Post
by steve » Sun Sep 12, 2010 12:22 pm
I believe it does apply to marriage to one's stepmother, even after the father has died. That is the scenario that I understand to have raised Paul's indignation in 1 Corinthians 5:1-3. I could be wrong. The man in Corinth may have been committing adultery with his stepmother while the father was still married to her. Paul's wording could apply to either scenario. The Corinthians themselves were familiar with the details of the case in question.
Paul did say that a widow may marry anyone she wishes, "only in the Lord" (1 Cor.7:39). However, he may have been assuming that his readers knew there would be some common-decency exclusions (e.g., nobody believes that a widow could marry her own son or her own brother, even if both are Christians). I think the statement in Leviticus defines a certain respect for one's father, and a certain indecency about moving into the position that was exclusively and intimately his.
While I believe this to be true, I am not 100% sure, which makes it difficult to know whether or what form of repentance is required, and what course of discipline should be taken by the church. The laws about unlawful marriage unions (Lev.18:6), it might be argued, were not applicable at all times, as are universal, moral issues, since many of those marriage prohibitions were violated, without protest from God, by biblical patriarchs, prior to their being prohibited. Also, all of Adam and Eve's children were required to violate them by the very circumstances of God having made only one original pair. Again, while marrying one's brother's wife was generally forbidden (Lev.18:16), it was actually required in the special circumstances of the levirite marriage (e.g., Deut.25:5). These facts raise questions about the universal moral applicability of such laws.