Neither shalt thou commit adultery forbids adultery, including unchastity in both thought and behavior, as one of the commandments that define duty toward others. It stands as part of the Ten Commandments, the divine law expressing God's will by which His covenant people are to order their lives as a holy people. The command was first spoken by the Lord Himself face to face at Sinai out of the midst of fire, after declaring that He had brought Israel out of Egypt from the house of bondage. Moses repeated it to the whole encampment at the Jordan to a new generation grown up in the wilderness, many with no remembrance of Sinai, rehearsing the deliverance, the journeyings, and the giving of the law with the necessity of obedience. It demands careful observance and perfect obedience with sanctification of mind, soul, and body, to be heard, learned, kept, done, and taught, guarding against temptation, with keeping bringing the Lord's blessing and prosperity and disobedience breaking fellowship with Him.
Giving and Historical Setting
The prohibition was first spoken by the Lord Himself at Sinai, also called Horeb, face to face in the mount out of the midst of fire, immediately following His declaration that He is the Lord God who brought Israel out of Egypt from the house of bondage. It was given as part of the covenant the Lord made in Horeb not with their fathers but with those alive that day. Spoken by God to Israel at Sinai, it was afterward repeated by Moses to the assembled people.
Moses recapitulated the law first spoken from Sinai to Israel at the river Jordan when the time to possess Canaan was at hand. He repeated the ten commandments to the children of Israel, to the whole encampment, just before his death. The repetition was given after Israel failed to fulfill the solemn covenant made at Horeb, when God in mercy did not destroy them but gave another opportunity to obey.
Those who were to possess the land had grown up since the departure from Egypt, forming a new generation to whom its claim was set forth anew. Many had been small children with no remembrance of the grandeur of the giving of the law, and others had been born in the wilderness after their fathers died in the wilderness for transgression, with few old enough to have comprehended the solemnity of Sinai. They needed to realize the necessity of obeying the ten commandments and all the laws and judgments given to Moses, so the deliverance from Egypt, the wilderness journeyings, the judgments since Egypt, and all the circumstances connected with the giving of the law were rehearsed to them.
Moses summoned the people in solemn assembly with a trumpet call for earnest attention because the commandments concerned their eternal welfare. He called all Israel to hear, learn, keep and do the statutes and judgments, commanding them to bind themselves to observe them. The commandment carries the pledge to govern all words and actions by God's law, and obedience was enjoined as the condition of prosperity in the promised land.
Meaning and Required Obedience
Neither shalt thou commit adultery forbids adultery in its full breadth, including unchastity in both mind and conduct. It stands as one of the last six commandments, which point out duty to other people.
It is part of the Ten Commandments, or decalogue, whose law is divine. It is a definite requirement of God expressing His will. It belongs to the law by which His covenant people, called to be a holy people, are to order their lives and obey Him.
Its observance is required with careful attention, from the greatest direction to what may seem least. That observance demands the sanctification of mind, soul, and body and perfect obedience to God's will, with no excuse accepted for disobedience. Transgression of God's law brings harmful consequences. Violating the laws governing physical life is as much sin as breaking this commandment.
The commandment is to be heard, learned, kept, and done. It is to be kept and taught, studied and put into practice, guarding against temptation and disobedience. Parents are to read and obey the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of Deuteronomy in training their children from infancy to form characters meeting God's approval, to prevent objectionable traits, to control themselves for their Creator and Redeemer, and to prepare for present and future life so they will be admitted into the city of God.
Keeping it is required to expect the Lord to cooperate and bless and to prosper, while disobedience breaks fellowship with Him. It carries the pledge to govern all words and actions by God's law, and was given with solemn summons to earnest attention because the commandments concern eternal welfare. Failure to reverence God and obey comes from minds clouded under unbelief, and many who profess to serve Him refuse its precepts. The commandments will matter in the final review, when every character is investigated and every case decided for eternity.
