If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. (Deuteronomy 22:22)
ADULTERY AND EQUALITY. To modern ears this sounds terribly harsh, and we must keep in mind since New Testament times sexual immorality is met with moral exhortation and church discipline, not civil punishments (1 Corinthians 5:1ff.). But this text still reveals much. In the Old Testament theft was never punished by death but by restitution. So it is clear that, unlike in other ancient cultures, husbands did not own their wives as property. Not only that, we see no double standard—both the man and woman are punished equally for adultery. In this apparently “regressive” text, then, we see God revealing a way to understand marriage in which men and women are equals, and are equally, solemnly bound to keep their promises.
Reflection: Think of some ways that double standards for husbands and wives still exist in our day and time. Do they affect you in your marriage? What can you do about that?
Prayer: Lord, keep us from our hearts’ natural tendency to manipulate or use one another for our own ends. Renew our minds (Romans 12:2) to treat each other with the deepest mutual respect and love. Amen.