The Ten Commandments - Seven

And now, God shows his concern for the family. Exodus 20:14 (NIV): You shall not commit adultery. God's commandments are not only ahead of their time, but they apply to every culture and will apply to every culture in the history of mankind. We must remember that the deck was stacked against women in the culture in which these commandments were given. Women had no rights at all. They were considered as property. They could not sue for divorce and had no legal recourse if their husbands cheated on them.

God brought about balance. He said, in effect, he wanted families strong and healthy. He wanted the men to be faithful to their wives just as women had to be faithful to their husbands. This commandment was given thirty-four-hundred years ago in the Middle East! Women in that area of the world are still oppressed to this day (except in Israel where these commandments are honored). No world religion has brought about equality for women like the Judeo-Christian faith and legal system. The men of God in the Old Testament didn't always follow God's ideal and we can read about some of the consequences, but it has always been God's plan for one man and one woman to mate for life, as we see in the Garden of Eden. God created the family and he wants it strong.

God demands that we keep our vows. He demands that we treat others as we would be treated. Jesus made this commandment a matter of the heart (Matthew 5:27-30), and Paul reminds us that our bodies are not our own – we were bought at a price and we belong to God (1 Corinthians 6: 18-20). God will forgive us when we sin, but if we will follow his commandments, we will spare ourselves and our loved-ones from a world of pain and sorrow.