Fornication
(Porneia), Idolatry
and Rebellion
By Isaac Aluochier
Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
All scripture quotations are from the Hebrew Names Version of the World English Bible
available at http://www.ebible.org/bible/hnv/.
© 1999, Isaac Aluochier, All rights reserved. Published by Servants of Yahweh, P O Box
44848-00100, Nairobi, Kenya. E-mail: info@serveyahweh.info. Permission is hereby
GRANTED to reproduce this and other publications in the Servants of Yahweh web site,
www.serveyahweh.info, unless otherwise stated.
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
CONTENTS
What Is Prostitution?.......................................................................................................6
Yahweh's Prohibition Against Idolatry............................................................................8
Love Your Descendants..................................................................................................8
Yahweh's Prohibition Against Adultery..........................................................................8
Idolatry Is Prostitution....................................................................................................9
Prostitution Is Profanity And Wickedness.......................................................................9
Idolatry And Prostitution Incur The Death Penalty..........................................................9
Those Abiding With Yahweh's People Must Abide By Yahweh's Words To His People
.....................................................................................................................................11
Idolaters Should Be Cast Out From Yahweh's Assembly..............................................11
Idolatry Defiles Yahweh's Sanctuary And Profanes His Name......................................11
Unfaithfulness To Yahweh Is Prostitution.....................................................................11
Yahweh Sets His Face Against The Families of Idolaters..............................................12
Yahweh's People Should Have Righteous Concern For One Another............................12
Rebellion Is Unfaithfulness And Prostitution................................................................12
Love For Yahweh's People............................................................................................12
Satan's Work.................................................................................................................13
Witchcraft And Familiar Spiritism Is Prostitution.........................................................13
Sanctification Is The Opposite Of Rebellion And Prostitution.......................................13
Sins That Warrant Exclusion From Yahweh's Assembly ...............................................14
What Is The Meaning Of Leviticus 20:18?....................................................................14
One Should Not Derive Benefit From Sin.....................................................................14
The Fruits Of Sin Should Not Be Brought Before Yahweh...........................................14
Prostitution Brings Defilement ......................................................................................15
Yisrael's Prostitution And Rebellion In The Wilderness................................................15
The Children Of Prostitutes Bear Their Parents' Punishment.........................................18
The Prostitution Of Yisrael...........................................................................................18
Rebellion Is Prostitution................................................................................................19
Disbelieving Yahweh Is Despising Yahweh..................................................................19
Penalty For Despising Yahweh.....................................................................................19
There Is A Limit To Tolerance......................................................................................19
Following One's Heart Is Prostitution............................................................................19
Yisrael Again Rebels Against Yahweh In The Wilderness............................................20
How Yisrael Rebelled Against Yahweh........................................................................23
Yahweh's Anger At The Rebels ....................................................................................23
Rebelling Against Yahweh Is Despising Yahweh.........................................................23
The People's Heart The Same As That Of The Leaders Of The Rebellion.....................23
Yahweh's Fierce Wrath Upon Rebels............................................................................24
Yisrael's Rebellion At The Waters Of Merivah.............................................................24
Yahweh Shows No Partiality........................................................................................25
Penalty For Aharon's Rebellion.....................................................................................25
Death Penalty For Prostitutes........................................................................................25
Penalty For Moshe's Rebellion......................................................................................26
Yisrael's Rebellions Against Yahweh............................................................................26
Yisrael's Rebelliousness Against Yahweh.....................................................................28
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
Disobedience Is Rebellion.............................................................................................29
Those Under Authority Must Obey Those In Authority Over Them..............................30
Prostitution Is Folly.......................................................................................................31
Prostitution Is Equated With Homosexuality.................................................................31
It Is Righteousness To Be Angry At Prostitution...........................................................32
The Wickedness Of The Children Of Binyamin ............................................................32
Shaul's Rebellion Against Yahweh................................................................................36
Selectively Obeying Yahweh Is Evil!............................................................................38
There Is No Valid Justification For Not Fully Obeying Yahweh...................................39
Classification Of The Sins Of Rebellion And Stubbornness..........................................39
Yahweh Rejects Rebels .................................................................................................39
Do Not Fellowship With Rebels Against Yahweh.........................................................39
Respect Those In Authority...........................................................................................39
Parallels in Yahweh’s dealings with Moshe and Shaul..................................................40
Yahweh Removes Rebels From Their Place..................................................................40
Yahweh Again Removes Rebels From Their Place.......................................................41
Yahweh's Fierce Wrath Trained Firmly Against Yahudah.............................................42
Yahweh's Judgement On Idolaters................................................................................42
Adulteresses Are Prostitutes And Sorceresses...............................................................43
Rebellion Grieves The Holy Spirit................................................................................44
Prostitution Greatly Pollutes The Land.........................................................................44
Curses On Land Polluted With Prostitution...................................................................46
Idolatry Is Prostitution..................................................................................................46
Righteous Husbands Should Divorce Adulterous Wives...............................................46
Righteous Husbands Should Be Angry With Unrighteous Deeds Of Their Wives.........47
Adultery Is Equated With Rebellion..............................................................................47
Yahweh Heals Our Backslidings ...................................................................................47
Yahweh Punishes The Wicked......................................................................................47
Falsely Professing To Follow Yahweh..........................................................................49
Adultery Is Treachery...................................................................................................51
Yahweh's Punishment On Evildoers..............................................................................51
Idolatry And Adultery Profanes A Territory..................................................................52
Punishment On Adulterous False Prophets....................................................................53
Avoid Rebellion Against Yahweh.................................................................................53
Yahweh's Judgement On Rebellious Yisrael.................................................................54
Yahweh's Judgement On Idolatrous Yisrael..................................................................55
Idolaters Are Estranged From Yahweh.........................................................................56
Husbands Should Not Embrace Prostitute Wives ..........................................................57
Yahweh Reduced The Provisions For His Adulterous Wife ..........................................57
Yahweh's Dealings With Rebellious And Prostituting Yisrael.......................................60
Rebels Not To Inherit The Promised Land....................................................................62
Yahweh's Judgement On Idolatrous And Sexually Immoral Yisrael..............................62
The Judgement Of Idolaters And Other Wicked People................................................63
Yahweh's Judgement On Idolatrous And Sexually Immoral Yisraelites........................65
Yahweh Will Receive Yisrael Back Only After Her Cleansing .....................................65
Yahweh Does Not Dwell In The Midst Of Prostitution.................................................67
Idolaters Must Pay A Penalty For Their Abominable Practice.......................................67
Forgiven Former Rebels Should Be Demoted From Their Former Offices....................68
Rebellion Is Prostitution................................................................................................68
Husbands Are Not Obliged To Provide For Their Unfaithful And Disobedient Wives. .69
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
Yahweh's Controversy In Circumstances Where Faithlessness And Adultery Are Rife . 70
Prostitution Removes Understanding............................................................................71
The Spirit Of Prostitution..............................................................................................71
Defiled Rebels And Prostitutes.....................................................................................71
Yahweh Withdraws From Proud Prostitutes..................................................................72
Judgement On Practitioners Of Prostitution And Witchcraft.........................................72
Yahweh's Future Judgement On Sorcerers And Adulterers...........................................73
Righteous Request Against Rebels ................................................................................73
Yahweh's Penalty Against Rebels.................................................................................74
Traits Of Rebels............................................................................................................74
Rebels Grieve Yahweh..................................................................................................75
Yahweh's Punishment For Rebels.................................................................................75
Yisrael's Prostitution.....................................................................................................76
Idolatry Is Demon Worship...........................................................................................80
Successfully Fighting Against The Spirit Of Prostitution..............................................80
Penalty Against Evil And Rebellious People.................................................................82
Rebellion Contrasted Against Understanding And Knowledge.....................................83
Some Rebels .................................................................................................................83
Yahweh's Judgement On Yehoram, A Prostitute King Of Yahudah..............................84
Committing Sin In The Heart........................................................................................85
Remove Errant Members Of Your Body.......................................................................85
Dealing With A Rebellious Wife ...................................................................................85
What Porneia Is.............................................................................................................86
Putting Away A Wife On Account Of Porneia..............................................................86
Deliverance From The Spirit Of Prostitution.................................................................86
What Defiles Humans...................................................................................................87
Entering Eternal Life .....................................................................................................88
Showing Mercy.............................................................................................................89
Abstain From Porneia...................................................................................................89
Be Humble....................................................................................................................90
Learn From The Experience Of Yisrael.........................................................................90
Yah'shuah Utterly Detests Porneia................................................................................91
Do Not Tolerate Those Of The Way Of Porneia............................................................92
Yah'shuah Gives Us Time To Repent............................................................................92
The Unrepentant Will Suffer Great Oppression.............................................................92
The Way Of Porneia Is In The Depths Of Satan's Ways ................................................93
Why Yahweh's Plagues Will Be Unleashed On Mankind..............................................93
Yahweh's Judgement On The Great Prostitute And Sorceress.......................................93
Yahweh's Judgement Upon The Wicked.......................................................................95
Yah'shuah's Judgement Upon The Wicked....................................................................96
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
What Is Prostitution?
•
Genesis 34:1-31
34:1
Dinah, the daughter of Le'ah, whom she bore to Ya`akov, went out to see the
daughters of the land. 34:2Shekhem the son of Hamor the Hivvi, the prince of the land,
saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her. 34:3His soul joined to Dinah, the
daughter of Ya`akov, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young
lady. 34:4Shekhem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, "Get me this young lady as a
wife."
34:5
Now Ya`akov heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were
with his cattle in the field. Ya`akov held his shalom until they came. 34:6Hamor the
father of Shekhem went out to Ya`akov to talk with him. 34:7The sons of Ya`akov came
in from the field when they heard it. The men were grieved, and they were very angry,
because he had done folly in Yisra'el in lying with Ya`akov's daughter; which thing
ought not to be done. 34:8Hamor talked with them, saying, "The soul of my son,
Shekhem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. 34:9Make
marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.
34:10
You shall dwell with us: and the land will be before you. Live and trade in it, and
get possessions in it."
34:11
Shekhem said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes,
and whatever you will tell me I will give. 34:12Ask me a great amount for a dowry, and
I will give whatever you ask of me, but give me the young lady as a wife."
34:13
The sons of Ya`akov answered Shekhem and Hamor his father with deceit, and
spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister, 34:14and said to them, "We can't do
this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised; for that is a reproach to us.
34:15
Only on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every
male of you be circumcised; 34:16then will we give our daughters to you, and we will
take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one
people. 34:17But if you will not listen to us, to be circumcised, then we will take our
sister, and we will be gone.
34:18
Their words pleased Hamor, and Shekhem, Hamor's son. 34:19The young man
didn't wait to do this thing, because he had delight in Ya`akov's daughter, and he was
honored above all the house of his father. 34:20Hamor and Shekhem, his son, came to
the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying, 34:21"These men are
peaceful with us. Therefore let them live in the land and trade in it. For, behold, the
land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us
give them our daughters. 34:22Only on this condition will the men consent to us to
dwell with us, to become one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they
are circumcised. 34:23Won't their cattle and their substance and all their animals be
ours? Only let us give our consent to them, and they will dwell with us."
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
34:24
All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor, and to Shekhem his son;
and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. 34:25It
happened on the third day, when they were sore, that two of Ya`akov's sons, Shim`on
and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword, came upon the unsuspecting city,
and killed all the males. 34:26They killed Hamor and Shekhem, his son, with the edge of
the sword, and took Dinah out of Shekhem's house, and went away. 34:27Ya`akov's sons
came on the dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.
34:28
They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that
which was in the field; 34:29and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones
and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the house. 34:30Ya`akov
said to Shim`on and Levi, "You have troubled me, to make me odious to the
inhabitants of the land, among the Kana`anim and the Perizzi. I am few in number.
They will gather themselves together against me and strike me, and I will be
destroyed, I and my house."
34:31
They said, "Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?"
Prostitution is the sexual enjoinment of a woman to any man not her husband. Seeing that
prostitution ought not to be done, we should avoid it.
•
Genesis 38:12-26
38:12
After many days, Shu`a's daughter, the wife of Yahudah, died. Yahudah was
comforted, and went up to his sheep-shearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah, the
`Adullami. 38:13It was told Tamar, saying, "Behold, your father-in-law is going up to
Timnah to shear his sheep." 38:14She took off her the garments of her widowhood, and
covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of `Enayim,
which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelach was grown up, and she
wasn't given to him as a wife. 38:15When Yahudah saw her, he thought that she was a
prostitute, for she had covered her face. 38:16He turned to her by the way, and said,
"Please come, let me come in to you:" for he didn't know that she was his daughterin-law.
She said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?"
38:17
He said, "I will send you a kid of the goats from the flock."
She said, "Will you give me a pledge, until you send it?"
38:18
He said, "What pledge will I give you?"
She said, "Your signet and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand."
He gave them to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him. 38:19She arose,
and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her
widowhood. 38:20Yahudah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend, the
`Adullami, to receive the pledge from the woman's hand, but he didn't find her.
38:21
Then he asked the men of her place, saying, "Where is the prostitute, that was at
`Enayim by the road?"
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
They said, "There has been no prostitute here."
38:22
He returned to Yahudah, and said, "I haven't found her; and also the men of the
place said, 'There has been no prostitute here.'" 38:23Yahudah said, "Let her keep it,
lest we be put to shame. Behold, I sent this kid, and you haven't found her."
38:24
It happened about three months later, that it was told Yahudah, saying, "Tamar,
your daughter-in-law, has played the prostitute; and moreover, behold, she is with
child by prostitution."
Yahudah said, "Bring her forth, and let her be burnt." 38:25When she was brought
forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, "By the man, whose these are, I am with
child." She also said, "Please discern whose are these - the signet, and the cords, and
the staff."
38:26
Yahudah acknowledged them, and said, "She is more righteous than I, because I
didn't give her to Shelach, my son."
He knew her again no more.
Prostitution is a woman having sex with a man not her husband.
Yahweh's Prohibition Against Idolatry
•
Exodus 20:4-6
20:4
"You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the
heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
20:5
you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your
Mighty One, am a jealous Mighty One, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, 20:6and
showing lovingkindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my
commandments.
Love Your Descendants
It should be noted that not only is Yahweh against idolatry, he executes a penalty for idolatry.
And this penalty is executed upon the third and the fourth generations of those who hate
Yahweh. Therefore, in love for one's subsequent generations, that they may not experience
Yahweh's penalty on account of our sins, we should not partake of idolatry.
Yahweh's Prohibition Against Adultery
•
Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18
20:14
"You shall not commit adultery.
What is adultery?
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
Idolatry Is Prostitution
•
Exodus 34:10-17
34:10
He said, "Behold, I make a covenant: before all your people I will do marvels,
such as have not been worked in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people
among which you are shall see the work of Yahweh; for it is an awesome thing that I
do with you. 34:11Observe that which I command you this day. Behold, I drive out
before you the Amori, the Kana`ani, the Chittite, the Perizzi, the Chivvi, and the
Yevusi. 34:12Be careful, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land
where you are going, lest it be for a snare in the midst of you: 34:13but you shall break
down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their
Asherim; 34:14for you shall worship no other mighty one: for Yahweh, whose name is
Jealous, is a jealous Mighty One. 34:15Don't make a covenant with the inhabitants of
the land, lest they play the prostitute after their mighty ones, and sacrifice to their
mighty ones, and one call you and you eat of his sacrifice; 34:16and you take of their
daughters to your sons, and their daughters play the prostitute after their mighty
ones, and make your sons play the prostitute after their mighty ones. 34:17You shall
make no cast idols for yourselves.
34:15 shows that prostitution is also the worshipping of a god or deity other than Yahweh.
The various forms of worshipping such gods are the forms of prostitution.
34:14 makes clear that we are to worship only Yahweh. For worship of any entity other than
Yahweh is prostitution!
Seeing that sacrificing to any entity other than Yahweh and idolatry are forbidden by
Yahweh, it is indeed clear that these are forms of prostitution.
Prostitution Is Profanity And Wickedness
•
Leviticus 19:29
19:29
Don't profane your daughter, to make her a prostitute; lest the land fall to
prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness.
When a land falls to prostitution, either that of women having sex with those who are not
their husbands, or of its inhabitants worshipping any entity other than Yahweh, it becomes
full of wickedness. It should therefore be clear that prostitution is wickedness.
Idolatry And Prostitution Incur The Death Penalty
•
Leviticus 20:1-27
20:1
Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying, 20:2Moreover, you shall tell the children of
Yisra'el, Whoever he be of the children of Yisra'el, or of the strangers who sojourn in
Yisra'el, who gives of his seed to Molekh; he shall surely be put to death: the people
of the land shall stone him with stones. 20:3I also will set my face against that man,
and will cut him off from among his people; because he has given of his seed to
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
Molekh, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. 20:4If the people at the
land do at all hide their eyes from that man, when he gives of his seed to Molekh, and
don't put him to death; 20:5then I will set my face against that man, and against his
family, and will cut him off, and all who play the prostitute after him, to play the
prostitute with Molekh, from among their people. 20:6The soul that turns to those who
have familiar spirits, and to the wizards, to play the prostitute after them, I will even
set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. 20:7Sanctify
yourselves therefore, and be you holy; for I am Yahweh your Mighty One. 20:8You
shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am Yahweh who sanctifies you.
20:9
For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death: he
has cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be on him. 20:10The man who
commits adultery with another man's wife, even he who commits adultery with his
neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 20:11The
man who lies with his father's wife has uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them
shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be on them. 20:12If a man lie with his
daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have created
confusion; their blood shall be on them. 20:13If a man lie with mankind, as with
womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to
death; their blood shall be on them. 20:14If a man take a wife and her mother, it is
wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no
wickedness among you. 20:15If a man lie with an animal, he shall surely be put to
death: and you shall kill the animal. 20:16If a woman approach to any animal, and lie
down thereto, you shall kill the woman, and the animal: they shall surely be put to
death; their blood shall be on them. 20:17If a man shall take his sister, his father's
daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his
nakedness; it is a shameful thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children
of their people: he has uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.
20:18
If a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her
nakedness; he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of
her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 20:19You shall
not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, nor of your father's sister; for he
has made naked his close relative: they shall bear their iniquity. 20:20If a man shall lie
with his uncle's wife, he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their
sin; they shall die childless. 20:21If a man shall take his brother's wife, it is impurity: he
has uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.
20:22
You shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my ordinances, and do them; that
the land, where I bring you to dwell therein, not vomit you out. 20:23You shall not walk
in the customs of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they did all these things,
and therefore I abhorred them. 20:24But I have said to you, You shall inherit their land,
and I will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey: I am
Yahweh your Mighty One, who has separated you from the peoples. 20:25You shall
therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between
the unclean fowl and the clean: and you shall not make your souls abominable by
animal, or by bird, or by anything wherewith the ground teems, which I have
separated from you as unclean. 20:26You shall be holy to me: for I, Yahweh, am holy,
and have set you apart from the peoples, that you should be mine. 20:27A man also or a
woman that has a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they
shall stone them with stones; their blood shall be on them.
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
20:1-2 shows that anyone who gives his children to a god or deity other than Yahweh incurs
the death penalty. Implying that it is a grievous sin for one to give one's children to a god or
deity other than Yahweh.
Those Abiding With Yahweh's People Must Abide By Yahweh's Words To
His People
20:2 notes that the word that Yahweh was speaking applied to his children, and those who are
not his children who dwell in the territory of his children. In other words, if Yahweh's people
be in a particular area, and there be others who are not Yahweh's people, but dwell in the
same area with Yahweh's people, these other people must abide by Yahweh's word for his
people, unless specifically prohibited from so abiding by such word.
Idolaters Should Be Cast Out From Yahweh's Assembly
20:3 notes that Yahweh sets his face against those who give their children to a god or deity
other than Yahweh. In other words, not only are his people to eliminate from their midst such
a person, he himself also takes his own actions directed against such a person, and will
eliminate him from the midst of his people. It should therefore be clear that a person who
gives his children to a god or deity other than Yahweh forfeits all right to continue dwelling
with Yahweh's people, and must be cast out from that dwelling place with Yahweh's people.
Idolatry Defiles Yahweh's Sanctuary And Profanes His Name
The effect of one giving one's children to a god or deity other than Yahweh is to defile
Yahweh's sanctuary and to profane Yahweh's name. In other words, those who are unfaithful
to Yahweh both defile his sanctuary and profane his name.
It should therefore be clear that those who defile Yahweh's sanctuary and profane his name
no longer have any right to dwell with Yahweh's people. Such defilers and profaners must be
eliminated from the midst of Yahweh's people. For Yahweh's people must dwell in purity,
cleanliness and holiness. And Yahweh's sanctuary and name must be kept pure, clean and
holy.
There is a requirement upon Yahweh's people to eliminate from their midst those among
them who defile Yahweh's sanctuary and profane his name by their unfaithfulness to
Yahweh. Yahweh himself also acts to eliminate these unfaithful people from the midst of his
people.
Unfaithfulness To Yahweh Is Prostitution
20:4-5 shows that when Yahweh's people fail to take the requisite step in eliminating from
their midst those among them who are unfaithful to Yahweh, then he himself sets his face
against those unfaithful people. This unfaithfulness Yahweh calls prostitution.
It should be noted that those who prostitute themselves, those who are unfaithful to Yahweh,
not only bring about a penalty upon themselves, they also bring about a penalty upon their
families! For Yahweh has said that he will also set his face against their families.
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
Yahweh Sets His Face Against The Families of Idolaters
It should also be noted that while Yahweh says that he will eliminate the unfaithful from
among his people, who defile his sanctuary and profane his name, he does not say the same
thing with respect to the families of these unfaithful. It therefore appears that these remnant
families of these unfaithful remain alive and incur the consequences of Yahweh having set
his face against them.
What does Yahweh mean when he says that he will set his face against the unfaithful person
and his family? How does he set his face against these whom he sets his face against?
Yahweh's People Should Have Righteous Concern For One Another
The people of Yahweh should be concerned for one another. Their concern for one another
should be based on heeding Yahweh's every word. But if they reason amongst themselves
and say that they will not eliminate from among their midst those who are unfaithful to
Yahweh, because they cannot stand to act against one or more amongst their midst, then they
join these unfaithful prostitutes. For by refusing to heed Yahweh's word to eliminate from
among their midst those who are unfaithful to Yahweh they likewise become unfaithful to
Yahweh, though in a different way. For while those who prostitute themselves by serving
other gods or deities so manifest their unfaithfulness to Yahweh, those who fail to heed
Yahweh's word to them to eliminate such unfaithful prostitutes also show their breach of faith
against Yahweh by their failure to heed this word of his. For the unfaithful prostitutes
breached Yahweh's word to not serve an entity other than Yahweh. And these who fail to
implement Yahweh's penalty against the unfaithful prostitutes also join them in unfaithful
prostitution. For by refusing to obey Yahweh they automatically serve another, for they, by
their refusal, cease to serve Yahweh. And because they have joined those in their midst in
their unfaithfulness and prostitution, they are likewise unfaithful and prostitutes. And because
the penalty for unfaithfulness and prostitution is the same, elimination from amongst the
midst of Yahweh's people, these accomplices must also be eliminated from the midst of
Yahweh's people. For in their rebellion against Yahweh's word they also profane Yahweh's
name and defile his sanctuary.
Rebellion Is Unfaithfulness And Prostitution
It should therefore be clear that rebellion against Yahweh's word is equivalent to
unfaithfulness and prostitution against Yahweh. As is the penalty for unfaithfulness and
prostitution against Yahweh the elimination of one from the midst of Yahweh's people, so
also is the penalty for rebellion against Yahweh's word. And as is the penalty for
unfaithfulness and prostitution against Yahweh the setting of Yahweh's face against one's
remnant family, so also is the penalty for rebellion against Yahweh's word!
Love For Yahweh's People
It is therefore imperative that Yahweh's people, who truly have a concern for the rest of
Yahweh's people, heed Yahweh's words. For by not heeding Yahweh's words, by rebelling
against Yahweh's words, they bring about the setting of Yahweh's face upon the families of
all who rebel against Yahweh's word. Such that failure to execute Yahweh's penalty against
one unfaithful person within the midst of Yahweh's people eventually brings about adverse
12
Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
and grave consequences upon a greater number of those in the midst of Yahweh's people. It is
therefore better to lose one person among those of Yahweh's people, than to lose several
more of Yahweh's people on account of this one person, or even to lose the entirety of
Yahweh's people in a given domain!
It should therefore be clear that true love for Yahweh's people is therefore based on heeding
Yahweh's word. For rebelling from Yahweh's word results in adverse and grave
consequences not only against one, the rebel, but also against one's family. Rebellion against
Yahweh's word therefore has adverse consequences affecting more than one person.
Satan's Work
It seems to me that Satan, being aware of these adverse consequences, seeks to trip up
Yahweh's people that they may act in an unfaithful manner against Yahweh. For then not
only will adverse consequences come upon them, but will also come upon their families.
Also, by persuading the rest of Yahweh's people that they should not heed Yahweh's word to
effect Yahweh's penalty against those who are unfaithful to Yahweh, he succeeds in bringing
the rest of Yahweh's people into the rebellion and unfaithfulness of their first group. Thereby
bringing about adverse consequences on the entirety of Yahweh's people and their families!
Satan is a cunning adversary, and he presents his deadly destructive wiles in a seemingly
innocent manner. He is truly a master of subterfuge, and deceives his opponents by these
deadly and destructive techniques of his!
Witchcraft And Familiar Spiritism Is Prostitution
20:6 notes that turning to those with familiar spirits and to wizards, to consult them and do
their bidding, is unfaithfulness and prostitution against Yahweh. For Yahweh only should be
consulted and only his bidding should be done. Therefore anyone who is unfaithful to
Yahweh brings about Yahweh setting his face against him, and also against his family. Such
a one is also to be eliminated from the assembly of Yahweh's people, lest that unfaithfulness
and prostitution and rebellion spread among the rest of Yahweh's people.
It should therefore be noted that inflicting Yahweh's penalty upon rebels, by eliminating them
from among Yahweh's people, is for the good and preservation of Yahweh's people, those
who have not rebelled or been unfaithful against Yahweh. It is therefore an act of love for
Yahweh's people, to act to protect them from Satan's destructive and deadly wiles, even if the
only means of so protecting them is to eliminate from their midst those who have rebelled
and been unfaithful against Yahweh.
