The Small Catechism – part 82
Scripture Text: Matthew 19:4–6
• Image • Index of Scripture graphics and posts
Click for audio of today's lesson.
From the Word: 4 And [Jesus] answered and said, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother behind, and shall cling to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 Therefore, they are no longer two, but one flesh. What then God has joined, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4–6)
From the Confessions: The Small Catechism
The Sixth Commandment
You shall not commit adultery.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that in matters of sex we are chaste and disciplined in our words and actions, and that husband and wife love and honor each other.
Pulling It Together: The Song of Solomon has many beautiful images, perhaps none so striking as Song of Solomon 2:4. “He has brought me to his banquet hall, and his banner over me is love” (Song 2:4 NASB). The groom has brought his bride into his home, under the protection of his battle standard, his military flag. It is a sign in the field of battle, that the group under this banner fights together. In Song of Solomon, the groom has brought his wife into his home under the sign of his love. She is more than simply secure under the husband’s banner: she is part of the force. The two have become one, dynamic life.
This is God’s doing and design. “What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matt 19:6 RSV).
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for flying your banner of love over me, and over your whole church. Amen.
Click here for resources to learn the Ten Commandments.
Receive these daily Sola Devotions by email. Write mryman@solapublishing.com with "Subscribe" as your subject. To unsubscribe, send an email to the same address with "Unsubscribe" as your subject.
Saints and Sinners, Witnesses to the Faith, is the first in a three-volume series on saints and sinners in the New Testament who were powerful witnesses to faith in Christ. May this study of saints and sinners enrich your understanding of life with Christ and encourage you in discipleship.
Author
Rev. Mark E. Ryman serves as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC. Previously, Pastor Ryman has served other congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
Click Here For Content Archives