Examining the First References to Sex in the Bible
In which chapter do you think we ’d find the first commandment to do with sex in the Bible?
Genesis 1:
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:
Another early scripture is:
Genesis 2:
21 ¶ And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Arguably today we’d call this “genetic engineering” .
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
“They shall be one flesh”. Arguably, this is a scriptural euphemism for “they shall have a sexual relationship”.
Let’s notice something. Even from the two scriptures that we’ve read so far in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, we are talking of i). a heterosexual relationship, and ii). that sex is to be between a husband and wife. That is a theme which continues throughout the Bible. Follow this link for information on what the Bible says about homosexuality.
The Uniqueness of a Sex In the Bible Between Husband and Wife
And notice it doesn’t say:
"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall take wives unto himself and shall become one flesh with them".
It talks of one wife (at any one time) and the couple's unique sexual relationship.
Let’s look at this again:
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
The word ONE used here in verse 24 is VERY interesting. It is the very important Hebrew word Echad.
Why “the very important Hebrew word Echad”?
Because this is the same Hebrew word used in the Shema – which is said to be the bedrock of Jewish faith.
Deuteronomy 6:
4 ¶ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
So what ?
Two things. Firstly because of this word, the Shema, Judaism only believes in ONE God. It doesn't believe in God the Father AND God the Son and certainly wouldn’t accept the idea of an enlarged God family.
However, because the same word Echad is used in Genesis 2:24
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
…where it clearly shows that two separate people can come together as one (Echad) flesh both sexually and as a family unit, It tells us at least two things:
1. That when the Jews effectively interpret “Hear Oh Israel The Lord our God is ONE” in the Shema as ALONE. That’s not necessarily the case, because Genesis 2:24 shows us that TWO people can be “ONE”. So Echad can mean MORE THAN ONE BEING, as long as they’re UNITED.
So arguably a better interpretation of the Shema would be: “Hear Oh Israel the Eternal our God, The Eternal is UNITED.
Arguably then…
2. when a husband and wife have intercourse it points towards the united nature of God’s family as attested to in the Shema. That’s incredibly special. Arguably there’s a subtle implication that the human family points towards the God family? In fact, Paul in Ephesians 5: Paul explains that the church is like the wife to Christ and Revelation talks of the church being the bride of Christ.
Arguably God expects sex within marriage to be as incredibly special an experience as possible for the couple. In fact, uniquely special. Sex between a husband and wife is one of the most wonderful, gloriously enjoyable and incredibly satisfying experiences that any two human beings can share.
Precisely because it is shared between just those two people it’s not only GLORIOUSLY ENJOYABLE but it is a UNIQUELY BINDING experience.
So instead of God being ALONE as many Jews interpret the Schema, Judianity would argue that Genesis 2:24 suggests that the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) means that the church’s marriage relationship with God the Son, Jesus Christ is to be GLORIOUSLY ENJOYABLE & UNIQUELY BINDING.
How much more special does it get than to be the bride of the Messiah?
Not much.
More Judianity Articles on the the Subject of Sex in the Bible
Go back to the start of Judianity - A "Third Way" Between Judaism or Christianity?
Theologians believe that even after the crucifixion Paul kept Nazirite vows at the temple and offered sacrifices. One predictable adjustment to a written Torah law about circumcising gentile proselytes in Acts, caused massive turmoil in the church. If most of the other "Old Testament" laws were abolished, why wasn't a similar level of controversy recorded then? Was the Torah really "done away" in Galatians ?
Let's take a look at the subject of Sex in the Bible: Leviticus 18: and Leviticus 20: (Incest, Bestiality etc.).
© www.judianity.info Nov 2011.
