Adultery in the Bible was considered a very bad sin. Adultery means being married but then having sex with someone who is not your husband or wife. In the Bible, God commanded that people must not commit adultery.
If someone committed adultery, there were harsh punishments. In some cases, the punishment for adultery was death by stoning. This means crowds of people would throw rocks at the adulterer until they died. Adultery was viewed as such a terrible sin because marriage was sacred. When someone committed adultery, they were being unfaithful and betraying their spouse.
The Bible teaches that the marriage bed should be kept pure. Husbands and wives must only have sexual relations with each other. Any sexual activity outside of marriage was strictly forbidden according to God’s laws. Adultery was not just a minor mistake, but a grievous sin against God and one’s spouse.
David’s Sin with Bathsheba
David’s sin with Bathsheba began with his eyes wandering where they should not have gone. One evening, David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace. From there, he saw a beautiful woman bathing.
- David inquired about the woman and was told she was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of David’s elite soldiers.
- Despite knowing she was married, David sent messengers to bring Bathsheba to him, and he slept with her.
Bathsheba soon discovered she was pregnant from this encounter and sent word to David. At this point, David attempted to cover up his sin.
David’s Attempts to Cover His Sin
David first summoned Uriah home from the battlefield, hoping he would sleep with his wife Bathsheba so the child would appear to be Uriah’s. However, Uriah refused to go home, saying:
“The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my lord’s men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”
- David then tried getting Uriah drunk, but again Uriah did not go home to his wife that night.
David’s Murder of Uriah
With his attempts at a cover-up failing, David resorted to a despicable act. He sent Uriah back to the battlefield carrying orders to Joab, the army commander, which read:
“Put Uriah at the front line where the battle is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”
- Joab followed these orders, and Uriah was killed in the intense fighting.
- After Bathsheba mourned her husband’s death, David took her as his wife, and she bore him a son.
However, the Bible states: “But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.”
David had committed adultery, tried to cover it up through deceit, and then arranged for Uriah’s murder. Though he was the king, his sins were grave in God’s sight.
Abraham and Hagar
Abraham was a man who had great faith in God. However, he made a mistake by listening to his wife Sarah instead of fully trusting God’s promise.
Sarah was unable to have children. She suggested to Abraham that he should sleep with her Egyptian maidservant Hagar in order to have a child through her.
- Abraham agreed to this plan, even though it went against God’s command for husbands to only be with their wives.
Hagar Conceives and is Mistreated
After Abraham slept with Hagar, she became pregnant. This caused problems in Abraham’s household:
- Hagar began to look down on her mistress Sarah now that she was pregnant.
- An offended Sarah then treated Hagar so harshly that Hagar fled into the wilderness.
However, the angel of the Lord met Hagar and instructed her to return to Sarah and submit to her authority. The angel also prophesied about the son Hagar was carrying:
- He would be named Ishmael, which means “God hears.”
- Ishmael would be a wild donkey of a man, hostile to everyone.
Ishmael is Born
Hagar obeyed and returned to Abraham’s household. When she was 86 years old, Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn son.
However, this was not the son God had promised Abraham. God’s covenant was that Abraham would have a son through his wife Sarah.
Years later, when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90, God fulfilled His promise by miraculously enabling Sarah to give birth to Isaac, the son of the promise.
This created family strife, as Sarah demanded that Abraham banish Hagar and Ishmael. Though it was distressing, Abraham listened to God’s instruction to do what Sarah said.
Samson and Delilah
Samson was a man blessed by God with incredible physical strength. However, he had a glaring weakness – his uncontrolled desire for foreign women.
Samson’s Philistine Wife
Early on, Samson demanded that his Israelite parents get him a Philistine woman as a wife, even though this was against God’s command. His parents objected, but Samson persisted until they gave in to his demand.
On his way to be married, Samson killed a young lion with his bare hands. Later, he found a swarm of bees and honey inside the lion’s carcass. This became the basis for a riddle Samson told the Philistines.
When the Philistines could not solve the riddle, they threatened Samson’s wife to get the answer from him. Out of fear, she nagged and cried until Samson finally told her the answer.
Samson and Delilah
After his Philistine wife died, Samson fell for another Philistine woman named Delilah who lived in the valley of Sorek. The Philistine leaders bribed Delilah to discover the secret of Samson’s great strength.
- Three times Delilah tried to get Samson to reveal his secret, and three times he gave her false answers.