Neither shalt thou commit adultery forbids adultery, including unchastity in both thought and behavior, as one of the commandments that define duty toward others. It stands as part of the Ten Commandments, the divine law expressing God's will by which His covenant people are to order their lives as a holy people. The command was first spoken by the Lord Himself face to face at Sinai out of the midst of fire, after declaring that He had brought Israel out of Egypt from the house of bondage. Moses repeated it to the whole encampment at the Jordan to a new generation grown up in the wilderness, many with no remembrance of Sinai, rehearsing the deliverance, the journeyings, and the giving of the law with the necessity of obedience. It demands careful observance and perfect obedience with sanctification of mind, soul, and body, to be heard, learned, kept, done, and taught, guarding against temptation, with keeping bringing the Lord's blessing and prosperity and disobedience breaking fellowship with Him.
Giving and Historical Setting
The prohibition was first spoken by the Lord Himself at Sinai, also called Horeb, face to face in the mount out of the midst of fire, immediately following His declaration that He is the Lord God who brought Israel out of Egypt from the house of bondage. It was given as part of the covenant the Lord made in Horeb not with their fathers but with those alive that day. Spoken by God to Israel at Sinai, it was afterward repeated by Moses to the assembled people.
Moses recapitulated the law first spoken from Sinai to Israel at the river Jordan when the time to possess Canaan was at hand. He repeated the ten commandments to the children of Israel, to the whole encampment, just before his death. The repetition was given after Israel failed to fulfill the solemn covenant made at Horeb, when God in mercy did not destroy them but gave another opportunity to obey.
Those who were to possess the land had grown up since the departure from Egypt, forming a new generation to whom its claim was set forth anew. Many had been small children with no remembrance of the grandeur of the giving of the law, and others had been born in the wilderness after their fathers died in the wilderness for transgression, with few old enough to have comprehended the solemnity of Sinai. They needed to realize the necessity of obeying the ten commandments and all the laws and judgments given to Moses, so the deliverance from Egypt, the wilderness journeyings, the judgments since Egypt, and all the circumstances connected with the giving of the law were rehearsed to them.
Moses summoned the people in solemn assembly with a trumpet call for earnest attention because the commandments concerned their eternal welfare. He called all Israel to hear, learn, keep and do the statutes and judgments, commanding them to bind themselves to observe them. The commandment carries the pledge to govern all words and actions by God's law, and obedience was enjoined as the condition of prosperity in the promised land.
Meaning and Required Obedience
Neither shalt thou commit adultery forbids adultery in its full breadth, including unchastity in both mind and conduct. It stands as one of the last six commandments, which point out duty to other people.
It is part of the Ten Commandments, or decalogue, whose law is divine. It is a definite requirement of God expressing His will. It belongs to the law by which His covenant people, called to be a holy people, are to order their lives and obey Him.
Its observance is required with careful attention, from the greatest direction to what may seem least. That observance demands the sanctification of mind, soul, and body and perfect obedience to God's will, with no excuse accepted for disobedience. Transgression of God's law brings harmful consequences. Violating the laws governing physical life is as much sin as breaking this commandment.
The commandment is to be heard, learned, kept, and done. It is to be kept and taught, studied and put into practice, guarding against temptation and disobedience. Parents are to read and obey the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of Deuteronomy in training their children from infancy to form characters meeting God's approval, to prevent objectionable traits, to control themselves for their Creator and Redeemer, and to prepare for present and future life so they will be admitted into the city of God.
Keeping it is required to expect the Lord to cooperate and bless and to prosper, while disobedience breaks fellowship with Him. It carries the pledge to govern all words and actions by God's law, and was given with solemn summons to earnest attention because the commandments concern eternal welfare. Failure to reverence God and obey comes from minds clouded under unbelief, and many who profess to serve Him refuse its precepts. The commandments will matter in the final review, when every character is investigated and every case decided for eternity.