Beautiful Union by Joshua Ryan Butler

Author:Joshua Ryan Butler [Butler, Joshua Ryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2023-04-11T00:00:00+00:00

Notice: All three of these examples are men, and powerful men at that. The Bible is full of #MeToo-like confrontations—such as Judah the powerful patriarch exposed by Tamar as the scoundrel fooling around[17]—calling out mighty men for sexual indiscretion. Men in ancient Israel were to be held to a higher degree of responsibility than those of the surrounding nations.

Don’t just take my word for it. Anthony Phillips, an Old Testament scholar, notes how “Israel’s law of adultery rested on a distinctive principle found nowhere else in the ancient Near East,” that adultery was “a crime [against God] and not just a civil offence.”[18] The Bible’s legal code stood out, Richard M. Davidson observes, “in treating adultery as primarily a moral crime against God and not merely a personal injury to the husband.”[19] This allowed the Bible to do something distinct for women: critique the double standard.

Growing boys are admonished in Scripture: “A man who commits adultery has no sense; whoever does so destroys himself.”[20] The cheater was considered a fool. “Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?…So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.”[21] He should expect to be held to account. If a couple was caught in adultery, the consequences of the Law were to be applied to “both of them,” not just the woman.[22]

Go God! Your Maker doesn’t play favorites; he stands up for women. Jesus cares about the more vulnerable partner in the relationship. Maybe you find yourself vulnerable in a difficult relationship. It can feel like all the cards are stacked against you. But the Maker of the universe is on your side—and when he’s got your back, who can ultimately stand against you?[23]

A power dynamic was also behind the double standard. Men generally wielded greater muscle mass (physical power), held the family checkbook (economic power), and schmoozed with the neighborhood movers and shakers (social power)—all on top of extra legal rights (judicial power).[24] If his wife mustered up the courage to confront his cheating, he could easily intimidate her to “put her in her place.” Tragically, many women are still caught in adulterous or abusive relationships from similar power dynamics.

Against this backdrop, it is significant that God has by far the greater power in his relationship with us, yet he uses it to faithfully serve us rather than manipulate or exploit us. God is all-powerful, ever-present, and all-knowing—we are way more vulnerable in the relationship in every conceivable way—yet God uses his power to sacrificially care for us and lift us up.

If you’ve had people misuse their power against you, one reason this can be so devastating is it misrepresents God. It can distort your image of who God is. Jesus wants to heal your misconceptions. He laid down his life for you—the King of the universe, the most powerful being in all creation, taking the form of a slave and hanging upon a cross, revealing a beauty at the heart of the gospel.

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