Who is God?

You shall not commit adultery.  This is the seventh commandment. Do you know that God keeps his promises? Sometimes when we look at a commandment and understand it, it shows us who God is. He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Matthew 19:18-19  This passage in Matthew is when a young man comes to Jesus and asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life. The young man says all these he has kept from his youth. When we marry we take a vow to be faithful to our spouse. When we are not faithful we commit adultery. If you look at God's history, he is faithful to keep his word. Sometime back I heard about the story of the city Tyre. God prophesied against this city and some 400 years later it came to pass. God keeps his promises. God said the city would be destroyed. I believe it was Alexander the great that came along and tried to take the city. The towns people moved to an Island just off the coast. Alexander's army built a causeway to the Island using everything they could find in the city of Tyre. They dumped the walls, the furniture and anything that was left behind into the sea to build this causeway. They dumped rocks and bricks and even the dirt from the city was dumped into the sea to build this causeway until they were down to bare rock. God told this some 400 years before it happened. We remember the story of Abraham, God promised a son. Abraham and Sarah were into old age long past child bearing years. They tried to help God keep his promise and it turned out bad. But God keeps his promises and at age 90 Sarah and at age 99 Abraham had a son. Thou shalt not commit adultery is about keeping a promise. God keeps his promises and expects us to keep ours. There are many more examples in the Bible of God keeping his promises. Sometimes it is years before the promises are fulfilled as in the city of Tyre, some 400 years. God reinstated his promise to Abraham when Ishmael was 15 years old.  Abraham and Sarah tried to help God keep his promise by Abraham having a child through Sarah's servant  God values promises, and in one place he says do not make a vow. Some things may seem cruel as we look at the history in the Bible, but  know that God keeps his promises always. God expects the same of us. We could look at the other commandments and they will reveal other things about God. Do not murder, God values life. You shall not bear false witness, God hates a false witness. Honor your Father and Mother a commandment with the promise of long life. Love your neighbor as yourself, God loves peace. God is not the author of strife. He desires that we get along with one another.  I think we anger God when we do not value life as we have allowed abortion. Understand his commandments and we find out who God is. Recently I referred to Titus chapter 3, do not slander.  God does not want us to bear false witness. God delights in honest weights and measures. One big take away today is God keeps his promises and wants us to do the same. Fidelity in marriage is keeping a promise made to God. God keeps his promises, and wants us to do the same. God bless, LVZ.