What was the 'spirit of prostitution' in Hosea 4:12?
Hosea 4:12
ESV - 12 My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore.
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Asked July 01 2013
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Anonymous (via GotQuestions)
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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
Hosea 4:12 makes a strong and graphic accusation against Israel: "My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and...
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Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
A spirit of whoredoms is a general disposition on the part of all towards idolatry (Ho 5:4) --JFB Hosea 5:4 (Punishment Coming for Israel and Judah): 4 "Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the Lord." Dr. Wiersbe says, "Instead of seeking God’s will, they consulted their idols. The more the people sinned, the more food the priests enjoyed. The more shrines the people built, the more they and the priests could indulge in lustful pleasures as they participated in the fertility rites. But the rites wouldn’t accomplish anything, because God would cause the population and the produce to decrease instead of increase. Furthermore, the priests’ own daughters and daughters-in-law would become shrine prostitutes and commit adultery! Their sins would bring judgment to their families and to the land."
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