So, we are continuing where we left off yesterday in our discussion of the marriage covenant and God's passion for its preservation.
When God formed a covenant with Noah, there was a sign attached, and that sign was the rainbow. Now we might think that God set the rainbow in the sky so that Noah would remember God's covenant, and in fact, we all should remember God's covenant with Noah whenever we see a rainbow because we are included in the protective terms of that covenant. But the rainbow is actually a reminder to God Himself about His covenant with Noah:
"And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth. So God said to Noah , 'This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on earth." Genesis 9:12-17
In the covenant God made with Noah, only God was responsible to fulfill the covenant requirements that God set: 'Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.' Noah had no specific requirement, and was at no risk of the penalties of breaking covenant with God in this case.
In a marriage covenant, both parties are responsible to fulfill the covenant terms and conditions. The sign of the covenant is the wedding ring. It serves as a reminder to both spouses of the covenant into which they have entered with each other and the respective vows they have spoken to each other before God. So what are the penalties if one or the other breaks the covenant?
Well, let's look at two other covenants. The first is the one between God and Abram:
"So, the Lord said to him, 'Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.' Abram bought all these to Him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other....When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram..." Genesis 15:9-18
When a covenant is established, it begins with an animal that has been cut in half lengthwise, symbolizing to the covenant parties, as they pass between the two halves of the animal, that if either of them fails to keep the covenant, it should be done to them as it was done to this animal. In other words, death.
In the following passage, Moses is speaking to the Israelites about what was to happen to any Israelite who did not keep the covenant between them and God, which they all willingly agreed to, concerning one of the ten commandments. Consider the seriousness of a covenant to God as you read this:
"If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the LORD gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of he LORD your God in violation of His covenant, and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky...If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death....You must purge the evil from among you." Deuteronomy 17:2-7
....concerning a woman who loses her virginity prior to marriage, whose husband finds out on their wedding night that she is not a virgin:
"If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the young woman's virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done an outrageous thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you." Deuteronomy 22:20-21
....concerning adultery:
"If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel." Deuteronomy 22:22
...concerning vows made unto the Lord:
"If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be quilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth." Deuteronomy 23:21-23
A covenant can bear a penalty of death when it is broken. A covenant can involve vows made with God as a witness or to God directly. In either case, a covenant is a serious and solemn thing.
Now obviously, there are a lot of broken marriage covenants out there, and most of those folks who broke covenant are still walking around...alive and well.
And yet, God does not change. The breaking of a marriage covenant and its respective vows are serious in God's eyes.
So, in lieu of being stoned to death these days (which might still happen in an Arab country, perhaps, I don't really know), but does not happen here in America or in most more progressive and civilized countries, are there any consequences of beaking a marriage covenant?
Or are we simply to look at the exqample of Old Testament covenants, be thankful that it can't happen to us, and proceed full steam ahead when tempted towards unfaithfulness or divorce. Do we really consider God in this covenant? Do we really consider that we have covenanted with Him as the third party witness to this covenant as well? Do we take that seriously? Do we have any fear of God in us at all? Or are we so determined that 'God is love' and that is all there is to Him, leaving us with nothing to fear no matter what our choices?
Perhaps death does not come to the individual as quickly and in the same way as it did in the Israelite camps. But perhaps it still comes.
Is it possible that the consequences of millions of broken marriage covenants might still arrive at our door step...later rather than sooner...but still just as sure? And that maybe instead of a physical death, it will be a collective spiritual death instead...
...one that will result in the death of our nation?
Consider that we no longer teach our children how strongly God feels about virginity, marriage, adultery, divorce. We spend little time in the Old Testament where God lays out His plan for us and shows us how He feels about every issue of life. We often no longer show them by our own example that we believe how seriously it is to go against God's will in these matters; perhaps this is because we don't really believe it.
Believers and the church body they comprise no longer govern the marriage covenants in their church family; they no longer hold both parties accountable to their vows. to each other and to God, doinbg all that is within their power to preserve the marriage. And often when they do actually step in to try to preserve a marriage, they are too quick to judge the matter as one-sided, and focus on one party, when in reality it is almost always both parties that are guilty of not walking in obedience to both God and their marriage vows before God.
