What's the Big Deal

The Proposition: All Sexual Sin is an Offence against the Image of God

…a violation of the foundational truth of Scripture

Review

We build that by starting with the

Image of God

God’s creation of marriage

God’s design for intimacy between man and woman (husband and wife)

Were Did the Straying Start?

Genesis 4:19 “And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.”

It was but two generations past Adam that we first saw polygamy; that and concubinage will be discussed later

In Genesis 6:1–4 we see some things develop that are not that well defined

“When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.” we start to see some issues that are not all that well defined

#1, sons of God/daughters of men

Two thoughts to note, sons of God are the godly line of Seth, v. the wicked lines of other of Adam’s offspring

#2, the matter of the Nephilim

…and we see...

Genesis 6:11–12 ESV

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

From Jude 6 “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—”

and 2 Peter 2:4 “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;”

We MAY form the conclusion that it was a matter of sexual sin of supernatural proportion that was at the core, or at least highly influential in this

Let’s discuss the thought of specific sexual sins—seemingly the most heinous Lev. 18 22-26

Leviticus 18:22–26 (ESV)

You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion. “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you

Abomination

Four Hebrew words translated as such, all are acts or items that are particularly repugnant to God

The word expressing the highest degree of loathing by God is to-ebah

Toʿebah expresses that which is repulsive, detestable, or offensive. Examples include sexual perversion (Lev. 18:22–26), pride (Prov. 16:5), hypocritical worship (Isa. 1:13), and especially idolatry (e.g., Deut. 7:25–26; 1 Kgs. 14:24; Ezek. 7:20).

(Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

Side Note: there are some linkages, historically and logically between these—as for pride, a matter of self-importance/self-indulgence; as to worship, homosexuality was common in temple prostitution; idolatry—self-worship

Sexual Immorality in General

Many of the following thoughts from SEXUALITY, CRITICAL ISSUES A survey of Israelite and early Christian perspectives on sexuality in their ancient Near Eastern and Graeco-Roman contexts.

(Karen R. Keen, “Sexuality, Critical Issues,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).) …and another shameless promotion for Logos

Sexual activity that is prohibited by religion (Lexham Cultural Ontology Glossary)

The Bible addresses human sexuality from a holistic perspective of God’s intention and design. In contrast to both pagan sex rituals and modern obsession with sex, the Bible places sex within the total context of human nature, happiness, and holiness.

This from Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Sex, Biblical Teaching On)

Sexual purity was a real concern in the OT

That said, the “rules” laid out for men appeared to be different from those of women; more pages have been written on that than the entirety of the OT

We will discuss the ideal picture—that between one man and one woman, as exemplified by Adam and Eve

Deut. 22 vv 13ff describe the importance of the virginity of a bride—if no proof, the woman was to be stoned at the door of her parents’ home

Purity was not just a concern for women, but also for the young men, Psalm 119:9

Psalm 119:9 ESV

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.

has something to say about purity in all things…certainly sexual purity is included....

Also, instructions from father to son, regarding single-mindedness of pursuit of but one woman:

Proverbs 5:15–19“Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.”

There were some cultural factors in play during early times

Girls married young—just post-puberty to maximize procreation

Procreation being seen as necessary function of marriage

Boys would marry a bit later—having learned/been established in trade

In the NT, we have more clarity:

With the understanding that sexuality within a one-man/one woman marriage,a general statement is Heb 13 4

Hebrews 13:4 ESV

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

An over-riding thought from 1 Thessalonians 4:1–7 “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.”

Polygamy and Concubinage

Polyandry

—one woman having many husbands—is not mentioned in Scripture…except the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well—and that appears to have been sequential, not at the same time—husbands/men

Polygyny

—one man, many wives seems to be the common situation

NOT a specific prohibition—but many cautions by example…it never seemed to work out well

Concubinage—a bit less clear

Practice of a man cohabiting with a woman who is regarded only as his sexual partner or as a secondary wife in his household, of lower station than his primary wife … often a slave or part of the booty of war (Jgs 5:30).

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Concubinage

Concubines were thus a legitimate part of many ancient cultures, even when a society acknowledged the superiority of monogamous marriage. Concubinage was fostered by a desire for prestige and a large family, but could at times degenerate into a license for sexual freedom (cf. Eccl 2:8). Concubinage was part of the contemporary Greek and Roman cultures, but it was not in keeping with the teachings of Jesus (Mt 19:1–9).

Neither of the two were specifically prohibited by OT Law

By the time of Jesus, both practices had died out among Jews and were not largely practiced among other known cultures

Thus we have the

Origin of sexuality/gender

The purpose of sexuality

The misuse of sexuality

Next week, we move on to

Connecting the Dots

Why this is such a big deal?