Hi all. The topic came up in Sabbath School today as to wether or not it is right to engage in sexual intercourse on the Sabbath.
I realize that this is a touchy or emotional issue. But what does the Word of God say? Are there any councils in the SOP? And what of Leviticus 15? Is this part of the cerimonial law that no longer applies?

--Ren

Lev 15:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying,
Lev 15:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean.
Lev 15:3 And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.
Lev 15:4 Every bed, whereon he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean: and every thing, whereon he sitteth, shall be unclean.
Lev 15:5 And whosoever toucheth his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:6 And he that sitteth on any thing whereon he sat that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:7 And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:8 And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:9 And what saddle soever he rideth upon that hath the issue shall be unclean.
Lev 15:10 And whosoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the even: and he that beareth any of those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:11 And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:12 And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
Lev 15:13 And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.
Lev 15:14 And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them unto the priest:
Lev 15:15 And the priest shall offer them, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD for his issue.
Lev 15:16 And if any man's seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:17 And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:18 The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:19 And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:20 And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.
Lev 15:21 And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:22 And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:23 And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:24 And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.
Lev 15:25 And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean.
Lev 15:26 Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation.
Lev 15:27 And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:28 But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.
Lev 15:29 And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 15:30 And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness.
Lev 15:31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.
Lev 15:32 This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith;
Lev 15:33 And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.

Dear Brother Ren,

Greetings. This is a very reasonable question. The pro-creation was created by our Creator and it was also made to be a pleasurable thing. Yet it was not created to be lusted after either.

As with all things we must be controlled by God.

But I hope this will help you:

quote:

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Isaiah 58:13,14 "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."

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Your Sister in Christ Jesus,
Cheri Fritz

Funny, I take great pleasure in going to church on Sabbath, is that wrong?

Our marriges are of God. I feel it is an honor to the Creator to engage in making love, on any day of the week.

Ren how far are people really willing to take those texts you offered. I don't think any of us would be willing to follow them to the letter in this day and age.

Redfog

Thanks guys. I was sorta on in the middle of the road on this one, but the point about Adam was well noted. But again, it was a question that was raised in SS and I was not all that satisfied with the answers.

Thanks

~Ren

RF, at the risk of sounding a bit fanatical to some, I would not dismiss Lev 15 quite so fast. There are is actually some valuable health counsel there that would likely save many women's lives if it was followed. Men who insist on intercourse during a woman's period or shortly afterwards are compromising the health of their wives. If any of you men are doing this, try refraining as the passages suggests for seven days from the time of the first flow of blood. In most cases that means the woman has about half a week to heal after the flow stops. See if your spouse is not healthier and less prone to infections.

As for abstaining on Friday night or any other time, there is counsel in the NT about how that should be done: It should be on mutual consent for a limited time.

Mark I was not dismissing it out of hand, I'm just not sure my pastor would want two turtledoves nor do I think that if I lie with my wife I'm unclean until the evening. Seriously though I agree with you that there is much in what we sometimes call ceremonial laws that would lead to better health. It's just we need to be careful that we don't mix up the ceremonial aspect of the verses with the healthful aspects. Many times there was very good and practical reasons for those laws that we can learn from 3000 years after they were given.

And should not sex always be by mutual consent? Neither partner should ever be coerced into something they do not want to do IMO. And where are those NT texts? I never knew there was anything about it.

Redfog

7:4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except [it be] with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. I Cor 7:4, 5.

Wasn't Adam and Eve`s wedding celebrated on Friday evening? It seems to have occurred near sunset, which means their first day of honeymoon must have been the Sabbath.

Does the bible tell?

/Thomas

The last part of Gen 1 does say that both Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day. We don't know how long it was before they went on their honeymoon. I've wondered what the period of courtship was. A few hours seems short to me, but in a perfect world . . . . maybe?