Congregation Bible Study (30 min.): Rr ch. 15 paras. 8-14.
"You became a prostitute"
8-10. (a) What important requirement of pure worship allows us to understand Jehovah's feelings toward false religion? b) What example helps us understand this?
In the book of Ezekiel, Jehovah uses the image of a prostitute to illustrate a personal situation. He inspired Ezekiel to write two very graphic accounts that reflect Jehovah's grief at the betrayal of his unfaithful and immoral servants. And why did he compare them to prostitutes?
Before we answer, let's remember a fundamental requirement of pure worship that we discussed in Chapter 5 of this book. In the Law he gave to Israel, Jehovah said: "Have no gods other than me" or, according to the note, "to challenge me." He added: “I, Jehovah your God, am a God who demands exclusive devotion.” - Ex. 20: 3, 5. Later he emphasized the same idea, saying: “Do not bow down to another god, for Jehovah is known as one who demands exclusive devotion. Yes, he is a God who demands exclusive devotion ”(Ex. 34:14). Jehovah could not have made it clearer: he will only accept our worship if we give it exclusively to him.
To understand this, let's think about marriage. Both the husband and the wife have the right to exclusively receive certain attentions or displays of affection. If one partner shows romantic or sexual interest in another person, the spouse will have reason to feel jealousy and the pain of betrayal (read Hebrews 13: 4). It is the same with worship, Jehovah has reason to feel betrayed when his own servants, people dedicated exclusively to him, worship other gods. In Ezekiel chapter 16, Jehovah expresses in very strong terms what he feels when he is betrayed.
11. What did Jehovah tell about Jerusalem and its origin?
Chapter 16 contains a very long intervention by Jehovah; in fact, it is much longer than his other interventions in the book of Ezekiel. It is one of the most extensive prophecies in all of the Hebrew Scriptures. In it, Jehovah uses the city of Jerusalem to represent unfaithful Judah and tells the sad and shocking story of its origin and its betrayal. He begins by painting her as an abandoned and dirty newborn. His parents were the idolatrous Canaanites of that land. In fact, Jerusalem was long under the control of the Jebusites, a Canaanite tribe, until David conquered the city. Jehovah felt sorry for this newborn, so he cleaned her and cared for her. Later, she became his wife. In reality, the Israelites, who became the inhabitants of the city, they had already voluntarily made a covenant with Jehovah in the days of Moses (Ex. 24: 7, 8). When Jerusalem became the country's capital, Jehovah blessed it, enriched it, and beautified it, just as a powerful and wealthy husband could honor his wife with the best adornments (Ezek. 16: 1-14).
12. How did Jerusalem become an unfaithful city?
And what happened next? Jehovah said: “You began to trust your beauty and, because of your fame, you became a prostitute. You prostituted yourself wildly with anyone who passed by and you gave him your beauty ”(Ezek. 16:15). In Solomon's time, Jehovah brought so many blessings and riches to his people that Jerusalem became one of the most prosperous cities; it was sure to stand out throughout the ancient world (1 Kings 10:23, 27). But little by little false worship and, with it, infidelity entered the city. As Solomon tried to please his many foreign wives, he began to pollute Jerusalem with the worship of false gods (1 Kings 11: 1-8). Later, some of those who inherited the throne were even worse: they spread false worship and polluted the entire country. What did Jehovah think of all this spiritual betrayal and prostitution? He himself said: "These things should not happen, should never happen" (Ezek. 16:16). But his rebellious people sank deeper and deeper into depravity.
ILLUSTRATION
Solomon looking at one of his wives, who is on her knees worshiping an idol.
Solomon allowed himself to be convinced by his foreign wives and ended up polluting Jerusalem with idolatry. (See paragraph 12).
13. What atrocities did God's people commit in Jerusalem?
Imagine Jehovah's pain and disgust as he denounced the wickedness of his chosen people: “You took the sons and daughters you had given birth to me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured ... was your acts of prostitution enough for you? You killed my children and sacrificed them by burning them in the fire ”(Ezek. 16:20, 21). This terrible cruelty shows us how wicked Satan is. How much he enjoys making God's people commit such atrocities! But Jehovah sees everything and can repair even the worst misfortunes that the Devil has caused. God will do justice (read Job 34:24).
14. Who were the two sisters in Jerusalem in Jehovah's comparison? And which of the three ended up being the worst?
However, Jerusalem was not at all ashamed of her own wickedness, she continued with her prostitution. Jehovah said that she was even more brazen than other prostitutes because she was the one who paid her lovers (Ezek. 16:34). God said that Jerusalem was just like her "mother," the idolatrous tribes that had ruled the country (Ezek. 16:44, 45). Continuing with the family comparison, she said that Jerusalem's older sister was Samaria, who had started leading a life of spiritual prostitution before her. God also mentions his other sister, Sodom, the famous city referred to here because it had been destroyed long before for its arrogance and depravity. Jehovah wanted to emphasize that Jerusalem's wickedness was worse than that of her sister Samaria and even that of her sister Sodom (Ezek. 16: 46-50). God's people turned a deaf ear to all the warnings they received, and continued with their disgusting lifestyle.
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