Biblical OT is full of accounts of multiple wives and concubines like it is ok and not considered adultery. No turning to stone, banishment, or even tested with bitter waters, no stoning or even an accusation laid upon them.
Find me a charge against the adulterous man?.. find me a process where the man with a concubine is stoned...No sister adultery is not limited to only women as the Law of Moses states that both the man and woman guilty of adultery must be brought to be judged and stoned to death. If a man has sex or gives himself non sexually to a woman then he is guilty of adultery. After all Jesus also told the men that if they lusted after a woman in their hearts they'd be guilty of adultery.
I am talking OT when Law of Moses ruled.No sister adultery is not limited to only women as the Law of Moses states that both the man and woman guilty of adultery must be brought to be judged and stoned to death. If a man has sex or gives himself non sexually to a woman then he is guilty of adultery. After all Jesus also told the men that if they lusted after a woman in their hearts they'd be guilty of adultery.
So this is the ignored law when it came to men... until Yeshua brought it up again.Hello @visionary, this particular passage involves "adultery of the heart" and its possible consequences, but adultery it is nevertheless. The Lord stated it with men in view, though I'm sure that women can be just as guilty of committing it.
Matthew 5God bless you!
27 You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’;
28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in ~his~ heart.
29 If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
30 If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.
--David
p.s. - also, along with the Decalogue's, "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (in Exodus and Deuteronomy), which is clearly a commandment for both sexes, there is this too.
Leviticus 20
10 If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
.
Well the Law of Moses never changed in regard to this sister. The Law of Moses states that men cannot have sex with their brother or neighbors wife: therefore this would cover adultery and fornication. Let's be clear that the Law of Moses is still in force today even if there are many who ignore it, and it was still in force in the day of Yeshua.I am talking OT when Law of Moses ruled.
As I stated above while many men have been guilty of ignoring this law, it doesn't mean that it didn't have the meaning explained by Christ. King David was punished for his adultery and treacherously murdering his right hand man to cover up his evil; and Herod was struck dead for not repenting of his adulterous relationship with his brothers wife. And men today are still punished by God for this, even if we can't see that or personally wish their punishment to be more severe, and, God will punish the unrepentant with the lake of eternal fire at the Final Judgment.So this is the ignored law when it came to men... until Yeshua brought it up again.
I should also add the story of the adulterous woman in John 8 whom Jesus acquitted. The Pharisees and scribes had not brought the man along with the woman they were accusing of adultery therefore according to the letter of the law there was no legal or lawful suit that could be heard: Jesus knew this was a trick of the Pharisees to catch Him in falsehood as a way to discredit and ridicule Him if He judged incorrectly.I am talking OT when Law of Moses ruled.
Oh and I almost forgot, God in Malachi says this to the men who used divorce to cover their wickedness:I am talking OT when Law of Moses ruled.
Are you proposing that it’s adultery and/or a sin for a man to have multiple wives or concubines?Find me a charge against the adulterous man?.. find me a process where the man with a concubine is stoned...
I could be mistaken, but when Messiah says “looking at a woman”, wouldn’t it be assumed that it was in regards to a married woman, since adultery is biblically defined as relations between a married woman and a man other than her husband?Hello @visionary, this particular passage involves "adultery of the heart" and its possible consequences, but adultery it is nevertheless. The Lord stated it with men in view, though I'm sure that women can be just as guilty of committing it.
Matthew 5God bless you!
27 You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’;
28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in ~his~ heart.
29 If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
30 If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.
--David
p.s. - also, along with the Decalogue's, "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (in Exodus and Deuteronomy), which is clearly a commandment for both sexes, there is this too.
Leviticus 20
10 If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
.
Hello Dkh587, it could be, but the word that is translated as "adultery" in Matthew 5 also carries the meaning of being carried away by thoughts of/at the solicitation of another, into adultery, fornication, idolatry, and/or things like eating things that are sacrificed to idols, etc. This word was, in fact, used as a Hebrew idiom.I could be mistaken, but when Messiah says “looking at a woman”, wouldn’t it be assumed that it was in regards to a married woman, since adultery is biblically defined as relations between a married woman and a man other than her husband?
No, because if that was the case then Christ would have made that clarification. Otherwise the Law of Moses is very clear that if you are married and give yourself over to another you are not married to--whether physically or not, and regardless of whether that person is married or not--you are guilty of adultery.I could be mistaken, but when Messiah says “looking at a woman”, wouldn’t it be assumed that it was in regards to a married woman, since adultery is biblically defined as relations between a married woman and a man other than her husband?
I could be mistaken, but when Messiah says “looking at a woman”, wouldn’t it be assumed that it was in regards to a married woman, since adultery is biblically defined as relations between a married woman and a man other than her husband?
To add onto what I said to you prior, the Word adultery comes from the Latin ad- "to" + alterare "alter". Therefore in its proper context adultery means I am literally beginning "to alter" my marriage vows, or violate them.No, because if that was the case then Christ would have made that clarification. Otherwise the Law of Moses is very clear that if you are married and give yourself over to another you are not married to--whether physically or not, and regardless of whether that person is married or not--you are guilty of adultery.
