The church that is like a prostitute
“So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you.” (Ezekiel 16:34)
Not long ago, I read a newspaper in the Korea-American Daily, that some Korean students got a visa to study in United Sate and they involved in prostitution. As I was reading the news article, I was wondering why those Korean students were involved in prostitution. Many times in the news, I heard that the Koreans are caught in the prostitution business and they brought the falling down image of Korean people in United State. And I didn’t know what to say.
In Ezekiel 16:34, God spoke through prophet Ezekiel to the Israelites about their prostitution. And God said that their prostitution is not like other women. In today’s words, the difference is that the prostitutes get paid and sell their bodies, but the Israelites sold their bodies by giving money to the other parties. So God told the Israelites, “Every prostitute receives a fee, but you give gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors” (v. 33). I would like to think about the Israelites’ prostitution, giving gifts to “all your lovers”, in three ways and apply those three things to the churches in our days. I hope and pray that repentance and turning to the Lord will occur in our churches.
First, the Israelites who were in prostitution believed in their "beauty."
Look at Ezekiel 16:15 – “But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his.” The beauty of the Israelites was God’s gracious gift. In other words, because God glorified the Israelites, their splendor was perfected (v. 14). This is what the Bible says about the splendor that God had given the Israelites that mad their beauty perfect: “I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen” (vv. 11-13). In a word, God gave the Israelites a proper dressing to be the queen (v. 13) (Park). As a result, their fame spread among the nations on account of their beauty (v. 14). But the Israelites trusted in their beauty and used their fame to become a prostitute (v. 15). They did a lot of prostitution with “anyone who passed by” (v. 15). Their bodies became the possession of “anyone who passed by.” In other words, the Israelites enjoyed the world in order to make themselves good by living in association with those who belonged to the world (Park). They had forgotten the grace of God and used it for themselves rather than for the glory of God.
How is our church now? Are we using all the grace and blessings that God has given us in Jesus Christ for His glory? Or are we now using all God’s grace and blessings for our own glory? The church is getting too fancy. And its’ splendor is not the glory of God but the glory of the church itself. The name of the church is heard more than the name of God. Even the church names are being branded. The name of the church is well known to the world. Its fame is being spread among the nations on account of their beauty. As a result, the church became proud of its reputation and believes in its splendor.
Second, the Israelites who were in prostitution viewed their prostitution as a small matter.
Look at Ezekiel 16:20 – “Moreover, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter?” The Israelites served their idols with God's grace instead of serving God (vv. 16-19). They did not use their “clothes”, “beautiful jewels”, “embroidered cloth”, ‘oil and incense, “fine flour, oil, and honey” in their worship of God, but for idols (Park). They were guilty of spiritual adultery, offering up the blessings of God to idols. They even sacrificed their sons and daughters (“slaughtered My children”) and offered them up to idols by causing them to pass through the fire” (vv. 20-21). These Jews' sacrifices refer to the sins they sacrificed to the Gentile gods (Park). In other words, they offered their children who God gave to them as His blessings, to the idols instead to God. Nevertheless, the Israelites regarded these sins as a small matter (v. 20).
How about our church? How about us? Aren’t we regarding our spiritual adultery as a small matter? Aren’t we using God-given blessings for ourselves and for the world, rather than for the Lord and His church? Now, the churches aren’t internalizing but externalizing the God’s given splendor, compromising with the world and giving glory to churches instead of God. We are offering our children, whom God gave us His gracious gifts, to the world instead to our God. Even the church officers are offering their children to the world by helping them to strive to lift the ladder of world success rather than offering their children to the Lord for His gospel, His church, and His kingdom. Although their children had borne to God (v. 20), they are offering their children for themselves and the world. But the bigger problem is that we regard this sin as small matter. As such, the church has lost the ability to regard sin as sin.
Third, the Israelites who were in prostitution were not satisfied with prostitution.
Look at Ezekiel 16:29 – “You also multiplied your harlotry with the land of merchants, Chaldea, yet even with this you were not satisfied.” The Israelites played the harlot with the Egyptians, their lustful neighbors, and multiplied their harlotry (v. 26). This means that the Israelites were engaged in the service of idols of Egyptians who had strong bodies or strong lusts (Park). It wasn't over here, but the Israelites played the harlot with the Assyrians because they still weren’t satisfied (v. 28) so they multiplied their harlotry with the land of merchants, Chaldea, yet even with this they weren’t satisfied (v. 29). These words indicate that the Israelites relied more on Egypt, Assyria, or the Chaldeans than on God (Park). And the Israelites imported and worshiped the idols of these Gentile nations even though, at least, the Philistine people worshiped idols but didn’t import foreign idols like the Israelites (v. 27, Park). Thus the Israelites, like a lewd woman who had been lustful, had committed spiritual adultery with these nations, and weren’t satisfied enough.
How about our church? How about us? Aren’t we guilty of spiritual adultery to satisfy the lust of our eyes, the lust of our flesh, and the boastful pride of our life? (1 Jn. 2:16) Aren’t we so strong in lust that we are committing spiritual adultery, depending on others and other things besides God? Isn't the church sinning against God by committing spiritual adultery like the Israelites who were lustful and weren’t satisfied enough?
The church shouldn’t be in prostitution like the Israelites. The church shouldn’t be like a prostitute. The church is the holy bride of Jesus, the Bridegroom. Therefore, the church must be clean (Eph. 5:26). The church must be holy and blameless (v. 27). God has established the Church as a glorious church before the Lord (v. 27). We should never be involved in spiritual adultery by believing in our splendor and regard it as a small matter. The church must not be a church that doesn’t know enough about committing spiritual adultery, but a church that satisfies only by the Lord Jesus Christ.