8/5/11 An Economic and Spiritual Fall

Do not commit adultery (Dt. 5:18)

⁶ During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. ⁷ I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. ⁸ 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. ⁹ Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. ¹⁰ In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD. ¹¹ The LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah. ¹² Go, proclaim this message toward the north: “‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,’ declares the LORD,
‘I will not be angry forever. ¹³ Only acknowledge your guilt—  you have rebelled against the LORD your God,.. “‘How gladly would I treat you like my children and give you a pleasant land,  the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. ²⁰ But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares the LORD. ²¹ A cry is heard on the barren heights, the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel, because they have perverted their ways and have forgotten the LORD their God. ²² “Return, faithless people;
I will cure you of backsliding.” (Jeremiah 3:6-13, 19b-22)

(Fall of Jerusalem by David Roberts 1850)

Thoughts: We can learn a lesson today from the fall of Israel and Judah.  The fall of those two nations (about 240 years apart) was blamed here not on poor political decisions (though there were many), or poor weather, or poor foresight, but on spiritual decisions.  Secular historians simply speak of a land stuck between two empires (Egypt and Mesopotamian powers).  But scripture mentions a link between being faithless to God and God's forsaking his people.
    Jeremiah (also Hosea and Isaiah) use the image of adultery as what the people of God did with their own God.  They became faithless to the faithful God.  They were enticed by novelty, sensuality, greed, the forsaking of the poor, and the indenturing of their own people to elevate themselves.  Truth is, there is no excuse for adultery.  There is also no excuse for leaving God. 
     In the last ten years our country has purposefully forsaken God in the name of freedom of religion.  An example that happened yesterday was the U.S. Air Force forbidding chaplains to teach a biblically based Bible study (http://blog.beliefnet.com/on_the_front_lines_of_the_culture_wars/?p=2438).  We can no longer pray out loud in our schools and there is pressure everywhere to give up everything Christian in our nation.  At the same time the number who claim to be Christians has decreased sharply in America since 2001- about 10% in ten years.  Attendance in church has plummeted. We have forsaken the idea of keeping a Sabbath as a culture (it's one of the busiest shopping days for many- and we are a weary, tired people).  Over half of our young people move in before (or instead of marrying).  Laws are placed on the books of many states that only Sodom and Gomorrah could love.  If we wonder why we are in this pickle, how did we get in this mess?  Is there not a spiritual side to things?  Is there not a God who cares what we do?  Has He not told us in scripture what we ought to do, and have we shut our ears? 
    Jeremiah (and God) begs the people to turn back, and that even now God would welcome them.  There is always hope in repentance.  There is no hope for those who are going down the dark path away from God. 

Prayer: May we, O Lord, turn back to you with our whole heart.  May we quit our selfishness, our greed, our forsaking you and turn to you with our whole hearts.

8/1/11- 7th commandment- Perspectives on adultery

Thou Shalt not commit adultery (Dt. 5:18)

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’^{[e] 28} But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (Mt. 5)

(Wedding at Lake Murray Presbyterian)

Thoughts: George Barna's 2007 research shows that the Sexual Revolution has won in America.  All the barrage of sexual innuendos, that became soft porn, that changed what once was x-rated (like Midnight Rider) into PG-13 has come.  A strong majority (59%) of those 23-41 years old in America believe it is morally acceptable to cohabit without marriage (formerly called "fornication").  44% of those 23-41 years old in America believe it is okay to have sex outside of marriage (hope my kids don't marry one of them!).  It is not that they do not know that the scriptures say it is wrong.  It is that the scriptures are seen only as one source for moral authority.  Feelings and desires, along with peers and psychological advisors (or "experts") are just as important if not more important than what is perceived as an ancient book that even some Christians do not believe.  Ironically, even those who call themselves "born again" who are under 30 believe cohabitation is morally acceptable today. 
    The old addage, however, that just because everyone else is doing it (or telling you to do it), does not make it morally right.  Does God really care about our sexuality?  That is really like asking does God care about us- for sexuality is an intimate part of who we are.  Sexuality is a gift given to us by God, and we are called to be good stewards of that gift, guarding that prescious and holy gift with boundaries, and committment. The question for those who say that it is okay if you "really love someone" is, "How do you know that someone really loves you?"  Committment was the standard way to know.  Promises can be cheap, and the road of life is littered with broken hearts and bodies of those who were promised "love" but were simply used for pleasure. 

Prayer: Help me, O Lord, in a culture that seems to be turning away from your standards, to have a listening ear to you.  May your voice sound loudly in my ears.

John Calvin Abridged: Though only one sin (adultery) is referred to, fornication and chastity are implied.  There are many New Testament passages that interpret this law as referring to fornication as well.  Thus the species refers to the whole genus.