Last week “ you have heard it said…”
Exodus 20
A quick look …. what’s to argue?
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was evil continually before God.” Genesis 6:5
BIBLE and the HEART – more than 200 times it deals with the thought life, the emotions, the wellsprings of life,
https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/how-to-guard-your-heart.html
Adultery
(Note : subtitles not in Bible – all verses together)
MATTHEW 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[e]
– what’s the desired outcome?
– Jesus to add clarity / build on the foundation of Exodus 20.
And I say to you” = You understand the Bible to mean only this, but I offer a fuller interpretation”.
https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/eq/2004-4_291.pdf
VERSE 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Studies examining the neuroimaging results of subjects who viewed internet pornography reveal brain region activation similar to craving and drug cue reactions for alcohol, cocaine, and nicotine.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/thedoctorweighsin.com/why-is-pornography-so-powerfully-addictive/amp/
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A quick biblical look…
Job was under attack by “ friends”. Response is seen in 31:1-4..,
Eccl 11 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
10 Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain[c] from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vani
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VERSES 29-30 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.
QUESTION: Is Jesus really SERIOUS?
Why such words? What’s the problem ( widespread effects )
Divorce
VERSES 31-32“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’[f]
1) woman as possession in 1stC
2) marriage as “business” contract
The Mosaic law apparently, on the side of the husband, made it as difficult as possible for him to secure a divorce. No man could unceremoniously and capriciously dismiss his wife without the semblance of a trial.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/divorce-in-the-old-testament.html
1- Significance of “dowry”
2- two schools of thought
(. It is well known that at, and some time before, the time of our Saviour, there were two schools among the Jewish rabbis, that of Shammai and that of Hillel. Shammai and his followers maintained that ‘erwath dabhar signified nothing less than unchastity or adultery, and argued that only this crime justified a man in divorcing his wife. Hillel and his disciples went to the other extreme. They placed great stress upon the words, “if she find no favor in his eyes” immediately preceding `erwath dabhar (Deuteronomy 24:1), and contended that divorce should be granted for the flimsiest reason…)
https://www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/divorce-in-the-old-testament.html
Verse 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
– define : ADULTERY
– living in an age of ADULTERY as “normal” or even trivial. How did we get here???
– impact on family
MINIMAZATION of ADULTERY IN THE U.S.
States’ anti-adultery laws are rarely enforced, a vestige of our country’s Puritanical beginnings, says Naomi Cahn, a law professor at the George Washington University Law School.
“I suspect it’s not something most people having non-marital relationships are thinking about,” Cahn tells USA TODAY Network.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.freep.com/amp/28936155
Marriage and Porn
68% of divorce cases involved one party meeting a new lover over the Internet.
56% involved one party having “an obsessive interest in pornographic websites.”
Yet, 1 in 200 admit to having a problem with pornography!
http://husbandhelphaven.com/porn-statistics/–
ADULTERY IN SCRIPTURE
Idolatry, covetousness, and apostasy are spoken of as adultery spiritually ( Jeremiah 3:6 Jeremiah 3:8 Jeremiah 3:9 ; Ezekiel 16:32 ; Hosea 1:2:3; ; Revelation 2:22 ). An apostate church is an adulteress ( Isaiah 1:21 ; Ezek. Isaiah 23:4 Isaiah 23:7 Isaiah 23:37 ), and the Jews are styled “an adulterous generation” ( Matthew 12:39 ). (Compare Revelation 12 .)
- Why does this end here?
- If you were in the original crowd, how would you take this?
- How do you take this today, NOW?
CONCLUSION
Proverbs 4
20
My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.
21
Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
22
for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.
23
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
24
Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25
Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
26
Give careful thought to the[c] paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
27
Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.