Obedience to God as a first and foremost priority is seldom preached from pulpits these days; and the church no longer holds its members accountable to God's Word, in part because we no longer believe all of God's word (all of His commands) apply to us today. We no longer purge the evil from among us and are weakened by the sin in our midst.
We have become slack towards God. Our children have become even more slack towards God. Their children are still more slack than any of us towards God. The state of our nation is a direct consequence of our individual and collective disobedience.
And we are all guilty for we no longer fear God.
"Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only and take your oaths in His name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the people around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and His anger will burn against you, and He will destroy you from the face of the land....Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and the stipulations and decrees He has given you. Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the LORD promised on oath to your ancestors, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD said." Deuteronomy 6:13-19
When God formed a covenant with Noah, there was a sign attached, and that sign was the rainbow. Now we might think that God set the rainbow in the sky so that Noah would remember God's covenant, and in fact, we all should remember God's covenant with Noah whenever we see a rainbow because we are included in the protective terms of that covenant. But the rainbow is actually a reminder to God Himself about His covenant with Noah:
"And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth. So God said to Noah , 'This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on earth." Genesis 9:12-17
In the covenant God made with Noah, only God was responsible to fulfill the covenant requirements that God set: 'Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.' Noah had no specific requirement, and was at no risk of the penalties of breaking covenant with God in this case.
In a marriage covenant, both parties are responsible to fulfill the covenant terms and conditions. The sign of the covenant is the wedding ring. It serves as a reminder to both spouses of the covenant into which they have entered with each other and the respective vows they have spoken to each other before God. So what are the penalties if one or the other breaks the covenant?
Well, let's look at two other covenants. The first is the one between God and Abram:
"So, the Lord said to him, 'Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.' Abram bought all these to Him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other....When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram..." Genesis 15:9-18
When a covenant is established, it begins with an animal that has been cut in half lengthwise, symbolizing to the covenant parties, as they pass between the two halves of the animal, that if either of them fails to keep the covenant, it should be done to them as it was done to this animal. In other words, death.
In the following passage, Moses is speaking to the Israelites about what was to happen to any Israelite who did not keep the covenant between them and God, which they all willingly agreed to, concerning one of the ten commandments. Consider the seriousness of a covenant to God as you read this:
"If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the LORD gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of he LORD your God in violation of His covenant, and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky...If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death....You must purge the evil from among you." Deuteronomy 17:2-7
....concerning a woman who loses her virginity prior to marriage, whose husband finds out on their wedding night that she is not a virgin:
"If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the young woman's virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done an outrageous thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you." Deuteronomy 22:20-21
....concerning adultery:
"If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel." Deuteronomy 22:22
...concerning vows made unto the Lord:
"If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be quilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth." Deuteronomy 23:21-23
A covenant can bear a penalty of death when it is broken. A covenant can involve vows made with God as a witness or to God directly. In either case, a covenant is a serious and solemn thing.
Now obviously, there are a lot of broken marriage covenants out there, and most of those folks who broke covenant are still walking around...alive and well.
And yet, God does not change. The breaking of a marriage covenant and its respective vows are serious in God's eyes.
So, in lieu of being stoned to death these days (which might still happen in an Arab country, perhaps, I don't really know), but does not happen here in America or in most more progressive and civilized countries, are there any consequences of beaking a marriage covenant?
Or are we simply to look at the exqample of Old Testament covenants, be thankful that it can't happen to us, and proceed full steam ahead when tempted towards unfaithfulness or divorce. Do we really consider God in this covenant? Do we really consider that we have covenanted with Him as the third party witness to this covenant as well? Do we take that seriously? Do we have any fear of God in us at all? Or are we so determined that 'God is love' and that is all there is to Him, leaving us with nothing to fear no matter what our choices?
Perhaps death does not come to the individual as quickly and in the same way as it did in the Israelite camps. But perhaps it still comes.
Is it possible that the consequences of millions of broken marriage covenants might still arrive at our door step...later rather than sooner...but still just as sure? And that maybe instead of a physical death, it will be a collective spiritual death instead...
