Thursday, August 31, 2017

Wisdom Principles--No Adultery

There was a famine in the country, and Abram went down to Egypt to stay there for a time, since the famine in the country was severe. 11When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, 'Look, I know you are a beautiful woman. 12When the Egyptians see you they will say, "That is his wife," and they will kill me but leave you alive. 13Therefore please tell them you are my sister, so that they may treat me well because of you and spare my life out of regard for you.' 14When Abram arrived in Egypt the Egyptians did indeed see that the woman was very beautiful. 15When Pharaoh's officials saw her they sang her praises to Pharaoh and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's household. 16And Abram was very well treated because of her and received flocks, oxen, donkeys, men and women slaves, she-donkeys and camels. 17But Yahweh inflicted severe plagues on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. 18So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, 'What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me she was your wife? 19Why did you say, "She is my sister," so that I took her to be my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go!' 20And Pharaoh gave his people orders about him; they sent him on his way with his wife and all his possessions.

Abraham left there for the region of the Negeb, and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While staying in Gerar, 2Abraham said of his wife Sarah, 'She is my sister,' and Abimelech the king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. 3But God visited Abimelech in a dream one night. 'You are to die,' he told him, 'because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.' 4Abimelech, however, had not gone near her; so he said, 'Lord, would you kill someone even if he is upright? 5Did he not tell me himself, "She is my sister"? And she herself said, "He is my brother." I did this with a clear conscience and clean hands.' 6'Yes, I know,' God replied in the dream, 'that you did this with a clear conscience and I myself prevented you from sinning against me. That was why I 7 Now send the man's wife back; for he is a prophet and can intercede on your behalf for your life. But understand that if you do not send her back, this means death for you and all yours.'

8Early next morning, Abimelech summoned his full court and told 9Then summoning Abraham, Abimelech said to him, 'What have you done to us? What wrong have I done you, for you to bring such guilt on me and on my kingdom? You had no right to treat me like this.' 10Abimelech then said to Abraham, 'What possessed you to do such a thing?' 11'Because', Abraham replied, 'I thought there would be no fear of God here and that I should be killed for the sake of my wife. 12Anyway, she really is my sister, my father's daughter though not my mother's, besides being my wife. 13So when God made me wander far from my father's home I said to her, "There is an act of love you can do me: everywhere we go, say of me that I am your brother." '
14Abimelech took sheep, cattle, men and women slaves, and presented them to Abraham, and gave him back his wife Sarah.15And Abimelech said, 'Look, my land is open to you. Settle wherever you please.'16To Sarah he said, 'Look, I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver. This will allay suspicions about you, as far as all the people round you are concerned; you have been completely vindicated.' 17Abraham then interceded with God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave-girls, so that they could have children, 18for Yahweh had made all the women of Abimelech's household barren on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
Genesis 26:1-11
There was a famine in the country -- different from the previous famine which took place in the time of Abraham -- and Isaac went to Abimelech, the Philistine king at Gerar. 2Yahweh had appeared to him and said, 'Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the country which I shall point out to you. 3Remain for the present in that country; I shall be with you and bless you, for I shall give all these countries to you and your descendants in fulfilment of the oath I swore to your father Abraham.4I shall make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven, and I shall give them all these countries, and all nations on earth will bless themselves by your descendants 5in return for Abraham's obedience; for he kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes and my laws.'6So Isaac stayed at Gerar.
7When the people of the place asked him about his wife he replied, 'She is my sister,' for he was afraid to say, 'She is my wife,' thinking, 'The people of the place will kill me because of Rebekah, since she is beautiful.'8When he had been there some time, Abimelech the Philistine king happened to look out of the window and saw Isaac fondling his wife Rebekah. 9Abimelech summoned Isaac and said to him, 'Surely she must be your wife! How could you have said, "She is my sister"?' Isaac replied, 'Because I thought I might be killed on her account.'10Abimelech said, 'What a thing to do to us! One of the people might easily have slept with your wife. We should have incurred guilt, thanks to you.'11Then Abimelech issued this order to all the people: 'Whoever touches this man or his wife will be put to death.'
Genesis 39:6-10
Now Joseph was well built and handsome, 7and it happened some time later that his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, 'Sleep with me.' 8But he refused. 'Look,' he said to his master's wife, 'with me here, my master does not concern himself with what happens in the house, having entrusted all his possessions to me.9He himself wields no more authority in this house than I do. He has exempted nothing from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How could I do anything so wicked, and sin against God?' 10Although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not agree to sleep with her or be with her.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not set your heart on your neighbor’s spouse

You will not have intercourse with your fellow-citizen's wife; you would become unclean by doing so.

The man who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife will be put to death, he and the woman.

You must not commit adultery.

You must not set your heart on your neighbor’s spouse

If a man is caught having sexual intercourse with another man's wife, both must be put to death: the man who has slept with her and the woman herself. You must banish this evil from Israel.

I had made an agreement with my eyes not to linger on any virgin.

To keep you, too, from the woman who belongs to another, from the stranger, with her wheedling words; 17she has left the partner of her younger days, she has forgotten the covenant of her God; 18her house is tilting towards Death, down to the Shades go her paths. 19Of those who go to her not one returns, they never regain the paths of life.

My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen carefully to what I know; 2so that you may preserve discretion and your lips may guard knowledge.

Take no notice of a loose-living woman, 3for the lips of the adulteress drip with honey, her palate is more unctuous than oil, 4but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

5Her feet go down to death, Sheol the goal of her steps; 6far from following the path of life, her course is uncertain and she does not know it.