Sanctification Is The Opposite Of Rebellion And Prostitution
20:7 shows that sanctification is the opposite of rebellion, unfaithfulness and prostitution.
Sanctification involves faithfully abiding by Yahweh's words. And Yahweh and his words are
holy. Therefore, by abiding in Yahweh's holiness one indeed remains holy.
20:8 reiterates that sanctification is doing Yahweh's statutes, doing Yahweh's words.
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
Sins That Warrant Exclusion From Yahweh's Assembly
The rest of Leviticus 20 shows serious sins that warrant the elimination from the midst of
Yahweh's people of those who so sin.
20:10 talks of a man committing adultery with another man's wife. Is it possible for one to
commit adultery with a woman who is not a man's wife? If so, what is the nature of this
adultery?
Sexual relations that are not between a man and his wife are abomination, confusion and
wickedness. These are manifestations that violate principles of our relationship with Yahweh,
a relationship in which faithfulness is an intrinsic part.
What Is The Meaning Of Leviticus 20:18?
What is the import of Yahweh's command in 20:18? What is the significance of making
naked a woman's fountain, by sexually lying with her during her menstruation? What is the
significance of a woman uncovering the fountain of her blood, by sexually lying with a man
during her menstruation? Why does Yahweh require the death penalty for this particular
offence against his word?
One Should Not Derive Benefit From Sin
20:20-21 shows that when humans engage in any forbidden sexual relationship, they are not
to benefit from the fruit of that sexual relationship. Such that if children result from that
sexual relationship, they are not to benefit from the blessing of the resulting children. Not
only are those errant humans required to be eliminated from the midst of Yahweh's people,
their children also are required to be so eliminated. For if a woman has conceived on account
of her forbidden sexual relationship, and both her and her forbidden sexual partner are to be
killed, then the child that she carries in her womb will also die with her. It should therefore be
clear that Yahweh desires only righteous seed, children born from permitted sexual
relationships, that between a man and his wife. Any child not born from a permitted sexual
relationship is an unrighteous seed, a child of the disobedience of its parents, and is not to
dwell in the midst of Yahweh's people.
The Fruits Of Sin Should Not Be Brought Before Yahweh
In other words, a principle derived from these words of Yahweh is that if some benefit
accrues from an act forbidden by Yahweh, that benefit is not to be brought before Yahweh's
presence or in the midst of Yahweh's people. That benefit must be removed from Yahweh's
presence and from the midst of Yahweh's people. It is in this context that one understands
why Yahweh prohibits the wages of prostitution being brought to his house.
In other words, we cannot justify the existence of the benefit within the midst of Yahweh's
people on account that the benefit will be used for Yahweh's work or purpose. For if that was
the case then humans would freely sin, and bring the fruits of their sin to Yahweh's house,
arguing that they would be sinning in Yahweh's name, for they would be bringing those fruits
of sin to Yahweh. But, in truth, sin is rebellion against Yahweh. It is therefore incompatible
with Yahweh's holiness. Nothing unholy should be brought to Yahweh's holy presence,
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
including the holiness residing amongst his people. The unclean must be separated from the
clean, and must not pollute the clean. Therefore no fruit of sin should be brought in Yahweh's
holy vicinity, whether Yahweh's presence, or amongst his holy people.
Prostitution Brings Defilement
•
Leviticus 21:9
21:9
The daughter of any Kohen, if she profane herself by playing the prostitute, she
profanes her father: she shall be burnt with fire.
Those who engage in prostitution profane themselves, whether their prostitution is
worshipping any entity other than Yahweh, or a woman having sex with any entity not her
husband. The penalty for prostitution is death!
Yisrael's Prostitution And Rebellion In The Wilderness
•
Numbers 13:1-14:45
13:1
Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying, 13:2Send you men, that they may spy out the land of
Kana`an, which I give to the children of Yisra'el: of every tribe of their fathers shall
you send a man, everyone a prince among them.
13:3
Moshe sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the commandment of
Yahweh: all of them men who were heads of the children of Yisra'el. 13:4These were
their names: Of the tribe of Re'uven, Shammua the son of Zakkur. 13:5Of the tribe of
Shim`on, Shafat the son of Chori. 13:6Of the tribe of Yahudah, Kalev the son of
Yefunneh. 13:7Of the tribe of Yissakhar, Yig'al the son of Yosef. 13:8Of the tribe of
Efrayim, Hoshea the son of Nun. 13:9Of the tribe of Binyamin, Palti the son of Rafu.
13:10
Of the tribe of Zevulun, Gaddi'el the son of Sodi. 13:11Of the tribe of Yosef, namely,
of the tribe of Menashshe, Gaddi the son of Susi. 13:12Of the tribe of Dan, `Ammi'el the
son of Gemalli. 13:13Of the tribe of Asher, Setur the son of Mikha'el. 13:14Of the tribe of
Naftali, Nachbi the son of Vofsi. 13:15Of the tribe of Gad, Ge'u'el the son of Makhi.
13:16
These are the names of the men who Moshe sent to spy out the land. Moshe called
Hoshea the son of Nun Yah'shuah.
13:17
Moshe sent them to spy out the land of Kana`an, and said to them, Get you up this
way by the South, and go up into the hill-country: 13:18and see the land, what it is; and
the people who dwell therein, whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few
or many; 13:19and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad; and
what cities they are that they dwell in, whether in camps, or in strongholds; 13:20and
what the land is, whether it is fat or lean, whether there is wood therein, or not. Be
you of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of
the first-ripe grapes.
13:21
So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Tzin to Rechov, to
the entrance of Chamat. 13:22They went up by the South, and came to Chevron; and
Achiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of `Anak, were there. (Now Chevron was
built seven years before Tzo`an in Mitzrayim.) 13:23They came to the valley of Eshkol,
and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it on a
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
staff between two; they brought also of the pomegranates, and of the figs. 13:24That
place was called the valley of Eshkol, because of the cluster which the children of
Yisra'el cut down from there. 13:25They returned from spying out the land at the end of
forty days.
13:26
They went and came to Moshe, and to Aharon, and to all the congregation of the
children of Yisra'el, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word to
them, and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 13:27They told
him, and said, We came to the land where you sent us; and surely it flows with milk
and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 13:28However the people who dwell in the land are
strong, and the cities are fortified, and very great: and moreover we saw the children
of `Anak there. 13:29`Amalek dwells in the land of the South: and the Chittite, and the
Yevusi, and the Amori, dwell in the hill-country; and the Kana`ani dwells by the sea,
and along by the side of the Yarden.
13:30
Kalev stilled the people before Moshe, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess
it; for we are well able to overcome it. 13:31But the men who went up with him said, We
aren't able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 13:32They
brought up an evil report of the land which they had spied out to the children of
Yisra'el, saying, The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that
eats up the inhabitants of it; and all the people who we saw in it are men of great
stature. 13:33There we saw the Nefilim, the sons of `Anak, who come of the Nefilim: and
we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
14:1
All the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that
night. 14:2All the children of Yisra'el murmured against Moshe and against Aharon:
and the whole congregation said to them, Would that we had died in the land of
Mitzrayim! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 14:3Why does Yahweh bring
us to this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey:
wouldn't it be better for us to return into Mitzrayim? 14:4They said one to another, Let
us make a captain, and let us return into Mitzrayim.
14:5
Then Moshe and Aharon fell on their faces before all the assembly of the
congregation of the children of Yisra'el. 14:6Yah'shuah the son of Nun and Kalev the
son of Yefunneh, who were of those who spied out the land, tore their clothes: 14:7and
they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Yisra'el, saying, The land, which
we passed through to spy it out, is an exceeding good land. 14:8If Yahweh delight in us,
then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us; a land which flows with milk and
honey. 14:9Only don't rebel against Yahweh, neither fear you the people of the land;
for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and Yahweh is
with us: don't fear them.
14:10
But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. The glory of Yahweh
appeared in the tent of meeting to all the children of Yisra'el. 14:11Yahweh said to
Moshe, How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in
me, for all the signs which I have worked among them? 14:12I will strike them with the
pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of you a nation greater and mightier
than they.
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
14:13
Moshe said to Yahweh, Then the Mitzrim will hear it; for you brought up this
people in your might from among them; 14:14and they will tell it to the inhabitants of
this land. They have heard that you Yahweh are in the midst of this people; for you
Yahweh are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them, and you go before
them, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night. 14:15Now if you shall
kill this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of you will
speak, saying, 14:16Because Yahweh was not able to bring this people into the land
which he swore to them, therefore he has slain them in the wilderness. 14:17Now please
let the power of the Sovereign be great, according as you have spoken, saying,
14:18
Yahweh is slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and
disobedience; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation. 14:19Pardon, Please,
the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your lovingkindness, and
according as you have forgiven this people, from Mitzrayim even until now.
14:20
Yahweh said, I have pardoned according to your word: 14:21but in very deed, as I
live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Yahweh; 14:22because all those
men who have seen my glory, and my signs, which I worked in Mitzrayim and in the
wilderness, yet have tempted me these ten times, and have not listened to my voice;
14:23
surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any
of those who despised me see it: 14:24but my servant Kalev, because he had another
spirit with him, and has followed me fully, him will I bring into the land into which he
went; and his seed shall possess it. 14:25Now the `Amaleki and the Kana`ani dwell in
the valley: tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way to the Sea
of Suf.
14:26
Yahweh spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying, 14:27How long shall I bear with this
evil congregation, that murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the
children of Yisra'el, which they murmur against me. 14:28Tell them, As I live, says
Yahweh, surely as you have spoken in my ears, so will I do to you: 14:29your dead
bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all who were numbered of you, according to
your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against
me, 14:30surely you shall not come into the land, concerning which I swore that I would
make you dwell therein, save Kalev the son of Yefunneh, and Yah'shuah the son of
Nun. 14:31But your little ones, that you said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and
they shall know the land which you have rejected. 14:32But as for you, your dead
bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 14:33Your children shall be wanderers in the
wilderness forty years, and shall bear your prostitution, until your dead bodies be
consumed in the wilderness. 14:34After the number of the days in which you spied out
the land, even forty days, for every day a year, shall you bear your iniquities, even
forty years, and you shall know my alienation. 14:35I, Yahweh, have spoken, surely this
will I do to all this evil congregation, who are gathered together against me: in this
wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
14:36
The men, whom Moshe sent to spy out the land, who returned, and made all the
congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up an evil report against the land,
14:37
even those men who did bring up an evil report of the land, died by the plague
before Yahweh. 14:38But Yah'shuah the son of Nun, and Kalev the son of Yefunneh,
remained alive of those men who went to spy out the land.
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
14:39
Moshe told these words to all the children of Yisra'el: and the people mourned
greatly. 14:40They rose up early in the morning, and got them up to the top of the
mountain, saying, Behold, we are here, and will go up to the place which Yahweh has
promised: for we have sinned.
14:41
Moshe said, Why now do you disobey the commandment of Yahweh, seeing it shall
not prosper? 14:42Don't go up, for Yahweh isn't among you; that you not be struck
down before your enemies. 14:43For there the `Amaleki and the Kana`ani are before
you, and you shall fall by the sword: because you are turned back from following
Yahweh, therefore Yahweh will not be with you.
14:44
But they presumed to go up to the top of the mountain: nevertheless the ark of the
covenant of Yahweh, and Moshe, didn't depart out of the camp. 14:45Then the `Amaleki
came down, and the Kana`ani who lived in that mountain, and struck them and beat
them down, even to Chormah.
The Children Of Prostitutes Bear Their Parents' Punishment
14:33 shows that the Yisraelites were to bear punishment on account of their prostitution.
And those to bear this punishment were the children of those who partook of prostitution! In
other words, just as Yahweh said in Leviticus 20 that the children of prostitutes bear the
iniquity of prostitutes, so do we find here the children of prostitutes indeed bearing the
iniquity of their parents! Yahweh's words surely stand!
The Prostitution Of Yisrael
What was the prostitution of the Yisraelites?
13:1 shows that Yahweh required chosen men of the children of Yisrael to see or spy out the
land that he was giving them prior to their possessing it.
13:26-29 is an account of the spies to the congregation of Yisrael after their return from their
mission.
13:30 shows that the people were alarmed by the report they received from the spies, and
thought not to go up to possess the land. That is why Kalev stood up to still the people and
attempt to reassure them that they were indeed able to overcome the challenges before them
and possess the land.
13:31-33 shows that other spies continued to demoralise the people by disputing Kalev's
words.
14:1-4 shows that the people disbelieved Yahweh and rebelled against his word, choosing to
return from where Yahweh had delivered them, contrary to Yahweh's word. This was their
prostitution - their rebellion against Yahweh's word and choosing to do their own word.
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
Rebellion Is Prostitution
14:9 clearly shows that both Yah'shuah the son of Nun and Kalev the son of Yefunneh
understood that the people were rebelling against Yahweh.
Disbelieving Yahweh Is Despising Yahweh
14:11 clearly shows Yahweh saying that the people of Yisrael both despised him and
disbelieved him. It should therefore be clear that when we do not believe Yahweh's words we
are, in truth, despising him!
Penalty For Despising Yahweh
14:12 shows the penalty Yahweh thought to inflict upon these unbelieving Yisraelites. He
thought to remove them from their inheritance and replace them with another. In other words,
where a person commits prostitution, that person ought to be removed from his or her place,
and replaced with another. And hopefully, the other who takes the place of the one, should
not have a heart to follow after prostitution, thereby repeating the error of the one.
14:20-24 shows that Yahweh spoke his penalty on the people who disbelieved him and
despised him, and did not listen to his voice. They were not to possess the inheritance
promised to their fathers. It should therefore be clear that those who play the prostitute must
be removed from their place, and others put in that place in their stead. It should also be clear
that not listening to the voice that one should listen to is prostitution. For this is rebellion!
14:26-35 gives details of Yahweh's penalty against the rebels.
There Is A Limit To Tolerance
14:27 shows that there is indeed a time limit to bearing with the evil deeds of evil people and
their murmurings. In other words, while one can bear with some murmurings while giving the
murmurer time to repent of his or her murmurings, if the murmurer persists in his or her evil
then remedial action must indeed be taken. And that remedial action entails effecting a
righteous penalty or judgement against the evil murmurer!
Following One's Heart Is Prostitution
•
Numbers 15:37-41
15:37
Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying, 15:38Speak to the children of Yisra'el, and bid
those who they make them tzitziyot in the borders of their garments throughout their
generations, and that they put on the tzitzit of each border a cord of blue: 15:39and it
shall be to you for a tzitzit, that you may look on it, and remember all the
commandments of Yahweh, and do them; and that you not follow after your own heart
and your own eyes, after which you use to play the prostitute; 15:40that you may
remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your Mighty One. 15:41I am
Yahweh your Mighty One, who brought you out of the land of Mitzrayim, to be your
Mighty One: I am Yahweh your Mighty One.
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
15:39 shows that when one follows one's own heart and one's own eyes rather than the
commandments of Yahweh one is indeed playing the prostitute. In other words, whenever
one does what one ought not to, that one is playing the prostitute.
It therefore appears that to avoid playing the prostitute one must continually walk in harmony
with Yahweh's word. For it is only when one walks in harmony with Yahweh that one does
not play the prostitute.
Yisrael Again Rebels Against Yahweh In The Wilderness
•
Numbers 16:1-17:13
16:1
Now Korach, the son of Yitzhar, the son of Kehat, the son of Levi, with Datan and
Aviram, the sons of Eli'av, and On, the son of Pelet, sons of Re'uven, took men: 16:2and
they rose up before Moshe, with certain of the children of Yisra'el, two hundred fifty
princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown; 16:3and they
assembled themselves together against Moshe and against Aharon, and said to them,
You take too much on you, seeing all the congregation are holy, everyone of them,
and Yahweh is among them: why then lift you up yourselves above the assembly of
Yahweh?
16:4
When Moshe heard it, he fell on his face: 16:5and he spoke to Korach and to all his
company, saying, In the morning Yahweh will show who are his, and who is holy, and
will cause him to come near to him: even him whom he shall choose will he cause to
come near to him. 16:6This do: take you censers, Korach, and all his company; 16:7and
put fire in them, and put incense on them before Yahweh tomorrow: and it shall be
that the man whom Yahweh does choose, he shall be holy: you take too much on you,
you sons of Levi.
16:8
Moshe said to Korach, Hear now, you sons of Levi: 16:9seems it but a small thing to
you, that the Mighty One of Yisra'el has separated you from the congregation of
Yisra'el, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tent of Yahweh, and to
stand before the congregation to minister to them; 16:10and that he has brought you
near, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And seek you the priesthood
also? 16:11Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against Yahweh:
and Aharon, what is he who you murmur against him?
16:12
Moshe sent to call Datan and Aviram, the sons of Eli'av; and they said, We won't
come up: 16:13is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with
milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must needs make yourself also a
prince over us? 16:14Moreover you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk
and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: will you put out the eyes
of these men? We won't come up.
16:15
Moshe was very angry, and said to Yahweh, "Don't respect their offering: I have
not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them." 16:16Moshe said to
Korach, Be you and all your company before Yahweh, you, and they, and Aharon,
tomorrow: 16:17and take you every man his censer, and put incense on them, and bring
you before Yahweh every man his censer, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and
Aharon, each his censer.
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
16:18
They took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon,
and stood at the door of the tent of meeting with Moshe and Aharon. 16:19Korach
assembled all the congregation against them to the door of the tent of meeting: and
the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the congregation.
16:20
Yahweh spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying, 16:21Separate yourselves from
among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
16:22
They fell on their faces, and said, Mighty One, the Mighty One of the spirits of all
flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?
16:23
Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying, 16:24Speak to the congregation, saying, Get you up
from about the tent of Korach, Datan, and Aviram.
16:25
Moshe rose up and went to Datan and Aviram; and the Zakenim of Yisra'el
followed him. 16:26He spoke to the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the
tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all
their sins. 16:27So they got them up from the tent of Korach, Datan, and Aviram, on
every side: and Datan and Aviram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, and
their wives, and their sons, and their little ones. 16:28Moshe said, Hereby you shall
know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of my
own mind. 16:29If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after
the visitation of all men; then Yahweh hasn't sent me. 16:30But if Yahweh make a new
thing, and the ground open its mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain to
them, and they go down alive into She'ol; then you shall understand that these men
have despised Yahweh.
16:31
It happened, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground split
apart that was under them; 16:32and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them
up, and their households, and all the men who appertained to Korach, and all their
goods. 16:33So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into She'ol: and
the earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly. 16:34All Yisra'el
that were round about them fled at the cry of them; for they said, Lest the earth
swallow us up. 16:35Fire came forth from Yahweh, and devoured the two hundred fifty
men who offered the incense.
16:36
Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying, 16:37Speak to El`azar the son of Aharon the
Kohen, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter you the fire yonder;
for they are holy, 16:38even the censers of these sinners against their own lives; and let
them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before
Yahweh; therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Yisra'el.
16:39
El`azar the Kohen took the brazen censers, which those who were burnt had
offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar, 16:40to be a memorial to the
children of Yisra'el, to the end that no stranger, who isn't of the seed of Aharon,
comes near to burn incense before Yahweh; that he not be as Korach, and as his
company: as Yahweh spoke to him by Moshe.
16:41
But on the next day all the congregation of the children of Yisra'el murmured
against Moshe and against Aharon, saying, You have killed the people of Yahweh.
21
Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
16:42
It happened, when the congregation was assembled against Moshe and against
Aharon, that they looked toward the tent of meeting: and, behold, the cloud covered
it, and the glory of Yahweh appeared. 16:43Moshe and Aharon came to the front of the
tent of meeting.
16:44
Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying, 16:45Get you up from among this congregation,
that I may consume them in a moment. They fell on their faces. 16:46Moshe said to
Aharon, Take the censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and lay incense
thereon, and carry it quickly to the congregation, and make atonement for them: for
there is wrath gone out from Yahweh; the plague is begun. 16:47Aharon took as Moshe
spoke, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and, behold, the plague was begun
among the people: and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people.
16:48
He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. 16:49Now
those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides
those who died about the matter of Korach. 16:50Aharon returned to Moshe to the door
of the tent of meeting: and the plague was stayed.
17:1
Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying, 17:2Speak to the children of Yisra'el, and take of
them rods, one for each fathers' house, of all their princes according to their fathers'
houses, twelve rods: write you every man's name on his rod. 17:3You shall write
Aharon's name on the rod of Levi; for there shall be one rod for each head of their
fathers' houses. 17:4You shall lay them up in the tent of meeting before the testimony,
where I meet with you. 17:5It shall happen, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose
shall bud: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of
Yisra'el, which they murmur against you.
17:6
Moshe spoke to the children of Yisra'el; and all their princes gave him rods, for
each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of
Aharon was among their rods. 17:7Moshe laid up the rods before Yahweh in the tent of
the testimony. 17:8It happened on the next day, that Moshe went into the tent of the
testimony; and, behold, the rod of Aharon for the house of Levi was budded, and put
forth buds, and produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds. 17:9Moshe brought out all
the rods from before Yahweh to all the children of Yisra'el: and they looked, and took
every man his rod.
17:10
Yahweh said to Moshe, Put back the rod of Aharon before the testimony, to be
kept for a token against the children of rebellion; that you may make an end of their
murmurings against me, that they not die.
17:11
Thus did Moshe: as Yahweh commanded him, so did he.
17:12
The children of Yisra'el spoke to Moshe, saying, Behold, we perish, we are
undone, we are all undone. 17:13Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tent
of Yahweh, dies: shall we perish all of us?
17:10 shows that Yahweh referred to the children of Yisrael as children of rebellion. Why did
he refer to them as children of rebellion?
Because they rebelled against Yahweh's word, in that they rebelled against the authority
structure that Yahweh had placed in his assembly.
22
Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
How Yisrael Rebelled Against Yahweh
16:1-3 shows that Korach, Datan and Aviram, together with those accompanying them,
rebelled against Moshe and Aharon, accusing the latter of exalting themselves above the
assembly of Yahweh.
16:4-11 shows that Moshe clarified to the rebels that it was not Aharon that they were really
rebelling against, but against Yahweh, seeing that it is Yahweh's word that they were
rebelling against.
It should therefore be clear that Yahweh has set things in the order that pleases him. If any of
us rebels against Yahweh's set order, it is not against that set order that we are rebelling
against, but against Yahweh, seeing that it is Yahweh who has set the order in place.
16:12-14 shows that Datan and Aviram rebelled against Moshe's authority. They did not
respect Moshe's authority. Instead they accused Moshe of murderous intent and of falsely
exalting himself above his brethren.
16:19 shows that Korach assembled the entire congregation against both Moshe and Aharon.
In other words, they enjoined the entire congregation in their rebellion against Yahweh.
Yahweh's Anger At The Rebels
16:20-24 shows that Yahweh was angry with the rebellion of Yisrael, especially with the
leaders of this rebellion, Korach, Datan and Aviram. He therefore commanded that the
congregation separate themselves from the leaders of the rebellion, that he may consume the
leaders of the rebellion for their abominable deed.
16:25-35 shows how Yahweh consumed the leaders of the rebellion and those who belonged
to them.
Rebelling Against Yahweh Is Despising Yahweh
16:30 clearly notes that the rebels had DESPISED YAHWEH, for it is Yahweh's word that
they had rebelled against. It should therefore be clear that when a person rebels against
Yahweh's set order in a particular domain, and directs his rebellion at one Yahweh has set in
that order, it is not really the one that the person is rebelling against. It is Yahweh, who set
the one in that order, that the person is rebelling against. And such a person who rebels
against Yahweh's word despises Yahweh!
As seen from this case of Korach, Datan and Aviram, together with their accomplices, the
penalty for rebellion and derision against Yahweh is death!
The People's Heart The Same As That Of The Leaders Of The Rebellion
16:41 shows that the heart of the people was as the heart of the dead leaders of the rebellion.
For just as the dead leaders rebelled against Yahweh, directing their rebellion against
Yahweh's chosen leaders over them, so also did the people rebel against Yahweh, murmuring
23
Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
against Yahweh's chosen leaders over them. For they accused Moshe and Aharon of
murdering the dead leaders of the rebellion!
Yahweh's Fierce Wrath Upon Rebels
16:42-50 shows that Yahweh inflicted his fierce wrath upon the rebellious congregation. For
14,700 people of the congregation died for their rebellion against Yahweh, in that they
despised Yahweh by rebelling against those Yahweh placed over them.
It should therefore be clear that Yahweh punishes those who despise him and rebel against
him. He punishes them by death!
Yisrael's Rebellion At The Waters Of Merivah
•
Numbers 20:1-13
20:1
The children of Yisra'el, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of
Tzin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miryam died there, and
was buried there. 20:2There was no water for the congregation: and they assembled
themselves together against Moshe and against Aharon.
20:3
The people strove with Moshe, and spoke, saying, Would that we had died when
our brothers died before Yahweh! 20:4Why have you brought the assembly of Yahweh
into this wilderness, that we should die there, we and our animals? 20:5Why have you
made us to come up out of Mitzrayim, to bring us in to this evil place? It is no place
of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
20:6
Moshe and Aharon went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tent
of meeting, and fell on their faces: and the glory of Yahweh appeared to them.
20:7
Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying, 20:8Take the rod, and assemble the congregation,
you, and Aharon your brother, and speak you to the rock before their eyes, that it give
forth its water; and you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock; so you shall
give the congregation and their cattle drink.
20:9
Moshe took the rod from before Yahweh, as he commanded him. 20:10Moshe and
Aharon gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, Hear
now, you rebels; shall we bring you forth water out of this rock? 20:11Moshe lifted up
his hand, and struck the rock with his rod twice: and water came forth abundantly,
and the congregation drank, and their cattle.
20:12
Yahweh said to Moshe and Aharon, Because you didn't believe in me, to sanctify
me in the eyes of the children of Yisra'el, therefore you shall not bring this assembly
into the land which I have given them.
20:13
These are the waters of Merivah; because the children of Yisra'el strove with
Yahweh, and he was sanctified in them.
