One of the most outstanding books on the Bible and sex is "Divine Sex" by Phil Thelos.
The author searches out every passage of Scripture having anything to do with sex, sexuality, etc. Not only does he look at "commandments" but more importantly the lives of great men and women of faith (Who lived under the law) to see what their interpretation of those laws was and how it played out in their living according to the law.
There is no way for me to do the book justice by talking about it. However, if you take time to read it, you will be challenged and encouraged.
It you think you KNOW what the Bible teaches about sex, I challenge you to read this book! It is a bit pricey but well worth it. If you like to underline and highlight as you read, this book will be the most marked up book you have ever read.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
King David, His Wives, Adultery, and Murder
If ever there was a man who loved God, it was David. He was a shepherd boy who became a giant killer and eventually a leader of the nation of Israel. He was the ultimate worshipper of God. In fact, the LORD used him to write a large portion of the first hymnal (the book of Psalms). If anyone had a heart after God, it was David. Yet, David was a man with many wives. He first married Michal (1st Samuel 18), then Abigail and Ahinoam (1st Samuel 25), followed by Maacah, Haggith, Abital and Eglah (2nd Samuel 3). Believe it or not, two chapters later we find David taking more wives and concubines (2nd Samuel 5).
In a modern church setting, David would be thrown out on his ear! Yet, not once did God rebuke David for his many wives and concubines. Not once does Scripture say that David did evil in the sight of the LORD by husbanding more than one woman. Instead Scripture makes it clear that David lived a life that pleased God, except for his adultery with Bathsheba.
“David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.” (1st Kings 15:5)
You’re probably familiar with the account in the book of 2nd Samuel chapters 11 and 12. At a time when a king should have gone to war, David stayed home (2nd Samuel 11:1).
When we aren’t busy doing what we should be doing, we’ll probably find ourselves busy doing what we shouldn’t be doing. That was the case with David. He looked out and saw a beautiful woman named Bathsheba. He became enamored with her. He called for her to be brought up to his room and he had sex with her. This was clearly adultery because she belonged to another. She was the wife of Uriah. The result was an unplanned pregnancy. David, not wanting to be found out, put a plan in place to hide what he had done. Things didn’t go exactly as he had hoped, eventually Uriah ended up dead. David then seized the opportunity to marry Bathsheba, thus making himself look like a hero. Nobody knew about his sin, except God. Eventually David discovered that “your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). In response to David’s adultery, God sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke him.
It’s interesting to note that when the Bible mentions David’s multiple marriages and relationships with concubines, the Bible does not record that God was displeased. But when David stole another man’s wife and tried to hide the fact (adultery) and then killed the man (murder), the Bible clearly describes how the LORD felt about it.
But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. (2nd Samuel 11:27b)
In the midst of the rebuke delivered by the prophet Nathan, the LORD did something interesting. Do you remember what God did? We talked about it in an earlier chapter. God actually took credit for blessing David with his many wives and said that if they weren’t enough He would have given David more.
Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. (2nd Samuel 12:7-9)
In that passage, God takes credit for anointing David as king, delivering David from Saul, giving David his master’s house, giving David his master’s wives, and giving him the house of Israel and Judah. Then God goes on to say, “If that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!”
If having more than one wife is an iniquity or a mockery of God’s plan for marriage, why would God take credit for giving a man more than one wife? If having more than one wife were sin, why would God have offered to give David “much more?” I do not believe that God would offer any of us “much more sin.”
The rebuke David received was for stealing another man’s wife (destroying a marriage) which is adultery. Adultery is clearly dealt with in the law (Exodus 20). God considered it sin for David to take a wife that belonged to another man, but He did not consider it sin for David to take the responsibility of caring for more than one wife. The way God dealt with David proves that having more than one wife is not adultery. On the other hand for a man (single or married) to take a wife from another man is adultery. Take a look once more at a verse you read just a few minutes ago:
David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. (1st Kings 15:5)
Did the Holy Spirit know what He was talking about when He inspired those words? Did David really do what was right in the eyes of the Lord? Did David really not turn aside from anything that God commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite? Either God’s Word is right or God’s Word is wrong. I choose to believe that it is right.
This passage does not say: “David did what was right in the eyes of God, except for having all those wives and concubines.” Nope, the passage only points to his adultery with Bathsheba (and murder of her husband) as being sin. If being a caretaker and provider for more than one woman was right in the eyes of the Lord then, would it be wrong now? Did God change? Is God the same yesterday, today, and forever or is He not?
In Psalm 26 David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, stated that he “walked in integrity, trusted in the Lord, walked in God’s truth, hated the assembly of evildoers and would not sit with the wicked.”
If having more than one wife and or numerous concubines is truly wickedness, sin, a mockery of the institution of marriage, adulterous, or unclean, why in the world would the Holy Spirit lead David to describe himself as a man who walked in integrity?
In that same Psalm David prays “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart.”
