Ezekiel 23, "Once there were two sisters... They became prostitutes in Egypt. Even as young girls, they allowed men to fondle their breasts. The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. I married them... Then Oholah lusted after other lovers instead of Me... For when she left Egypt, she did not leave her spirit of prostitution behind. She was still as lewd as in her youth... And so I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers, whom she desired so much. They stripped her, took away her children as their slaves, and then killed her... Yet even though Oholibah saw what had happened to Oholah, her sister, she followed right in her footsteps. And she was even more depraved, abandoning herself to her lust and prostitution... her reputation was known... Then she carried her prostitution even further. She fell in love with pictures that were painted on a wall...When she saw these paintings, she longed to give herself to them...After being defiled, however, she rejected them in disgust... I will send your lovers against you from every direction... And I will hand you over to them for punishment so they can do with you as they please. I will turn my jealous anger against you, and they will deal harshly with you... In this way, I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you brought from Egypt. You will never again cast longing eyes on those things or fondly remember your time in Egypt... And because you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You must bear the consequences of all your lewdness and prostitution... You will be fully repaid for all your prostitution—your worship of idols. Yes, you will suffer the full penalty. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”
We all have something we lust after. Many times for men, it is pornography. In looking at the pictures and searching on the computer, they turn from reality and get lost in a false world of sex. I have seen men so addicted to pornography that they no longer love women. They have so sought their desires, that they now, have a loathing toward the women they actually have a relationship with. Now that they have fully defiled themselves, they now reject the very ones they so desired and feel a disgust every time they see a woman. Their heart is now wounded and they blame the women for their sin. Yet, they continually turn toward the images they lust after, but they cannot have a truly fulfilling sexual relationship with their own wives. It is a cycle of addiction and idolatry that haunt their every thought. I have seen very strong and successful men brought to their knees in their pursuit of sexual pleasure, for they never find what they are looking for. They are always left with a feeling of disgust and a knowing they are weak.
For women it is different, but the same. We tend to turn to food, or pursue our husbands to the point of driving them away. We get so caught up in our own body image that no man wants to hear any longer how we think we look. We can become obsessed with ourselves to the point that we reject others around us. We have a tendency to take everything personally and feel we are being rejected all of the time. When in reality, they have no idea what we are putting upon them. We are continually looking at ourselves in the mirror and then asking others to change our minds on how we see ourselves. In trying to become the perfect woman, we resent others around us. Our desire for our husband becomes obsessive to the point of resentment toward him. We destroy our relationships, the very thing we are worshiping.
Both men and women, have passions that we lust after. We turn our hearts desires toward others, then we are left feeling empty and wanting. When we try and place things of this world in the place of God, we will be left with a feeling of inadequacy every time. God has placed a desire in all of us. We all have tried to fill that desire with things we can see here on earth. As long as we are turning to others to be our gods, we will never be filled. (vs 34-35) "You will drain that cup of terror to the very bottom. Then you will smash it to pieces and beat your breast in anguish. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken! And because you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You must bear the consequences of all your lewdness and prostitution.” We must stop putting other things in the place of God. When we truly change our hearts desires, and love only Him, we will then find true fulfillment. What are you worshiping today?
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