")

(Rings) In token and pledge of the vow between us made, with this ring I thee wed; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

(Rings) Receive this ring as a token of wedded love and faith.*

Note that marriage is a “Holy Estate” sworn to “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The wedding vows are sacred. The seventh commandment is for the protection of this Holy Estate and is the basis for sexual ethics. It demands that you, husband and wife, protects this Holy Estate. It demands that you protect your neighbor’s Holy Estate. Your neighbor is to do likewise.

God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. This Holy Estate is for the building of a family and the continuity of the family line. Therefore, this Holy Estate is an explicit call for consensual sexual activity between the husband and wife. Indeed, under the Law given Moses by God, the growth of a relationship between husband and wife is so special that a newly married husband is free for one year to rejoice with his wife and not take part in any public labor such as military service.

Further, the husband and wife are to enjoy this sexual relationship. The entire Song of Solomon makes this clear. Here are some examples: 2:3-6, “As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among young men. With great delight, I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his intention toward me was love. Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. O that his left hand were under my head and that his right hand embraced me!” 1:2-4, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine; your anointing oils are fragrant; your name is perfume poured out … We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine.

Song of Solomon describes a beautiful relationship. However, sometimes-uncontrolled lust caused a married person to commit adultery. What does the law say about that? Legal systems invariably are set up to tell us what to do after the crimes have been committed. Lawyers and judges study the law so that they can respond properly after the fact. From the time that Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, visited the Israelite encampment in Sinai; the Israelites have had a system of judges. Soon after that, God gave us the Ten Commandments, and God gave the rest of the 613 laws to Moses. In the case of the seventh commandment, committing adultery is a sin. Leviticus 20:10 says that the man and the woman shall be called adulterers, and both put to death. That seems harsh to modern ears.

God is the Merciful One. He is loving, kind, good and gracious. God’s Law is about building a better world with punishment as a last resort. Remember Jesus when an adulterous woman, “caught in the very act,” was about to be stoned to death? He said, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” The Jews wanted to help their neighbor even when he or she broke the law. Numbers 35:20-27, the court must try to save, to redeem, the lawbreaker. The punishment described in the Commandments and the laws defined the worst punishment possible for breaking the law. Our system of laws is similar in that regard. Someone breaks one of our nation’s laws and we hear, “He could get up electric chair for that.” only to find out that the judge sentenced him to two years followed by five year's probation. It was the same with Jewish law.