Yes well as shocking as it may seem when we understand it...God doesn't consider a man having multiple wives adultery because...from the beginning marriage is only between a man and a woman, and the Law of Moses also states that a man cannot sleep with his neighbors wife...which also means a woman cannot have more than one husband by default of this Law.Biblical OT is full of accounts of multiple wives and concubines like it is ok and not considered adultery. No turning to stone, banishment, or even tested with bitter waters, no stoning or even an accusation laid upon them.
You do present an interesting complicaton to the question...How can the Lord on one hand say one man one woman union and on the other hand tell David he gave him the master's wives like it is ok to have many women? Then be upset with David for wanting another woman?Yes well as shocking as it may seem when we understand it...God doesn't consider a man having multiple wives adultery because...from the beginning marriage is only between a man and a woman, and the Law of Moses also states that a man cannot sleep with his neighbors wife...which also means a woman cannot have more than one husband by default of this Law.
If we look at this from a numbers standpoint imagine...
10 Men (Unmarried)
100 Women (Unmarried)
Now if we keep a 1:1 ratio then there are 90 Women who will remain unmarried and never have children (assuming no foolery is going on). Well let's say all ten get a divorce for one reason or another and the men remarry, well according to the Law of Moses the divorced women are still considered married in the eyes of God: for divorce only symbolizes the end of the "one flesh" or "unity between husband and wife", it is not the end of a marriage. Now...
10 Men (Divorced and Remarried)
10 Women (Divorced)
10 Women (Newly married)
80 Women (Unmarried)
...let's say these loose marriages keep happening...
10 Men (Divorced and Remarried 10 Times)
100 Women (Divorced and Married)
...we are on the verge of a dangerous problem now because their are no more new women for the men to marry as every 1 Man has 10 Wives. If these irreconciled marriages are allowed to continue then all hell will break loose. Of course our world plays so loosely with sex and marriage that at some point a man or woman has unknowingly (or worse...knowingly) slept with an already married person.
So it would seem that just as God placed the head above the body to govern it, He also placed the husband above his wife and children to govern them; and this logic would extend to a man having multiple wives, and concubines (a married woman whom the Law recognizes as lower than the first wife, but higher than a lover or prostitute). If a woman was allowed to have more than one husband then...well...the image would result in a seven headed beast like the one we read in Daniel and Revelation...and...well...at some point the multi-headed beast would turn on itself and the woman.
So why this setup? Well seeing that mankind is made in the Image and Likeness of God we need to first understand the Divine Family as modeled in Heaven:
Heavenly Family
Head
God (Husband/Father/Male/Man)
Body
Wisdom (Wife/Mother/Female/Woman)
Yeshua (Child/Son/Male/Man)
Holy Spirit (Servant/Male/Man)
Earthly Family
Head
Adam (Husband/Father/Male/Man)
Body
Eve (Wife/Mother/Female/Woman)
Cain (Child/Son/Brother/Male/Man)
Abel (Child/Son/Brother/Male/Man)
Sister (Child/Daughter/Sister/Female/Woman)
Sister (Child/Daughter/Sister/Female/Woman)
Seth (Child/Son/Brother/Male/Man)
As you can see in the beginning there was a 1:1 Ratio as mankind was just starting out, which meant that early mankind were the exception to the incest laws written by Moses. It is not until Lamech--the grandson of Cain--that we read of a man having more than one wife, and God clearly did not punish or curse him for that. In the case of king David well God punishes him for adultery with Batsheba and murdering her husband to cover up their affair, and God tells this to him through Nathan the prophet:
"Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’"
2 Samuel 12:7-12
So from God's own mouth He explicitly told David that if the women and the riches and glory He had already given Him weren't enough than He would've given him more. But because David's greed for riches and power and love for women overcomes him he sinned grievously and was justly punished for it.
In the end we may not understand all the nuances and rationale behind God's standard for the rank and file He setup for men and women, marriage and family. The important thing is that just as children are to honor their parents whom God placed over them, so too are wives to honor their husband's whom God had placed over them, and this established order goes all the way back to the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:16), and the creation of the world and mankind (see Genesis 1:1-5, 24-31 cf. Proverbs 8:1-36, John 1:1-5).
That's just the thing...God never said one man and one woman...only that marriage was between a man and a woman. In the Law of Moses we read in the seventeenth chapter of Deuteronomy the rules for a king:You do present an interesting complicaton to the question...How can the Lord on one hand say one man one woman union and on the other hand tell David he gave him the master's wives like it is ok to have many women? Then be upset with David for wanting another woman?
Biblical OT is full of accounts of multiple wives and concubines like it is ok and not considered adultery. No turning to stone, banishment, or even tested with bitter waters, no stoning or even an accusation laid upon them.
"Did you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So that they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what Elohim has joined together, let man not separate."