The children of Yisrael rebelled against Yahweh at the waters of Merivah. Moshe and
Aharon, in their anger at the rebellion of the people, also rebelled against Yahweh, in that
24
Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
they did not fully execute Yahweh's word in the manner Yahweh commanded. As penalty for
their rebellion, which Yahweh termed disbelief, they too were sentenced not to enter the land
of promise. They too were to die in the wilderness!
Yahweh Shows No Partiality
It should be clear that Yahweh shows no partiality. Whoever rebels against Yahweh word,
thus despising Yahweh, incurs upon himself the death penalty. Whether that person is a high
ranking servant of Yahweh or not.
Penalty For Aharon's Rebellion
•
Numbers 20:23-29
20:23
Yahweh spoke to Moshe and Aharon in mount Hor, by the border of the land of
Edom, saying, 20:24Aharon shall be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter into
the land which I have given to the children of Yisra'el, because you rebelled against
my word at the waters of Merivah. 20:25Take Aharon and El`azar his son, and bring
them up to mount Hor; 20:26and strip Aharon of his garments, and put them on El`azar
his son: and Aharon shall be gathered to his people, and shall die there. 20:27Moshe
did as Yahweh commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the
congregation. 20:28Moshe stripped Aharon of his garments, and put them on El`azar
his son; and Aharon died there on the top of the mount: and Moshe and El`azar came
down from the mount. 20:29When all the congregation saw that Aharon was dead, they
wept for Aharon thirty days, even all the house of Yisra'el.
Aharon's penalty for rebelling against Yahweh's word, in that he did not fully follow
Yahweh's command.
Death Penalty For Prostitutes
•
Numbers 25:1-18
25:1
Yisra'el abode in Shittim; and the people began to play the prostitute with the
daughters of Mo'av: 25:2for they called the people to the sacrifices of their mighty
ones; and the people ate, and bowed down to their mighty ones. 25:3Yisra'el joined
himself to Ba`al-Pe`or: and the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Yisra'el.
25:4
Yahweh said to Moshe, Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up to
Yahweh before the sun, that the fierce anger of Yahweh may turn away from Yisra'el.
25:5
Moshe said to the judges of Yisra'el, Kill you everyone his men who have joined
themselves to Ba`al-Pe`or.
25:6
Behold, one of the children of Yisra'el came and brought to his brothers a
Midyanite woman in the sight of Moshe, and in the sight of all the congregation of the
children of Yisra'el, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting.
25:7
When Pinechas, the son of El`azar, the son of Aharon the Kohen, saw it, he rose up
from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand; 25:8and he went after
25
Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
the man of Yisra'el into the pavilion, and thrust both of them through, the man of
Yisra'el, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stayed from the
children of Yisra'el. 25:9Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
25:10
Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying, 25:11Pinechas, the son of El`azar, the son of
Aharon the Kohen, has turned my wrath away from the children of Yisra'el, in that he
was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I didn't consume the children of
Yisra'el in my jealousy. 25:12Therefore say, Behold, I give to him my covenant of
shalom: 25:13and it shall be to him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an
everlasting priesthood; because he was jealous for his Mighty One, and made
atonement for the children of Yisra'el.
25:14
Now the name of the man of Yisra'el that was slain, who was slain with the
Midyanite woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a fathers' house among the
Shim`oni. 25:15The name of the Midyanite woman who was slain was Kozbi, the
daughter of Tzur; he was head of the people of a fathers' house in Midyan.
25:16
Yahweh spoke to Moshe, saying, 25:17Vex the Midyanim, and strike them; 25:18for
they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have deceived you in the matter of
Pe`or, and in the matter of Kozbi, the daughter of the prince of Midyan, their sister,
who was slain on the day of the plague in the matter of Pe`or.
Yahweh punishes those who play the prostitute by requiring their deaths! For it is by death
that "the fierce anger of Yahweh" is turned away from those residing with those who play the
prostitute.
Penalty For Moshe's Rebellion
•
Numbers 27:13-14
27:13
When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aharon your
brother was gathered; 27:14because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of
Tzin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the waters before their eyes.
(These are the waters of Merivah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Tzin.)
Moshe's penalty for rebelling against Yahweh's word, in that he did not sanctify Yahweh at
the waters of Merivah, contrary to Yahweh's word to him.
Yisrael's Rebellions Against Yahweh
•
Deuteronomy 1:19-46
1:19
We journeyed from Chorev, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness
which you saw, by the way to the hill-country of the Amori, as Yahweh our Mighty
One commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-Barnea. 1:20I said to you, You are come
to the hill-country of the Amori, which Yahweh our Mighty One gives to us.
1:21
Behold, Yahweh your Mighty One has set the land before you: go up, take
possession, as Yahweh, the Mighty One of your fathers, has spoken to you; don't be
afraid, neither be dismayed.
26
Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
1:22
You came near to me everyone of you, and said, Let us send men before us, that
they may search the land for us, and bring us word again of the way by which we
must go up, and the cities to which we shall come. 1:23The thing pleased me well; and I
took twelve men of you, one man for every tribe: 1:24and they turned and went up into
the hill-country, and came to the valley of Eshkol, and spied it out. 1:25They took of the
fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down to us, and brought us word again,
and said, It is a good land which Yahweh our Mighty One gives to us.
1:26
Yet you wouldn't go up, but rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your
Mighty One: 1:27and you murmured in your tents, and said, Because Yahweh hated us,
he has brought us forth out of the land of Mitzrayim, to deliver us into the hand of the
Amori, to destroy us. 1:28Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our heart
to melt, saying, The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and
fortified up to the sky; and moreover we have seen the sons of the `Anakim there.
1:29
Then I said to you, Don't dread, neither be afraid of them. 1:30Yahweh your Mighty
One who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in
Mitzrayim before your eyes, 1:31and in the wilderness, where you have seen how that
Yahweh your Mighty One bore you, as a man does bear his son, in all the way that
you went, until you came to this place. 1:32Yet in this thing you didn't believe Yahweh
your Mighty One, 1:33who went before you in the way, to seek you out a place to pitch
your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the
cloud by day.
1:34
Yahweh heard the voice of your words, and was angry, and swore, saying,
Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see the good land,
which I swore to give to your fathers, 1:36save Kalev the son of Yefunneh: he shall see
it; and to him will I give the land that he has trodden on, and to his children, because
he has wholly followed Yahweh. 1:37Also Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes,
saying, You also shall not go in there: 1:38Yah'shuah the son of Nun, who stands
before you, he shall go in there: encourage you him; for he shall cause Yisra'el to
inherit it. 1:39Moreover your little ones, whom you said should be a prey, and your
children, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there, and
to them will I give it, and they shall possess it. 1:40But as for you, turn you, and take
your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Sea of Suf.
1:35
1:41
Then you answered and said to me, We have sinned against Yahweh, we will go up
and fight, according to all that Yahweh our Mighty One commanded us. You girded
on every man his weapons of war, and were forward to go up into the hill-country.
1:42
Yahweh said to me, Tell them, Don't go up, neither fight; for I am not among you;
lest you be struck before your enemies. 1:43So I spoke to you, and you didn't listen; but
you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh, and were presumptuous, and went
up into the hill-country. 1:44The Amori, who lived in that hill-country, came out
against you, and chased you, as bees do, and beat you down in Se`ir, even to
Chormah. 1:45You returned and wept before Yahweh; but Yahweh didn't listen to your
voice, nor gave ear to you. 1:46So you abode in Kadesh many days, according to the
days that you abode there.
27
Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
Yisrael's Rebelliousness Against Yahweh
•
Deuteronomy 9:1-29
9:1
Hear, Yisra'el: you are to pass over the Yarden this day, to go in to dispossess
nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to the sky, 9:2a
people great and tall, the sons of the `Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you
have heard say, Who can stand before the sons of `Anak? 9:3Know therefore this day,
that Yahweh your Mighty One is he who goes over before you as a devouring fire; he
will destroy them, and he will bring them down before you: so shall you drive them
out, and make them to perish quickly, as Yahweh has spoken to you.
9:4
Don't speak in your heart, after that Yahweh your Mighty One has thrust them out
from before you, saying, For my righteousness Yahweh has brought me in to possess
this land; whereas for the wickedness of these nations Yahweh does drive them out
from before you. 9:5Not for your righteousness, or for the uprightness of your heart,
do you go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations Yahweh
your Mighty One does drive them out from before you, and that he may establish the
word which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Ya`akov.
9:6
Know therefore, that Yahweh your Mighty One doesn't give you this good land to
possess it for your righteousness; for you are a stiff-necked people.
9:7
Remember, don't forget, how you provoked Yahweh your Mighty One to wrath in
the wilderness: from the day that you went forth out of the land of Mitzrayim, until
you came to this place, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. 9:8Also in Chorev
you provoked Yahweh to wrath, and Yahweh was angry with you to destroy you.
9:9
When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of
the covenant which Yahweh made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and
forty nights; I did neither eat bread nor drink water. 9:10Yahweh delivered to me the
two tables of stone written with the finger of the Mighty One; and on them was
written according to all the words, which Yahweh speak with you in the mount out of
the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. 9:11It came to pass at the end of forty
days and forty nights, that Yahweh gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of
the covenant.
9:12
Yahweh said to me, Arise, get you down quickly from hence; for your people whom
you have brought forth out of Mitzrayim have corrupted themselves; they have
quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a
molten image. 9:13Furthermore Yahweh spoke to me, saying, I have seen this people,
and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people: 9:14let me alone, that I may destroy them, and
blot out their name from under the sky; and I will make of you a nation mightier and
greater than they.
9:15
So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount was burning with fire:
and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands. 9:16I looked, and, behold,
you had sinned against Yahweh your Mighty One; you had made you a molten calf:
you had turned aside quickly out of the way which Yahweh had commanded you. 9:17I
took hold of the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and broke them before
your eyes. 9:18I fell down before Yahweh, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I
did neither eat bread nor drink water; because of all your sin which you sinned, in
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
doing that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger. 9:19For I
was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith Yahweh was angry against
you to destroy you. But Yahweh listened to me that time also.
9:20
Yahweh was very angry with Aharon to destroy him: and I prayed for Aharon also
at the same time. 9:21I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burnt it with
fire, and stamped it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust: and I cast the
dust of it into the brook that descended out of the mount.
9:22
At Tav`erah, and at Massah, and at Kivrot-Hatta'avah, you provoked Yahweh to
wrath. 9:23When Yahweh sent you from Kadesh-Barnea, saying, Go up and possess the
land which I have given you; then you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh
your Mighty One, and you didn't believe him, nor listen to his voice. 9:24You have been
rebellious against Yahweh from the day that I knew you.
9:25
So I fell down before Yahweh the forty days and forty nights that I fell down,
because Yahweh had said he would destroy you. 9:26I prayed to Yahweh, and said,
Sovereign Yahweh, don't destroy your people and your inheritance, that you have
redeemed through your greatness, that you have brought forth out of Mitzrayim with
a mighty hand. 9:27Remember your servants, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya`akov; don't
look to the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin,
9:28
lest the land whence you brought us out say, Because Yahweh was not able to
bring them into the land which he promised to them, and because he hated them, he
has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness. 9:29Yet they are your people and
your inheritance, which you brought out by your great power and by your
outstretched arm.
Disobedience Is Rebellion
•
Deuteronomy 13:1-18
13:1
If there arise in the midst of you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give
you a sign or a wonder, 13:2and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke
to you, saying, Let us go after other mighty ones, which you have not known, and let
us serve them; 13:3you shall not listen to the words of that prophet, or to that dreamer
of dreams: for Yahweh your Mighty One proves you, to know whether you love
Yahweh your Mighty One with all your heart and with all your soul. 13:4You shall walk
after Yahweh your Mighty One, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey
his voice, and you shall serve him, and cleave to him. 13:5That prophet, or that
dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he has spoken rebellion against
Yahweh your Mighty One, who brought you out of the land of Mitzrayim, and
redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to draw you aside out of the way which
Yahweh your Mighty One commanded you to walk in. So shall you put away the evil
from the midst of you.
13:6
If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife
of your bosom, or your friend, who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying,
Let us go and serve other mighty ones, which you have not known, you, nor your
fathers; 13:7of the mighty ones of the peoples who are round about you, near to you, or
far off from you, from the one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth;
29
Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
13:8
you shall not consent to him, nor listen to him; neither shall your eye pity him,
neither shall you spare, neither shall you conceal him: 13:9but you shall surely kill him;
your hand shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the
people. 13:10You shall stone him to death with stones, because he has sought to draw
you away from Yahweh your Mighty One, who brought you out of the land of
Mitzrayim, out of the house of bondage. 13:11All Yisra'el shall hear, and fear, and shall
not do any more such wickedness as this is in the midst of you.
13:12
If you shall hear tell concerning one of your cities, which Yahweh your Mighty
One gives you to dwell there, saying, 13:13Certain base fellows are gone out from the
midst of you, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and
serve other mighty ones, which you have not known; 13:14then shall you inquire, and
make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that
such abomination is done in the midst of you, 13:15you shall surely strike the
inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is
therein and the cattle of it, with the edge of the sword. 13:16You shall gather all the
spoil of it into the midst of the street of it, and shall burn with fire the city, and all the
spoil of it every whit, to Yahweh your Mighty One: and it shall be a heap forever; it
shall not be built again. 13:17There shall cleave nothing of the devoted thing to your
hand; that Yahweh may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show you mercy,
and have compassion on you, and multiply you, as he has sworn to your fathers;
13:18
when you shall listen to the voice of Yahweh your Mighty One, to keep all his
commandments which I command you this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of
Yahweh your Mighty One.
13:5 shows that it is rebellion for one to draw another aside out of the way that Yahweh has
commanded that other to walk. It also shows that the penalty for rebellion against Yahweh is
death, and that those who are rebels against Yahweh must be eliminated from the midst of
Yahweh's assembly.
It should also be noted that the manner these prophets or dreamers of dreams rebel against
Yahweh is in urging people to undertake idolatry and prostitution. It is therefore seen that
rebellion, idolatry and prostitution go together, and are different aspects of wickedness and
abomination.
Those Under Authority Must Obey Those In Authority Over Them
•
Deuteronomy 21:18-21
21:18
If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his
father, or the voice of his mother, and, though they chasten him, will not listen to
them; 21:19then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out to
the Zakenim of his city, and to the gate of his place; 21:20and they shall tell the
Zakenim of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our
voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21:21All the men of his city shall stone him to
death with stones: so shall you put away the evil from the midst of you; and all
Yisra'el shall hear, and fear.
It should be noted that children, while living in the households of their parents, are required
to OBEY their parents. If they rebel against their parent's word they incur upon themselves
30
Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
the death penalty, for their rebellion against their parents. And they must removed from the
midst of Yahweh's people.
Drawing on this principle, it appears to me that as wives are to submit to their husbands, even
as children are to submit to their parents, wives must indeed obey their husbands. If they
rebel against their husbands then they incur a penalty upon themselves. And such rebellious
wives ought to be removed from the midst of their husband's households!
Prostitution Is Folly
•
Deuteronomy 22:13-21
22:13
If any man take a wife, and go in to her, and hate her, 22:14and lay shameful things
to her charge, and bring up an evil name on her, and say, I took this woman, and
when I came near to her, I didn't find in her the tokens of virginity; 22:15then shall the
father of the young lady, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the young
lady's virginity to the Zakenim of the city in the gate; 22:16and the young lady's father
shall tell the Zakenim, I gave my daughter to this man to wife, and he hates her;
22:17
and, behold, he has laid shameful things to her charge, saying, I didn't find in
your daughter the tokens of virginity; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's
virginity. They shall spread the garment before the Zakenim of the city. 22:18The
Zakenim of that city shall take the man and chastise him; 22:19and they shall fine him
one hundred shekels of silver, and give them to the father of the young lady, because
he has brought up an evil name on a virgin of Yisra'el: and she shall be his wife; he
may not put her away all his days. 22:20But if this thing be true, that the tokens of
virginity were not found in the young lady; 22:21then they shall bring out the young
lady to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death
with stones, because she has done folly in Yisra'el, to play the prostitute in her
father's house: so shall you put away the evil from the midst of you.
22:20-21 shows that it is folly to play the prostitute, and that the one who does folly does evil.
Such a one must be removed from dwelling in the midst of Yahweh's people.
Prostitution Is Equated With Homosexuality
•
Deuteronomy 23:17-18
23:17
There shall be no prostitute of the daughters of Yisra'el, neither shall there be a
sodomite of the sons of Yisra'el. 23:18You shall not bring the hire of a prostitute, or the
wages of a dog, into the house of Yahweh your Mighty One for any vow: for even both
these are an abomination to Yahweh your Mighty One.
23:17 shows that the sin of prostitution is equated with that of sodomy or homosexuality.
23:18 shows that any benefit that accrues from sin should not be brought for use in service to
Yahweh. Whatever is to be used in service to Yahweh must not have been polluted with sin,
but must be holy.
Figuratively, a sodomite or homosexual is called a dog.
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
It Is Righteousness To Be Angry At Prostitution
•
Deuteronomy 31:16-18
31:16
Yahweh said to Moshe, Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers; and this people
will rise up, and play the prostitute after the strange mighty ones of the land, where
they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have
made with them. 31:17Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I
will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and
many evils and troubles shall come on them; so that they will say in that day, Haven't
these evils come on us because our Mighty One is not among us? 31:18I will surely hide
my face in that day for all the evil which they shall have worked, in that they are
turned to other mighty ones.
31:17 shows that it is indeed righteousness for one to be angry with another who has played
the prostitute. It is also righteousness for the one to forsake the other and hide his face from
the other, on account of the prostitution of the other that the other has not repented of.
It therefore appears that if one's wife plays the prostitute, the one should indeed be angry with
her and forsake her, hiding his face from her. This he does by putting her away from himself!
The Wickedness Of The Children Of Binyamin
•
Judges 19:1-20:48
19:1
It happened in those days, when there was no king in Yisra'el, that there was a
certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill-country of Efrayim, who took
to him a concubine out of Beit-Lechem-Yahudah. 19:2His concubine played the
prostitute against him, and went away from him to her father's house to Beit-LechemYahudah, and was there the space of four months. 19:3Her husband arose, and went
after her, to speak kindly to her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and
a couple of donkeys: and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father
of the young lady saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.
19:4
His father-in-law, the young lady's father, retained him; and he abode with him
three days: so they ate and drank, and lodged there. 19:5It happened on the fourth day,
that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart: and the young lady's
father said to his son-in-law, Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and
afterward you shall go your way. 19:6So they sat down, and ate and drink, both of them
together: and the young lady's father said to the man, Please be pleased to stay all
night, and let your heart be merry. 19:7The man rose up to depart; but his father-inlaw urged him, and he lodged there again. 19:8He arose early in the morning on the
fifth day to depart; and the young lady's father said, Please strengthen your heart and
stay until the day declines; and they ate, both of them. 19:9When the man rose up to
depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the young lady's
father, said to him, Behold, now the day draws toward evening, please stay all night:
behold, the day grows to an end, lodge here, that your heart may be merry; and
tomorrow get you early on your way, that you may go home. 19:10But the man wouldn't
stay that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Yevus (the same
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
is Yerushalayim): and there were with him a couple of donkeys saddled; his
concubine also was with him.
19:11
When they were by Yevus, the day was far spent; and the servant said to his
master, Please come and let us turn aside into this city of the Yevusi, and lodge in it.
19:12
His master said to him, We won't turn aside into the city of a foreigner, that is not
of the children of Yisra'el; but we will pass over to Gevah. 19:13He said to his servant,
Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gevah, or in
Ramah. 19:14So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them
near to Gevah, which belongs to Binyamin.
19:15
They turned aside there, to go in to lodge in Gevah: and he went in, and sat him
down in the street of the city; for there was no man who took them into his house to
lodge. 19:16Behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even: now
the man was of the hill-country of Efrayim, and he sojourned in Gevah; but the men
of the place were Binyamini. 19:17He lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in
the street of the city; and the old man said, Where go you? And whence come you?
19:18
He said to him, We are passing from Beit-Lechem-Yahudah to the farther side of
the hill-country of Efrayim; from there am I, and I went to Beit-Lechem-Yahudah:
and I am now going to the house of Yahweh; and there is no man who takes me into
his house. 19:19Yet there is both straw and provender for our donkeys; and there is
bread and wine also for me, and for your handmaid, and for the young man who is
with your servants: there is no want of anything. 19:20The old man said, Shalom be to
you; howsoever let all your wants lie on me; only don't lodge in the street. 19:21So he
brought him into his house, and gave the donkeys fodder; and they washed their feet,
and ate and drink.
19:22
As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base
fellows, beset the house round about, beating at the door; and they spoke to the
master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man who came into your
house, that we may know him. 19:23The man, the master of the house, went out to them,
and said to them, No, my brothers, please don't act so wickedly; seeing that this man
is come into my house, don't do this folly. 19:24Behold, here is my daughter a virgin,
and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble you them, and do with them
what seems good to you: but to this man don't do any such folly. 19:25But the men
wouldn't listen to him: so the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth
to them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when
the day began to spring, they let her go.
19:26
Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the
man's house where her master was, until it was light. 19:27Her master rose up in the
morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and, behold,
the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands on
the threshold. 19:28He said to her, Up, and let us be going; but none answered: then he
took her up on the donkey; and the man rose up, and got him to his place. 19:29When
he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and
divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders
of Yisra'el. 19:30It was so, that all who saw it said, There was no such deed done nor
seen from the day that the children of Yisra'el came up out of the land of Mitzrayim to
this day: consider it, take counsel, and speak.
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20:1
Then all the children of Yisra'el went out, and the congregation was assembled as
one man, from Dan even to Be'er-Sheva, with the land of Gil`ad, to Yahweh at
Mitzpah. 20:2The chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Yisra'el, presented
themselves in the assembly of the people of the Mighty One, four hundred thousand
footmen who drew sword. 20:3(Now the children of Binyamin heard that the children of
Yisra'el had gone up to Mitzpah.) The children of Yisra'el said, Tell us, how was this
wickedness brought to pass?
20:4
The Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered, I came into
Gevah that belongs to Binyamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. 20:5The men of Gevah
rose against me, and beset the house round about me by night; me they thought to
have slain, and my concubine they forced, and she is dead. 20:6I took my concubine,
and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of
Yisra'el; for they have committed lewdness and folly in Yisra'el. 20:7Behold, you
children of Yisra'el, all of you, give here your advice and counsel.
20:8
All the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent,
neither will we any of us turn to his house. 20:9But now this is the thing which we will
do to Gevah: we will go up against it by lot; 20:10and we will take ten men of one
hundred throughout all the tribes of Yisra'el, and one hundred of one thousand, and a
thousand out of ten thousand, to get victuals for the people, that they may do, when
they come to Gevah of Binyamin, according to all the folly that they have worked in
Yisra'el. 20:11So all the men of Yisra'el were gathered against the city, knit together as
one man.
20:12
The tribes of Yisra'el sent men through all the tribe of Binyamin, saying, What
wickedness is this that is happen among you? 20:13Now therefore deliver up the men,
the base fellows, who are in Gevah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil
from Yisra'el. But Binyamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers the children
of Yisra'el.
20:14
The children of Binyamin gathered themselves together out of the cities to Gevah,
to go out to battle against the children of Yisra'el. 20:15The children of Binyamin were
numbered on that day out of the cities twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword,
besides the inhabitants of Gevah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men.
20:16
Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed;
everyone could sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not miss. 20:17The men of Yisra'el,
besides Binyamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men who drew sword: all
these were men of war.
20:18
The children of Yisra'el arose, and went up to Beit-El, and asked counsel of the
Mighty One; and they said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children
of Binyamin? Yahweh said, Yahudah shall go up first.
20:19
The children of Yisra'el rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gevah.
The men of Yisra'el went out to battle against Binyamin; and the men of Yisra'el
set the battle in array against them at Gevah. 20:21The children of Binyamin came forth
out of Gevah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day Twentytwo thousand men. 20:22The people, the men of Yisra'el, encouraged themselves, and
20:20
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
set the battle again in array in the place where they set themselves in array the first
day.
20:23
The children of Yisra'el went up and wept before Yahweh until even; and they
asked of Yahweh, saying, Shall I again draw near to battle against the children of
Binyamin my brother? Yahweh said, Go up against him.
20:24
The children of Yisra'el came near against the children of Binyamin the second
day. 20:25Binyamin went forth against them out of Gevah the second day, and
destroyed down to the ground of the children of Yisra'el again eighteen thousand
men; all these drew the sword.
20:26
Then all the children of Yisra'el, and all the people, went up, and came to Beit-El,
and wept, and sat there before Yahweh, and fasted that day until even; and they
offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Yahweh. 20:27The children of
Yisra'el asked of Yahweh (for the ark of the covenant of the Mighty One was there in
those days, 20:28and Pinechas, the son of El`azar, the son of Aharon, stood before it in
those days), saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Binyamin
my brother, or shall I cease? Yahweh said, Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver him
into your hand.
20:29
Yisra'el set liers-in-wait against Gevah round about. 20:30The children of Yisra'el
went up against the children of Binyamin on the third day, and set themselves in
array against Gevah, as at other times. 20:31The children of Binyamin went out against
the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to strike and kill of
the people, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goes up to Beit-El, and
the other to Gevah, in the field, about thirty men of Yisra'el. 20:32The children of
Binyamin said, They are struck down before us, as at the first. But the children of
Yisra'el said, Let us flee, and draw them away from the city to the highways.
20:33
All the men of Yisra'el rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at
Ba`al-Tamar: and the liers-in-wait of Yisra'el broke forth out of their place, even out
of Ma`areh-Geva. 20:34There came over against Gevah ten thousand chosen men out of
all Yisra'el, and the battle was sore; but they didn't know that evil was close on them.
20:35
Yahweh struck Binyamin before Yisra'el; and the children of Yisra'el destroyed of
Binyamin that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men: all these drew the sword.
20:36
So the children of Binyamin saw that they were struck; for the men of Yisra'el
gave place to Binyamin, because they trusted to the liers-in-wait whom they had set
against Gevah. 20:37The liers-in-wait hurried, and rushed on Gevah; and the liers-inwait drew themselves along, and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.
