There is a type of heart that is almost permanently unfaithful to God. This heart makes a person to go a whoring from God. What does it mean to go a whoring from God? It is to become captivated by something else. It is to give my allegiance to another thing apart from God. This thing does not have to be an evil thing, but anything, however good and legitimate they may be, that has taken over my heart makes my heart to go a whoring from the living God.
The sense, therefore, it gives, is a sense of going astray. It could begin as a little curiosity about something, and gradually a quiet fascination grows in your heart about that thing, and before you know it, even God must now wait for you to fill your heart first with those things, before He can get the remaining \”crumbs\” of time left from you. So, can you imagine that a time spent with the LORD out of necessity or duty, after much time has been \”wasted\” on all other things, is already an evidence of a heart going a whoring from the LORD?
God\’s agony over the whorish heart
Ezekiel 6:9
\”And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.\”
Now, what does God have to say about this kind of heart? In Ezekiel 6:9, we see the LORD describing His agony about such a heart. Please when you read the scriptures, don\’t allow the preliminary details in it to preoccupy you from gaining your own personal insight for your life. The context is not necessarily for head knowledge; it is to help you gain insight for your life and journey before the LORD.
So, we note that God said, \”…I am broken with their whorish heart…\” First, that word \”broken\” means crushed. God is speaking figuratively about how much pain He is subjected to by a whorish heart. Can you imagine that we subject the Almighty God to this kind of pain and agony?
God\’s measurement of closeness is a matter of the heart
\”…which has departed from me…\” The effect of a whorish heart is that it is no longer, moment by moment, with the LORD. It has departed from the living God. And even if God were trying to speak to it, it won\’t hear it, for what is a distant echo compared to a close voice?
We can have this kind of heart that can focus on and seeks God regardless of time (of the day) and space just like the whorish heart can be the condition of a man that is perpetually in church but his heart has actually departed from God. Either whorish or faithful heart, it is an inner experience that does not depend on place and time. It depends on whom you choose: yourself or God?
So, let me ask you when did you last hear the voice of the LORD? I\’m not saying when did you last read your bible for we can read it hurriedly as to preclude any opportunity for God to speak particularly to us from the scripture we are reading. How can it be normal for you to live without God\’s Word? Has the Word of God changed that says, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God does man live (Deut. 8:3, Matt. 4:4)?
How God deals with a whorish heart
James 1:8
\”A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.\”
The beginning stages of this whorish heart is what is described in the book of James as a double minded man. Who is a double minded person? This is a person who manages to share his heart between two \”spouses\”. This kind of arrangement allows for having different faces for different places. One face for the spiritual and another face for the physical. This is the kind of compromise many of us have come to embrace, thinking it is the reasonable thing to do. What is God\’s verdict for such a man with a whorish heart, that is departed from God, but tries to play games with God?
You find it in verse 7, the previous verse, \”For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.\” That is the matter! God is unable to commit Himself to such a life. God does not rush to do anything especially when you are undecided about who will have your heart. God cannot allow His commitment and investment to be tossed here and there by \”…a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute) […unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything…\” (James 1:8 AMPC).
\”If you are that kind of person, you can\’t make up your mind, and you surely can\’t be trusted. So don\’t expect the Lord to give you anything at all.\” James 1:7 Contemporary English Version
This heart cannot sustain any direct, divine dealings of God. It is too slippery for God to deal with…and since God will not strive with man (Gen. 6:3), He reserves ALL of Himself for that person who willingly and unreservedly gives His undivided time and attention to Him. These are those who respond to His initiated call: \”When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.\” (Psalm 27:8). Will that be you?
A prayer
Oh LORD, who is sufficient for these things? But by natural inclinations, I cannot solely focus on you. Apart from the external distractions of this world, there is the ever-widening internal corruptions of my heart, that has destined me for perpetual unfaithfulness to You. LORD, help me. Deliver me from my self. Oh that I may find You now, that You may gain me and make me Yours permanently. AMEN.
\”And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD…\” Jeremiah 29:13-14
Note: Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version.
Disclaimer: Using a quote or picture that mostly or fully represents what we have in mind does not imply agreement with or approval of a person\’s general philosophy of life.
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