When the Bible isn't suitable for church...

Ever read Ezekial 23?

I think I first stumbled upon it when I was in junior high or high school. At the time, I was shocked (and being a typically immature young man, probably also highly amused) to find that God's Word contained such naughty things.

Examples:

Ezekial 23:2 "They became prostitutes in Egypt. Even as young girls, they allowed men to to fondle their breasts."

Ezekial 23:8 "She was still as lewd as in her youth, when the Egyptians slept with her, fondled her breasts, and used her as a prostitute."

Ezekial 23:19-20 "Yet she turned to even greater prostitution, remembering her youth when she was a prostitute in Egypt. She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey's and emissions like those of a horse."

Can you picture many pastors saying that from the pulpit: "She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey's and emissions like those of a horse."? I think the pastor that read that verse (in many churches) would have a few unpleasant voicemail messages waiting for him on Monday morning.

I read these passages again recently. Instead of being amused, like I had been when I was younger, this time I felt something like uneasiness.

Part of me felt like these things didn't belong in the Bible. It's so crude and tawdry. Why would God include something about lusting "after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey's"? Was it really necessary to be so descriptive?

Yeah, it was. And I just realized why.

Here's the context. Ezekial, a prophet of God, is recording what God reveals to him. Chapter 23 is all about these two sisters who turn to prostitution. God calls them Oholah and Oholibah. God says through Ezekial, "I married them and they bore me sons and daughters. I am speaking of Samaria and Jerusalem, for Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem" (verse 4).

Did you catch that part about God saying he "married them" and they bore him "sons and daughters"? These were God's chosen people. But what happens in verse 5? "Then Oholah lusted after other lovers instead of me." Later it will say that Oholibah (Jerusalem) followed her sister's footsteps, but she was "even more depraved" (verse 11). So if God "married" these girls, then this prostitution of theirs, I'm sure, is not something about which He would just shrug His almighty shoulders.

Though this chapter doesn't conclude with verse 35, I think it adequately sums up God's main point: "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."

God is telling his people that he will not tolerate their betrayal. He will not permit such unfaithfulness.

But again, why the explicit language? Why would God choose such offensive descriptions?

Well, if pastors today can't read these verses about "gentials the size of a donkey's" without getting phone calls, what kind of response do you think it would have evoked thousands of years ago? I don't know, but I think people might have been a little more conservative then. In a time before internet porn, MAXIM magazine, Victoria's Secret commercials, and R-rated movies. And remember, the people Ezekial was to share this with were the ones God was calling prostitutes. So it wasn't just lewd to them; it was personal.

(By the way, I can't help but feel sorry for Ezekial. In verse 36, God tells him, "you must accuse Oholah and Oholibah of all their detestable sins." Man, I'm sure that was an enjoyable task. Then in Chapter 24, Ezekial isn't allowed to mourn following the death of his wife. Poor guy.)

But back to the question: Why the explicit nature?

Maybe because God wanted to show His people exactly how offensive their behavior was to Him. Maybe because God wanted to frame their betrayal in terms that could almost do it justice, comparing it to the most despicable, most deplorable thing those people could imagine, something that would make them cringe, angry, ashamed. Maybe to make them feel a hint of what God felt when he watched his people eagerly pursuing other gods when He had always remained (and always would remain) so unwaveringly faithful to them.

At this point, God has made up his mind to judge both of these "prostitutes" for their unfaithfulness (see verses 36-49), and because God is loving, maybe he's also using Chapter 23 as a resounding explanation for why he's about to punish them. The punishment is coming, but God wants to make sure His people (the adulterous prostititues that they are) know why. He lets them know he hasn't stopped loving them, but their actions demand consequences.

Even though I didn't understand the need for such explicit descriptions when I first read these passages, now I can't think of a better way for God to convey his displeasure with His people's unfaithfulness. And if it can still be offensive to us today, that's probably good. Because we've been unfaithful, too. Haven't we?

Haven't we also lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey's and emissions like those of a horse?

Does that offend you?

I hope so. Because I think that was God's intention.


--Thanks for Reading (Your comments are always welcome)


Note: I would be proud to know any pastor who read these passages in church. Because the Bible is the last thing that needs to be censored.