That is the prayer of a man who wants to please God and walk in righteousness. That’s the type of prayer that the LORD will answer. It’s important to note that God did not respond by saying, “David, I’ve examined you and you’re blowing it! You need to repent of the sin of polygamy. You need to get rid of those extra wives and concubines.”
The fact that David did what was right in the sight of the LORD except for the adultery with Bathsheba very strongly suggests that God had no problem at all with David’s many wives and concubines. David was a man who prayed that God would search His heart. David was a man whom the LORD did not hesitate to rebuke publicly for his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, yet the LORD never even hinted that He was displeased with David’s many wives.
Apparently our modern view of sexual sin (in this instance having more than one spouse) may not be the truly Biblical view.
In a modern church setting, David would be thrown out on his ear! Yet, not once did God rebuke David for his many wives and concubines. Not once does Scripture say that David did evil in the sight of the LORD by husbanding more than one woman. Instead Scripture makes it clear that David lived a life that pleased God, except for his adultery with Bathsheba.
“David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.” (1st Kings 15:5)
You’re probably familiar with the account in the book of 2nd Samuel chapters 11 and 12. At a time when a king should have gone to war, David stayed home (2nd Samuel 11:1).
When we aren’t busy doing what we should be doing, we’ll probably find ourselves busy doing what we shouldn’t be doing. That was the case with David. He looked out and saw a beautiful woman named Bathsheba. He became enamored with her. He called for her to be brought up to his room and he had sex with her. This was clearly adultery because she belonged to another. She was the wife of Uriah. The result was an unplanned pregnancy. David, not wanting to be found out, put a plan in place to hide what he had done. Things didn’t go exactly as he had hoped, eventually Uriah ended up dead. David then seized the opportunity to marry Bathsheba, thus making himself look like a hero. Nobody knew about his sin, except God. Eventually David discovered that “your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). In response to David’s adultery, God sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke him.
It’s interesting to note that when the Bible mentions David’s multiple marriages and relationships with concubines, the Bible does not record that God was displeased. But when David stole another man’s wife and tried to hide the fact (adultery) and then killed the man (murder), the Bible clearly describes how the LORD felt about it.
But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD. (2nd Samuel 11:27b)
In the midst of the rebuke delivered by the prophet Nathan, the LORD did something interesting. Do you remember what God did? We talked about it in an earlier chapter. God actually took credit for blessing David with his many wives and said that if they weren’t enough He would have given David more.
Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. (2nd Samuel 12:7-9)
In that passage, God takes credit for anointing David as king, delivering David from Saul, giving David his master’s house, giving David his master’s wives, and giving him the house of Israel and Judah. Then God goes on to say, “If that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!”
If having more than one wife is an iniquity or a mockery of God’s plan for marriage, why would God take credit for giving a man more than one wife? If having more than one wife were sin, why would God have offered to give David “much more?” I do not believe that God would offer any of us “much more sin.”
The rebuke David received was for stealing another man’s wife (destroying a marriage) which is adultery. Adultery is clearly dealt with in the law (Exodus 20). God considered it sin for David to take a wife that belonged to another man, but He did not consider it sin for David to take the responsibility of caring for more than one wife. The way God dealt with David proves that having more than one wife is not adultery. On the other hand for a man (single or married) to take a wife from another man is adultery. Take a look once more at a verse you read just a few minutes ago:
David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. (1st Kings 15:5)
Did the Holy Spirit know what He was talking about when He inspired those words? Did David really do what was right in the eyes of the Lord? Did David really not turn aside from anything that God commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite? Either God’s Word is right or God’s Word is wrong. I choose to believe that it is right.
This passage does not say: “David did what was right in the eyes of God, except for having all those wives and concubines.” Nope, the passage only points to his adultery with Bathsheba (and murder of her husband) as being sin. If being a caretaker and provider for more than one woman was right in the eyes of the Lord then, would it be wrong now? Did God change? Is God the same yesterday, today, and forever or is He not?
In Psalm 26 David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, stated that he “walked in integrity, trusted in the Lord, walked in God’s truth, hated the assembly of evildoers and would not sit with the wicked.”
If having more than one wife and or numerous concubines is truly wickedness, sin, a mockery of the institution of marriage, adulterous, or unclean, why in the world would the Holy Spirit lead David to describe himself as a man who walked in integrity?
In that same Psalm David prays “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart.”
That is the prayer of a man who wants to please God and walk in righteousness. That’s the type of prayer that the LORD will answer. It’s important to note that God did not respond by saying, “David, I’ve examined you and you’re blowing it! You need to repent of the sin of polygamy. You need to get rid of those extra wives and concubines.”
The fact that David did what was right in the sight of the LORD except for the adultery with Bathsheba very strongly suggests that God had no problem at all with David’s many wives and concubines. David was a man who prayed that God would search His heart. David was a man whom the LORD did not hesitate to rebuke publicly for his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, yet the LORD never even hinted that He was displeased with David’s many wives.
Apparently our modern view of sexual sin (in this instance having more than one spouse) may not be the truly Biblical view.
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