"These [in Berea] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." - Acts 17:11

(1) The LORD has an accusation to bring against the people who live in this land. Listen, Israel, to what he says: "There is no faithfulness or love in the land, and the people do not acknowledge me as God. (2) They make promises and break them; they lie, murder, steal, and commit adultery. Crimes increase, and there is one murder after another.

(11) The LORD says, "Wine, both old and new, is robbing my people of their senses! (12) They ask for revelations from a piece of wood! A stick tells them what they want to know! They have left me. Like a woman who becomes a prostitute, they have given themselves to other gods.

Good News Bible copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society.

The Hebrew word zanah, translated as "harlotry," is not the word used to indicate a single act of adultery. Instead, it means "sexually wanton," meaning something done repeatedly as a way of life. Ultimately, it is understood spiritually to signify idolatry. Hosea 4:11-12 defines it in this manner: "Harlotry, wine, and new wine enslave the heart. My people ask counsel from the wooden idols, and their staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, and they have played the harlot against their God."

By linking zanah, harlotry, with wine and new wine, God is showing that this spiritual harlotry has addictive power. "Enslave the heart" illustrates that this faithless spirit bends the heart to obey its desires, and in the process, it destroys discretion and understanding. Recall that Psalm 119 repeatedly states that meditating on God's Word and obeying His commandments give understanding, indicating a major way in which we come to know God. However, if a person practices faithlessness, loss of understanding results. No constructive wisdom ever results from breaking any of God's commands.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

To learn more, see:
The Seventh Commandment



 

Topics:

Addictive Quality of Sin

Adultery

Faith and Understanding

Harlotry

Idolatry

Idolatry and Faithlessness

Idolatry and Lack of Faith

Keeping Commandments as Wisdom

Meditating on God's Word

New Wine

Sexual Immorality

Spirit of Harlotry

Wine

Wine , Symbolism of

Wine of Babylon's Fornication




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