In the last article we saw the comparison between Hosea’s day and Paul’s day. People in both eras were exchanging the glory of God for lesser things. Lo and behold Hosea continues Paul’s theme. Here is what Hosea says, “That is why your daughters turn to prostitution, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. Why should I punish them? For you men are doing to same thing, sinning with whores and shrine prostitutes. O foolish people! You will be destroyed, for you refuse to understand.” (Hosea 4:13b-14) Here is what Paul said: “You may be saying, ‘What terrible people you have been talking about!’ (The Gentiles, RM) But you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you do these very same things.” (Romans 2:1) The Bible has such consistency.
I believe the Bible makes a distinction between judgment and condemnation. We must make value judgments concerning our behavior and the behavior of others. In fact, we cannot avoid it. However, God did not put the ultimate judgement in our job description. This is called condemnation. This is when someone is sentenced to hell. There is only one person who has been given that authority, the one who gave us the way to avoid hell. Even though we must and will make judgements, we must be very careful to make right judgements. This not only requires that we assess the evidence that leads us to conclude that someone’s behavior is good or evil, but we must also consider ourselves and our own involvement in the same behavior. Otherwise, we will become conceited and arrogant. No where is this more evident than in the sin of prostitution. Why do we call the man a “john?” Is it like “John Doe?” It is a way to protect his “good” name by not giving his name? Where is Epstein’s client list? His exploitation of young girls and women was detestable. Where is the little black book? Why aren’t the men, some no doubt very powerful, been identified? There are two sides to every coin. Drug users come in all shapes and sizes. But what about the pushers, the cartel, the traffickers, the manufacturers, and the policy makers in government who facilitate the drug trade by not enforcing our laws? We see the pictures of the prostitutes on the city corner dressed provocatively. That is the image of this trade. Where are the pictures of the consumers?
Hosea is right to point out the sin of the daughters and daughters-in-law. But he is also quick to address the men who pay for their services. Supply and demand. There would be no prostitutes if there were no sleezy, faithless, and exploitive men. Some say this so-called oldest profession in the world (it is not-read Genesis 2-3) is a victimless crime. It is not. Human trafficking, especially of young girls and women is epidemic. Each year in the Super Bowl city pimps bus in loads of these women because they know the demand will be high. I am in favor of making the “john” bear the shame by arresting, putting his face on social media, giving him a stiff jail sentence, and a heavy fine, and making him pay for the education of the exploited girl so she can find another line of work. I guess this is why I will never get elected to office.
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