You shall not commit adultery.

Sanctity of Marriage

Man's Marriage

In many ways, our marriages are a training ground for our life with God. Here, we can learn to be faithful to another, to be intimate with another, to live with our true selves exposed to another. We begin to appreciate the full possibility of relationship, and we may - unfortunately - experience the full possibility of betrayal. It is perhaps inevitable that we will know that betrayal to some extent, because we enter into the marriage relationship with one as sinful as ourself. When God speaks to us with the emotions of the husband, we know exactly what He means, we understand exactly how deeply He cares, and how deeply He hurts when we are unfaithful.

God's Marriage

The use God makes of this image, the times He speaks of being wed to His people, and of His people playing the harlot, point us to the next level of this commandment.

Isa 62:5 For as a young man marries a virgin, So your sons will marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So your God will rejoice over you.

Can we forget the thrill of marriage? Will anything ever erase the joy that we experienced on the day we took each other as husband and wife? No way! Why do you suppose the angels rejoice in heaven at the salvation of a single soul?

Jn 3:29 "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. And so this joy of mine has been made full.

This was John the Baptist's reaction to the coming of Christ. He stood as the friend of the bridegroom and rejoiced. The angels must feel much the same in heaven - close friends of the bridegroom, thrilled to witness the arrival of the bride, the completion of their friend's joy! The best man is not jealous of the bridegroom's good fortune, but celebrates with him, rejoicing with him who has such cause to rejoice.

Now consider all the stories told of the bridegroom left at the altar, the bride running from him at the last moment. These stories rip our hearts out because we can just imagine the humiliation and sorrow the one at the altar must be feeling. Here is the day of greatest joy arrived, and all the friends and family gathered around to share in the celebration, and suddenly it's all gone. Can you imagine, then, the sorrow God feels when His people wander off, when they offer themselves to other gods, when they forget about Him and chase after their own desires?

Jer 2:32 "Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me Days without number.

World Without Hope

Rv 18:21-23
21 And a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "Thus will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer. 22 "And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; 23 and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.

Here, God is describing the final scene of Babylon, of the world system. Again, the marriage scene is brought to bear. Here, at the end of Scripture, at a point when the image of Church and Christ as bride and bridegroom was firmly settled in the minds of His people, this passage is all the more chilling. The voice of the bridegroom and the bride are removed. Neither the Church nor its Christ are present any longer to speak truth and holiness into the world. All restraint is removed. Nothing is left to lighten the darkness. More than ever, I want to be found ready when He comes.