- Finally, after much nagging, Samson told Delilah the real source of his power – no razor had ever touched his head because he had been a Nazirite set apart to God from birth.
While Samson slept, Delilah had a man shave off all his hair. This caused Samson to lose his supernatural strength. The Philistines were then able to capture him, gouge out his eyes, and imprison him.
Hosea and Gomer
Hosea was a prophet of God who lived in Israel. God gave Hosea a very strange command – to marry a woman who would be unfaithful to him. This was meant to be a picture of how Israel had been unfaithful to God.
Hosea Marries Gomer
Hosea obeyed God and married a woman named Gomer. They had three children together, and God told Hosea to give them symbolic names:
- Their first son was named Jezreel, which was a place where a lot of blood had been spilled in Israel’s history. This symbolized the violence and bloodshed in Israel because of the nation’s sin.
- Their daughter was named Lo-Ruhamah, which means “not loved.” This represented how God’s love for Israel was being withdrawn because of their continued idolatry.
- Their second son was named Lo-Ammi, which means “not my people.” This showed that because of their disobedience, Israel could no longer claim to be God’s people.
Gomer’s Unfaithfulness
As God had said, Gomer was not faithful to Hosea. She left him to pursue other lovers. Despite her adultery, God told Hosea to go and love his wife again, just as God continued to love Israel even though the nation had turned to other gods.
Hosea had to buy Gomer back, even though she was his wife. He paid fifteen shekels of silver and some barley to get her back.
- This represented how God was willing to pay the price to redeem His people who had been unfaithful to Him.
- Even though they had repeatedly sinned, God still loved Israel and wanted to draw them back to Himself.
The Woman Caught in Adultery
One day, while Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus:
“Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing Jesus. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
Jesus’ Response
When they kept on questioning him, Jesus straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
- Jesus’ response put the focus back on the accusers, making them realize their own sinfulness.
- He was not saying that adultery was acceptable, but He was showing mercy to the woman and challenging the self-righteousness of her accusers.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.
Jesus Forgives the Woman
Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
- Jesus did not condemn the woman, showing His grace and forgiveness.
- However, He also instructed her to leave her sinful life, showing that forgiveness and repentance go hand in hand.
King Solomon’s Many Wives
God blessed Solomon with great wisdom, wealth, and power as king over Israel. However, Solomon disobeyed God’s command by taking many foreign wives.
Solomon’s 700 Wives and 300 Concubines
The Bible records that Solomon had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines (secondary wives). This was an enormous number of wives, violating God’s law that kings should not multiply wives for themselves.
Many of these wives were from pagan nations that God had forbidden the Israelites to intermarry with, such as:
- Moabites
- Ammonites
- Edomites
- Sidonians
- Hittites
God’s reason for this command was that foreign wives would inevitably turn the hearts of the Israelites toward the idolatrous religions of their homelands.
Solomon’s Heart Was Led Astray
This is exactly what happened with Solomon. As he grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods. The Bible states:
“He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
To please his foreign wives, Solomon even built high places and temples for sacrificing to their pagan gods. This was a terrible compromise and betrayal of the one true God who had given Solomon everything.
The Kingdom Torn Away
Because of Solomon’s idolatry and disobedience, God declared that He would tear the kingdom away from Solomon’s son and give it to one of his subordinates. Only one tribe (Judah) would remain under Solomon’s line because of God’s covenant with David.
The rest of the tribes were given to Jeroboam, one of Solomon’s officials who had rebelled against the king. This fulfilled God’s judgment on Solomon for his unfaithfulness.
Judah and Tamar
Judah was one of the 12 sons of Jacob. He ended up committing adultery with his own daughter-in-law Tamar through a case of deception.
Judah’s Son Er Dies
The story begins with Judah arranging for his firstborn son Er to marry a woman named Tamar. However, Er was wicked in God’s sight, so the Lord put him to death before he could have children with Tamar.
Following the custom at that time, Judah then told his second son Onan to take Tamar as his wife and raise offspring for his dead brother. But Onan refused to obey this duty, so God also put him to death.
Tamar Tricks Judah
Judah was afraid to give his third son Shelah to be married to Tamar, fearing he might die too. So Tamar was left as a childless widow.
After a long time passed, Tamar devised a plan. She disguised herself by covering her face with a veil and positioned herself where Judah would pass by on his way to shear sheep.