7And now, son, listen to me, never deviate from what I say: 8set your course as far from her as possible, go nowhere near the door of her house, 9or she will hand over your honor to others, the years of your life to a man without pity, 10and strangers will batten on your property, and your produce go to the house of a stranger,11 and, at your ending, your body and flesh having been consumed, you will groan12and exclaim, 'Alas, I hated discipline, my heart spurned all correction; 13I would not attend to the voice of my masters, I would not listen to those who tried to teach me.14Now I have come to nearly every kind of misery, in the assembly and in the community.'

Find joy with the wife you married in your youth, 19fair as a hind, graceful as a fawn: hers the breasts that ever fill you with delight, hers the love that ever holds you captive.

Why be seduced, my son, by someone else's wife, and fondle the breast of a woman who belongs to another? 21For the eyes of Yahweh observe human ways, and survey all human paths. 22The wicked is snared in his own misdeeds, is caught in the meshes of his own sin.23For want of discipline, he dies, led astray by his own excessive folly.

For the precept is a lamp, the teaching is a light; correction and discipline are the way to life, 24preserving you from the woman of bad character, from the wheedling talk of a woman who belongs to another.
25Do not covet her beauty in your heart or let her captivate you with the play of her eyes; 26a prostitute can be bought for a hunk of bread, but a married woman aims to snare a precious life.
27Can a man carry fire inside his shirt without setting his clothes alight?
28Can you walk on red-hot coals without burning your feet?
29Just so, the man who makes love to his neighbor’s wife: no one who touches her will get off unpunished.
30People attach but little blame to a thief who steals only to satisfy his hunger; 31yet even he, if caught, will have to repay sevenfold and hand over all his family resources.
32But the adulterer has no sense; he works his own destruction.
33All he will get is blows and contempt, and dishonor never to be blotted out.
34For jealousy inflames the husband who will show no mercy when the day comes for revenge; 35he will not consider any compensation; lavish what gifts you may, he will not be placated.

While I was at the window of my house, I was looking out through the lattice 7and I saw, among the callow youths, I noticed among the lads, one boy who had no sense. 8Going along the lane, near the corner where she lives, he reaches the path to her house, 9at twilight when day is declining, at dead of night and in the dark.

10And look, a woman is coming to meet him, dressed like a prostitute, false of heart.11She is loud and brazen; her feet cannot rest at home. 12Once in the street, once in the square, she lurks at every corner. 13She catches hold of him, she kisses him, the bold-faced creature says to him,14'I had to offer a communion sacrifice, I have discharged my vows today; 15that is why I came out to meet you, to look for you, and now I have found you. 16I have spread coverlets over my divan, embroidered stuff, Egyptian material,17I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, with aloes and cinnamon. 18Come on, we'll make love as much as we like, till morning. Let us enjoy the delights of love! 19For my husband is not at home, he has gone on a very long journey, 20taking his moneybags with him; he will not be back till the moon is full.' 21With her persistent coaxing she overcomes him, lures him on with her wheedling patter.
22Forthwith he follows her, like an ox on its way to the slaughterhouse, like a madman on his way to the stocks, 23until an arrow pierces him to the liver, like the bird that dashes into the net without realizing that its life is at stake.

24And now, son, listen to me, pay attention to the words I have to say: 25do not let your heart stray into her ways, or wander into her paths; 26she has done so many to death, and the strongest have all been her victims. 27Her house is the way to Sheol, the descent to the courts of death.

The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit, into it falls the man whom Yahweh rebukes.

My child, pay attention to me, let your eyes take pleasure in my way: 27a prostitute is a deep pit, a narrow well, the woman who belongs to another. 28Yes, like a brigand, she lies in wait, increasing the number of law-breakers.

The patron of prostitutes fritters his wealth away.

This is how an adulteress behaves: she eats, then wipes her mouth and says, 'I have done nothing wrong!'

Do not keep company with a prostitute, in case you get entangled in her snares.
4Do not dally with a singing girl, in case you get caught by her wiles.
5Do not stare at a pretty girl, in case you and she incur the same punishment.
6Do not give your heart to whores, or you will ruin your inheritance.
7Keep your eyes to yourself in the streets of a town, do not prowl about its unfrequented quarters. 8Turn your eyes away from a handsome woman, do not stare at a beauty belonging to someone else. Because of a woman's beauty, many have been undone; this makes passion flare up like a fire.
9Never sit down with a married woman, or sit at table with her drinking wine, in case you let your heart succumb to her and you lose all self-control and slide to disaster.

Before the truth and covenant of God, be ashamed of … 22gazing at a loose woman… paying court to another man's wife…24making advances to his servant-girl -- do not go near her bed.

Have respect for your own life then, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

You have heard how it was said, you shall not commit adultery. 28But I say this to you, if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart.29If your right eye should be your downfall, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of yourself than to have your whole body thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand should be your downfall, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of yourself than to have your whole body go to hell.

For from the heart come evil intentions: … adultery, fornication. See also Mark 7:21

Do you not realize that people who do evil will never inherit the kingdom of God? Make no mistake -- the sexually immoral … adulterers, the self-indulgent, sodomites …10none of these will inherit the kingdom of God.
 
You can be quite certain that nobody who indulges in sexual immorality or impurity … can inherit the kingdom of God.


Marriage must be honored by all, and marriages must be kept undefiled, because the sexually immoral and adulterers will come under God's judgement.

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