Bible Discussion Thread

I don't understand this passage; "Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow"? I mean, I understand the hire of a whore, but what is the reference to concerning the price of a dog? And are we to assume this is intended for more than a vow?

Hi Terry. You quoted from Deuteronomy 23:18. The word in Hebrew, is 'keleb', which in fact is 'dog'. We see this word used in several places, but it is also used figuratively about men & it's written in contempt. So we see this particular use of the word in Psalm 22:16,20; 2 Samuel 9:8; Isaiah 56:10; etc. But here in Deuteronomy 23:18, I believe the word is applied to 'sodomites', even as we see in the previous verse 17, "There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel."

Not only was prostitution forbidden amongst God's people, but any money associated with those people was forbidden to be used in the performance of a vow before God. And this basically means that neither the wicked person or their money were allowed into God's House, unlike the heathen who often engaged in temple prostitution & used the proceeds from it. Israel was not to behave like them in any shape or form.

Maybe it was "intended for more than a vow", as you suggest, i.e. for the giving of other forms of gifts, for other purposes. But it seems that in these two verses (also verses 21-23), a vow made before the Lord is utterly binding & not to resemble the practises of the heathen.

Thank you for clarifying this for me. I had always thought this was the case, but some have used this verse to deter gambling. I'm not a proponent of gambling, in fact, gambling is the truest form of greed. And greed is a very bad thing to be present in anyone's life. Also, this pretty much bans homosexuals from the church.

I had not heard of this verse being used to deter from gambling. I wonder how they arrive at this understanding? As far as homosexuals are concerned, I would see them, if they desire to attend a Fellowship, as those in need of help & guidance, as much as any other seeking sinner might need help. But when they are openly accepted & allowed to perform duties in the Church, then something is clearly wrong with the leadership & Church policy. Thanks for your further comments on this, brother.

Homosexuality is considered a capital offence in the eyes of God. This is written rather plainly. Jesus teaches repentance, not acceptance. If one would turn from their ways, then welcome arms and love are prescribed. This is, with any, and all, offences, within the community, outside of capital offences. As we saw on the cross, forgiveness in repentance is attainable, but there is also accountability, as our God is just. "Have no pity", He said, of those convicted of capital offenses. We tend to miss the mark with regards to respect, honor, and responsibility. You can't have responsibility without accountability. We've left "Right, Wrong, Good, Bad, Clean, and Unclean", to instead, compromise the message that we should "strive to enter into the straight gate". Be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect, we are told. Thanks be to God, through His son, Jesus Christ, we have His grace, His help, and the power of His Holy Spirit, to continue making the changes in us, through the dying of self, that He might live through us. All must be done in faith, and faith without works is dead. Ultimately, death is being separated from God, for sin cannot exist in God's presence. This is our goal, to enter in. We were bought with a price. We are not our own. As for the gambling reference, I think it had something to do with betting on dog races. Here, it is a far stretch. More meant to confuse the issue and misdirect attention, which is the evil one's biggest tactics. Thanks to all that have responded.

I could be way of the mark here so please forgive me if I am . I had always believed that if a man , hired out a woman , who he had power over such as his daughter etc , as a prostitute , and then took the money that was made by her prostitution and offered it to God , that money would be unclean or ill gotten gains and unacceptable to God . Many women who are prostitutes give their earnings to a man who is controlling them , even nowadays but I'm guessing it was worse in olden times when a lot of women were not even protected under the laws of their own society in which they lived . A dog is an unclean animal and not acceptable as a sacrifice to God , so say you wanted to offer a sacrifice to God but had no money , if you were to catch a wild dog ( or any other unclean animal ) and sell it to someone and then bring that money as an offering to God that money would be unclean . I think it's about offering money that was come by in an unclean therefore unacceptable way to God . This scripture can be applied to us in modern times I think . Money that was come by in an illegal or unclean way , is not acceptable to God .

Blackfoot. That problem you cannot get away from the corruption of the world reason is if the clothing

You wear was made in a sweat shop in china corrupt if you buy groceries from a chain who,'s family is involved in witchcraft it's corrupt. That:s why when we receive

Things from God they are blessed because of what was done by Jesus Christ.

In Gospel of John 1:29 John the Baptist proclaimed behold the lamb of God which

Taketh away the sin of the world meaning Jesus Christ sacrifice paid for all of

What sin or broken fellowship produces. That's why when we receive things with

Thanksgiving it's covered by grace. He paid for what we do not know but if you

Know the source whole different situation covered in Romans Chapter 14.

Yes Henry , you are correct in everything you said in your reply to me , thankyou . I do feel that if I had knowingly been less than honest in how I had made some money , my own conscience would make me realise that I had been dishonest and could not offer to God anything that I knew I hadn't gotten by honest means . Sadly , in this world , most things are tarnished in some way . I know how I came by everything that I have and with regards to offering something to God , if my conscience isn't clean then neither is my offering .

Blackfoot. Something else that I thought was significant to share with you

Our conscience is literally our habit patterns so as we put on the word

Romans12:2 and renew our minds, putting on the mind of Christ. Our habit

Patterns change from corrupt to profitable to God. As we walk and believe

We change and let God work and then see 2 Corinthians 3:18.

Very true, Henry

Gigi It is written!