When Judah saw her, not realizing it was Tamar, he propositioned her because she appeared to be a prostitute. Tamar agreed to lie with Judah in exchange for a payment.
As a pledge until the payment came, Tamar asked for Judah’s seal, cord and staff. After they were intimate, Judah sent the payment for the “prostitute” but she could not be found.
Judah’s Sin Exposed
Three months later, Judah was told that Tamar was pregnant from prostitution. In a display of hypocrisy, Judah ordered that she be burned to death for her sin.
But when Tamar produced the personal items he had given her as a pledge, Judah realized he was the father of the child she was carrying. He admitted, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.”
Reuben and Bilhah
Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. However, he committed a grievous sin that cost him his birthright as the firstborn.
Reuben’s Sin with Bilhah
The Bible states that Reuben went and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah. A concubine was a legal wife of lower status than the principal wife.
Bilhah had been Jacob’s concubine, given to him by his wife Rachel’s servant. She bore Jacob two sons, Dan and Naphtali.
For Reuben to sleep with his father’s concubine was an act of audacious disrespect and a defilement of his father’s marriage bed. The Bible describes it as “a detestable act in Israel.”
Consequences for Reuben
As a result of this sin, when Jacob was old and blessing his sons, he rebuked Reuben:
“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength…but you are uncontrolled as water, and you will not excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.”
Because of his sin, the privileges and double-portion inheritance belonging to the firstborn were taken away from Reuben. Those birthright blessings were given instead to Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.
The story shows how even the firstborn son of the patriarchs was not exempt from God’s judgment when he committed such a serious sexual sin against his own family.
Lessons from Adulterers in the Bible
The stories of adulterers in the Bible teach us important lessons about the seriousness of this sin and the consequences it brings. However, they also show us the depth of God’s mercy and willingness to forgive those who truly repent.
Adultery Has Serious Consequences
One clear lesson is that adultery is not a minor mistake, but a major violation of God’s law that brings severe consequences. We see this in the stories:
- David’s adultery with Bathsheba led to a chain of sins including deception and murder, and resulted in turmoil and tragedy for his family.
- Samson’s uncontrolled lust for Philistine women ultimately led to his capture, humiliation, and death.
- Solomon’s many foreign wives turned his heart away from God and led to the kingdom being torn from his descendants.
These stories illustrate that adultery often leads to more sins, and it can have devastating effects on individuals, families, and even nations.
God Forgives Those Who Truly Repent
Another key lesson is that even though adultery is a grievous sin, God is merciful and willing to forgive those who sincerely repent and turn from their sin. We see this in the story of David.
When confronted by the prophet Nathan, David acknowledged his sin and cried out to God for forgiveness. He prayed, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.”
God forgave David, but he still had to face the consequences of his actions. The child conceived from the adultery died, and David’s family experienced much turmoil. However, David’s repentance was sincere, and he is still described as a man after God’s own heart.
This shows that no matter how far we have fallen, if we come to God with a contrite heart, He is willing to forgive and restore us.
The Importance of Faithfulness in Marriage
Finally, the stories of adulterers in the Bible underscore the importance of remaining faithful in marriage. God’s plan is for a man and woman to be joined together in a lifelong, exclusive union.
The Bible teaches that husbands and wives are to love, honor, and be faithful to each other. Adultery violates this sacred bond and breaks the trust that is essential for a healthy marriage.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the stories of adulterers in the Bible serve as both warnings and examples of God’s grace. They show us the destructive consequences of giving in to sexual temptation and violating the sanctity of marriage. From David’s tragic fall to Solomon’s compromise with foreign wives, we see how adultery can lead to a cascade of sins and sorrows.
However, these stories also reveal the incredible depth of God’s mercy. When sinners repent, as David did, God is willing to forgive even the most grievous transgressions. This does not eliminate the earthly consequences of sin, but it does restore the repentant sinner’s relationship with God.
Ultimately, the lessons from these narratives call us to a life of purity, self-control, and faithfulness. They remind us of the importance of honoring our marriage vows and resisting sexual temptation. In a world that often celebrates and even glorifies adultery, these biblical accounts stand as a clear counterpoint, affirming the value of marital fidelity.
As we reflect on these stories, may we be both warned and encouraged. May we be warned to flee from sexual immorality and to guard our hearts and minds. And may we be encouraged by the reality of God’s grace, knowing that no sin is beyond His willingness to forgive if we come to Him in true repentance.