Top X July 20, 2025 Devotional

EXODUS 20:14 | ¹⁴ You shall not commit adultery.

MATTHEW 5:31-32 | ³¹ It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and          whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

There is debate about what penalties attached to violations of the various commandments in Deuteronomy 5 and Exodus 20. But given the New Testament evidence we know that several carried the death penalty, including the seventh commandment. You will recall Jesus rescuing the woman “caught in adultery” from being stoned (see John 8:1-11).

There are a number of reasons the Bible takes fidelity in marriage so seriously. One is the emotional devastation caused by sexual betrayal, with the loss of trust and sense of rejection. Jesus             recognizes this damage indirectly when He explains that divorce was never God's will from the beginning, except in cases of unchastity or adultery. Broken marriages spread emotional devastation and confusion inward toward children, whose stable universe of love is now awry, and outward toward the community of friends whose loyalties are divided.

Have you seen broken marriages have generational consequences?

Gracious God,

Help me to live promise keeping and family promises in particular, with the seriousness they deserve.

Amen.