20:38
Now the appointed sign between the men of Yisra'el and the liers-in-wait was that
they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city. 20:39The men of
Yisra'el turned in the battle, and Binyamin began to strike and kill of the men of
Yisra'el about thirty persons; for they said, Surely they are struck down before us, as
in the first battle. 20:40But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of
smoke, the Binyamini looked behind them; and, behold, the whole of the city went up
in smoke to the sky. 20:41The men of Yisra'el turned, and the men of Binyamin were
dismayed; for they saw that evil had come on them. 20:42Therefore they turned their
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
backs before the men of Yisra'el to the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed
hard after them; and those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of
it. 20:43They enclosed the Binyamini round about, and chased them, and trod them
down at their resting-place, as far as over against Gevah toward the sunrise.
20:44
There fell of Binyamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valor.
20:45
They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon: and they
gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them to
Gid`om, and struck of them two thousand men. 20:46So that all who fell that day of
Binyamin were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of
valor. 20:47But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of
Rimmon, and abode in the rock of Rimmon four months. 20:48The men of Yisra'el
turned again on the children of Binyamin, and struck them with the edge of the sword,
both the entire city, and the cattle, and all that they found: moreover all the cities
which they found they set on fire.
As the people of Gevah had committed the folly of adultery and murder, in that they sexually
forced themselves upon someone's wife, they deserved to die!
As their brethren the children of Binyamin sided with them in their folly, in that they refused
to give up the wicked men of Gevah that they be removed from amongst Yisrael, they also
deserved to die!
And die they did, in the three battles that ensued between Binyamin and the rest of Yisrael.
Evil ought to be removed from the midst of Yahweh's people, lest Yahweh's fierce wrath be
turned against his people.
It should the noted that the punishment the children of Yisrael inflicted on Gevah was in
harmony with Yahweh’s command in Deuteronomy 13:12-18.
Shaul's Rebellion Against Yahweh
•
1 Samuel 15:1-35
15:1
Shemu'el said to Sha'ul, Yahweh sent me to anoint you to be king over his people,
over Yisra'el: now therefore listen you to the voice of the words of Yahweh. 15:2Thus
says Yahweh-Tzva'ot, I have marked that which `Amalek did to Yisra'el, how he set
himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Mitzrayim. 15:3Now go and
strike `Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and don't spare them; but kill
both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.
15:4
Sha'ul summoned the people, and numbered them in Tela'im, two hundred
thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Yahudah. 15:5Sha'ul came to the city of
`Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. 15:6Sha'ul said to the Kinim, Go, depart, get you
down from among the `Amaleki, lest I destroy you with them; for you showed
kindness to all the children of Yisra'el, when they came up out of Mitzrayim. So the
Kinim departed from among the `Amaleki.
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
15:7
Sha'ul struck the `Amaleki, from Chavilah as you go to Shur, that is before
Mitzrayim. 15:8He took Agag the king of the `Amaleki alive, and utterly destroyed all
the people with the edge of the sword. 15:9But Sha'ul and the people spared Agag, and
the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that
was good, and wouldn't utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse,
that they destroyed utterly.
15:10
Then came the word of Yahweh to Shemu'el, saying, 15:11It repents me that I have
set up Sha'ul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and has not
performed my commandments. Shemu'el was angry; and he cried to Yahweh all night.
15:12
Shemu'el rose early to meet Sha'ul in the morning; and it was told Shemu'el,
saying, Sha'ul came to Karmel, and, behold, he set him up a monument, and turned,
and passed on, and went down to Gilgal. 15:13Shemu'el came to Sha'ul; and Sha'ul said
to him, Blessed be you of Yahweh: I have performed the commandment of Yahweh.
15:14
Shemu'el said, What means then this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the
lowing of the oxen which I hear?
15:15
Sha'ul said, They have brought them from the `Amaleki: for the people spared the
best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to Yahweh your Mighty One; and the
rest we have utterly destroyed.
15:16
Then Shemu'el said to Sha'ul, Stay, and I will tell you what Yahweh has said to me
this night. He said to him, Say on. 15:17Shemu'el said, "Though you were little in your
own sight, weren't you made the head of the tribes of Yisra'el? Yahweh anointed you
king over Yisra'el; 15:18and Yahweh sent you on a journey, and said, 'Go, and utterly
destroy the sinners the `Amaleki, and fight against them until they are consumed.'
15:19
Why then didn't you obey the voice of Yahweh, but flew on the spoil, and did that
which was evil in the sight of Yahweh?"
15:20
Sha'ul said to Shemu'el, Yes, I have obeyed the voice of Yahweh, and have gone
the way which Yahweh sent me, and have brought Agag the king of `Amalek, and
have utterly destroyed the `Amaleki. 15:21But the people took of the spoil, sheep and
oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice to Yahweh your Mighty One in
Gilgal.
15:22
Shemu'el said, Has Yahweh as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in
obeying the voice of Yahweh? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen
than the fat of rams. 15:23For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is
as idolatry and terafim. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has also
rejected you from being king.
15:24
Sha'ul said to Shemu'el, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment
of Yahweh, and your words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
15:25
Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship
Yahweh.
15:26
Shemu'el said to Sha'ul, I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word
of Yahweh, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over Yisra'el.
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
15:27
As Shemu'el turned about to go away, Sha'ul laid hold on the skirt of his robe, and
it tore. 15:28Shemu'el said to him, Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Yisra'el from you
this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. 15:29Also the
Strength of Yisra'el will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.
15:30
Then he said, I have sinned: yet honor me now, Please, before the Zakenim of my
people, and before Yisra'el, and turn again with me, that I may worship Yahweh your
Mighty One. 15:31So Shemu'el turned again after Sha'ul; and Sha'ul worshipped
Yahweh.
15:32
Then said Shemu'el, Bring you here to me Agag the king of the `Amaleki. Agag
came to him cheerfully. Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 15:33Shemu'el
said, As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless
among women. Shemu'el hewed Agag in pieces before Yahweh in Gilgal. 15:34Then
Shemu'el went to Ramah; and Sha'ul went up to his house to Gevah of Sha'ul.
15:35
Shemu'el came no more to see Sha'ul until the day of his death; for Shemu'el
mourned for Sha'ul: and Yahweh repented that he had made Sha'ul king over Yisra'el.
15:1-3 notes Yahweh’s command to Shaul.
15:8-9 notes that Shaul and the people did not fully obey Yahweh's command.
15:10-11 notes Yahweh clearly stating that Shaul has stopped following him and has not
performed his commandments. In other words, there was a time when Shaul followed
Yahweh and performed Yahweh's commandments. But he eventually ceased to faithfully
follow after Yahweh.
15:13 shows Shaul asserting that he had indeed performed Yahweh's commandment. Yet, in
truth, he performed it only selectively, doing only those portions of Yahweh's commandment
that seemed good to him, and not doing the rest of Yahweh's commandment, seeing that the
rest did not seem good to him. Shaul had only selectively performed Yahweh's
commandment, and was justifying his selective performance as complete performance.
It should be noted that Yahweh did not consider Shaul's selective performance of his
commandment as complete performance. In fact, Yahweh considered Shaul's selective
performance of his commandment as Shaul not having performed his commandment! In other
words, when Yahweh commands us to do a particular thing, the only manner we can say that
we have done Yahweh's command is when we have fully done Yahweh's command. If we
select and do only a portion of Yahweh's command, and do not do the rest of it, we have not
performed Yahweh's command.
Selectively Obeying Yahweh Is Evil!
15:16-19 notes that Shaul's selective performance of Yahweh's commandment was EVIL in
the sight of Yahweh! In other words, when we do not fully perform Yahweh's word, selecting
only those portions that seem good to us and rejecting the rest, we do evil in the sight of
Yahweh!
15:20-21 notes that even when confronted with the evidence of his misdeeds, Shaul still did
not acknowledge that he had sinned before Yahweh in not performing Yahweh's command.
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
For he was both justifying his conduct, and shifting blame upon the people under his
authority.
There Is No Valid Justification For Not Fully Obeying Yahweh
15:22 notes that any justification we have for not obeying Yahweh's word is worthless, even
if that justification is not bad in and of itself, such as sacrificing to Yahweh. In other words,
when Yahweh gives us a command, we must avoid justifying rebellion against Yahweh's
command on account of doing something else for Yahweh. What is important is that we do
whatever it is that Yahweh commands us to do, and not our own different or contrary
thoughts.
Classification Of The Sins Of Rebellion And Stubbornness
15:23 classifies the sins of rebellion and stubbornness with those of witchcraft, idolatry and
iniquity (terafim).
Yahweh Rejects Rebels
It also notes that those who reject the word of Yahweh, Yahweh also rejects them from
whatever position Yahweh had previously given them.
15:24-25 notes Shaul's apparent repentance. Nevertheless, it seems that this apparent
repentance was not genuine. For Shaul did not fear Yahweh's word when previously
confronted with it. Yet now, when he has learned that Yahweh has rejected him from the
position that Yahweh placed him in, he hastily purports to have repented, on the hope that the
judgement against him will be reversed.
15:26-29 notes that despite Shaul's apparent hasty retreat, Shemuel was not fooled. For
Shemuel reiterated that Yahweh had rejected Shaul, and that Yahweh would not repent of his
decision.
Do Not Fellowship With Rebels Against Yahweh
It should also be noted that we should have no business fellowshipping with those who rebel
against Yahweh. For when Shaul had rebelled against Yahweh, and Yahweh had pronounced
his judgement against him, Shemuel ceased to have any dealings with him. For he had ceased
to be within Yahweh's embrace, Yahweh having rejected him for his rebellion and
stubbornness.
Respect Those In Authority
15:30-31 notes that those in authority, even those who rebel against Yahweh and have been
rejected from their official standing by Yahweh, should still be accorded due respect for the
office that they still occupy. In other words, until such time as Yahweh removes these whom
he has rejected, we must continue to accord them due respect on account of the office that
they occupy.
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
Parallels in Yahweh’s dealings with Moshe and Shaul
It should be noted that the manner Yahweh dealt with Shaul here is not different with the
manner Yahweh dealt with Moshe in the matter of the waters from the rock at Merivah. For
when Moshe did not fulfil Yahweh’s command exactly as given, Yahweh stated that Moshe
had rebelled against him, and decreed that Moshe would thereby not enter the land of
Promise. So also with Shaul; for when Shaul did not fulfil Yahweh’s command exactly as
given, Yahweh stated that Shaul had rebelled against him, and decreed that Shaul would be
removed from his position as king over Yisrael. In other words, it is rebellion against
Yahweh to only partially fulfil his command and not entirely fulfil it!
Yahweh Removes Rebels From Their Place
•
2 Kings 17:6-24
17:6
In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Ashshur took Shomron, and carried Yisra'el
away to Ashshur, and placed them in Chalach, and on the Chavor, the river of Gozan,
and in the cities of the Madai. 17:7It was so, because the children of Yisra'el had
sinned against Yahweh their Mighty One, who brought them up out of the land of
Mitzrayim from under the hand of Par`oh king of Mitzrayim, and had feared other
mighty ones, 17:8and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom Yahweh cast out from
before the children of Yisra'el, and of the kings of Yisra'el, which they made. 17:9The
children of Yisra'el did secretly things that were not right against Yahweh their
Mighty One: and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the
watchmen to the fortified city; 17:10and they set them up pillars and Asherim on every
high hill, and under every green tree; 17:11and there they burnt incense in all the high
places, as did the nations whom Yahweh carried away before them; and they worked
wicked things to provoke Yahweh to anger; 17:12and they served idols, whereof
Yahweh had said to them, You shall not do this thing.
17:13
Yet Yahweh testified to Yisra'el, and to Yahudah, by every prophet, and every seer,
saying, Turn you from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes,
according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by
my servants the prophets. 17:14Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened
their neck, like the neck of their fathers, who didn't believe in Yahweh their Mighty
One. 17:15They rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers,
and his testimonies which he testified to them; and they followed vanity, and became
vain, and went after the nations that were round about them, concerning whom
Yahweh had charged those who they should not do like them. 17:16They forsook all the
commandments of Yahweh their Mighty One, and made them molten images, even two
calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of the sky, and served
Ba`al. 17:17They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and
used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in
the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger. 17:18Therefore Yahweh was very angry
with Yisra'el, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of
Yahudah only.
17:19
Also Yahudah didn't keep the commandments of Yahweh their Mighty One, but
walked in the statutes of Yisra'el which they made. 17:20Yahweh rejected all the seed of
Yisra'el, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
cast them out of his sight. 17:21For he tore Yisra'el from the house of David; and they
made Yarov`am the son of Nevat king: and Yarov`am drove Yisra'el from following
Yahweh, and made them sin a great sin. 17:22The children of Yisra'el walked in all the
sins of Yarov`am which he did; they didn't depart from them; 17:23until Yahweh
removed Yisra'el out of his sight, as he spoke by all his servants the prophets. So
Yisra'el was carried away out of their own land to Ashshur to this day. 17:24The king of
Ashshur brought men from Bavel, and from Kutah, and from Avva, and from Chamat
and Sefarvayim, and placed them in the cities of Shomron instead of the children of
Yisra'el; and they possessed Shomron, and lived in the cities of it.
As Yahweh dealt with Shaul for his rebellion and stubbornness, so also did Yahweh deal with
Yisrael for her rebellion, stubbornness and idolatry. For Yahweh removed her from her place
in her land, and replaced her with other inhabitants.
It should therefore be clear to us that if we reject Yahweh's word, Yahweh indeed rejects us
from whatever standing he had placed us in. It is therefore imperative that we obey Yahweh
fully and completely, doing all that he tells us to do.
Yahweh Again Removes Rebels From Their Place
•
2 Kings 21:1-15
21:1
Menashshe was twelve years old when he began to reign; and he reigned fifty-five
years in Yerushalayim: and his mother's name was Cheftzi-Bah. 21:2He did that which
was evil in the sight of Yahweh, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh
cast out before the children of Yisra'el. 21:3For he built again the high places which
Chizkiyahu his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Ba`al, and made an
Asherah, as did Ach'av king of Yisra'el, and worshipped all the host of the sky, and
served them. 21:4He built altars in the house of Yahweh, whereof Yahweh said, In
Yerushalayim will I put my name. 21:5He built altars for all the host of the sky in the
two courts of the house of Yahweh. 21:6He made his son to pass through the fire, and
practiced sorcery, and used enchantments, and dealt with those who had familiar
spirits, and with wizards: he worked much evil in the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him
to anger.
21:7
He set the engraved image of Asherah, that he had made, in the house of which
Yahweh said to David and to Shelomo his son, In this house, and in Yerushalayim,
which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Yisra'el, will I put my name forever;
21:8
neither will I cause the feet of Yisra'el to wander any more out of the land which I
gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have
commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moshe commanded
them. 21:9But they didn't listen: and Menashshe seduced them to do that which is evil
more than did the nations whom Yahweh destroyed before the children of Yisra'el.
21:10
Yahweh spoke by his servants the prophets, saying, 21:11Because Menashshe king of
Yahudah has done these abominations, and has done wickedly above all that the
Amori did, who were before him, and has made Yahudah also to sin with his idols;
21:12
therefore thus says Yahweh, the Mighty One of Yisra'el, Behold, I bring such evil
on Yerushalayim and Yahudah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears shall tingle.
21:13
I will stretch over Yerushalayim the line of Shomron, and the plummet of the
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
house of Ach'av; and I will wipe Yerushalayim as a man wipes a dish, wiping it and
turning it upside down. 21:14I will cast off the remnant of my inheritance, and deliver
them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all
their enemies; 21:15because they have done that which is evil in my sight, and have
provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Mitzrayim, even to
this day.
Yahweh indeed punishes those who rebel against him and turn to idolatry. He removes them
from their place, and utterly destroys them.
Yahweh's Fierce Wrath Trained Firmly Against Yahudah
•
2 Kings 23:24-27
23:24
Moreover those who had familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the terafim, and the
idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Yahudah and in
Yerushalayim, did Yoshiyahu put away, that he might confirm the words of the law
which were written in the book that Chilkiyah the Kohen found in the house of
Yahweh. 23:25Like him was there no king before him, who turned to Yahweh with all
his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of
Moshe; neither after him arose there any like him. 23:26Notwithstanding, Yahweh
didn't turn from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled
against Yahudah, because of all the provocation wherewith Menashshe had provoked
him. 23:27Yahweh said, I will remove Yahudah also out of my sight, as I have removed
Yisra'el, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Yerushalayim, and the
house of which I said, My name shall be there.
23:26 notes that there are times that Yahweh does not turn aside from his fierce wrath against
those who have committed abominations against him. For despite Yoshiyahu's good works,
Yahweh's fierce wrath remained trained firmly upon Yahudah, for all the abominations that
Yahudah had committed in previous generations.
It should therefore be clear that Yahweh punishes for idolatry.
Yahweh's Judgement On Idolaters
•
Isaiah 2:5-21
2:5
House of Ya`akov, come, and let us walk in the light of Yahweh. 2:6For you have
forsaken your people the house of Ya`akov, because they are filled with customs from
the east, and are soothsayers like the Pelishtim, and they clasp hands with the
children of foreigners. 2:7Their land is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end
of their treasures; their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their
chariots. 2:8Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands,
that which their own fingers have made. 2:9Man is bowed down, and mankind is
humbled; therefore don't forgive them. 2:10Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust,
from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty.
2:11
The lofty looks of man shall be brought low, and the haughtiness of men shall be
bowed down, and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day. 2:12For there shall be a
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day of Yahweh Tzva'ot on all that is proud and haughty, and on all that is lifted up;
and it shall be brought low; 2:13and on all the cedars of Levanon, that are high and
lifted up, and on all the oaks of Bashan, 2:14and on all the high mountains, and on all
the hills that are lifted up, 2:15and on every lofty tower, and on every fortified wall,
2:16
and on all the ships of Tarshish, and on all pleasant imagery. 2:17The loftiness of
man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and
Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day. 2:18The idols shall utterly pass away.
2:19
Men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the eretz, from before
the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake
mightily the eretz.
2:20
In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which
have been made for them to worship, to the moles and to the bats; 2:21to go into the
caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of
Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake mightily the eretz.
Adulteresses Are Prostitutes And Sorceresses
•
Isaiah 57:1-13
57:1
The righteous perishes, and no man lays it to heart; and merciful men are taken
away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. 57:2He
enters into shalom; they rest in their beds, each one who walks in his uprightness.
57:3
But draw near here, you sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the
prostitute. 57:4Against whom do you sport yourselves? Against whom make you a wide
mouth, and put out the tongue? Aren't you children of disobedience, a seed of
falsehood, 57:5you who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every green tree;
who kill the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks? 57:6Among the
smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, they are your lot; even to them have
you poured a drink-offering, you have offered an offering. Shall I be appeased for
these things? 57:7On a high and lofty mountain have you set your bed; there also went
you up to offer sacrifice. 57:8Behind the doors and the posts have you set up your
memorial: for you have uncovered yourself to another than me, and are gone up; you
have enlarged your bed, and made you a covenant with them: you loved their bed
where you saw it. 57:9You went to the king with oil, and did increase your perfumes,
and did send your ambassadors far off, and did debase yourself even to She'ol.
57:10
You were wearied with the length of your way; yet you didn't say, It is in vain: you
found a reviving of your strength; therefore you weren't faint. 57:11Of whom have you
been afraid and in fear, that you lie, and have not remembered me, nor laid it to your
heart? Haven't I held my shalom even of long time, and you don't fear me? 57:12I will
declare your righteousness; and as for your works, they shall not profit you. 57:13When
you cry, let those who you have gathered deliver you; but the wind shall take them, a
breath shall carry them all away: but he who takes refuge in me shall possess the
land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.
57:3 shows that an adulteress is a prostitute. For the manner an adulterer commits adultery
with a prostitute is if that prostitute is the wife of another man. Therefore adulteresses are
prostitutes.
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It should also be noted that Yahweh also likens adulterous prostitutes to sorceresses! In other
words, Yahweh equates prostitution and adultery with sorcery!
This implies that the penalty that is effected for committing one offence is also effected on
committing the other offence, for these offences are alike! Therefore where one who commits
adultery is put to death, so also is one who commits sorcery! And where one who commits
sorcery is removed from dwelling in the midst of Yahweh's people, so also is one who
commits adultery.
57:3-9 shows that the sins of the seed of those who commit sorcery, adultery and prostitution
include unruly speech, idolatry, murder and adultery (prostitution).
Rebellion Grieves The Holy Spirit
•
Isaiah 63:7-10
63:7
I will make mention of the lovingkindnesses of Yahweh, and the praises of Yahweh,
according to all that Yahweh has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the
house of Yisra'el, which he has bestowed on them according to his mercies, and
according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. 63:8For he said, Surely, they are my
people, children who will not deal falsely: so he was their Savior. 63:9In all their
affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and
in his pity he redeemed them; and he bore them, and carried them all the days of old.
63:10
But they rebelled, and grieved his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their
enemy, and himself fought against them.
Acts of rebellion result in the grieving of the Holy Spirit, and cause Yahweh to turn against
those committing these rebellious acts. It should therefore be clear that all who serve Yahweh
should remain faithful to Yahweh, and not rebel against him. For when they do so, Yahweh
becomes their enemy and fights against them.
Prostitution Greatly Pollutes The Land
•
Jeremiah 3:1-25
3:1
They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another
man's, will he return to her again? Won't that land be greatly polluted? But you have
played the prostitute with many lovers; yet return again to me, says Yahweh. 3:2Lift up
your eyes to the bare heights, and see; where have you not been lain with? By the
ways have you sat for them, as an `Aravian in the wilderness; and you have polluted
the land with your prostitution and with your wickedness. 3:3Therefore the showers
have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain; yet you have a prostitute's
forehead, you refused to be ashamed. 3:4Will you not from this time cry to me, My
Father, you are the guide of my youth? 3:5Will he retain his anger forever? Will he
keep it to the end? Behold, you have spoken and have done evil things, and have had
your way.
3:6
Moreover Yahweh said to me in the days of Yoshiyahu the king, Have you seen that
which backsliding Yisra'el has done? She is gone up on every high mountain and
under every green tree, and there has played the prostitute. 3:7I said after she had
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
done all these things, She will return to me; but she didn't return: and her
treacherous sister Yahudah saw it. 3:8I saw, when, for this very cause that backsliding
Yisra'el had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorce,
yet treacherous Yahudah, her sister, didn't fear; but she also went and played the
prostitute. 3:9It happened through the lightness of her prostitution, that the land was
polluted, and she committed adultery with stones and with stocks. 3:10Yet for all this
her treacherous sister Yahudah has not returned to me with her whole heart, but only
in pretense, says Yahweh.
3:11
Yahweh said to me, Backsliding Yisra'el has showed herself more righteous than
treacherous Yahudah. 3:12Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,
Return, you backsliding Yisra'el, says Yahweh; I will not look in anger on you; for I
am merciful, says Yahweh, I will not keep anger forever. 3:13Only acknowledge your
iniquity, that you have transgressed against Yahweh your Mighty One, and have
scattered your ways to the strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed
my voice, says Yahweh. 3:14Return, backsliding children, says Yahweh; for I am a
husband to you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring
you to Tzion: 3:15and I will give you shepherds according to my heart, who shall feed
you with knowledge and understanding.
3:16
It shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land, in those
days, says Yahweh, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of Yahweh;
neither shall it come to mind; neither shall they remember it; neither shall they miss
it; neither shall it be made any more. 3:17At that time they shall call Yerushalayim the
throne of Yahweh; and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh,
to Yerushalayim: neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil
heart. 3:18In those days the house of Yahudah shall walk with the house of Yisra'el,
and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an
inheritance to your fathers.
3:19
But I said, How I will put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a
goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! And I said, You shall call me My Father,
and shall not turn away from following me. 3:20Surely as a wife treacherously departs
from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with me, house of Yisra'el, says
Yahweh.
3:21
A voice is heard on the bare heights, the weeping and the petitions of the children
of Yisra'el; because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Yahweh their
Mighty One. 3:22Return, you backsliding children, I will heal your backsliding. Behold,
we are come to you; for you are Yahweh our Mighty One. 3:23Truly in vain is the help
that is looked for from the hills, the tumult on the mountains: truly in Yahweh our
Mighty One is the salvation of Yisra'el. 3:24But the shameful thing has devoured the
labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their
daughters.
3:25
Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us; for we have sinned
against Yahweh our Mighty One, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day;
and we have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh our Mighty One.
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3:1-2 shows that prostitution greatly pollutes the land. For when a woman has more than one
lover, the land whereby she conducts her prostitution becomes greatly polluted.
Curses On Land Polluted With Prostitution
3:3 shows the effects upon a land of the great pollution upon it occasioned by the prostitution
of its inhabitants. The showers are withheld and there is no latter rain. In other words,
Yahweh withholds the blessings he would have accorded a land on account of the prostitution
of its inhabitants!
What is the solution for these inhabitants if they desire Yahweh's blessings?
Is it not to cease their prostitution?
And if those committing their prostitution refuse to cease their prostitution, they should be
removed from that land! For why should their evil conduct bring evil upon the entire land,
afflicting the inhabitants of that entire land? And why should the inhabitants of that land bear
with this evil committed by these prostitutes? Has not Yahweh commanded his people to
remove from within their midst those who engage in prostitution, adultery, sorcery,
divination and idolatry? Prostitutes should therefore be removed from within the midst of
Yahweh's people. That Yahweh's people may be spared the curses upon them on account of
the prostitution committed within their midst, a prostitution they tolerate, in that they do not
do away with it.
Idolatry Is Prostitution
3:6 equates idolatry with prostitution. Implying that Yahweh – only – should be worshipped
and obeyed. But when one does not worship and obey Yahweh, choosing instead to worship
and obey another, then that one is both an idolater and a prostitute.
Righteous Husbands Should Divorce Adulterous Wives
3:8 shows that, following Yahweh's example, righteous husbands should put away their
adulterous wives and give them bills of divorce.
It should also be remembered that adultery is prostitution, and this prostitution greatly
pollutes a husband's household. The effect of this pollution is that Yahweh withholds his
showers of blessing from that household!
