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By James Quansah, Pastor
ONE EVIL the devil is aggressively promoting using the media particularly social media is sexual immorality. And undoubtedly this is an evil that has been destroying the lives of perpetrators especially men.
Sexual immorality may comprise adultery, fornication, rape, bestiality, incest, sodomy, homosexuality and others. God warms humans to avoid committing these acts because they are evil (1 Thessalonians 4: 3- 6).
God considers every sexual relationship outside marriage a sin, and He punishes those who commit it. One day, Abraham sojourned in a place called Gerar with his beautiful wife, Sarah.
And Abimelech, king of Gerar saw Sarah, lusted after her and sent for her. We are not told what Abraham did or said when his wife was taken to the king, but God was not silent.
“But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, Behold, YOU ARE A DEAD MAN because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife…Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours” (Genesis 20: 3- 7).
Men who snatch their neighbours’ wives and betrothed do not go unpunished. Illicit sex is not truly joyful; it is deadly, costly and shameful. God’s words to king Abimelech are words to all men who lure married women and potential wives to bed. He judges them as dead men as He says elsewhere that “The wages of sin is death.” The one who commits sexual sins destroys his own body.
Consider the number of diseases and deaths, divorces, reputation damage, unemployment, bodily injuries, emotional stress and poverty the evil of adultery or fornication have caused in our world over the years.
God warned Abimelech and He still warns all men not because He hates us, but because He loves us. He wants us to live to fulfill His purpose on earth. God is love; He does not want anyone to suffer death for sin.
God knew the integrity of the king’s heart. He was aware that the king had taken Sarah not knowing she was a married woman as Abraham had said she was his sister. Nevertheless the Almighty would not want adultery to be committed. He kept Abimelech from sinning against Him. A sin against a neighbour is a sin against God.
Abimelech was not like many of us who have no regard for the warnings of God. He heard God’s voice, obeyed Him, and consequently returned Sarah to her husband. That he did because he revered God, feared for his life and the lives of his household. He did not doubt God’s justice and the severity of His punishment. Yes, we know God punishes sin, yet the fool always goes ahead to sin and gets punished for it.
When king David saw soldier Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, bathing one hot afternoon, he could not resist the temptation of snatching her. He had carnal knowledge of her and eventually got her husband, Uriah killed in battle.
But David never escaped punishment. Though he did not die, he was greatly rebuked, suffered disgrace, the son who Bathsheba bore to him died and another man who was his own son slept with his wife.
Now, the best thing to do when tempted with sexual immorality is to learn from Joseph and Job. Joseph fled when he realised that he could be pushed into sinning with another man’s wife. And Job made a covenant with his eyes not to look at women lustfully.
Jesus Christ taught that he who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. It is clear that society often blames women for sexual sins, but God’s anger is often against men. He declares men who snatch other men’s wives dead. Indeed, sexual immorality is costly.
