GOD’S FIRST CIRCLE                                                    Proverbs 14:22-35

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people (v34)

(7) The Seventh Commandment. “You shall not commit adultery.” It is interesting that immediately following on from the Commandment which declares the sacredness of human life comes the one that declares the sacredness of marriage. It’s important to remember that within society God’s first circle is not the nation, nor the community, but the family. And within the family circle, His purpose is the intimacy of marriage. The first thing that is emphasized in our relationship with God. The second is our relationship with each other. Within this second grouping, the relationship between man and wife is the type and origin of all subsequent relationships. Nothing can be more essential for the social order than the relationship upon which all subsequent ones are built. Any nation that does not uphold the sacredness of marriage and the unity of the family, and does not resist promiscuity and adultery, is preparing the way, I believe, for its own downfall. The greatness of a people depends upon the purity and moral strength of the people and every nation that believes the marriage relationship may be disrupted with impunity is sowing a stone in a pound; the ripples don’t just stay in the centre-they spread. The effect and consequences can be devastating. The words of the seventh Commandment are directed against the damage caused by unfaithfulness in marriage.

PRAYER LINE: Father, help those who guide our nation to see the damaging effects of unfaithfulness upon the whole of society. Raise up among us strong moral leaders who will give themselves to those concerns. In Jesus’ Name we ask it. Amen (EDWJ)

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God’s whisper of comfort helps quiet the noise of our trials.