It should also be remembered that Yahweh requires those in a particular territory to remove
from within their midst the evils of adultery, prostitution, idolatry, divination and sorcery. For
such conduct brings about curses not only upon those who practise them, but also upon their
children. And also, should those dwelling in such a territory not remove such evildoers from
within their midst, Yahweh himself will require it of them. Therefore, a husband whose wife
is engaging in any of these wicked deeds MUST remove her from his household. For so
removing such a wife prevents the curse resultant from such wickedness coming upon his
children, and also prevents Yahweh requiring it of him on account of his failure to remove his
wife from his household. Such a husband should put away his wife and give her a bill of
divorce!
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Righteous Husbands Should Be Angry With Unrighteous Deeds Of Their
Wives
3:11-13 shows that it is appropriate for a husband to be angry with the unrighteous deeds of
his wife, such as her adultery and prostitution. For Yahweh was indeed angry with Yisrael on
account of her adultery.
It should also be noted that Yahweh is indeed merciful and forgives the wrongs committed
against him. Nevertheless, before he forgives our sins, we must first acknowledge our sins
before him, by confessing them before him, and duly repent of them, seeking his forgiveness.
Adultery Is Equated With Rebellion
3:13 shows that the sin of Yisrael was not only her adultery, but also her rebellion against
Yahweh, for she did not obey Yahweh's voice. It therefore appears that adultery and rebellion
are equated together. For the wife who does not listen to her husband, to be faithful to him, is
her who becomes an adulteress by sexually lying with another man. It therefore appears that a
rebellious wife is effectively an adulterous wife, seeing that she is not faithful to her husband
to obey his word.
Yahweh Heals Our Backslidings
3:22 notes that Yahweh has power to heal our backslidings. And those who are repentant and
he heals, he receives back to his fold.
Yahweh Punishes The Wicked
•
Jeremiah 5:1-31
5:1
Run you back and forth through the streets of Yerushalayim, and see now, and
know, and seek in the broad places of it, if you can find a man, if there are any who
does justly, who seeks truth; and I will pardon her. 5:2Though they say, As Yahweh
lives; surely they swear falsely.
5:3
O Yahweh, don't your eyes look on truth? You have stricken them, but they were not
grieved; you have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they
have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. 5:4Then I said,
Surely these are poor; they are foolish; for they don't know the way of Yahweh, nor
the law of their Mighty One: 5:5I will get me to the great men, and will speak to them;
for they know the way of Yahweh, and the law of their Mighty One. But these with one
accord have broken the yoke, and burst the bonds. 5:6Therefore a lion out of the forest
shall kill them, a wolf of the evenings shall destroy them, a leopard shall watch
against their cities; everyone who goes out there shall be torn in pieces; because their
transgressions are many, and their backsliding is increased.
5:7
How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that
are no mighty ones: when I had fed them to the full, they committed adultery, and
assembled themselves in troops at the prostitutes' houses. 5:8They were as fed horses
roaming at large; everyone neighed after his neighbor's wife. 5:9Shall I not visit for
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
these things? Says Yahweh; and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as
this?
5:10
Go you up on her walls, and destroy; but don't make a full end: take away her
branches; for they are not Yahweh's. 5:11For the house of Yisra'el and the house of
Yahudah have dealt very treacherously against me, says Yahweh. 5:12They have denied
Yahweh, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come on us; neither shall we see
sword nor famine: 5:13and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in
them: thus shall it be done to them. 5:14Therefore thus says Yahweh, the Mighty OneTzva'ot, Because you speak this word, behold, I will make my words in your mouth
fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. 5:15Behold, I will bring a nation
on you from far, house of Yisra'el, says Yahweh: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient
nation, a nation whose language you don't know, neither understand what they say.
5:16
Their quiver is an open tomb, they are all mighty men. 5:17They shall eat up your
harvest, and your bread, which your sons and your daughters should eat; they shall
eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig-trees;
they shall beat down your fortified cities, in which you trust, with the sword. 5:18But
even in those days, says Yahweh, I will not make a full end with you.
5:19
It shall happen, when you shall say, Why has Yahweh our Mighty One done all
these things to us? Then shall you say to them, Like as you have forsaken me, and
served foreign mighty ones in your land, so shall you serve strangers in a land that is
not yours. 5:20Declare you this in the house of Ya`akov, and publish it in Yahudah,
saying, 5:21Hear now this, foolish people, and without understanding; who have eyes,
and don't see; who have ears, and don't hear: 5:22Don't you fear me? Says Yahweh:
won't you tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea,
by a perpetual decree, that it can't pass it? And though the waves of it toss
themselves, yet they can't prevail; though they roar, yet they can't pass over it. 5:23But
this people has a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.
5:24
Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear Yahweh our Mighty One, who gives
rain, both the former and the latter, in its season; who preserves to us the appointed
weeks of the harvest. 5:25Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins
have withheld good from you.
5:26
For among my people are found wicked men: they watch, as fowlers lie in wait;
they set a trap, they catch men. 5:27As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of
deceit: therefore they are become great, and grew rich. 5:28They are grown fat, they
shine: yes, they overpass in deeds of wickedness; they don't plead the cause, the cause
of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and the right of the needy they don't judge.
5:29
Shall I not visit for these things? Says Yahweh; shall not my soul be avenged on
such a nation as this? 5:30A wonderful and horrible thing is happen in the land: 5:31the
prophets prophesy falsely, and the Kohanim bear rule by their means; and my people
love to have it so: and what will you do in the end of it?
5:7-19 shows that Yahweh punishes adulterers, prostitutes, the unthankful, the treacherous
and idolaters. These deny Yahweh by their rebellious conduct.
5:23-25 shows that it is sin that withholds from one the good blessings that Yahweh intends
to give to one. Blessings including seasonal rain and good harvests. Such sins include
revolting and rebellious hearts. Therefore, it is seen that Yahweh equates adultery and
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
prostitution with revolt and rebellion. For the penalty that he inflicts upon adulterers and
prostitutes, withholding of his seasonal rain and good harvests, is the very same penalty that
he inflicts upon those with revolting and rebellious hearts. It should therefore be clear that
one with a revolting and rebellious heart is equated as an adulteress and a prostitute and an
idolater and a sorceress and a diviner!
Surely rebellion is as witchcraft, and stubbornness as divination. Those who are rebels and
are stubborn are numbered with idolaters, sorcerers, diviners, witches, adulterers, prostitutes
and familiar spiritists!
Falsely Professing To Follow Yahweh
•
Jeremiah 7:1-34
7:1
The word that came to Yirmeyahu from Yahweh, saying, 7:2Stand in the gate of
Yahweh's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of Yahweh, all
you of Yahudah, who enter in at these gates to worship Yahweh. 7:3Thus says YahwehTzva'ot, the Mighty One of Yisra'el, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will
cause you to dwell in this place. 7:4Don't you trust in lying words, saying, The temple
of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh, are these. 7:5For if you
thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if you thoroughly execute justice
between a man and his neighbor; 7:6if you don't oppress the sojourner, the fatherless,
and the widow, and don't shed innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other
mighty ones to your own hurt: 7:7then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the
land that I gave to your fathers, from of old even forevermore. 7:8Behold, you trust in
lying words, that can't profit. 7:9Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and
swear falsely, and burn incense to Ba`al, and walk after other mighty ones that you
have not known, 7:10and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my
name, and say, We are delivered; that you may do all these abominations? 7:11Is this
house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I,
even I, have seen it, says Yahweh. 7:12But go you now to my place which was in Shiloh,
where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the
wickedness of my people Yisra'el. 7:13Now, because you have done all these works,
says Yahweh, and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you didn't hear;
and I called you, but you didn't answer: 7:14therefore will I do to the house which is
called by my name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to
your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. 7:15I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all
your brothers, even the whole seed of Efrayim.
7:16
Therefore don't you pray for this people, neither lift up a cry nor prayer for them,
neither make intercession to me; for I will not hear you. 7:17Don't you see what they do
in the cities of Yahudah and in the streets of Yerushalayim? 7:18The children gather
wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes
to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink-offerings to other mighty ones, that they
may provoke me to anger. 7:19Do they provoke me to anger? Says Yahweh; do they not
provoke themselves, to the confusion of their own faces? 7:20Therefore thus says the
Sovereign Yahweh: Behold, my anger and my wrath shall be poured out on this place,
on man, and on animal, and on the trees of the field, and on the fruit of the ground;
and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
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7:21
Thus says Yahweh-Tzva'ot, the Mighty One of Yisra'el: Add your burnt offerings to
your sacrifices, and eat you flesh. 7:22For I didn't speak to your fathers, nor command
them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Mitzrayim, concerning burnt
offerings or sacrifices: 7:23but this thing I commanded them, saying, Listen to my
voice, and I will be your Mighty One, and you shall be my people; and walk you in all
the way that I command you, that it may be well with you. 7:24But they didn't listen nor
turn their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil
heart, and went backward, and not forward. 7:25Since the day that your fathers came
forth out of the land of Mitzrayim to this day, I have sent to you all my servants the
prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: 7:26yet they didn't listen to me, nor
inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff: they did worse than their fathers.
7:27
You shall speak all these words to them; but they will not listen to you: you shall
also call to them; but they will not answer you. 7:28You shall tell them, This is the
nation that has not listened to the voice of Yahweh their Mighty One, nor received
instruction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth. 7:29Cut off your hair,
Yerushalayim, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the bare heights; for
Yahweh has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath. 7:30For the children of
Yahudah have done that which is evil in my sight, says Yahweh: they have set their
abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it. 7:31They have built
the high places of Tofet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their
sons and their daughters in the fire; which I didn't command, neither came it into my
mind. 7:32Therefore, behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that it shall no more be
called Tofet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of Slaughter: for
they shall bury in Tofet, until there be no place to bury. 7:33The dead bodies of this
people shall be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth; and
none shall frighten them away. 7:34Then will I cause to cease from the cities of
Yahudah, and from the streets of Yerushalayim, the voice of mirth and the voice of
gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall
become a waste.
7:1-2 shows that the word Yahweh gave Yirmeyahu was for those who profess to be
Yahweh's people, those who profess to worship Yahweh.
7:3-7 admonishes all who profess to worship Yahweh to walk in the way of righteousness
and avoid evil. Included in the evil to be avoided is idolatry.
7:8-11 shows that some who profess to worship Yahweh trust in lying words, that cannot
profit. They commit adultery and idolatry, yet expect to be deemed righteous before Yahweh
and delivered by Yahweh!
7:12-15 shows that those who profess to worship Yahweh, yet deny him by their evil
conduct, despite Yahweh's repeated messages to them that they repent of their evil, will be
cast out of Yahweh's presence! In other words, adulterers, prostitutes, idolaters, rebels,
sorcerers, witches, diviners, the stubborn and those with familiar spirits who profess to
worship Yahweh will indeed be cast out of Yahweh's presence. For they profane Yahweh's
name by associating his name with all these evils that they do.
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Adultery Is Treachery
•
Jeremiah 9:1-3
9:1
Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a spring of tears, that I might weep day
and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! 9:2Oh that I had in the wilderness
a lodging-place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them!
For they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. 9:3They bend their
tongue, as it were their bow, for falsehood; and they are grown strong in the land, but
not for truth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they don't know me, says Yahweh.
Yahweh equates adultery with treachery. Those who engage in such evil conduct do not
really know Yahweh. These will Yahweh punish appropriately, for their evil deeds that they
do.
Yahweh's Punishment On Evildoers
•
Jeremiah 13:1-27
13:1
Thus says Yahweh to me, Go, and buy you a linen belt, and put it on your loins,
and don't put it in water. 13:2So I bought a belt according to the word of Yahweh, and
put it on my loins.
13:3
The word of Yahweh came to me the second time, saying, 13:4Take the belt that you
have bought, which is on your loins, and arise, go to the Perat, and hide it there in a
cleft of the rock. 13:5So I went, and hid it by the Perat, as Yahweh commanded me. 13:6It
happened after many days, that Yahweh said to me, Arise, go to the Perat, and take
the belt from there, which I commanded you to hide there. 13:7Then I went to the Perat,
and dug, and took the belt from the place where I had hid it; and, behold, the belt was
marred; it was profitable for nothing.
13:8
Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 13:9Thus says Yahweh, After this
manner will I mar the pride of Yahudah, and the great pride of Yerushalayim. 13:10This
evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their
heart, and are gone after other mighty ones to serve them, and to worship them, shall
even be as this belt, which is profitable for nothing. 13:11For as the belt cleaves to the
loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave to me the whole house of Yisra'el and the
whole house of Yahudah, says Yahweh; that they may be to me for a people, and for a
name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.
13:12
Therefore you shall speak to them this word: Thus says Yahweh, the Mighty One
of Yisra'el, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall tell you, Do we not
certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine? 13:13Then shall you tell them,
Thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings
who sit on David's throne, and the Kohanim, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants
of Yerushalayim, with drunkenness. 13:14I will dash them one against another, even the
fathers and the sons together, says Yahweh: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have
compassion, that I should not destroy them. 13:15Hear you, and give ear; don't be
proud; for Yahweh has spoken.
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13:16
Give glory to Yahweh your Mighty One, before he cause darkness, and before
your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and, while you look for light, he turn it into
the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. 13:17But if you will not hear it, my
soul shall weep in secret for your pride; and my eye shall weep sore, and run down
with tears, because Yahweh's flock is taken captive.
13:18
Say you to the king and to the queen-mother, Humble yourselves, sit down; for
your headdresses are come down, even the crown of your glory. 13:19The cities of the
South are shut up, and there is none to open them: Yahudah is carried away captive,
all of it; it is wholly carried away captive. 13:20Lift up your eyes, and see those who
come from the north: where is the flock that was given you, your beautiful flock?
13:21
What will you say, when he shall set over you as head those whom you have
yourself taught to be friends to you? Shall not sorrows take hold of you, as of a
woman in travail?
13:22
If you say in your heart, Why are these things come on me? For the greatness of
your iniquity are your skirts uncovered, and your heels suffer violence. 13:23Can the
Kushite change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may you also do good, who
are accustomed to do evil. 13:24Therefore will I scatter them, as the stubble that passes
away, by the wind of the wilderness. 13:25This is your lot, the portion measured to you
from me, says Yahweh; because you have forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.
13:26
Therefore will I also uncover your skirts on your face, and your shame shall
appear. 13:27I have seen your abominations, even your adulteries, and your neighing,
the lewdness of your prostitution, on the hills in the field. Woe to you, Yerushalayim!
You will not be made clean; how long shall it yet be?
Yahweh utterly punishes those who engage in evil, including the evils of idolatry,
stubbornness, adultery and prostitution.
Idolatry And Adultery Profanes A Territory
•
Jeremiah 23:9-22
23:9
Concerning the prophets. My heart within me is broken, all my bones shake; I am
like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine has overcome, because of Yahweh,
and because of his holy words. 23:10For the land is full of adulterers; for because of
swearing the land mourns; the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. Their course
is evil, and their might is not right; 23:11for both prophet and Kohen are profane; yes,
in my house have I found their wickedness, says Yahweh. 23:12Therefore their way
shall be to them as slippery places in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall
therein; for I will bring evil on them, even the year of their visitation, says Yahweh.
23:13
I have seen folly in the prophets of Shomron; they prophesied by Ba`al, and
caused my people Yisra'el to err. 23:14In the prophets of Yerushalayim also I have seen
a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies; and they strengthen the
hands of evil-doers, so that none does return from his wickedness: they are all of
them become to me as Sedom, and the inhabitants of it as `Amorah. 23:15Therefore thus
says Yahweh-Tzva'ot concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with
wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall; for from the prophets of
Yerushalayim is ungodliness gone forth into all the land.
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23:16
Thus says Yahweh-Tzva'ot, Don't listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy
to you: they teach you vanity; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of
the mouth of Yahweh. 23:17They say continually to those who despise me, Yahweh has
said, You shall have shalom; and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his
own heart they say, No evil shall come on you. 23:18For who has stood in the council of
Yahweh, that he should perceive and hear his word? Who has marked my word, and
heard it? 23:19Behold, the tempest of Yahweh, even his wrath, is gone forth, yes, a
whirling tempest: it shall burst on the head of the wicked. 23:20The anger of Yahweh
shall not return, until he has executed, and until he has performed the intents of his
heart: in the latter days you shall understand it perfectly. 23:21I sent not these prophets,
yet they ran: I didn't speak to them, yet they prophesied. 23:22But if they had stood in
my council, then had they caused my people to hear my words, and had turned them
from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
23:10-11 shows that a particular land is full of adulteries when both prophet and priest are
profane!
And how are they profane?
23:12-14 shows that they prophesy by Baal and cause Yahweh's people to err. In other words,
they are idolaters! And they are also adulterers, and liars, strengthening the hands of
evildoers.
Yahweh shows that he will utterly punish such false prophets, who are also idolaters and
adulterers!
Punishment On Adulterous False Prophets
•
Jeremiah 29:21-23
29:21
Thus says Yahweh-Tzva'ot, the Mighty One of Yisra'el, concerning Ach'av the son
of Kolayah, and concerning Tzidkiyahu the son of Ma`aseyah, who prophesy a lie to
you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nevukhadretztzar king of
Bavel; and he shall kill them before your eyes; 29:22and of them shall be taken up a
curse by all the captives of Yahudah who are in Bavel, saying, Yahweh make you like
Tzidkiyahu and like Ach'av, whom the king of Bavel roasted in the fire; 29:23because
they have worked folly in Yisra'el, and have committed adultery with their neighbors'
wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I didn't command them; and
I am he who knows, and am witness, says Yahweh.
Avoid Rebellion Against Yahweh
•
Ezekiel 2:1-8
2:1
He said to me, Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you. 2:2The
Spirit entered into me when he spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard him
who spoke to me. 2:3He said to me, Son of man, I send you to the children of Yisra'el,
to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against me: they and their fathers
have transgressed against me even to this very day. 2:4The children are impudent and
stiff-hearted: I do send you to them; and you shall tell them, Thus says the Sovereign
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
Yahweh. 2:5They, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a
rebellious house,) yet shall know that there has been a prophet among them. 2:6You,
son of man, don't be afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers
and thorns are with you, and you do dwell among scorpions: don't be afraid of their
words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house. 2:7You shall
speak my words to them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear; for
they are most rebellious. 2:8But you, son of man, hear what I tell you; don't be you
rebellious like that rebellious house: open your mouth, and eat that which I give you.
Yahweh's people should not be rebellious as the children of Yisrael have been, but should do
all that Yahweh tells them to do.
Yahweh's Judgement On Rebellious Yisrael
•
Ezekiel 5:1-17
5:1
You, son of man, take a sharp sword; as a barber's razor shall you take it to you,
and shall cause it to pass on your head and on your beard: then take balances to
weigh, and divide the hair. 5:2A third part shall you burn in the fire in the midst of the
city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and you shall take a third part, and
strike with the sword round about it; and a third part you shall scatter to the wind,
and I will draw out a sword after them. 5:3You shall take of it a few in number, and
bind them in your skirts. 5:4Of these again shall you take, and cast them into the midst
of the fire, and burn them in the fire; therefrom shall a fire come forth into all the
house of Yisra'el.
5:5
Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: This is Yerushalayim; I have set her in the midst
of the nations, and countries are round about her. 5:6She has rebelled against my
ordinances in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more
than the countries that are round about her; for they have rejected my ordinances,
and as for my statutes, they have not walked in them. 5:7Therefore thus says the
Sovereign Yahweh: Because you are turbulent more than the nations that are round
about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my ordinances,
neither have done after the ordinances of the nations that are round about you;
5:8
therefore thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: Behold, I, even I, am against you; and I
will execute judgments in the midst of you in the sight of the nations. 5:9I will do in you
that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of
all your abominations. 5:10Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of you,
and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on you; and the
whole remnant of you will I scatter to all the winds. 5:11Therefore, as I live, says the
Sovereign Yahweh, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your
detestable things, and with all your abominations, therefore will I also diminish you;
neither shall my eye spare, and I also will have no pity. 5:12A third part of you shall
die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of you;
and a third part shall fall by the sword round about you; and a third part I will
scatter to all the winds, and will draw out a sword after them. 5:13Thus shall my anger
be accomplished, and I will cause my wrath toward them to rest, and I shall be
comforted; and they shall know that I, Yahweh, have spoken in my zeal, when I have
accomplished my wrath on them.
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5:14
Moreover I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations that are
round about you, in the sight of all that pass by. 5:15So it shall be a reproach and a
taunt, an instruction and an astonishment, to the nations that are round about you,
when I shall execute judgments on you in anger and in wrath, and in wrathful
rebukes; (I, Yahweh, have spoken it;) 5:16when I shall send on them the evil arrows of
famine, that are for destruction, which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase
the famine on you, and will break your staff of bread; 5:17and I will send on you
famine and evil animals, and they shall bereave you; and pestilence and blood shall
pass through you; and I will bring the sword on you: I, Yahweh, have spoken it.
Yahweh's Judgement On Idolatrous Yisrael
•
Ezekiel 6:1-14
6:1
The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 6:2Son of man, set your face toward the
mountains of Yisra'el, and prophesy to them, 6:3and say, You mountains of Yisra'el,
hear the word of the Sovereign Yahweh: Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh to the
mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I,
will bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places. 6:4Your altars shall
become desolate, and your sun-images shall be broken; and I will cast down your
slain men before your idols. 6:5I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Yisra'el
before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. 6:6In all your
dwelling-places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate;
that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken
and cease, and your sun-images may be hewn down, and your works may be
abolished. 6:7The slain shall fall in the midst of you, and you shall know that I am
Yahweh.
6:8
Yet will I leave a remnant, in that you shall have some that escape the sword among
the nations, when you shall be scattered through the countries. 6:9Those of you that
escape shall remember me among the nations where they shall be carried captive,
how that I have been broken with their lewd heart, which has departed from me, and
with their eyes, which play the prostitute after their idols: and they shall loathe
themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their
abominations. 6:10They shall know that I am Yahweh: I have not said in vain that I
would do this evil to them.
6:11
Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: Smite with your hand, and stamp with your foot,
and say, Alas! Because of all the evil abominations of the house of Yisra'el; for they
shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. 6:12He who is far off shall
die of the pestilence; and he who is near shall fall by the sword; and he who remains
and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my wrath on them.
6:13
You shall know that I am Yahweh, when their slain men shall be among their idols
round about their altars, on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, and
under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the places where they offered
sweet savor to all their idols. 6:14I will stretch out my hand on them, and make the land
desolate and waste, from the wilderness toward Diblah, throughout all their
habitations: and they shall know that I am Yahweh.
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Idolaters Are Estranged From Yahweh
•
Ezekiel 14:1-11
14:1
Then came certain of the Zakenim of Yisra'el to me, and sat before me. 14:2The word
of Yahweh came to me, saying, 14:3Son of man, these men have taken their idols into
their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be
inquired of at all by them? 14:4Therefore speak to them, and tell them, Thus says the
Sovereign Yahweh: Every man of the house of Yisra'el who takes his idols into his
heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the
prophet; I Yahweh will answer him therein according to the multitude of his idols;
14:5
that I may take the house of Yisra'el in their own heart, because they are all
estranged from me through their idols. 14:6Therefore tell the house of Yisra'el, Thus
says the Sovereign Yahweh: Return you, and turn yourselves from your idols; and
turn away your faces from all your abominations. 14:7For everyone of the house of
Yisra'el, or of the strangers who sojourn in Yisra'el, who separates himself from me,
and takes his idols into his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before
his face, and comes to the prophet to inquire for himself of me; I Yahweh will answer
him by myself: 14:8and I will set my face against that man, and will make him an
astonishment, for a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my
people; and you shall know that I am Yahweh.
14:9
If the prophet be deceived and speak a word, I, Yahweh, have deceived that
prophet, and I will stretch out my hand on him, and will destroy him from the midst of
my people Yisra'el. 14:10They shall bear their iniquity: the iniquity of the prophet shall
be even as the iniquity of him who seeks to him; 14:11that the house of Yisra'el may go
no more astray from me, neither defile themselves any more with all their
transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their Mighty One, says
the Sovereign Yahweh.
14:2-5 shows that idolaters are estranged from Yahweh, even those who are idolaters in their
hearts.
Idolaters should not consult Yahweh, seeing that they have rebelled against Yahweh by their
idolatry. Servants of Yahweh should therefore not facilitate any attempt by idolaters to
consult Yahweh. For Yahweh has specifically prohibited them from so facilitating such
consultation. Only those who faithfully worship Yahweh should consult Yahweh, and only
these should a servant of Yahweh facilitate in consultation of Yahweh.
14:7-8 clearly shows that Yahweh does not allow himself to be consulted by those
worshipping idols. He instead punishes such faithless rebels by setting his face against them,
and making them an astonishment, for a sign and a proverb. He cuts off such rebels from the
midst of his people.
It should be clear that if we choose to worship Yahweh we should worship only Yahweh. For
Yahweh does not accept profane worship of him, which is the worship of idols mixed with
the worship of Yahweh.
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Husbands Should Not Embrace Prostitute Wives
Seeing that idolatry is prostitution, Yahweh here shows us that he does not receive into his
embrace a prostitute wife. If he is to receive a wife into his embrace, that wife must indeed be
fully faithful to Yahweh. But if the wife thinks that she can prostitute herself with idols, and
still be received into Yahweh's embrace, Yahweh ensures that that wife is estranged from
him.
Learning from Yahweh, husbands should not receive into their embrace wives who prostitute
themselves. For that is an abomination and a profanity. Such wives should be put away from
them, and remain estranged from them, while they continue to prostitute themselves. The
only wife a husband should receive into his embrace is one who is faithful to him and does
not prostitute herself.
Yahweh Reduced The Provisions For His Adulterous Wife
•
Ezekiel 16:1-63
16:1
Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 16:2Son of man, cause Yerushalayim
to know her abominations; 16:3and say, Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh to
Yerushalayim: Your birth and your birth is of the land of the Kana`ani; the Amori
was your father, and your mother was a Hittite. 16:4As for your birth, in the day you
were born your navel was not cut, neither were you washed in water to cleanse you;
you weren't salted at all, nor swaddled at all. 16:5No eye pitied you, to do any of these
things to you, to have compassion on you; but you were cast out in the open field, for
that your person was abhorred, in the day that you were born.
