Instruction About The Tragedy of Adultery
May 24, 2022
Commentary
The people of Judah who had been taken as prisoners to Babylonia continued to return to Jerusalem and their own towns throughout Judah (vv. 14–58). They were carefully listed by family groups and by the regions from which they came. A total number is given for how many ancestors returned from each town (vv. 21–35), showing that these people valued their history and identity among God’s people. Most of them settled in Benjamite territory north of Jerusalem. A separate list records how many returned from each family of priests (vv. 36–39), followed by the numbers from Levite families (vv. 40–42). Then comes a list of temple workers whose families returned (vv. 43–54). Finally, we read about Solomon’s servants whose descendants also came back (vv. 55–57). The phrase “the descendants of the servants of Solomon” appears only in this passage. A total of 392 descendants of Solomon’s temple workers and servants are recorded (v. 58). These people may have descended from the Canaanites whom Solomon forced into labor (1 Kings 9:20–22).
A careful record was kept of the families who came up out of captivity. This reminds me how sin can bring shame and loss, while righteousness can restore individuals and nations. Faithful obedience still matters today. Those who undervalue their relationship with the Lord during times of hardship or failure often gain little when obedience later brings blessing. Yet the Lord carries His people through every season according to His will, always aiming at His glory and teaching us to depend fully on Him. Those who respond to God’s instruction, turn away from sin, and return to Him in humility will be guarded and guided through danger, and will safely reach the place God has prepared for them.
Application
Do I value my walk with God, even in hard seasons? Am I faithful when obedience feels costly? I ask myself where I may be drifting or returning. I will trust God’s guidance today, I choose obedience, and depend on Him as He leads me step by step, with patience, hope, gratitude, humility, courage, faith, consistency, love, daily.
Proverbs 6:20–35 (NET)
20 My child, guard the commands of your father and do not forsake the instruction of your mother.
21 Bind them on your heart continually; fasten them around your neck.
22 When you walk about, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you wake up, they will talk to you.
23 For the commandments are like a lamp, instruction is like a light, and rebukes of discipline are like the road leading to life,
24 by keeping you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the loose woman.
25 Do not lust in your heart for her beauty, and do not let her captivate you with her alluring eyes;
26 for on account of a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread, but the wife of another man preys on your precious life.
27 Can a man hold fire against his chest without burning his clothes?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals without scorching his feet?
29 So it is with the one who sleeps with his neighbor’s wife; no one who touches her will escape punishment.
30 People do not despise a thief when he steals to fulfill his need when he is hungry.
31 Yet if he is caught he must repay seven times over, he might even have to give all the wealth of his house.
32 A man who commits adultery with a woman lacks sense, whoever does it destroys his own life.
33 He will be beaten and despised, and his reproach will not be wiped away;
34 for jealousy kindles a husband’s rage, and he will not show mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not consider any compensation; he will not be willing, even if you multiply the compensation.
Tozer – Discipline Has Practically Disappeared
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