Tag: Adam

Is Marital Sex for Personal Gratification?

No.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

In all seriousness, the answer is ‘no’. Of course it’s okay if you enjoy sex (within the bounds of Biblical marriage), but enjoyment is not why God created it. Sex actually serves two purposes. One is the production of children. God told Adam and Eve (and by extension, the rest of us) to “be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and steward it” (Genesis 1:28). The second — the one I want to highlight today — is union. This is also rooted in creation. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).

This second reason is what Hosea is highlighting in today’s reading. God (via Hosea) uses a sexual metaphor to talk about the re-union of Israel to Himself. This is meant to help us understand that our commitment to God is singular, intimate, and eternal. It is an act of devotion. Obviously with God these adjectives describe a NON-sexual encounter, but nonetheless our refusal to be devoted in this way is compared to prostitution!

In the same way for our marriages to be Biblical, the primary reason for sexual union should not be an orgasm. The primary reason is an expression of singular, intimate, eternal devotion. That’s why we’ve called it “making love”. This brings me back to my pity opening statement…

The title of today’s devo asks, “Is Marital Sex for Personal Gratification?” and my response, “No”, while technically true does not tell the whole story. The answer is, of course, that while personal gratification IS an outcome of the sexual union, it is not the primary or even secondary purpose. Instead, that gratification is a reward for our faithfulness and devotion.

Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust

Immediately after Jacob returns home and he and Esau bury their father, Isaac, Esau moves his household out of the land because, basically, this town ain’t big enough for the two of us. He settles outside Canaan in Edom. They appointed kings and traded with Egypt, and eventually warred with Israel. How does Esau go so far wrong?

He showed no respect for his birthright, giving it away from some stew. This flippant, careless attitude would have reflected very poorly on him, and likely affected how his family, friends, and possibly even the wider community saw him.

Then he is cheated out of his Father’s blessing by his brother and his mother. It is possible that Rebekah was worried that Esau would treat his father’s blessing with the same contempt as his birthright, and thus sought to put it on the son who appreciated it’s value.

Possibly Esau was scarred by his own regrets and the actions of his family against him, and as a final act of breaking from both his family and the God of his ancestors, Esau leaves the promised land.

And so Esau’s rejection of his family and of God is complete. He will be a ‘self-made man’. And he flourishes into a small, semi-nomadic kingdom that would trade with Egypt and flourish under the Persians…

But eventually the Prophets Jeremiah, Obadiah, and Malachi would all pronounce God’s judgement on Edom. They were wiped off the face of the earth, and until 2021 they were totally absent from the archaeological record.

You can go it on your own. And you might even be quite successful at it. But as God tells Adam in Genesis 3:19, “for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” When this life is over the self-made men and women will return to the ground from which they came and then stand before the judgement throne of God. All their hard work and determination will counted for nothing and their death will be eternal.

Let us appreciate the gifts that God has given. Recognize them for what they are. Cherish them and keep them close to our hearts. In that was we can build something of value that lasts forever.

Genesis 36; 1 Chronicles 1:35-54, 2:1-2 | 013/365