16:6
When I passed by you, and saw you weltering in your blood, I said to you, Though
you are in your blood, live; yes, I said to you, Though you are in your blood, live. 16:7I
caused you to multiply as that which grows in the field, and you did increase and wax
great, and you attained to excellent ornament; your breasts were fashioned, and your
hair was grown; yet you were naked and bare. 16:8Now when I passed by you, and
looked at you, behold, your time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over you,
and covered your nakedness: yes, I swore to you, and entered into a covenant with
you, says the Sovereign Yahweh, and you became mine.
16:9
Then washed I you with water; yes, I thoroughly washed away your blood from
you, and I anointed you with oil. 16:10I clothed you also with embroidered work, and
shod you with sealskin, and I girded you about with fine linen, and covered you with
silk. 16:11I decked you with ornaments, and I put bracelets on your hands, and a chain
on your neck. 16:12I put a ring on your nose, and ear-rings in your ears, and a
beautiful crown on your head. 16:13Thus was you decked with gold and silver; and
your clothing was of fine linen, and silk, and embroidered work; you ate fine flour,
and honey, and oil; and you were exceeding beautiful, and you did prosper to royal
estate. 16:14Your renown went forth among the nations for your beauty; for it was
perfect, through my majesty which I had put on you, says the Sovereign Yahweh.
16:15
But you did trust in your beauty, and played the prostitute because of your
renown, and poured out your prostitution on everyone who passed by; his it was.
16:16
You did take of your garments, and made for you high places decked with various
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colors, and played the prostitute on them: the like things shall not come, neither shall
it be so. 16:17You did also take your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which
I had given you, and made for you images of men, and did play the prostitute with
them; 16:18and you took your embroidered garments, and covered them, and did set my
oil and my incense before them. 16:19My bread also which I gave you, fine flour, and
oil, and honey, with which I fed you, you did even set it before them for a sweet savor;
and thus it was, says the Sovereign Yahweh. 16:20Moreover you have taken your sons
and your daughters, whom you have borne to me, and these have you sacrificed to
them to be devoured. Were your prostitution a small matter, 16:21that you have slain
my children, and delivered them up, in causing them to pass through the fire to them?
16:22
In all your abominations and your prostitution you have not remembered the days
of your youth, when you were naked and bare, and were weltering in your blood.
16:23
It is happen after all your wickedness, (woe, woe to you! says the Sovereign
Yahweh,) 16:24that you have built to you a vaulted place, and have made you a lofty
place in every street. 16:25You have built your lofty place at the head of every way, and
have made your beauty an abomination, and have opened your feet to everyone who
passed by, and multiplied your prostitution. 16:26You have also committed sexual
immorality with the Mitzrim, your neighbors, great of flesh; and have multiplied your
prostitution, to provoke me to anger. 16:27See therefore, I have stretched out my hand
over you, and have diminished your ordinary food, and delivered you to the will of
those who hate you, the daughters of the Pelishtim, who are ashamed of your lewd
way.
16:28
You have played the prostitute also with the Ashshur, because you were
insatiable; yes, you have played the prostitute with them, and yet you weren't
satisfied. 16:29You have moreover multiplied your prostitution to the land of traffic, to
Kasdim; and yet you weren't satisfied herewith. 16:30How weak is your heart, says the
Sovereign Yahweh, seeing you do all these things, the work of an impudent prostitute;
16:31
in that you build your vaulted place at the head of every way, and make your lofty
place in every street, and have not been as a prostitute, in that you scorn hire.
16:32
A wife who commits adultery! Who takes strangers instead of her husband!
They give gifts to all prostitutes; but you give your gifts to all your lovers, and
bribe them, that they may come to you on every side for your prostitution. 16:34You are
different from other women in your prostitution, in that none follows you to play the
prostitute; and whereas you give hire, and no hire is given to you, therefore you are
different.
16:33
16:35
Therefore, prostitute, hear the word of Yahweh: 16:36Thus says the Sovereign
Yahweh, Because your filthiness was poured out, and your nakedness uncovered
through your prostitution with your lovers; and because of all the idols of your
abominations, and for the blood of your children, that you gave to them; 16:37therefore
see, I will gather all your lovers, with whom you have taken pleasure, and all those
who you have loved, with all those who you have hated; I will even gather them
against you on every side, and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see
all your nakedness. 16:38I will judge you, as women who break wedlock and shed blood
are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy. 16:39I will also
give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your vaulted place, and break
down your lofty places; and they shall strip you of your clothes, and take your
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beautiful jewels; and they shall leave you naked and bare. 16:40They shall also bring
up a company against you, and they shall stone you with stones, and thrust you
through with their swords. 16:41They shall burn your houses with fire, and execute
judgments on you in the sight of many women; and I will cause you to cease from
playing the prostitute, and you shall also give no hire any more. 16:42So will I cause my
wrath toward you to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from you, and I will be quiet,
and will be no more angry.
16:43
Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have raged against
me in all these things; therefore, behold, I also will bring your way on your head,
says the Sovereign Yahweh: and you shall not commit this lewdness with all your
abominations. 16:44Behold, everyone who uses proverbs shall use this proverb against
you, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter. 16:45You are the daughter of your
mother, who loathes her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your
sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children: your mother was a Hittite, and
your father an Amori. 16:46Your elder sister is Shomron, who dwells at your left hand,
she and her daughters; and your younger sister, who dwells at your right hand, is
Sedom and her daughters. 16:47Yet have you not walked in their ways, nor done after
their abominations; but, as if that were a very little thing, you were more corrupt than
they in all your ways.
16:48
As I live, says the Sovereign Yahweh, Sedom your sister has not done, she nor her
daughters, as you have done, you and your daughters. 16:49Behold, this was the
iniquity of your sister Sedom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in
her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
16:50
They were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them
away as I saw good.
16:51
Neither has Shomron committed half of your sins; but you have multiplied your
abominations more than they, and have justified your sisters by all your abominations
which you have done. 16:52You also, bear you your own shame, in that you have given
judgment for your sisters; through your sins that you have committed more
abominable than they, they are more righteous than you: yes, be you also
confounded, and bear your shame, in that you have justified your sisters.
16:53
I will turn again their captivity, the captivity of Sedom and her daughters, and the
captivity of Shomron and her daughters, and the captivity of your captives in the
midst of them; 16:54that you may bear your own shame, and may be ashamed because
of all that you have done, in that you are a comfort to them. 16:55Your sisters, Sedom
and her daughters, shall return to their former estate; and Shomron and her
daughters shall return to their former estate; and you and your daughters shall return
to your former estate. 16:56For your sister Sedom was not mentioned by your mouth in
the day of your pride, 16:57before your wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the
reproach of the daughters of Aram, and of all who are round about her, the daughters
of the Pelishtim, who do despite to you round about.
16:58
You have borne your lewdness and your abominations, says Yahweh. 16:59For thus
says the Sovereign Yahweh: I will also deal with you as you have done, who have
despised the oath in breaking the covenant. 16:60Nevertheless I will remember my
covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish to you an everlasting
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covenant. 16:61Then shall you remember your ways, and be ashamed, when you shall
receive your sisters, your elder sisters and your younger; and I will give them to you
for daughters, but not by your covenant. 16:62I will establish my covenant with you;
and you shall know that I am Yahweh; 16:63that you may remember, and be
confounded, and never open your mouth any more, because of your shame, when I
have forgiven you all that you have done, says the Sovereign Yahweh.
16:27 shows that Yahweh DIMINISHED the ordinary food that he gave to his adulterous
wife. Seeing that Yahweh's actions are righteous, it appears that a husband who diminishes
the ordinary food of his adulterous wife is not sinning against her. For, in truth, it is his
adulterous wife who is sinning against him by her treachery and rebellion. And the husband
who reduces the food he gives to such a wife does not sin against her!
This implies that if a wife desires to receive due food from her husband she must indeed be
faithful and obedient to her husband. But if she becomes faithless and rebellious, and her
husband does not divorce her, he does not wrong her if he reduces her portion of food. It is
therefore not sin for a husband to reduce the food he gives to his adulterous and rebellious
wife.
Yahweh's Dealings With Rebellious And Prostituting Yisrael
•
Ezekiel 20:1-44
20:1
It happened in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that
certain of the Zakenim of Yisra'el came to inquire of Yahweh, and sat before me.
20:2
The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 20:3Son of man, speak to the Zakenim of
Yisra'el, and tell them, Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: Is it to inquire of me that
you have come? As I live, says the Sovereign Yahweh, I will not be inquired of by you.
20:4
Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Cause them to know the
abominations of their fathers; 20:5and tell them, Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: In
the day when I chose Yisra'el, and swore to the seed of the house of Ya`akov, and
made myself known to them in the land of Mitzrayim, when I swore to them, saying, I
am Yahweh your Mighty One; 20:6in that day I swore to them, to bring them forth out
of the land of Mitzrayim into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with
milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands. 20:7I said to them, Cast you away every
man the abominations of his eyes, and don't defile yourselves with the idols of
Mitzrayim; I am Yahweh your Mighty One. 20:8But they rebelled against me, and
would not listen to me; they did not every man cast away the abominations of their
eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Mitzrayim. Then I said I would pour out my
wrath on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of
Mitzrayim. 20:9But I worked for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the
sight of the nations, among which they were, in whose sight I made myself known to
them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Mitzrayim. 20:10So I caused them to go
forth out of the land of Mitzrayim, and brought them into the wilderness.
20:11
I gave them my statutes, and showed them my ordinances, which if a man does, he
shall live in them. 20:12Moreover also I gave them my Shabbatot, to be a sign between
me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them. 20:13But the
house of Yisra'el rebelled against me in the wilderness: they didn't walk in my
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statutes, and they rejected my ordinances, which if a man keep, he shall live in them;
and my Shabbatot they greatly profaned. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on
them in the wilderness, to consume them. 20:14But I worked for my name's sake, that it
should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out.
20:15
Moreover also I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into
the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of
all lands; 20:16because they rejected my ordinances, and didn't walk in my statutes,
and profaned my Shabbatot: for their heart went after their idols. 20:17Nevertheless my
eye spared them, and I didn't destroy them, neither did I make a full end of them in
the wilderness. 20:18I said to their children in the wilderness, Don't you walk in the
statutes of your fathers, neither observe their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with
their idols. 20:19I am Yahweh your Mighty One: walk in my statutes, and keep my
ordinances, and do them; 20:20and make my Shabbatot holy; and they shall be a sign
between me and you, that you may know that I am Yahweh your Mighty One. 20:21But
the children rebelled against me; they didn't walk in my statutes, neither kept my
ordinances to do them, which if a man do, he shall live in them; they profaned my
Shabbatot. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them, to accomplish my anger
against them in the wilderness. 20:22Nevertheless I withdrew my hand, and worked for
my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose
sight I brought them forth.
20:23
Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the
nations, and disperse them through the countries; 20:24because they had not executed
my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes, and had profaned my Shabbatot, and
their eyes were after their fathers' idols. 20:25Moreover also I gave them statutes that
were not good, and ordinances in which they should not live; 20:26and I polluted them
in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that opens the womb,
that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am Yahweh.
20:27
Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Yisra'el, and tell them, Thus says the
Sovereign Yahweh: In this moreover have your fathers blasphemed me, in that they
have committed a trespass against me. 20:28For when I had brought them into the land,
which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill, and every thick tree, and
they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their
offering; there also they made their sweet savor, and they poured out there their
drink-offerings. 20:29Then I said to them, What means the high place whereunto you
go? So the name of it is called Bamah to this day.
20:30
Therefore tell the house of Yisra'el, Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: Do you
pollute yourselves after the manner of your fathers? And play you the prostitute after
their abominations? 20:31And when you offer your gifts, when you make your sons to
pass through the fire, do you pollute yourselves with all your idols to this day? And
shall I be inquired of by you, house of Yisra'el? As I live, says the Sovereign Yahweh,
I will not be inquired of by you; 20:32and that which comes into your mind shall not be
at all, in that you say, We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to
serve wood and stone.
20:33
As I live, says the Sovereign Yahweh, surely with a mighty hand, and with an
outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, will I be king over you: 20:34and I will
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bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries in which you
are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath
poured out; 20:35and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there will I
enter into judgment with you face to face. 20:36Like as I entered into judgment with
your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Mitzrayim, so will I enter into judgment
with you, says the Sovereign Yahweh. 20:37I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I
will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 20:38and I will purge out from among you
the rebels, and those who disobey against me; I will bring them forth out of the land
where they sojourn, but they shall not enter into Eretz-Yisra'el: and you shall know
that I am Yahweh.
20:39
As for you, house of Yisra'el, thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: Go you, serve
everyone his idols, and hereafter also, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name
shall you no more profane with your gifts, and with your idols. 20:40For in my holy
mountain, in the mountain of the height of Yisra'el, says the Sovereign Yahweh, there
shall all the house of Yisra'el, all of them, serve me in the land: there will I accept
them, and there will I require your offerings, and the first-fruits of your offerings,
with all your holy things. 20:41As a sweet savor will I accept you, when I bring you out
from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries in which you have been
scattered; and I will be sanctified in you in the sight of the nations. 20:42You shall know
that I am Yahweh, when I shall bring you into Eretz-Yisra'el, into the country which I
swore to give to your fathers. 20:43There shall you remember your ways, and all your
doings, in which you have polluted yourselves; and you shall loathe yourselves in
your own sight for all your evils that you have committed. 20:44You shall know that I
am Yahweh, when I have dealt with you for my name's sake, not according to your
evil ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, you house of Yisra'el, says the
Sovereign Yahweh.
An account of how and why Yahweh dealt with prostituting and rebellious Yisrael in the
manner that he did.
Rebels Not To Inherit The Promised Land
20:37-38 notes, speaking of Yahweh's future actions, that he will bring out Yisraelites from
the lands of their sojourning, but he will not bring into the land of Yisrael all of the
Yisraelites that he brings out of the various lands that they sojourn in. For he will identify the
rebels among the Yisraelites, those who disobey against him, those who prostitute themselves
against him, to purge them out from among Yisrael. In other words, it appears that these
rebellious and disobedient prostitutes will die in the wilderness, thereby suffering the fate of
prostitutes!
Yahweh's Judgement On Idolatrous And Sexually Immoral Yisrael
•
Ezekiel 22:1-15
22:1
Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 22:2You, son of man, will you
judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations.
22:3
You shall say, Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: A city that sheds blood in the
midst of her, that her time may come, and that makes idols against herself to defile
her! 22:4You have become guilty in your blood that you have shed, and are defiled in
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your idols which you have made; and you have caused your days to draw near, and
are come even to your years: therefore have I made you a reproach to the nations,
and a mocking to all the countries. 22:5Those who are near, and those who are far
from you, shall mock you, you infamous one and full of tumult. 22:6Behold, the princes
of Yisra'el, everyone according to his power, have been in you to shed blood. 22:7In
you have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of you have they dealt by
oppression with the sojourner; in you have they wronged the fatherless and the
widow. 22:8You have despised my holy things, and have profaned my Shabbatot.
22:9
Slanderous men have been in you to shed blood; and in you they have eaten on the
mountains: in the midst of you they have committed lewdness. 22:10In you have they
uncovered their fathers' nakedness; in you have they humbled her who was unclean in
her impurity. 22:11One has committed abomination with his neighbor's wife; and
another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in you has humbled his
sister, his father's daughter. 22:12In you have they taken bribes to shed blood; you have
taken interest and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by
oppression, and have forgotten me, says the Sovereign Yahweh. 22:13Behold, therefore,
I have struck my hand at your dishonest gain which you have made, and at your
blood which has been in the midst of you. 22:14Can your heart endure, or can your
hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken it, and
will do it. 22:15I will scatter you among the nations, and disperse you through the
countries; and I will consume your filthiness out of you.
The Judgement Of Idolaters And Other Wicked People
•
Ezekiel 23:1-49
23:1
The word of Yahweh came again to me, saying, 23:2Son of man, there were two
women, the daughters of one mother: 23:3and they played the prostitute in Mitzrayim;
they played the prostitute in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there
was handled the bosom of their virginity. 23:4The names of them were Aholah the
elder, and Aholivah her sister: and they became mine, and they bore sons and
daughters. As for their names, Shomron is Aholah, and Yerushalayim Aholivah.
23:5
Aholah played the prostitute when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on
the Ashshur her neighbors, 23:6who were clothed with blue, governors and rulers, all
of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. 23:7She bestowed her
prostitution on them, the choicest men of Ashshur all of them; and on whoever she
doted, with all their idols she defiled herself. 23:8Neither has she left her prostitution
since the days of Mitzrayim; for in her youth they lay with her, and they handled the
bosom of her virginity; and they poured out their prostitution on her. 23:9Therefore I
delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Ashshur, on whom she
doted. 23:10These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters; and
her they killed with the sword: and she became a byword among women; for they
executed judgments on her.
23:11
Her sister Aholivah saw this, yet was she more corrupt in her doting than she, and
in her prostitution which were more than the prostitution of her sister. 23:12She doted
on the Ashshur, governors and rulers, her neighbors, clothed most gorgeously,
horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. 23:13I saw that she was
defiled; they both took one way. 23:14She increased her prostitution; for she saw men
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portrayed on the wall, the images of the Kasdim portrayed with vermilion, 23:15girded
with girdles on their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them princes to
look on, after the likeness of the Bavlites in Kasdim, the land of their birth. 23:16As
soon as she saw them she doted on them, and sent messengers to them into Kasdim.
23:17
The Bavlites came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their
prostitution, and she was polluted with them, and her soul was alienated from them.
23:18
So she uncovered her prostitution, and uncovered her nakedness: then my soul
was alienated from her, like as my soul was alienated from her sister.
23:19
Yet she multiplied her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth, in which
she had played the prostitute in the land of Mitzrayim. 23:20She doted on their
paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of donkeys, and whose issue is like the issue of
horses. 23:21Thus you called to memory the lewdness of your youth, in the handling of
your bosom by the Mitzrim for the breasts of your youth.
23:22
Therefore, Aholivah, thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: Behold, I will raise up your
lovers against you, from whom your soul is alienated, and I will bring them against
you on every side: 23:23the Bavlites and all the Kasdim, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and
all the Ashshur with them; desirable young men, governors and rulers all of them,
princes and men of renown, all of them riding on horses. 23:24They shall come against
you with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with a company of peoples; they shall
set themselves against you with buckler and shield and helmet round about; and I will
commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments.
23:25
I will set my jealousy against you, and they shall deal with you in fury; they shall
take away your nose and your ears; and your residue shall fall by the sword: they
shall take your sons and your daughters; and your residue shall be devoured by the
fire. 23:26They shall also strip you of your clothes, and take away your beautiful jewels.
23:27
Thus will I make your lewdness to cease from you, and your prostitution brought
from the land of Mitzrayim; so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them, nor
remember Mitzrayim any more.
23:28
For thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: Behold, I will deliver you into the hand of
them whom you hate, into the hand of them from whom your soul is alienated; 23:29and
they shall deal with you in hatred, and shall take away all your labor, and shall leave
you naked and bare; and the nakedness of your prostitution shall be uncovered, both
your lewdness and your prostitution. 23:30These things shall be done to you, because
you have played the prostitute after the nations, and because you are polluted with
their idols. 23:31You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore will I give her cup
into your hand. 23:32Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: You shall drink of your sister's
cup, which is deep and large; you shall be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it
contains much. 23:33You shall be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of
astonishment and desolation, with the cup of your sister Shomron. 23:34You shall even
drink it and drain it out, and you shall gnaw the broken pieces of it, and shall tear
your breasts; for I have spoken it, says the Sovereign Yahweh. 23:35Therefore thus says
the Sovereign Yahweh: Because you have forgotten me, and cast me behind your
back, therefore bear you also your lewdness and your prostitution.
23:36
Yahweh said moreover to me: Son of man, will you judge Aholah and Aholivah?
Then declare to them their abominations. 23:37For they have committed adultery, and
blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery; and they
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have also caused their sons, whom they bore to me, to pass through the fire to them to
be devoured. 23:38Moreover this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary
in the same day, and have profaned my Shabbatot. 23:39For when they had slain their
children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it;
and, behold, thus have they done in the midst of my house. 23:40Furthermore you have
sent for men who come from far, to whom a messenger was sent, and, behold, they
came; for whom you did wash yourself, paint your eyes, and deck yourself with
ornaments, 23:41and sit on a stately bed, with a table prepared before it, whereupon
you did set my incense and my oil. 23:42The voice of a multitude being at ease was with
her: and with men of the common sort were brought Sava'im from the wilderness; and
they put bracelets on the hands of them twain, and beautiful crowns on their heads.
23:43
Then said I of her who was old in adulteries, Now will they play the prostitute with
her, and she with them. 23:44They went in to her, as they go in to a prostitute: so went
they in to Aholah and to Aholivah, the lewd women.
23:45
Righteous men, they shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and with
the judgment of women who shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is
in their hands. 23:46For thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: I will bring up a company
against them, and will give them to be tossed back and forth and robbed. 23:47The
company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they
shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire. 23:48Thus
will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do
after your lewdness. 23:49They shall recompense your lewdness on you, and you shall
bear the sins of your idols; and you shall know that I am the Sovereign Yahweh.
Yahweh's Judgement On Idolatrous And Sexually Immoral Yisraelites
•
Ezekiel 33:23-29
33:23
The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 33:24Son of man, they who inhabit those
waste places in Eretz-Yisra'el speak, saying, Avraham was one, and he inherited the
land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. 33:25Therefore tell them,
Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: You eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes to your
idols, and shed blood: and shall you possess the land? 33:26You stand on your sword,
you work abomination, and you defile everyone his neighbor's wife: and shall you
possess the land? 33:27Thus shall you tell them, Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: As I
live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword; and him who is
in the open field will I give to the animals to be devoured; and those who are in the
strongholds and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. 33:28I will make the land a
desolation and an astonishment; and the pride of her power shall cease; and the
mountains of Yisra'el shall be desolate, so that none shall pass through. 33:29Then
shall they know that I am Yahweh, when I have made the land a desolation and an
astonishment, because of all their abominations which they have committed.
Yahweh Will Receive Yisrael Back Only After Her Cleansing
•
Ezekiel 36:16-38
36:16
Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 36:17Son of man, when the house
of Yisra'el lived in their own land, they defiled it by their way and by their doings:
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their way before me was as the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. 36:18Therefore
I poured out my wrath on them for the blood which they had poured out on the land,
and because they had defiled it with their idols; 36:19and I scattered them among the
nations, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and
according to their doings I judged them. 36:20When they came to the nations, where
they went, they profaned my holy name; in that men said of them, These are the
people of Yahweh, and are gone forth out of his land. 36:21But I had regard for my holy
name, which the house of Yisra'el had profaned among the nations, where they went.
36:22
Therefore tell the house of Yisra'el, Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: I don't do
this for your sake, house of Yisra'el, but for my holy name, which you have profaned
among the nations, where you went. 36:23I will sanctify my great name, which has been
profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in the midst of them; and the
nations shall know that I am Yahweh, says the Sovereign Yahweh, when I shall be
sanctified in you before their eyes. 36:24For I will take you from among the nations,
and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. 36:25I
will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and
from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 36:26A new heart also will I give you, and a new
spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and
I will give you a heart of flesh. 36:27I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to
walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my ordinances, and do them. 36:28You shall
dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be
your Mighty One. 36:29I will save you from all your uncleanness: and I will call for the
grain, and will multiply it, and lay no famine on you. 36:30I will multiply the fruit of the
tree, and the increase of the field, that you may receive no more the reproach of
famine among the nations. 36:31Then shall you remember your evil ways, and your
doings that were not good; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your
iniquities and for your abominations. 36:32Not for your sake do I this, says the
Sovereign Yahweh, be it known to you: be ashamed and confounded for your ways,
house of Yisra'el.
36:33
Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: In the day that I cleanse you from all your
iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be built.
36:34
The land that was desolate shall be tilled, whereas it was a desolation in the sight
of all who passed by. 36:35They shall say, This land that was desolate is become like
the garden of `Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are fortified and
inhabited. 36:36Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that I,
Yahweh, have built the ruined places, and planted that which was desolate: I,
Yahweh, have spoken it, and I will do it.
36:37
Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh: For this, moreover, will I be inquired of by the
house of Yisra'el, to do it for them: I will increase them with men like a flock. 36:38As
the flock for sacrifice, as the flock of Yerushalayim in her appointed feasts, so shall
the waste cities be filled with flocks of men; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.
36:25-27 shows that Yahweh will receive idolatrous and prostituting Yisrael back to himself
AFTER he has cleansed Yisrael of all her impurities and uncleanness. He will give Yisrael a
new heart and a new spirit, and cause Yisrael to walk in his statutes and ordinances.
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36:28-31 shows that Yahweh will then bless Yisrael greatly, after her cleansing and renewed
faithfulness.
Learning from Yahweh it appears that husbands should be willing to receive back their errant
wives AFTER they are cleansed of their defilement on account of their prostitution. If the
repentant wives are truly cleansed, and have a new heart and spirit, doing all of Yahweh's
commandments and appropriately honouring their husbands, they should be received back.
Yahweh Does Not Dwell In The Midst Of Prostitution
•
Ezekiel 43:1-9
43:1
Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looks toward the east.
Behold, the glory of the Mighty One of Yisra'el came from the way of the east: and
his voice was like the sound of many waters; and the eretz shined with his glory. 43:3It
was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the
vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision
that I saw by the river Kevar; and I fell on my face. 43:4The glory of Yahweh came into
the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. 43:5The Spirit took
me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of Yahweh filled
the house. 43:6I heard one speaking to me out of the house; and a man stood by me.
43:7
He said to me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne, and the place of the soles
of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Yisra'el forever. The
house of Yisra'el shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by
their prostitution, and by the dead bodies of their kings in their high places; 43:8in
their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their door-post beside my doorpost, and there was but the wall between me and them; and they have defiled my holy
name by their abominations which they have committed: why I have consumed them
in my anger. 43:9Now let them put away their prostitution, and the dead bodies of their
kings, far from me; and I will dwell in the midst of them forever.
43:2
43:9 shows that it is only when we put away our prostitution that Yahweh dwells within our
midst, even forever! In other words, where prostitution exists, Yahweh does not dwell.
Therefore, if we desire that Yahweh dwell within our midst, we must indeed put away our
prostitution and remain holy. For Yahweh, who is holy, dwells only in holiness and amongst
holy people.
