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? 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? Read Deuteronomy 22:22-30

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 major concern for this commandment was lineage. Why? A man who committed adultery did not commit a wrongful act against his own wife, but rather against his male neighbor

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.