The Ten Commandments--Commandments 7 and 8

The Ten Commandments INDEED strike at the very heart and core of human life. In our journey, we turn now to the seventh and eighth commandments.

Commandment 7: Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18. "You shall not commit adultery." Here are a few important thoughts.
1. Adultery is a "heart" issue. It is NOT an issue having to do with an external bodily act. VERY STRANGELY, some people have thought or assumed that in Old Testament times, "adultery" was a sin committed externally, and ONLY with Jesus and the New Testament, God became concerned about "lust" in the heart. Such people appeal to texts like Matthew 5:27-30. But READ THE HEBREW BIBLE. 2 Samuel 12:2-4; Job 31:1, 9-12; and many other Old Testament texts clearly teach that "lust" of the heart is the real issue, which naturally leads to the external act of adultery.
2. Adultery is a very deep personal issue, BECAUSE it affects the whole attitude of the person. Paul spells out this issue in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20. When a person, male or female, commits adultery, this "changes" that person. It "scars" that person's life.
3. The Bible compares human infidelity with God with a husband being unfaithful to his wife or a wife being unfaithful to her husband. Study carefully Hosea 2:2-15; Jeremiah 2:1-4:4; 2 Corinthians 11:2-3. THIS MARITAL RELATIONSHIP is so close that the Bible declares is like God's relationship to his people.

Eighth Commandment: Exodus 20:15; Deuteronomy 5:19. "You shall not steal." Here are some serious thoughts.
1. Exodus 21:16 and Deuteronomy 24:7 suggest that the "nub" of the eighth commandment forbids what we call "kidnapping." The most expensive heinous crime on earth today is "trafficking" of girls and women all over the world. Self-centered individuals "rob" other people and use those people to gain profit. The eighth commandment lies right before our very eyes every day.
2. Exodus 22:1-4; 1 Kings 21; and many other biblical texts also emphasize that it is sinful for an individual to rob property or goods that rightfully belong to others. God teaches us that human beings are not to whittle down, eat away at, the selfhood of individuals or of families or of communities. Unfortunately, many people "legally" create means of seizing goods or property from other people. One can "get by with this" according to "the law," but God is against this. The Bible makes this clear.

What are YOUR responses to these two commandments? How do they touch YOUR life? Your home? Your church? Your community? Share your thoughts with others. Let me know your thoughts.

John Willis