Idolaters Must Pay A Penalty For Their Abominable Practice
•
Ezekiel 44:6-16
44:6
You shall tell the rebellious, even to the house of Yisra'el, Thus says the Sovereign
Yahweh: you house of Yisra'el, let it suffice you of all your abominations, 44:7in that
you have brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to
be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat
and the blood, and they have broken my covenant, to add to all your abominations.
44:8
You have not kept the charge of my holy things; but you have set keepers of my
charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
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44:9
Thus says the Sovereign Yahweh, No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and
uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any foreigners who are
among the children of Yisra'el. 44:10But the Levites who went far from me, when
Yisra'el went astray, who went astray from me after their idols, they shall bear their
iniquity. 44:11Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates
of the house, and ministering in the house: they shall kill the burnt offering and the
sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them.
44:12
Because they ministered to them before their idols, and became a stumbling block
of iniquity to the house of Yisra'el; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them,
says the Sovereign Yahweh, and they shall bear their iniquity. 44:13They shall not come
near to me, to execute the office of Kohen to me, nor to come near to any of my holy
things, to the things that are most holy; but they shall bear their shame, and their
abominations which they have committed. 44:14Yet will I make them keepers of the
charge of the house, for all the service of it, and for all that shall be done therein.
44:15
But the Kohanim the Levites, the sons of Tzadok, who kept the charge of my
sanctuary when the children of Yisra'el went astray from me, they shall come near to
me to minister to me; and they shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the
blood, says the Sovereign Yahweh: 44:16they shall enter into my sanctuary, and they
shall come near to my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge.
44:10 shows that those who engage in idolatry have to pay a penalty for their abominable and
profane practice.
The penalty the Levites who departed from Yahweh and went after idolatry pay and will
continue pay is removal from the priestly office. Just as Shaul was removed from his office
and position as Yisrael's king, on account of his rebellion (idolatry), so also have some
priestly Levites been removed from the priestly office and position, on account of their
idolatry.
Forgiven Former Rebels Should Be Demoted From Their Former Offices
Nevertheless, in forgiving them their iniquity, Yahweh will allow them to work in his
sanctuary, but no longer in the exalted priestly office they previously functioned in. In other
words, they will serve Yahweh in a lesser capacity, having forsaken the higher capacity
through the abomination of their idolatry.
Learning from Yahweh it appears that should one in a high office commit idolatry and
prostitution, and later repent of that idolatry and prostitution, that one should be forgiven for
the sin committed. Nevertheless, they should not be received into the high office they
previously occupied. They should be placed in a lesser office, and serve in that lesser
capacity.
Rebellion Is Prostitution
•
Hosea 1:2
1:2
When Yahweh spoke at the first by Hoshea, Yahweh said to Hoshea, Go, take to you
a wife of prostitution and children of prostitution; for the land does commit great
prostitution, departing from Yahweh.
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The manner one commits prostitution is by departing from Yahweh. Therefore anyone who is
rebellious or disobedient against Yahweh is indeed committing prostitution.
Husbands Are Not Obliged To Provide For Their Unfaithful And Disobedient
Wives
•
Hosea 2:1-23
2:1
Say you to your brothers, `Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruchamah. 2:2Contend with
your mother, contend; for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband; and let her
put away her prostitution from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts;
2:3
lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a
wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and kill her with thirst. 2:4Yes, on her children
will I have no mercy; for they are children of prostitution; 2:5for their mother has
played the prostitute; she who conceived them has done shamefully; for she said, I
will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax,
my oil and my drink. 2:6Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and I
will build a wall against her, that she shall not find her paths. 2:7She shall follow after
her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find
them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it
better with me than now.
2:8
For she did not know that I gave her the grain, and the new wine, and the oil, and
multiplied to her silver and gold, which they used for Ba`al. 2:9Therefore will I take
back my grain in the time of it, and my new wine in the season of it, and will pluck
away my wool and my flax which should have covered her nakedness. 2:10Now will I
uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of my
hand. 2:11I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feasts, her new moons, and her
Shabbatot, and all her solemn assemblies. 2:12I will lay waste her vines and her figtrees, whereof she has said, These are my hire that my lovers have given me; and I
will make them a forest, and the animals of the field shall eat them. 2:13I will visit on
her the days of the Ba`alim, to which she burned incense, when she decked herself
with her earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, and forgot me, says
Yahweh.
2:14
Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak
comfortably to her. 2:15I will give her vineyards from there, and the valley of `Akhor
for a door of hope; and she shall make answer there, as in the days of her youth, and
as in the day when she came up out of the land of Mitzrayim. 2:16It shall be at that day,
says Yahweh, that you shall call me Ishi, and shall call me no more Ba`ali. 2:17For I
will take away the names of the Ba`alim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be
mentioned by their name.
2:18
In that day will I make a covenant for them with the animals of the field, and with
the birds of the sky, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the
bow and the sword and the battle out of the land, and will make them to lie down
safely. 2:19I will betroth you to me forever; yes, I will betroth you to me in
righteousness, and in justice, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. 2:20I will even
betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know Yahweh.
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2:21
It shall happen in that day, I will answer, says Yahweh, I will answer the heavens,
and they shall answer the earth; 2:22and the earth shall answer the grain, and the new
wine, and the oil; and they shall answer Yizre`el. 2:23I will sow her to me in the earth;
and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; and I will tell those who
were not my people, You are my people; and they shall say, You are my Mighty One.
Yahweh's dealing with Yisrael shows that when Yisrael is faithful and obedient to him he
gives her an abundance of food, clothing and other goods. But when Yisrael is unfaithful and
rebellious, persisting in adultery, prostitution and idolatry, he removes from her the food,
clothing and other goods that he had given her.
Seeing that Yahweh's conduct is righteousness, it appears to me that a husband who
diminishes the food, clothing and other goods that he has been giving his adulterous wife
does no wrong. For in this he is simply following Yahweh's example, a righteous example.
It therefore appears that there is no obligation upon a husband to provide for his unfaithful
and disobedient wife! Implying that the wife who desires to be provided for by her husband
must indeed be faithful and obedient to him.
Yahweh's Controversy In Circumstances Where Faithlessness And Adultery
Are Rife
•
Hosea 4:1-19
4:1
Hear the word of Yahweh, you children of Yisra'el; for Yahweh has a controversy
with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor goodness, nor
knowledge of the Mighty One in the land. 4:2There is nothing but swearing and
breaking faith, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery; they break out, and
blood touches blood. 4:3Therefore shall the land mourn, and everyone who dwells
therein shall languish, with the animals of the field and the birds of the sky; yes, the
fish of the sea also shall be taken away. 4:4Yet let no man strive, neither let any man
reprove; for your people are as those who strive with the Kohen. 4:5You shall stumble
in the day, and the prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy
your mother.
4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected
knowledge, I will also reject you, that you shall be no Kohen to me: seeing you have
forgotten the law of your Mighty One, I also will forget your children. 4:7As they were
multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame. 4:8They
feed on the sin of my people, and set their heart on their iniquity. 4:9It shall be, like
people, like Kohen; and I will punish them for their ways, and will requite them their
doings. 4:10They shall eat, and not have enough; they shall play the prostitute, and
shall not increase; because they have left off taking heed to Yahweh.
4:11
Prostitution and wine and new wine take away the understanding. 4:12My people
ask counsel at their stock, and their staff declares to them; for the spirit of
prostitution has caused them to err, and they have played the prostitute, departing
from under their Mighty One. 4:13They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and burn
incense on the hills, under oaks and poplars and terebinths, because the shadow of it
is good: therefore your daughters play the prostitute, and your brides commit
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adultery. 4:14I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute, nor your
brides when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go apart with prostitutes,
and they sacrifice with the prostitutes; and the people that does not understand shall
be overthrown. 4:15Though you, Yisra'el, play the prostitute, yet don't let Yahudah
offend; and don't you come to Gilgal, neither go up to Beit-Aven, nor swear, As
Yahweh lives. 4:16For Yisra'el has behaved himself stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer:
now will Yahweh feed them as a lamb in a large place. 4:17Efrayim is joined to idols;
let him alone. 4:18Their drink is become sour; they play the prostitute continually; her
rulers dearly love shame. 4:19The wind has wrapped her up in its wings; and they shall
be put to shame because of their sacrifices.
4:1-2 shows that Yahweh has a controversy with the inhabitants of a land where breaking
faith and adultery is rife.
4:3 shows that Yahweh punishes such a land, and the inhabitants who dwell therein.
4:10 shows that Yahweh removes the fruitfulness of both the people and the land such people
dwell in, when they commit prostitution.
Prostitution Removes Understanding
4:11 shows that prostitution takes away the understanding that existed prior to the
prostitution. In other words, a curse of prostitution is the setting in of folly, among those who
partake of prostitution.
The Spirit Of Prostitution
4:12 shows HOW folly and error creeps into the lives of those who commit prostitution. The
spirit of prostitution causes these prostitutes to err and partake of folly!
In other words, those who partake of prostitution invite the spirit of prostitution into their
lives to bring about errors and folly in their lives, thus removing the understanding that
resided there previously. Engaging in prostitution is folly, which invites the spirit of
prostitution to both take away understanding and replace it with deep folly and error!
4:13 equates prostitution and adultery with idolatry.
Defiled Rebels And Prostitutes
•
Hosea 5:1-15
5:1
Hear this, you Kohanim, and listen, house of Yisra'el, and give ear, house of the
king; for to you pertains the judgment; for you have been a snare at Mitzpah, and a
net spread on Tavor. 5:2The rebels have gone deep in making slaughter; but I
discipline them all. 5:3I know Efrayim, and Yisra'el is not hidden from me; for now,
Efrayim, you have played the prostitute, Yisra'el is defiled. 5:4Their doings will not
allow them to turn to their Mighty One; for the spirit of prostitution is within them,
and they don't know Yahweh. 5:5The pride of Yisra'el does testify to his face: therefore
Yisra'el and Efrayim shall stumble in their iniquity; Yahudah also shall stumble with
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them. 5:6They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Yahweh; but they
shall not find him: he has withdrawn himself from them. 5:7They have dealt
treacherously against Yahweh; for they have borne strange children: now shall the
new moon devour them with their fields.
5:8
Blow you the cornet in Gevah, and the shofar in Ramah: sound an alarm at BeitAven; behind you, Binyamin. 5:9Efrayim shall become a desolation in the day of
rebuke: among the tribes of Yisra'el have I made known that which shall surely be.
5:10
The princes of Yahudah are like those who remove the landmark: I will pour out
my wrath on them like water. 5:11Efrayim is oppressed, he is crushed in judgment;
because he was content to walk after man's command. 5:12Therefore am I to Efrayim
as a moth, and to the house of Yahudah as rottenness. 5:13When Efrayim saw his
sickness, and Yahudah saw his wound, then went Efrayim to Ashshur, and sent to king
Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither will he cure you of your wound. 5:14For I
will be to Efrayim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Yahudah: I, even I,
will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver. 5:15I will go
and return to my place, until they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face: in
their affliction they will seek me earnestly.
5:2 speaks about rebels.
5:3 speaks about those who play the prostitute being defiled.
5:4 explains why defiled prostitutes do not turn to Yahweh. They have within them the spirit
of prostitution, and also, they do not know Yahweh. In other words, those who have within
them the spirit of prostitution, including the spirits of other wickedness categorised together
with prostitution, do not turn to Yahweh while they have these spirits within them! Implying
that for such people to turn to Yahweh they must first be delivered of these spirits within
them!
5:5 shows that those who walk in pride stumble in iniquity.
Yahweh Withdraws From Proud Prostitutes
5:6-7 shows that Yahweh withdraws from proud prostitutes who commit iniquity. Even
though such proud prostitutes within whom is the spirit of prostitution might seek Yahweh,
they will not find him while they remain in their iniquity.
5:15 indicates that the time when these proud prostitutes have a good likelihood of finding
Yahweh is when they repent of their wickedness. For they must first acknowledge their
offence of pride and prostitution, and depart from it.
Judgement On Practitioners Of Prostitution And Witchcraft
•
Nahum 3:1-6
3:1
Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. The prey doesn't depart.
The noise of the whip, the noise of the rattling of wheels, prancing horses, and
bounding chariots, 3:3the horseman mounting, and the flashing sword, the glittering
spear, and a multitude of slain, and a great heap of corpses, and there is no end of
3:2
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the bodies. They stumble on their bodies, 3:4because of the multitude of the
prostitution of the alluring prostitute, the mistress of witchcraft, who sells nations
through her prostitution, and families through her witchcraft. 3:5"Behold, I am against
you," says Yahweh-Tzva'ot, "and I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the
nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame. 3:6I will throw abominable
filth on you, and make you vile, and will set you a spectacle. 3:7It will happen that all
those who look at you will flee from you, and say, 'Nineveh is laid waste Who will
mourn for her?' Where will I seek comforters for you?"
Yahweh executes his judgements against those who partake of prostitution and witchcraft.
3:4 equates prostitution with witchcraft. It therefore appears that prostitution and witchcraft
are in the same category or class of wickedness.
Yahweh's Future Judgement On Sorcerers And Adulterers
•
Malachi 3:1-6
3:1
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the
Sovereign, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of
the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes, says Yahweh-Tzva'ot. 3:2But who
can abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appears? For he is
like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap: 3:3and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of
silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they
shall offer to Yahweh offerings in righteousness. 3:4Then shall the offering of Yahudah
and Yerushalayim be pleasant to Yahweh, as in the days of old, and as in ancient
years. 3:5I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the
sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those
who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who turn
aside the sojourner from his right, and don't fear me, says Yahweh-Tzva'ot. 3:6For I,
Yahweh, don't change; therefore you, sons of Ya`akov, are not consumed.
At the time of the coming of the messenger of the covenant Yahweh will execute his
judgement against sinners, including sorcerers and adulterers. For he, Yahweh, does not
change. And just as he executed his judgement on such in the past, so also will he execute his
judgement on such in the future.
Righteous Request Against Rebels
•
Psalm 5:10
5:10
Hold them guilty, Mighty One.
Let them fall by their own counsels;
Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions,
For they have rebelled against you.
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Yahweh's Penalty Against Rebels
•
Psalm 68:6
68:6
The Mighty One sets the lonely in families.
He brings out the prisoners with singing,
But the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.
Traits Of Rebels
•
Psalm 78:8
78:8
And might not be as their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that didn't make their hearts loyal,
Whose spirit was not steadfast with the Mighty One.
Traits of rebellious people include disloyal hearts and spirits that are not steadfast with the
Mighty One.
•
Psalm 78:17-33
78:17
Yet they still went on to sin against him,
To rebel against HaElyon in the desert.
78:18
They tempted the Mighty One in their heart
By asking food according to their desire.
78:19
Yes, they spoke against the Mighty One.
They said, "Can the Mighty One prepare a table in the wilderness?
78:20
Behold, he struck the rock, so that waters gushed out,
Streams overflowed.
Can he give bread also?
Will he provide flesh for his people?"
78:21
Therefore Yahweh heard, and was angry.
A fire was kindled against Ya`akov,
Anger also went up against Yisra'el,
78:22
Because they didn't believe in the Mighty One,
And didn't trust in his salvation.
78:23
Yet he commanded the skies above,
And opened the doors of Heaven.
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78:24
He rained down manna on them to eat,
And gave them food from the sky.
78:25
Man ate the bread of angels.
He sent them food to the full.
78:26
He caused the east wind to blow in the sky.
By his power he guided the south wind.
78:27
He rained also flesh on them as the dust;
Winged birds as the sand of the seas.
78:28
He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
Around their habitations.
78:29
So they ate, and were well filled.
He gave them their own desire.
78:30
They didn't turn from their cravings.
Their food was yet in their mouths,
78:31
When the anger of the Mighty One went up against them,
And killed some of the fattest of them,
And struck down the young men of Yisra'el.
78:32
For all this they still sinned,
And didn't believe in his wondrous works.
78:33
Therefore he consumed their days in vanity,
And their years in terror.
Traits of rebellion include faithlessness in the Mighty One, even in the face of vast evidence
of the faithfulness of the Almighty.
It should be noted that rebels anger Yahweh by their rebellion, and that he eventually kills
them for their abominable rebellion against him.
Rebels Grieve Yahweh
•
Psalm 78:40
78:40
How often did they rebel against him in the wilderness,
And grieve him in the desert!
Yahweh's Punishment For Rebels
•
Psalm 78:56-64
78:56
Yet they tempted and rebelled against HaElyon the Mighty One,
And didn't keep his testimonies;
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78:57
But turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers.
They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
78:58
For they provoked him to anger with their high places,
And moved him to jealousy with their engraved images.
78:59
When the Mighty One heard this, he was angry,
And greatly abhorred Yisra'el;
78:60
So that he forsook the tent of Shiloh,
The tent which he placed among men;
78:61
And delivered his strength into captivity,
His glory into the adversary's hand.
78:62
He also gave his people over to the sword,
And was angry with his inheritance.
78:63
Fire devoured their young men;
Their virgins had no wedding song.
78:64
Their Kohanim fell by the sword;
Their widows made no lamentation.
Yahweh surely punishes for rebellion, by death to the rebels and displacement from the
position that Yahweh had placed them in. For so did Yahweh punish rebellious Yisrael.
Yisrael's Prostitution
•
Psalm 106:1-48
106:1
Praise Yahweh!
Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
For his lovingkindness endures forever.
106:2
Who can utter the mighty acts of Yahweh,
Or fully declare all his praise?
106:3
Blessed are those who keep justice,
He who does righteousness at all times.
106:4
Remember me, Yahweh, with the favor that you show to your people.
Visit me with your salvation,
106:5
That I may see the prosperity of your chosen,
That I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
That I may glory with your inheritance.
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106:6
We have sinned with our fathers.
We have committed iniquity.
We have done wickedly.
106:7
Our fathers didn't understand your wonders in Mitzrayim.
They didn't remember the multitude of your lovingkindnesses,
But were rebellious at the sea, even at the Sea of Suf.
106:8
Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake,
That he might make his mighty power known.
106:9
He rebuked the Sea of Suf also, and it was dried up;
So he led them through the depths, as through a desert.
106:10
He saved them from the hand of him who hated them,
And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
106:11
The waters covered their adversaries.
There was not one of them left.
106:12
Then they believed his words.
They sang his praise.
106:13
They soon forgot his works.
They didn't wait for his counsel,
106:14
But gave in to craving in the desert,
And tested the Mighty One in the wasteland.
106:15
He gave them their request,
But sent leanness into their soul.
106:16
They envied Moshe also in the camp,
And Aharon, Yahweh's holy one.
106:17
The earth opened and swallowed up Datan,
And covered the company of Aviram.
106:18
A fire was kindled in their company.
The flame burned up the wicked.
106:19
They made a calf in Chorev,
And worshipped a molten image.
106:20
Thus they exchanged their glory
For an image of a bull that eats grass.
106:21
They forgot the Mighty One, their Savior,
Who had done great things in Mitzrayim,
106:22
Wondrous works in the land of Cham,
And awesome things by the Sea of Suf.
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106:23
Therefore he said that he would destroy them,
Had Moshe, his chosen, not stood before him in the breach,
To turn away his wrath, so that he wouldn't destroy them.
106:24
Yes, they despised the pleasant land.
They didn't believe his word,
106:25
But murmured in their tents,
And didn't listen to the voice of Yahweh.
106:26
Therefore he swore to them
That he would overthrow them in the wilderness,
106:27
That he would overthrow their seed among the nations,
And scatter them in the lands.
106:28
They joined themselves also to Ba`al-Pe`or,
And ate the sacrifices of the dead.
106:29
Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds.
The plague broke in on them.
106:30
Then Pinechas stood up, and executed judgment,
So the plague was stopped.
106:31
That was credited to him for righteousness,
To all generations forevermore.
106:32
They angered him also at the waters of Merivah,
So that Moshe was troubled for their sakes;
106:33
Because they were rebellious against his spirit,
He spoke rashly with his lips.
106:34
They didn't destroy the peoples,
As Yahweh commanded them,
106:35
But mingled themselves with the nations,
Learned their works.
106:36
They served their idols,
Which became a snare to them.
106:37
Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.
They shed innocent blood,
Even the blood of their sons and of their daughters,
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Kana`an.
The land was polluted with blood.
106:38
106:39
Thus were they defiled with their works,
And prostituted themselves in their deeds.
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106:40
Therefore the wrath of Yahweh was kindled against his people.
He abhorred his inheritance.
106:41
He gave them into the hand of the nations.
Those who hated them ruled over them.
106:42
Their enemies also oppressed them.
They were brought into subjection under their hand.
106:43
Many times he delivered them,
But they were rebellious in their counsel,
And were brought low in their iniquity.
106:44
Nevertheless he regarded their distress,
When he heard their cry.
106:45
He remembered for them his covenant,
And repented according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
106:46
He made them also to be pitied
By all those who carried them captive.
106:47
Save us, Yahweh, our Mighty One,
Gather us from among the nations,
To give thanks to your holy name,
To triumph in your praise!
106:48
Blessed be Yahweh, the Mighty One of Yisra'el,
From everlasting even to everlasting!
Let all the people say, "Amen."
Praise Yah!
106:7 notes Yisrael's rebellion against Yahweh.
106:19-20 notes Yisrael's prostitution in idolatry.
106:24-25 notes Yisrael's derision of Yahweh's blessing to her, Yisrael's disbelief, Yisrael's
murmurings and Yisrael's hard heartedness. These are the manifestations of Yisrael's
prostitution.
106:28 again notes Yisrael's prostitution in idolatry.
106:33 again notes Yisrael's rebellion.
106:34-43 again notes Yisrael's acts of prostitution and the adverse consequences that befell
her on this account.
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Idolatry Is Demon Worship
106:36-37 notes that those who sacrifice to idols in reality sacrifice to demons! Implying that
idols represent demons! Therefore idolatry is the worship of demons! Also, those who
abandon Yahweh for idols in effect abandon Yahweh for demons!
106:39 affirms that prostitution defiles or profanes those who participate in it.
106:40 affirms that Yahweh's wrath is kindled against prostitutes.
Successfully Fighting Against The Spirit Of Prostitution
•
Proverbs 5:1-23
5:1
My son, pay attention to my wisdom.
Turn your ear to my understanding:
5:2
That you may maintain discretion,
That your lips may preserve knowledge.
5:3
For the lips of an adulteress drip honey.
Her mouth is smoother than oil,
5:4
But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood,
And as sharp as a two-edged sword.
5:5
Her feet go down to death.
Her steps lead straight to She'ol.
5:6
She gives no thought to the way of life.
Her ways are crooked, and she doesn't know it.
5:7
Now therefore, my sons, listen to me.
Don't depart from the words of my mouth.
5:8
Remove your way far from her.
Don't come near the door of her house,
5:9
Lest you give your honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
5:10
Lest strangers feast on your wealth,
And your labors enrich another man's house.
5:11
You will groan at your latter end,
When your flesh and your body are consumed,
5:12
And say, "How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised reproof;
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5:13
Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!
5:14
I have come to the brink of utter ruin,
In the midst of the gathered assembly."
5:15
Drink water out of your own cistern,
Running water out of your own well.
5:16
Should your springs overflow in the streets,
Streams of water in the public squares?
5:17
Let them be for yourself alone,
Not for strangers with you.
5:18
Let your spring be blessed.
Rejoice in the wife of your youth.
5:19
A loving hind and a pleasant doe -Let her breasts satisfy you at all times.
Be captivated always with her love.
5:20
For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress?
Why embrace the bosom of another?
5:21
For the ways of man are before the eyes of Yahweh.
He examines all his paths.
5:22
The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him.
The cords of his sin hold him firmly.
5:23
He will die for lack of instruction.
In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.
Hosea 4 explains 5:1-2. For the manner discretion is maintained, and knowledge preserved, is
by one not giving the spirit of prostitution opportunity to come into one and remove these
valuable attributes, replacing them with folly and error. Adultery and prostitution should be
avoided, for such evil conduct allows the spirit of prostitution to come into one's life and
remove the good gifts that Yahweh had given that one.
•
Proverbs 6:20-35
6:20
My son, keep your father's commandment,
And don't forsake your mother's teaching.
6:21
Bind them continually on your heart.
Tie them around your neck.
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6:22
When you walk, it will lead you.
When you sleep, it will watch over you.
When you awake, it will talk with you.
6:23
For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law is light.
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
6:24
To keep you from the immoral woman,
From the flattery of the wayward wife's tongue.
6:25
Don't lust after her beauty in your heart,
Neither let her captivate you with her eyelids.
6:26
For a prostitute reduces you to a piece of bread.
The adulteress hunts for your precious life.
6:27
Can a man scoop fire into his lap,
And his clothes not be burned?
6:28
Or can one walk on hot coals,
And his feet not be scorched?
6:29
So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife.
Whoever touches her will not be unpunished.
6:30
Men don't despise a thief,
If he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry:
6:31
But if he be found, he shall restore seven times.
He shall give all the wealth of his house.
6:32
He who commits adultery with a woman is void of understanding.
He who does it destroys his own soul.
6:33
He will get wounds and dishonor.
His reproach will not be wiped away.
6:34
For jealousy arouses the fury of the husband.
He won't spare in the day of vengeance.
6:35
He won't regard any ransom,
Neither will he rest content, though you give many gifts.
Penalty Against Evil And Rebellious People
•
Proverbs 17:11
17:11
An evil man seeks only rebellion;
Therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.
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•
Proverbs 22:14
22:14
The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit:
He who is under Yahweh's wrath will fall into it.
•
Proverbs 23:27-28
23:27
For a prostitute is a deep pit;
And a wayward wife is a narrow well.
23:28
Yes, she lies in wait like a robber,
And increases the unfaithful among men.
Rebellion Contrasted Against Understanding And Knowledge
•
Proverbs 28:2
28:2
In rebellion, a land has many rulers,
But order is maintained by a man of understanding and knowledge.
Rebellion is contrasted against understanding and knowledge. It therefore appears that those
with understanding and knowledge do not rebel against Yahweh. It therefore also appears that
it is surely a sign of lack of knowledge and understanding when one rebels against Yahweh.
