Playing the Harlot

God views the sin of idolatry in sexual terms. He treats His people as His bride and expects them to be faithful. When a wife or husband becomes unfaithful by turning to a partner outside the marriage, it is called adultery. When a nation becomes unfaithful to God, and turns to other nations and worships their gods, it is called “spiritual adultery;” and they are said to “play the harlot” with the gods of the other nations. God speaks in sexual terms because the intimacy in sexual relations in marriage is a picture of His love for His people. God loves Israel; God loves the Church. His love is of the highest order of intimacy.

Throughout the Scriptures, God is continually chastising His people for praying the harlot. They do this out of unbelief. Sometimes God’s chastisement reaches a degree of punishment, which has eternal consequences. Many in our country have played the harlot over and over, and the God of the Scriptures has been very patient with us.

The Veiled Face

The glory of God is revealed in the face of believers. After Moses had been with God for 40 days, his face shown with the glory of God. When he came down from the mountain, he covered his face before unbelieving Israel. He did not allow them to see the glory of God in his face.

Paul relates to the veiled face of Moses to explain the inadequacy of the Old Covenant to bring men to salvation and the blindness of the Jews of his day, 2 Corinthians 5:7-18. Even for today’s Jews, the veil remains on the face of Moses, whose laws they attempt to follow.

How can we relate to the veiled face? We received Christ, the Jewish Messiah, by faith, and His Holy Spirit has come to live within us. Our faces are always unveiled before Christ, and we shine with His glory. But to the unbelieving world, our faces are veiled. Scripture says, “Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” And when people see your good works and give glory to God, they see God’s glory in your face. But if they choose not to glorify God, your face becomes veiled to them. The key to seeing the glory of God is believing in the true God.

The Sheep and the Goats

When Christ returns, at the end of the Tribulation Period,

He will separate sheep from goats. He will separate

believers from those who claim to be believers

on the basis of how we treat each other.

Idolatry and The Glory of God

The Israelites sinned and were punished.

After Moses saved the Israelites from God's
wrath, he asked God to show him His glory.

Horses and Chariots

Chariots speak of nobility and power. In the time of King David, and even earlier in the times of the Egyptians, the chariot was a fierce fighting machine. It carried the trained warrior and his weapons to destroy. It was a sign of authority, as when Joseph was carried in the chariot behind the Pharaoh to show the people that Joseph was the ruler in Egypt. The Egyptian army that followed the Israelites to destroy them had mighty chariots. And Elijah the Prophet never died but was carried away by God in a chariot of fire.

Horses also speak of power and war and judgment. In Revelation, when the first four seals are opened, riders on white, red, black and pale horses are revealed, and in Revelation 19 there is a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True whose robe was dipped in blood, and the armies of heaven followed Him riding on white horses. And there is a Scripture that talks about the very character of the horse being made ready for battle when he hears the trumpet blow. Chariots and horses are signs of power and majesty. Yet in Psalm 20:7 it says, “Some trust in horses and some in chariots, we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” We have to ask ourselves the question; do we trust in the things of this world, or in the name of the Lord our God?

The Clothes of the Priest

Who cares about the priest’s clothes? Why would a believer today be interested in the design of the clothes the priest wore in the Tabernacle? Allow me to explain how this is very relevant.

God had not allowed man access to God until the time of Moses. God and man had no basis for fellowship because God is holy and man is sinful. What does light have in common with darkness? But in His grace, He selected Abraham, and from Abraham He built a people to set His love upon. After He had delivered them from Egypt, He provided a way for people to access God through the Tabernacle and the priests. The priests were to make sacrifices and intercession for themselves and the Israelites.



Aaron was the first priest and his sons were to carry on the tradition of priests. The clothes designed for Aaron and his sons were absolutely beautiful; woven in gold, blue, purple and scarlet thread. The names of the twelve tribes were sewn into the shoulders and the breastplate, and set in precious jewels. The ephod was like a jacket and there were gold chains connecting things together; there was a robe, tunic, sash and turban, like no one had ever imagined. Holiness to the Lord was worn on the turban over the forehead. Gold bells were worn on the bottom fringes of the robe to let people know when the priest was coming or going.

Only the priest could meet with God, and only once a year, in the Holy of Holies, and with the blood of animals sprinkled on the mercy seat. God had designed a beautiful set of clothes for the priest for His meeting in the Holy of Holies. But what does this have to do with us? What do beautiful clothes have to do with us? When Christ died on the cross, He took our sins away, and gave us a beautiful outfit of clothes (a garment of righteousness) by which we could appear before the Lord God Almighty any time we wanted to. Today, we are a kingdom of priests, and we make intercession for people; we are the ones God listens to. He is still holy and we are still sinners, but, because of the blood of Christ, we are declared “not guilty,” and seen as righteous before the Lord.



The clothes of the priest are like our clothes of righteousness, and we are holy to the Lord. The blood of Christ has allowed us to be dressed in the most beautiful clothes ever. We wear our righteousness every day, unlike the priest who wore his clothes just once a year.



Jesus spoke a parable about a king who gave a banquet and invited everyone. Many rejected the offer but later some came. One person, however, came to the banquet not dressed in the proper attire. Everyone was given proper attire, but this person rejected the clothes offered to him, and wanted to come dressed in his own clothes (his own righteousness). When the king saw him, He threw him out of the banquet and into the utter darkness. Our clothes of righteousness, like the priest’s clothes, are very important and should not be taken lightly. Wear your clothes proudly, for they came at a very high cost. We have been provided an attire of righteousness, and on our foreheads it says, HOLINESS TO THE LORD

Prayer for a Righteous Woman