You shall not commit adultery. The seventh commandment protects the covenant of marriage as the foundational human covenant that images the covenant between God and Israel. Adultery violates covenant loyalty at the most intimate human level — it is what idolatry is at the theological level. The prophets consistently use marriage and adultery as metaphors for Israel's covenant faithfulness and unfaithfulness: Hosea, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. Matthew 5:27–28 extends the seventh commandment inward: anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. The commandment protects not only the act of marriage but the orientation of the heart that sustains it. Hebrews 13:4 says marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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