...one that will result in the death of our nation?
Consider that we no longer teach our children how strongly God feels about virginity, marriage, adultery, divorce. We spend little time in the Old Testament where God lays out His plan for us and shows us how He feels about every issue of life. We often no longer show them by our own example that we believe how seriously it is to go against God's will in these matters; perhaps this is because we don't really believe it.
Believers and the church body they comprise no longer govern the marriage covenants in their church family; they no longer hold both parties accountable to their vows. to each other and to God, doinbg all that is within their power to preserve the marriage. And often when they do actually step in to try to preserve a marriage, they are too quick to judge the matter as one-sided, and focus on one party, when in reality it is almost always both parties that are guilty of not walking in obedience to both God and their marriage vows before God.
Obedience to God as a first and foremost priority is seldom preached from pulpits these days; and the church no longer holds its members accountable to God's Word, in part because we no longer believe all of God's word (all of His commands) apply to us today. We no longer purge the evil from among us and are weakened by the sin in our midst.
We have become slack towards God. Our children have become even more slack towards God. Their children are still more slack than any of us towards God. The state of our nation is a direct consequence of our individual and collective disobedience.
And we are all guilty for we no longer fear God.
"Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only and take your oaths in His name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the people around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and His anger will burn against you, and He will destroy you from the face of the land....Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and the stipulations and decrees He has given you. Do what is right and good in the LORD's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the LORD promised on oath to your ancestors, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD said." Deuteronomy 6:13-19
3 comments:
Their are stark differences between the Old and New Testament regarding the outcome of adultery, breaking of vows, and dishonoring parents by children. Of course the old approach was a physical casting off of the guilty person or harm. The New Testament supports forgiveness and as Jesus said to the woman to go and sin no more. It is certain, as we all will, that we could not stop sinning and Jesus knows that. In both circumstances, as you clearly point out, there are no stonings in the U.S. for sin, but look how hard of a hit that families have taken since divorce became so permissive without a second thought. All of the children with multiple parents and the emotional stress. Praise God, the gentleness of Jesus can help ease the harm imposed upon them as children. I know, a whole church of the most Godly men interceded and were my family as a child. All the support to include financial and their time lessened the serious erors of others outside the body of Christ. And I know this scenario is played out in every obedient to the God's Word church. MDW
MDW,you are right in every point that you have touched upon in your comment. And you bring up another excellent point, one that Dr. Tony Evans extolls in his amazing book "The Kingdom Man" - namely, Godly men mentoring young struggling youth, taking them under their wing in the various ways that you mentioned, and showing them that through the family and body of Christ (aka the church), the mercy and grace of God is available and with them in strength and faithfulness even during life's most difficult times.
I hope the examples used from the Old Testament will raise our awareness, our sensitivity, to the hatred of sin that God has..and in fact, to what sin is since these days Christians so easily compromise and bend to the world's view of "sin" rather than to God's view of sin. BUT, this study will not end without us also grasping, I hope, an even tighter reign on the "good news" that Jesus Christ brought to us....and that is that we do not have to sin! In fact, as much as we abide in Christ who abides in us will determine how frequently and how greatly (or how little) we will sin. IF we utilize what He has given us: Himself...perfect, righteous, powerful to resist completely the temptation of sin.
I like what the Jamieson, Fausset & Brown commentary says about 1 John 3 where John says "No one who lives in Him [Jesus] keeps on sinning." Listen to their comments on this passage and others like it in this 3rd chapter of 1 John:
"The regenerate life is incompatible with sin, and gives the believer a hatred for sin in every shape, and an unceasing desire to resist it....the exceptional sins into which the regenerate are surprised, are owing to the new life principle being for a time suffered to lie dormant, and to the sword of the Spirit not being drawn instantly. Sin is ever active, but no longer reigns." IF we ABIDE in HIM! There is always an IF to God's Promises...we must not miss the IF's. Satan wants us to not focus on the IFs, and just focus on the promises...knowing full well that we will never receive the fulfillment of the promises without being attentive to the IFs.
Correction: Tony Evans is not a Dr....my mistake.
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