Chapter One
Not Merely Academics
The study of godly sexual behavior is not just an academic endeavor. There are few things that influence people as powerfully as the sexual drive, so it is no wonder that Satan uses it to destroy lives and negatively influence society. Sexual attraction has profoundly influenced the course of mankind, and both history and the Bible testify to this. The book of Genesis alone has many examples. Both Abraham and Isaac were afraid that they would be killed by men who wanted their beautiful wives (Gen. 12:10-20; 20:1-17; 26:7-11). Jacob was so attracted to Rachel that he served her father Laban for 14 years so he could marry her (Gen. 29:15-30). Shechem the Hivite so desired Jacob’s daughter Dinah that he talked his entire tribe into being circumcised just so he could marry her (Gen. 34:1-29). Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son, lusted after his father’s wife, and his adultery cost him his birthright (Gen. 35:22; 49:4). Joseph spent years in Pharaoh’s dungeon because a powerful woman framed him when he would not give in to her sexual advances (Gen. 39:6b-20).
The rest of the Bible and history confirm these accounts. The records of Samson and Delilah and David and Bathsheba are well known, but an intriguing and less known incident of sexual attraction is recorded in the book of Numbers. The king of Moab, an enemy of Israel, hired Balaam the prophet to curse Israel and thus destroy them. When that failed, Balaam advised the Moabites to use the lure of the sex that was a part of the Moabite worship to turn the men of Israel away from God (Num. 31:8,16). The tactic was successful, and “the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods” (Num. 25:1,2). Balaam’s strategy worked because people can be easily led away from God by sexual attraction, which can blind the eyes and blur the mind. Just as sexual attraction can lead a person away from God, it can also influence people to be godly, but godliness is achieved when the sexual drive is restrained and channeled by the force of the will to follow godly standards of behavior. Historically, sexual attraction more often than not has led to ungodliness. Understanding the powerful forces involved in the sex drive and determining what is and what is not godly behavior can be a source of blessing both to an individual and to society.
Scripture is clear that God created two different sexes: “male and female” (Gen. 1:27; 5:2; Matt. 19:4). What Scripture states, and a quick look at the difference between the male and female body substantiates, medical science is confirming more and more: there is an intrinsic difference between men and women that is much more than “skin deep.” Some people today want to “deconstruct” the traditional gender identities of male and female, saying that mankind is really “gender neutral.” These people claim that any relation or role that either man or woman feels like fulfilling
