MEMORIZE: And he said, what pledge shall i give thee? And she said, Thy Signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. Genesis 38:18
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Thessalonians 5 – 2 Thessalonians 3, Proverbs 28
BIBLE STUDY: Genesis 38:14-23
In our message titled: “price of adultery and fornication,” I shared six things that happens when a man or woman falls into the sin of adultery or fornication. The first thing that happens when a believer falls into the sin of adultery or fornication is that the hedge around him or her i.e. God's protection is broken. Secondly, he or she loses his organ of vision – am talking of spiritual eyes now. Dreaming dreams and seeing vision becomes almost impossible. Thirdly, the fellow goes down spiritually. Praying becomes difficult, fasting becomes difficult, bible studies become boring, winning souls becomes a hard task, etc. Fourthly, the enemy grabs the fellow and takes him or her to the headquarters of demons to torture him or her spiritually. Fifthly, the fellow loses his freedom. Finally, life becomes a struggle.
From studying Genesis 38:14-23, we observed that Judah parted away with three ‘valuable’ things when he fornicated with that prostitute. The prostitute took his Signet, his bracelets and his staff. Each of these items stood for something and we will briefly look at that. Firstly, she took his Signet. Ancient kings use signet rings to designate authority or honour. A signet contained an emblem unique to the king. Official documents or sensitive documents are sealed with a dollop of soft wax impressed with the king’s signet, usually kept on a ring of his finger. Such a seal certified the document as genuine, much like a notary public’s stamp today. Signets stands for a man’s honour and integrity. The first thing you lose when you fall into the sin of fornication or adultery is your honour, integrity, dignity and respect. The fellow you sinned with may still treat you with respect because of other things they want to get from you but deep within them, they see you as a fellow who cannot be trusted. What many ladies especially the youths do not know is that, the moment a man knows you carnally, he will tell his friends and all the respect you have earned disappears. You will become a subject of discussion when he is with his friends. Secondly, she took his bracelets. The bracelets stood for his jewels or priced possessions. The second thing you lose when you fall into the sin of fornication or adultery is your priced possessions - tangible and intangible. One loses spiritually gifts, anointing, glorious future, to mention a few. Lastly, she took his staff. Staffs represent authority or power. The third thing you lose when you fall into this terrible sin is your authority – authority over demons, circumstances, people, and so on. Matthew 8:18 says, “verily i say unto you, whatever you bound on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you lose on earth shall be lose in heaven.” The moment you fall into the sin of fornication or adultery, you lose your authority to bind and lose. Some brothers went to deliver a particular sister who was possessed by a demon. Whilst trying to cast the demon out, the demon spoke through the lady and said, pointing at a particular brother, “you are not fit to bind me because you are a fornicator.” The brother was disgraced in public by a demoniac. Judah entered the prostitute’s house full and left empty. When you study the chapter closely, you will observe that he lost these things permanently not temporarily. Because, by the time his friend, Hirah, returned to redeem his pledge and take back what he had given to the prostitute, she was gone. Even when Tamar, the prostitute, presented his signet, bracelets and staff as the belongings of the man who got her pregnant, he could not reclaim it. All he did was acknowledge that they were his and kept quiet.
THOUGHTS OF THE DAY: Have you wondered why that wicked girl did not ask for his signet alone or his staff alone? She asked for those three items to finish him. She did that to empty him of whatever is good in his life.
NOTE: God is able to restore anyone who has fallen into the fornication and adultery. You may have lost your respect, dignity, possession, authority but at least, you will not end up in hell if you repent. God is merciful, if you really repent and cry to Him you may get your authority over demons back. He may even restore some of your spiritual gifts but your respect and dignity is gone. The stain will always be there. This is the main reason why you should run from anything that appears as sin.
PRAYER POINT: Father, please help me never to fall into the sin of adultery or fornication.
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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.
