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“You shall not commit adultery.

‘In God’s order of priority, the sanctity of human life is followed by the importance of the marriage relationship…As a whole, the Bible reveals that God desires the establishment of harmonious marital relationships and that neither partner should do anything to undermine this.’ T.D.Alexander: ‘The New Bible Commentary’, p.108.

The Old Testament makes no distinction between crimes (committed against people) and sins (committed against God). In Amos 1:3-2:4 we find a long list of what we would call today ‘crimes against humanity’, but they are exposed as sins against the Lord, and He will punish. In Psalm 51:4, in view of his sins of adultery and murder, David can say to God, “Against you, you only, have I sinned.” We know he had sinned against Bathsheba, using his power and position to take her for himself; he had sinned against her husband, Uriah, by stealing his wife and having him killed, for no other reason than to cover his guilt (which, of course, he could not do).

According to Genesis 5:1,2, the image of God was reflected in the first man and woman, united in marriage. In their togetherness they bore the name “man”. So one of the things adultery does is to defile this image. God is the covenant-keeping God, but ‘Marital infidelity involves going back on one’s pledged word and therefore is a departure from the image of God.’ Alec Motyer: ‘The message of Exodus’, p.229. God is not like that. He is always faithful; He always keeps His Word.

It’s interesting that the next commandment is: “You shall not steal” because adultery is a form of theft, as already noted above.

Jesus had a very high standard for sexual behaviour. As in the case of murder, He was concerned with what was in a person’s heart (Matthew 5:27,28). Adultery is not only the act; it can also be in attitude.

‘Marriage,’ said the cynic, is like a besieged city: all those on the inside want to get out, and all those on the outside want to get in.’

Thankfully, that is not totally true, but there is some truth in there. What we can say is that marriage is under attack, and it behoves all of us who are married to guard our hearts, and seek God’s grace to be lovingly faithful in the marriages He has given us. The aim is that they may ‘preach the gospel’, and display to the world something of the wonder and beauty of Christ’s relationship with the church (see Ephesians 5:22-33).

“You shall not murder.

It could not be clearer could it? Yet these last few months, an evil tyrant who claims to believe in God (seems to believe, in fact, that God is on his side), endorsed by at least some members of his state church, has been authorising the mass murder of thousands upon thousands of innocent victims. (Yes, I do think also of the many in the Russian army he has consigned to premature death with his bloodthirsty orders).

God has vetoed killing, but, tragically, history is full of it.

‘The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.’

Genesis 9:6 makes clear that the creation of humankind in God’s image makes murder a sin and crime, and it provides justification for the death penalty.

Tom Hale writes: ‘The word “murder” means to “kill deliberately”; it does not apply to accidental killing. It may or may not apply to killing because of loss of self-control; such cases are difficult to judge. The term “murder” does not apply to the killing of animals. It does not apply to killing a person in self-defence or to executions carried out by legitimate state authorities.’ ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.243.

What should be of interest and concern to us is that Jesus taught that murder is not only an external act but an internal attitude (Matt.5:21,22; 1 John 3:13). That is disturbing because I know I can become very angry with certain people – even with some fellow-Christians.

Many preachers in by-gone ages emphasised the importance of preaching the Law in preparation for the Gospel. It catches us in its powerful searchlight, and we know we have no excuses. It convicts of sin and shows us our need of a Saviour. I therefore say again, ‘Where would any one of us be apart from the grace and mercy of God?’ We are all law-breakers.

PRAYER: “Scatter the nations who delight in war” (Ps.66:30b). I can pray this with zeal; I know you can too.

“Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

‘When we step out of the arena of ‘duty to God’, we step into the arena of duty within the family, our foremost area of obligation in the world.’ Alec Motyer: ‘The message of Exodus’, p.227

The Bible is relevant to children.

The Bible does address children.

The fifth commandment speaks directly to children.      

 I became a Christian as a young child, and I knew undoubtedly, in my heart, that I was converted. I didn’t understand the whole Bible. (I still don’t…and don’t expect to while I remain on planet earth). But I did grasp enough to know I was a sinner, and Jesus had died for my sins, and I needed to ask Him to save me. My heart still burns – as it did back then – at just the thought of it.

Alec Motyer has something important to say about the position the fifth commandment holds within ‘the decalogue’- the list of ten:

‘…our first duty after our obedience to God (commandments 1-4) is within the family and, in the same way, this is our primary area of obligation before we consider our obligations to other people (commandments 6-10). The fifth commandment belongs neither in the first group nor in the second, but in its distinctiveness it recognises our first and primary earthy obligation…So, then, if we are to think biblically about the Ten Commandments, we do not have two ‘tables’ or sections but three. God comes first, the family comes second, and the community around us third. When we come out from God’s presence, our primary obligations are towards our families, and the obligations to the world around us are secondary’ (pp.219/220).

In the Bible, we see how the ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ dimensions of life work together. John says: ‘anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen…Whoever loves God must also love his brother’ (1 John 4:20-21). Jesus said the second ‘great’ commandment is ‘like’ the first (Matt.22:39). So obedience to the first must be reflected in obedience to the second. Human relationships matter deeply, and the first set of relationships mentioned in this list concern home life.

PRAYER: Lord God, may it be that in our homes we put you first, and then live in the overflow of that in our love for one another.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

I have to admit I was deeply challenged by some words in a commentary, pointing to the literal rendering here: ‘Remember…so as to make holy.’ The commentator observed that this involves a thoughtful preparation so as to exclude all activities which detract from the central purpose of the day.

‘Thoughtful preparation’. Hmmm.

Do you sometimes think we’re getting a bit lax – a bit too casual and careless – in our approach to Sundays? This doesn’t apply to everyone, I’m sure, but I think many probably do need to take a long hard look in the mirror. As someone commented, ‘The Lord’s Day is fast becoming ‘the Lord’s half day.’ (Or maybe ‘the Lord’s once a fortnight/once a month day?). Are our own priorities, our own domestic plans, now more to the fore as we approach this special day? Is it becoming more about us, and our families than about Him?

I’m just wondering aloud…raising questions which weigh on my mind – and have done so for quite some time.

I was brought up in an era where many Christians were highly legalistic in their approach to Sunday’s. The churches added many more ‘thou shalt not’s’ into the mix. There were numerous things one could not do on this day, and it often made it quite miserable for children. (And not only for children!) We can’t live the Christian life by man-made rules, and should resist them. It’s not surprising there has been a reaction to such a stifling way of spending what should be a day of delight.

But ‘thoughtful preparation’ surely is required, if we’re going to mark one day in seven as a joyous, God-centred day of rest.

Again, I think Motyer helps us:

‘…the freedom to be enjoyed on the Sabbath imposed a duty of careful forethought.

The cessation of work is not…an end in itself but, so to speak, ‘clears a space’; as Childs put it, there was to be ‘the cessation of normal activity…in order to set aside the Sabbath for something special. What that ‘something special’ was is left vague by the commandment, but three principles are clear. The Sabbath was to be a day of holiness, that is a different day, a day set apart from all other days (8), a day belonging in some special way to the Lord and therefore to be lived uniquely for him (11). The vagueness is doubtless deliberate, leaving room for individual choice and personal preference, but the one thing that is common to all three principles is that it was to be a different day. And that surely remains true today. Sunday should not be a second Saturday every week (as the term ‘continental Sunday’ is found to mean)…but a day positively different because it is being lived specially for God.’ ‘The message of Exodus’, p.226.