•
Proverbs 29:3
29:3
Whoever loves wisdom brings joy to his father;
But a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
•
Proverbs 30:20
30:20
So is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, 'I have done nothing wrong.'
Some Rebels
•
Job 24:13-17
24:13
"These are of those who rebel against the light;
They don't know the ways of it,
Nor abide in the paths of it.
24:14
The murderer rises with the light.
He kills the poor and needy.
In the night he is like a thief.
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24:15
The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
Saying, 'No eye shall see me.'
He disguises his face.
24:16
In the dark they dig through houses.
They shut themselves up in the daytime.
They don't know the light.
24:17
For the morning is to all of them like thick darkness,
For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
Included among rebels are murderers and adulterers.
Yahweh's Judgement On Yehoram, A Prostitute King Of Yahudah
•
2 Chronicles 21:1-20
21:1
Yehoshafat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of
David: and Yehoram his son reigned in his place. 21:2He had brothers, the sons of
Yehoshafat: `Azaryah, and Yechi'el, and Zekharyah, and `Azaryah, and Mikha'el, and
Shefatyahu; all these were the sons of Yehoshafat king of Yisra'el. 21:3Their father
gave them great gifts, of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fortified
cities in Yahudah: but the kingdom gave he to Yehoram, because he was the firstborn.
21:4
Now when Yehoram was risen up over the kingdom of his father, and had
strengthened himself, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and various also of the
princes of Yisra'el. 21:5Yehoram was thirty-two years old when he began to reign; and
he reigned eight years in Yerushalayim. 21:6He walked in the way of the kings of
Yisra'el, as did the house of Ach'av; for he had the daughter of Ach'av as wife: and he
did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh. 21:7However Yahweh would not destroy
the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he
promised to give a lamp to him and to his children always.
21:8
In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Yahudah, and made a king over
themselves. 21:9Then Yehoram passed over with his captains, and all his chariots with
him: and he rose up by night, and struck the Edom who surrounded him, along with
the captains of the chariots. 21:10So Edom revolted from under the hand of Yahudah to
this day: then did Livna revolt at the same time from under his hand, because he had
forsaken Yahweh, the Mighty One of his fathers. 21:11Moreover he made high places in
the mountains of Yahudah, and made the inhabitants of Yerushalayim to play the
prostitute, and led Yahudah astray.
21:12
There came a writing to him from Eliyah the prophet, saying, Thus says Yahweh,
the Mighty One of David your father, Because you have not walked in the ways of
Yehoshafat your father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Yahudah, 21:13but have walked
in the way of the kings of Yisra'el, and have made Yahudah and the inhabitants of
Yerushalayim to play the prostitute, like as the house of Ach'av did, and also have
slain your brothers of your father's house, who were better than yourself: 21:14behold,
Yahweh will strike with a great plague your people, and your children, and your
wives, and all your substance; 21:15and you shall have great sickness by disease of
your bowels, until your bowels fall out by reason of the sickness, day by day.
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21:16
Yahweh stirred up against Yehoram the spirit of the Pelishtim, and of the
`Aravi'im who are beside the Kushim: 21:17and they came up against Yahudah, and
broke into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house,
and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save
Yeho'achaz, the youngest of his sons. 21:18After all this Yahweh struck him in his
bowels with an incurable disease. 21:19It happened, in process of time, at the end of
two years, that his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness, and he died of sore
diseases. His people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers.
21:20
Thirty-two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in
Yerushalayim eight years: and he departed without being desired; and they buried
him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
Committing Sin In The Heart
•
Matthew 5:27-30
5:27
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery;' 5:28but I tell you
that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her
already in his heart. 5:29If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and cast it
from you. For it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not
your whole body be cast into Gehinnom. 5:30If your right hand causes you to stumble,
cut it off, and cast it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members
should perish, and not your whole body go into Gehinnom.
5:27-28 shows that sin, including that of adultery, is committed not just by physical action,
but also in the heart. In other words, when one purposes in one's heart to commit sin, that one
has already committed the sin, even if the sin has not yet been committed physically.
Remove Errant Members Of Your Body
5:29-30 shows that if a member of our body causes the body to stumble, that member should
be plucked out of the body and cast off from it. For why should the whole body be cast into
Gehinnom, when it could have avoided this fate simply by removing from itself the offending
part?
Earlier on it was seen, from Leviticus 20, that Yahweh REQUIRES his people to remove
from within their midst those who partake of idolatry, adultery, prostitution, sorcery,
divination, stubbornness and rebellion. For these who do these wicked deeds not only bring
upon a curse upon themselves, but also upon their children. And when Yahweh's people
condone such wickedness, thereby also rebelling from Yahweh, a curse also comes upon
them. Therefore, to save both themselves and the children of these wicked ones, such wicked
ones must be removed from the midst of Yahweh's people.
Dealing With A Rebellious Wife
In the family context a man is one flesh with his wife. Where his wife becomes unfaithful
against him, rebelling from under him, and commits adultery or prostitution, that man is
REQUIRED to put her away from his house! For if he engages in sex with his adulterous
wife, his house will be greatly polluted by her prostitution. The spirit of prostitution will
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come upon his household through his wife and remove the knowledge and understanding that
exist in his house. Also, because of her prostitution, Yahweh's blessings upon his house will
cease. Also, not only will his wife be cursed on account of her prostitution, his children
through his wife also will be cursed, on account of their mother's prostitution. And if he
condones his wife's prostitution, he too will be cursed, for his tolerance of such wicked
behaviour. He is therefore compelled to remove his adulterous wife from his house. For only
by so doing does he preserve the life of his children through her, and also his own life. In
other words, only by removing his adulterous wife from his household does he succeed in
preserving his entire house, less his wife, from Gehinnom!
What Porneia Is
•
Matthew 5:31-32; Luke 16:18
5:31
"It was also said, 'Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of
divorce,' 5:32but I tell you that everyone who puts away his wife, except for the cause
of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever shall marry her when
she is put away commits adultery.
Valid divorce is that grounded on a wife's porneia - idolatry, adultery, prostitution. Also,
noting that the sins of idolatry, adultery and prostitution are part of a wider class of sins that
are equated with one another, with exactly the same penalty for any of them, it appears that
porneia includes the entirety of this class of sins. This class of sins includes idolatry, adultery,
prostitution, sorcery, divination, witchcraft, rebellion, stubbornness and familiar spiritism. It
therefore appears that the wife who habitually partakes of these sins, and is set on them, not
seeking to truly repent of them, ought to be divorced for her persistence in these sins! Such
divorce is valid before Yahweh!
Putting Away A Wife On Account Of Porneia
It therefore appears that a husband who either puts away, or both puts away and divorces, his
wife on any of these porneia grounds is not making her an adulteress or causing her to
commit adultery. For she has already resolutely chosen the way of porneia and has persisted
in it. And her husband, if he is to heed Yah'shuah's words in Matthew 5:29-30, has to remove
her from within his midst. And that means putting her away, either with or without a bill of
divorce.
If he puts her away without a bill of divorce she remains his wife. She is not allowed to marry
another man. If he puts her away with a bill of divorce then she ceases to be his wife. She can
then become someone else's wife.
Deliverance From The Spirit Of Prostitution
•
Matthew 12:38-45
12:38
Then certain of the Sofrim and Perushim answered him, saying, "Teacher, we
want to see a sign from you."
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12:39
But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and
there will no sign be given it but the sign of Yonah, the prophet. 12:40For as Yonah was
three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 12:41The men of Nineveh will stand up
in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the
preaching of Yonah; and behold, someone greater than Yonah is here. 12:42The queen
of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for
she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Shelomo; and behold,
someone greater than Shelomo is here. 12:43But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out
of the man, passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and doesn't find it. 12:44Then
he says, 'I will return into my house whence I came out,' and when he has come back,
he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 12:45Then he goes, and takes with himself
seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. The last
state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil
generation."
Those who commit adultery or prostitution invite the spirit of prostitution into their lives, as
seen from Hosea 4. The spirit of prostitution removes from them knowledge and
understanding, replacing these with folly and error.
When one is delivered of the spirit of prostitution, such a one should from then on depart
from the way of porneia, not engaging in any porneia sin. But if such a one continues to
engage in porneia sins, or reverts to it, then the spirit of prostitution returns to such a one
accompanied by seven spirits more evil than even the spirit of prostitution, and they enter
such a one and dwell therein! It is therefore imperative that those who are delivered of the
spirit of prostitution enter into righteous living and seek the Holy Spirit to dwell in them, to
guide and teach them the way of righteousness.
What Defiles Humans
•
Matthew 15:16-20; Mark 7:14-23
15:16
So he said, "Do you also still not understand? 15:17Don't you understand that
whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly, and then out of the body? 15:18But
the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart, and they defile
the man. 15:19For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual
sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies. 15:20These are the things which defile the
man; but to eat with unwashed hands doesn't defile the man."
Among the things that defile a man are evil thoughts, adulteries and sexual sins.
•
Matthew 19:3-12; Mark 10:1-12
19:3
Perushim came to him, testing him, and saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce
his wife for any reason?"
19:4
He answered, "Haven't you read that he who made them from the beginning made
them male and female, 19:5and said, 'For this cause will a man leave his father and
mother, and will join to his wife; and the two will become one flesh?' 19:6So that they
are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore the Mighty One has joined together,
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don't let man tear apart." 19:7They asked him, "Why then did Moshe command us to
give her a bill of divorce, and divorce her?" 19:8He said to them, "Moshe, because of
the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the
beginning it has not been so. 19:9I tell you that whoever will put away his wife, except
for sexual immorality, and will marry another, commits adultery; and he who marries
her when she is put away commits adultery."
19:10
His disciples said to him, "If this is the case of the man with his wife, it is not
expedient to marry."
19:11
But he said to them, "Not all men can receive this saying, but they to whom it is
given. 19:12For there are eunuchs, who were born that way from their mother's womb,
and there are eunuchs, who were made eunuchs by men: and there are eunuchs who
made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake. He who is able to
receive it, let him receive it."
Entering Eternal Life
•
Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30
19:16
Behold, one came to him and said, "Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that
I may have eternal life?"
19:17
He said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is, the
Mighty One. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."
19:18
He said to him, "Which ones?"
Yah'shuah said, "You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not
steal. You shall not offer false testimony. 19:19Honor your father and mother. And, you
shall love your neighbor as yourself."
19:20
The young man said to him, "All these things I have observed from my youth.
What do I still lack?"
19:21
Yah'shuah said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give
to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow me." 19:22But
when the young man heard the saying, he went away sad, for he was one who had
great possessions. 19:23Yah'shuah said to his disciples, "Most assuredly I say to you, it
is hard for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. 19:24Again I tell you, it is
easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the
kingdom of the Mighty One."
19:25
When the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly astonished, saying, "Who then
can be saved?"
19:26
Yah'shuah looking and said to them, "With men this is impossible; but with the
Mighty One all things are possible."
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19:27
Then Kefa answered, "Behold, we have left everything, and followed you. What
then will we have?"
19:28
Yah'shuah said to them, "Most assuredly I tell you, that you who have followed
me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory, you
also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Yisra'el. 19:29Everyone who
has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or
lands, for my name's sake, will receive one hundred times, and will inherit eternal
life. 19:30But many will be last who are first; and first who are last.
To enter eternal life it is necessary that we practice righteousness, and avoid unrighteousness,
which includes porneia.
Showing Mercy
•
John 8:3-11
8:3
The Sofrim and the Perushim brought a woman taken in adultery. Having set her in
the midst, 8:4they told him, "Teacher, we found this woman in adultery, in the very act.
8:5
Now in our law, Moshe commanded us to stone such. What then do you say about
her?" 8:6They said this testing him, that they might have something to accuse him of.
But Yah'shuah stooped down, and wrote on the ground with his finger, as if he didn't
hear. 8:7But when they continued asking him, he lifted himself up, and said to them,
"He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her." 8:8Again he
stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.
8:9
They, when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one,
beginning from the oldest, even to the last. Yah'shuah was left alone with the woman
where she was, in the midst. 8:10Yah'shuah lifted himself up, and seeing no one but the
woman, said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?"
8:11
She said, "No one, Master."
Yah'shuah said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no
more."
Yah'shuah shows us, even as Yahweh has shown us in Jeremiah 3 and Hosea 2, among
others, that we should be merciful, even in the case of porneia sins. Such that if such a sinner
repents of his or her sin, forgiveness should be accorded.
Abstain From Porneia
•
Acts 15:22-29
15:22
Then it seemed good to the apostles and the Zakenim, with the whole assembly, to
choose men out of their company, and send them to Antioch with Sha'ul and BarNabba: Yahudah called Bar-Sabba, and Sila, chief men among the brothers. 15:23They
wrote these things by their hand:
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"The apostles, the Zakenim, and the brothers, to the brothers who are of the Goyim in
Antioch and Aram and Cilicia: greetings. 15:24Because we have heard that some who
went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, 'You
must be circumcised and keep the law,' to whom we gave no commandment; 15:25it
seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them to
you with our beloved Bar-Nabba and Sha'ul, 15:26men who have risked their lives for
the name of our Master Yah'shuah the Messiah. 15:27We have sent therefore Yahudah
and Sila, who themselves will also tell you the same things by word of mouth. 15:28For
it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay no greater burden on you than
these necessary things: 15:29that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from
blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep
yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell."
Both the assembly of believers and the Holy Spirit reiterated that all believers, whether
Yisraelite or not, should abstain from the wicked deeds of idolatry and porneia.
Be Humble
•
James 4:1-10
4:1
Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don't they come from your
pleasures that war in your members? 4:2You lust, and don't have. You kill, covet, and
can't obtain. You fight and make war. Yet you don't have, because you don't ask.
4:3
You ask, and don't receive, because you ask amiss, so that you may spend it for your
pleasures. 4:4You adulterers and adulteresses, don't you know that friendship with the
world is enmity with the Mighty One? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the
world makes himself an enemy of the Mighty One. 4:5Or do you think that the
Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously"? 4:6But he gives
more grace. Therefore it says, "Yahweh resists the proud, but gives grace to the
humble." 4:7Be subject therefore to the Mighty One. But resist the devil, and he will
flee from you. 4:8Draw near to the Mighty One, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse
your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 4:9Lament,
mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom.
4:10
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Master, and he will exalt you.
To defeat the devil we have to depart from pride and assume humility. For by assuming
humility we are indeed resisting the devil, who has a nature of pride.
Learn From The Experience Of Yisrael
•
Jude 5-16
1:5
Now I desire to remind you, though you already know this, that the Master, having
saved a people out of the land of Mitzrayim, afterward destroyed those who didn't
believe. 1:6Messengers who didn't keep their first domain, but deserted their own
dwelling place, he has kept in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of
the great day. 1:7Even as Sedom and `Amorah, and the cities around them, having, in
the same way as these, given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after
strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.
1:8
Yet in like manner these also in their dreaming defile the flesh, despise authority,
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and slander celestial beings. 1:9But Mikha'el, the chief angel, when contending with
the devil and arguing about the body of Moshe, dared not bring against him an
abusive condemnation, but said, "May the Master rebuke you!" 1:10But these speak
evil of whatever things they don't know. What they understand naturally, like the
creatures without reason, in these things are they destroyed. 1:11Woe to them! For they
went in the way of Kayin, and ran riotously in the error of Bil`am for hire, and
perished in Korach's rebellion. 1:12These are they who are hidden rocky reefs in your
love feasts when they feast with you, shepherds who without fear feed themselves;
clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn leaves without fruit, twice
dead, plucked up by the roots; 1:13wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame;
wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever. 1:14To
these also Chanokh, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Master
came with ten thousands of his holy ones, 1:15to execute judgment on all, and to
convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have done in an
ungodly way, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against
him." 1:16These are murmurers and complainers, walking after their lusts (and their
mouth speaks proud things), showing respect of persons for the sake of advantage.
Jude reiterates to believers the lessons to be derived from the experience of Yisraelites and
others. It should be noted that the following sins are categorised together: disbelief, sexual
immorality, despising authority, slander, abusive condemnation, murder, covetousness,
rebellion, murmuring, and undue complaining.
Yah'shuah Utterly Detests Porneia
•
Revelation 2:12-17
2:12
"To the angel of the assembly in Pergamum write:
"He who has the sharp two-edged sword says these things:
2:13
"I know where you dwell, where Hasatan's throne is. You hold firmly to my name,
and didn't deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who
was killed among you, where Hasatan dwells. 2:14But I have a few things against you,
because you have there some who hold the teaching of Bil`am, who taught Balak to
throw a stumbling block before the children of Yisra'el, to eat things sacrificed to
idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 2:15So you also have some who hold to the
teaching of the Nicolaitans in the same way. 2:16Repent therefore, or else I am coming
to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth. 2:17He
who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To he who
overcomes, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone,
and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he who receives it.
2:14-16 clearly shows that Yah'shuah is against covetousness, idolatry and sexual immorality
(prostitution). For he is coming to make war against those who engage is such practices,
whether or not they belong to his assembly. And unless such repent of their wicked acts, he
will smite them with the sword of his mouth. It should therefore be clear that this is a
category of sins that Yah'shuah utterly detests.
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Do Not Tolerate Those Of The Way Of Porneia
•
Revelation 2:18-29
2:18
"To the angel of the assembly in Thyatira write:
"The Son of the Mighty One, who has his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like
burnished brass, says these things:
2:19
I know your works, your love, faith, service, patient endurance, and that your last
works are more than the first. 2:20But I have this against you, that you tolerate your
woman, Izevel, who calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and seduces my servants
to commit sexual immorality, and to eat things sacrificed to idols. 2:21I gave her time
to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 2:22Behold, I will throw
her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great oppression, unless
they repent of her works. 2:23I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies
will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each one of
you according to your deeds. 2:24But to you I say, to the rest who are in Thyatira, as
many as don't have this teaching, who don't know what some call 'the deep things of
Hasatan,' to you I say, I don't lay on you any other burden. 2:25Nevertheless that which
you have, hold firmly until I come. 2:26He who overcomes, and he who keeps my works
to the end, to him will I give authority over the nations. 2:27He will rule them with a
rod of iron, shattering them like clay pots; as I also have received of my Father:
2:28
and I will give him the morning star. 2:29He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the assemblies.
2:20 shows that Yah'shuah teaches us that we SHOULD NOT tolerate anyone of the way of
porneia, including sexual immorality and idolatry. We should ensure that we remove such
people out of our midst. For this was the undoing of the assembly in Thyatira, tolerating
within their midst those of the way of porneia!
Yah'shuah Gives Us Time To Repent
2:21 shows us that Yah'shuah is very patient with us, his people. When we are in the way of
error he gives us sufficient time to repent. We should therefore understand that the time he
gives us is not to be misinterpreted as his condoning our errors, but as time he duly gives us
to depart out of our errors.
The Unrepentant Will Suffer Great Oppression
2:22-23 shows that Yah'shuah throws into great oppression those who refuse to repent of
their sins, including porneia. In fact, when they persist in their porneia, yet call themselves of
Yah'shuah, he kills them with Death! For he is he who searches the minds and hearts, and
gives each one of us according to our deeds!
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The Way Of Porneia Is In The Depths Of Satan's Ways
2:24 shows that the way of porneia is deeply into the way of Hasatan! Yah'shuah's people
must therefore depart from all forms of porneia, including idolatry, adultery, prostitution,
sorcery, divination, rebellion, stubbornness, witchcraft and familiar spiritism.
Why Yahweh's Plagues Will Be Unleashed On Mankind
•
Revelation 9:13-21
9:13
The sixth angel sounded. I heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which
is before the Mighty One, 9:14one saying to the sixth angel who had one shofar, "Free
the four angels who are bound at the great river Perat." 9:15The four angels were
freed who had been prepared for that hour and day and month and year, so that they
would kill one third of mankind. 9:16The number of the armies of the horsemen was
two hundred million. I heard the number of them. 9:17Thus I saw the horses in the
vision, and those who sat on them, having breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and
sulfur yellow; and the heads of lions. Out of their mouths proceed fire, smoke, and
sulfur. 9:18By these three plagues were one third of mankind killed: by the fire, the
smoke, and the sulfur, which proceeded out of their mouths. 9:19For the power of the
horses is in their mouths, and in their tails. For their tails are like serpents, and have
heads, and with them they harm. 9:20The rest of mankind, who were not killed with
these plagues, didn't repent of the works of their hands, that they wouldn't worship
demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood;
which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk. 9:21They didn't repent of their murders, nor
of their sorceries, nor of their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts.
9:20-21 shows that the reason why Yahweh will punish mankind with the plagues that he will
is because of man's idolatry, murders, sorceries, sexual immorality and thefts. Yahweh's
people should not partake of such wicked deeds, that they may be spared Yahweh's fierce
wrath.
Yahweh's Judgement On The Great Prostitute And Sorceress
•
Revelation 17:1-19:5
17:1
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying,
"Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many
waters, 17:2with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those
who dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her sexual immorality."
17:3
He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a
scarlet-colored animal, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten
horns. 17:4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and
precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations,
even the unclean things of her sexual immorality, 17:5and on her forehead a name
written, "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE
PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." 17:6I saw the
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woman drunken with the blood of the holy ones, and with the blood of the martyrs of
Yah'shuah. When I saw her, I wondered with a great wonder.
17:7
The angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the
woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten
horns. 17:8The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the
abyss, and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth will wonder, whose
name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when
they see the beast, how that he was, and is not, and will come. 17:9Here is the mind
that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits.
17:10
They are seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come. When
he comes, he must continue a little while. 17:11The beast that was, and is not, is himself
also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes into destruction. 17:12The ten horns
that you saw are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive
authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour. 17:13These have one mind, and they
give their power and authority to the beast. 17:14These will war against the Lamb, and
the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Master of masters, and King of kings. They
also will overcome who are with him, called and chosen and faithful." 17:15He said to
me, "The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes,
nations, and languages. 17:16The ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will
hate the prostitute, and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh, and
will burn her utterly with fire. 17:17For the Mighty One has put in their hearts to do
what he has in mind, and to come to unity of mind, and to give their kingdom to the
beast, until the words of the Mighty One should be accomplished. 17:18The woman
whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth."
18:1
After these things, I saw another angel coming down out of the sky, having great
authority. The earth was illuminated with his glory. 18:2He cried with a mighty voice,
saying, "Fallen, fallen is Bavel the great, and has become a habitation of demons,
and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird!
18:3
For by the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality all the nations have fallen;
and the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants
of the earth grew rich by the power of her excessive luxury."
18:4
I heard another voice from Heaven, saying, "Come forth, my people, out of her,
that you have no fellowship with her sins, and that you don't receive of her plagues,
18:5
for her sins have reached even to Heaven, and the Mighty One has remembered
her iniquities. 18:6Return to her even as she returned, and double to her the double
according to her works. In the cup which she mixed, mix to her double. 18:7However
much she glorified herself, and grew wanton, so much give her of torment and
mourning. For she says in her heart, 'I sit a queen, and am no widow, and will in no
way see mourning.' 18:8Therefore in one day her plagues will come: death, mourning,
and famine; and she will be utterly burned with fire; for Yahweh the Mighty One who
has judged her is strong.
18:9
The kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived wantonly with
her, will weep and wail over her, when they look at the smoke of her burning,
18:10
standing far away for the fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city,
Bavel, the strong city! For your judgment has come in one hour.' 18:11The merchants of
the earth weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise any more;
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18:12
merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk,
scarlet, all expensive wood, every vessel of ivory, every vessel made of most precious
wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; 18:13and cinnamon, spices, incense,
ointment, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, and sheep; and
merchandise of horses and chariots and slaves; and souls of men. 18:14The fruits which
your soul lusted after have been lost to you, and all things that were dainty and
sumptuous have perished from you, and you will find them no more at all. 18:15The
merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, will stand far away for the
fear of her torment, weeping and mourning; 18:16saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, she
who was dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious
stones and pearl! 18:17For in an hour such great riches are made desolate.' Every
shipmaster, and everyone who sails anywhere, and mariners, and as many as gain
their living by sea, stood far away, 18:18and cried out as they looked at the smoke of
her burning, saying, 'What is like the great city?' 18:19They cast dust on their heads,
and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who
had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her great wealth!' For in one
hour is she made desolate.
18:20
Rejoice over her, you Heaven, you holy ones, you apostles, and you prophets; for
the Mighty One has judged your judgment on her."
18:21
A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea,
saying, "Thus with a mighty fall will Bavel, the great city, be thrown down, and will
be found no more at all. 18:22The voice of harpers and minstrels and flute players and
trumpeters will be heard no more at all in you. No craftsman, of whatever craft, will
be found any more at all in you. The sound of a mill will be heard no more at all in
you. 18:23The light of a lamp will shine no more at all in you. The voice of the
bridegroom and of the bride will be heard no more at all in you; for your merchants
were the princes of the earth; for with your sorcery all the nations were deceived.
18:24
In her was found the blood of prophets and of holy ones, and of all who have been
slain on the earth."
19:1
After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in
Heaven, saying, "Halleluyah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our Mighty One:
19:2
for true and righteous are his judgments. For he has judged the great prostitute,
her who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the
blood of his servants at her hand."
19:3
A second time they said, "Halleluyah! Her smoke goes up forever and ever." 19:4The
twenty-four Zakenim and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped the
Mighty One who sits on the throne, saying, "Amen! Halleluyah!" 19:5A voice came
forth from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our Mighty One, all you his servants,
you who fear him, the small and the great!"
Yahweh's Judgement Upon The Wicked
•
Revelation 21:5-8
21:5
He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." He said, "Write,
for these words are faithful and true." 21:6He said to me, "It is done! I am the Aleph
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Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion
and the Tav, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from
the spring of the water of life. 21:7He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I
will be his Mighty One, and he will be my son. 21:8But for the cowardly, unbelieving,
sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars,
their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."
Yah'shuah's Judgement Upon The Wicked
•
Revelation 22:12-16
22:12
"Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to
his work. 22:13I am the Aleph and the Tav, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the
End. 22:14Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to
the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city. 22:15Outside are the dogs,
the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who
loves and practices falsehood. 22:16I, Yah'shuah, have sent my angel to testify these
things to you for the assemblies. I am the root and the offspring of David; the Bright
and Morning Star."
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