Prostituting Against God

Hosea

Revelation

Luke 7:36-50

Joshua Ch. 2 and Ch 6

John 8:1-11

Prostitution by Definition

Prostitution against God

How have we prostituted ourselves?

What will God do about this?

Is there yet hope?

Hosea 1:2-3 

Hosea Takes a Harlot as His Wife

 ² When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea: “ Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the LORD.”  ³ So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

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Revelation 17:1-6 (New King James Version)

The Scarlet Woman and the Scarlet Beast

 ¹ Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me,^] “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, ² with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” ³ So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. ⁵ And on her forehead a name was written:
      MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

 ⁶ I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

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Prostitution by Definition

                                      (source) http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prostitution

                                      1: the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money
                                      2: the state of being prostituted : debasement

When the words Prostitute, Whore, Adultress, Harlot, Escort, or Lady of the Evening are mentioned, most God fearing people will shudder. We are not comfortable around these words, much less the sinner who indulges in such acts. In the Old Testament, this behavior was punishable by stoning.

When we think of those who engage in such practices, what images come to mind; short skirts, fishnet stockings, high heel shoes? Maybe even a flashy dressed pimp with a large, sombrero like hat with plumage? Do you remember Huggy Bear from Starsky and Hutch?

Maybe you have seen them, walking the streets of Hollywood, or even here in Montgomery on

Bell St

, or some other place. Walking up to car windows, coming in and out of sleazy motels, calling out from the sidewalk to passerby. Maybe you think of The Hollywood Madam, Heidi Fleis, The DC Madam, or one of the women caught with one of many politicians. Some might think about the spread of aids or some other sexually transmitted disease.

I think most of us would conjure up less than appealing images. I don’t believe any of us would have the thought “Well, they’re not so bad,” or They’re just trying to make a living.” If a prostitute, dressed in street apparel were to come in to our church and sit down, I am quite sure, most would distance themselves from her. I hope at this point we have all realized the disdain that we have for prostitution.

Prostitution against God

                                     Seeking other things; people, drugs, money, power, etc before God. If we seek anything before God, we are prostituting

                                     ourselves. It is important to remember, this does not apply to the lost, but to Christians. I heard it once said “what you go to in         

                                     your hour of need is your god.”

How have we prostituted ourselves?

Israel’s Unfaithfulness

Judges 2:11-15 

¹¹ Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals; ¹² and they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger. ¹³ They forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. ¹⁴ And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. ¹⁵ Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for calamity, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.

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II Chronicles 34:18-28

¹⁸ Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.
¹⁹ Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes. ²⁰ Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, ²¹ “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.”
²² So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke to her to that effect.
²³ Then she answered them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, ²⁴ “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah, ²⁵ because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.’”’ ²⁶ But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard— ²⁷ because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the LORD. ²⁸ “Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.”’” So they brought back word to the king.

Hosea 3:1-5 (New King James Version)

Israel Will Return to God

 ¹ Then the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the LORD for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.”
² So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley. ³ And I said to her, “You shall stay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man—so, too, will I be toward you.”
⁴ For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. ⁵ Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days.

John 8:1-11 

^{The Woman caught in Adultry
 1} But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
² Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. ³ Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, ⁴ they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. ⁵ Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” ⁶ This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.
⁷ So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” ⁸ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ¹⁰ When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Days of Our Youth
Steve Troxel
God's Daily Word Ministries
All through the Old Testament, God called the people of Israel to worship Him as the One True God.  He spoke through Moses, the priests, and the prophets, but the people continued to turn away.  Even after the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem, God continued to call His Children to return to Him - to return with ALL their heart!
During the Babylonian captivity, God told Ezekiel to proclaim His Word to all the people of Israel.  Ezekiel gave the people several illustrations of how far they had fallen, and how much sorrow their sin was causing for a loving Father.  Through Ezekiel, God said the people of Israel were like a helpless newborn baby who had been thrown into an open field; "Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, 'Live!'" (Ezekiel 16:6).
They had done nothing to deserve His favor, but were chosen to become a great nation, set apart and devoted to God.  Without His grace, they would have been as lost as the newborn in the field - but God said "Live!"  He picked them up, cleaned them off, loved them, and made them beautiful...but His Children forgot His love and abused His grace.

Ezekiel 16:15-16
"You trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his...such things should not happen."

The people of Israel forgot all God had done and gave their love to other gods (spiritual prostitution).  They used the grace of God for their own benefit and forgot their previous condition: "In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood" (Ezekiel 16:22).

God loves us so much...and it breaks His heart to see how we abuse His gifts. Without the saving grace of Jesus, each of us are as helpless as the newborn baby.  Without Christ, we have no hope of survival: "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).  We were lost in our sin until God reached down, picked us up, and said "Live!"  Thank You Lord!!

Let's remind ourselves of the miracle of Salvation!  Though we have done nothing to deserve God's grace, He reaches down and gives us eternal life - cleansing us of our sins and making us beautiful in His sight.  We who believe have been born into God's Family.  Let's not abuse His gift by forgetting when we were helpless, "naked and bare."  Let's give Him ALL our love and always remember the days of our youth.

Another good devotional:
A Sure Thing 
by Skip Heitzig
I once saw a TV commercial that had a woman who was trying to get pregnant. She collected a lot of fertility gods and put them on her mantelpiece, hoping they would help her. Fat chance!
An Old Testament story illustrates the futility of relying on something other than the Lord for help. The Philistines have defeated the Israelites in battle, and they've captured the Ark of the Covenant. They put the Ark in their temple, next to a statue of their god, Dagon. The next day they find the statue, fallen on its face before the Ark. They stand it up again, only to find it the following day, toppled over again, this time with its head and hands broken off.
That's pretty amusing, but the story gets very serious after that. The Philistines are stricken with disease, and they send the Ark from city to city to save themselves from God's anger. You can read it in 1 Samuel 5 and 6. You would think they'd realize, "Hey, we're worshipping the wrong god!" Instead, they decided to stick with the idol that has failed them.
But God says, "I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me" (Isaiah 45:5). Psalm 115 says, "Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear…they have hands, but they do not handle…" (v. 4-7).
Idols don't have to be something as blatant as statues we bow to. They can be more subtle things, like our possessions or people we look up to (it's no accident that the TV show is called "American Idol"). Is your idol a car, or a house, or a wardrobe or jewelry? Is it some celebrity? Or is your idol yourself--your looks, your status? In short, what is it that dominates your thoughts and your activities? If these idols were taken out of your life, would it seem unfulfilling and empty?
Any idol will disappoint you. Cars and motorcycles will break down. Our bodies and our looks will deteriorate. Money and homes can be devalued, or lost in a moment. The people we look up to will fall flat on their faces.
Only God and His word will remain, and they are unchanging and sure. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8:4, "We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one." Put your faith and your trust in Him.

Our Hope
“ Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings.” “ Indeed we do come to You, For You are the LORD our God. (Jer. 3:22)
 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.” (Psalm 33:12)          
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)