Whether or not you noticed, I took a small sabbatical. I wouldn’t call it relaxing, but it was a sabbatical nonetheless. My husband hurt his knee and I effectively became a full-time nurse: pumping him full of Ibuprofen, giving him heating pads and cold packs regularly, and making enough soup that even the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld would have been sweating in his New York boots.
Now, let’s get back to regular scheduled programming.
To commemorate such a moment in history, I thought we would talk about the Seventh Commandment:
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
Exodus 20:14
This is one of those things in the Bible that gets sorely overlooked.
Why?
Becaaaaaaause…
In today’s culture, we read it as “don’t cheat on your significant other” and that’s that, but there’s a bit more to it than that.
The Hebrew word that the old guys of the past translated as adultery is na’ap (pronounced nah-af). Na’ap, of course, means to commit adultery (“Obviously.” - Severus Snape), but it also means idolatrous worship.
Now, listen, I know that’s sounds like a very Christianese term…because it is.
Idolatrous worship just means, point blank, that you are making something an idol that really shouldn’t be an idol and you’re a bit obsessive with it to the point of extreme adoration.
Let me give you a practical example: Someone you know, let’s name him Sebastian, likes listening to a very famous singer. Sebastian loves everything this singer sings. Sebastian loves everything this singer stands for. Sebastian buys all the singer’s merch. Sebastian thinks about the singer all the time. In Sebastian’s eyes, this singer can do no wrong. To Sebastian, he’s a fan. To everyone else (the singer included), Sebastian is a stalker and needs mental help.
It shouldn’t shock you when I say that you don’t have to physically cheat on someone to cheat on someone. You can, in fact, cheat on your significant other mentally and/or emotionally too. More often than not, it starts as an emotional thing and quickly leads up to the physical.
But listen, I’m not here to tell you about that.
I’m here to tell you something else:
In the ancient Near East, any adulterous relations (mental, emotional or physical) could lead to serious physical punishment or the death penalty. Marduk, one of the creator gods of Babylon, called adultery the “great sin” and it angered the gods so much that death seemed to be the only decent solution.
“Whoa! That seems extreme!”
I guess… but at the same time, it really doesn’t. God commanded His people to love in a way that is honoring. He commanded His people to not dishonor those we love. When any kind of adultery happens, it brings dishonor on both parties, their families and their friends.
And, in a much more sobering sense, it also brings dishonor on God.
“What? Why?”
Two reasons:
We are the Bible that most people read. Why would anyone want to be a part of your beliefs if you carried such dishonor for those you loved? And, why, in any shape or form, would anyone want to be associated with someone like Sebastian?
If you put your significant other on a pedestal higher than God, that is idolatrous worship. It brings dishonor to God, and dishonor to your marriage, because let’s be real…those are unbelievable and unachievable standards for any human to live up to.
Exactly.
Don’t idolize anything or anyone other than God.
And please, for the love of Pete, don’t be a Sebastian.
