JU2-20: In Ancient Times, Temple Prostitution Was As Common As McDonald’s Is In Our Day

In my last post I talked about the 3 reasons why Israel fell from grace in the Book of Judges.

However, there’s actually one more reason.

And it’s a BIG one.

It can be summed up in one word: SEX.

This is something most pastors, preachers or teachers won’t often talk about.

But it can’t be overstated just how huge a role sex played in the ancient world.

And it was one of the main reasons why God wanted to separate His people from the gentiles.

Why was sex considered so important to the point where it was idolized and worshipped?

Because on a practical level, if any society and its nation were to flourish, large families were necessary.

And how do you create large families?

By procreating, right?

And obviously, vigorous procreation was also necessary if a farmer wanted to grow the size of his flocks and herds.

That’s why sexual rituals played a key role in the worship of the gods.

Temple prostitution was as common as McDonald’s is in our day.

To give you an idea of just how common it was to have sacred sex as part of the religious services in ancient times, imagine if all of a sudden, your pastor or Rabbi told you that from the very next worship service there was gonna be no more choir or music.

It would seem like a key element had been ripped out, wouldn’t it?

Suddenly worship services would seem a heck of a lot less fulfilling and exciting, right?

Well, that’s exactly how firmly entrenched sacred sex was among the mystery religions of Babylon in old times.

It was taken for granted that sex and worship fit together like fries and a burger. 

That’s why it was revolutionary when the Lord showed up and said HELL NO THERE AIN’T GONNA BE NO SEXUAL RITUALS TAKING PLACE WHEN YOU WORSHIP ME!

It was a major paradigm shift in those times…to put it lightly.

Unfortunately, because the Israelites did NOT boot the Canaanites out of the land like they were supposed to in the first place, avoiding the sexual temptations that were a part of Canaanite religious services proved too much of a challenge for God’s people.

And as sick and sad as this is going to sound, yes, even Israel began adopting sacred sex as part of their worship of the Lord and BA’AL.

Can you see why God was so enraged at Israel?

And more importantly, can you see why God ordered the full expulsion of the Canaanites from the land and wouldn’t tolerate any of this peace treaty crap?

That’s the takeaway for today folks.

You become your environment and who you hang out with on a regular basis.

You can’t help it.

In fact, over time, Israelite society and Canaanite society became practically indistinguishable from each other.

And keep in mind, Israel didn’t plan to fall into apostasy like this.

It’s just that over time they became powerless to resist.

That’s why God knows best when He commands you to SEPARATE yourself from darkness and sin in any form.

And not just separate yourself but also make a proactive effort to fellowship with like-minded believers.

Finally, I remind you the Biblical definition of apostasy does NOT mean to severe one’s relationship with the Lord.

It means to compromise it.

How?

By mixing with things of the world.

By thinking you can keep one foot in God’s Kingdom while at the same time keeping another foot in the world.

You can’t serve two masters like that man.

You’re gonna end up loving one and hating the other.

And that’s exactly what happened with Israel.

God became so disgusted with His people He turned them over to their enemies and Israel could no longer stand against them.

That’s my message for you today.

Keep both feet firmly entrenched in the Kingdom.