PsalmTree

Sin as Addiction: Ezekiel 23:1-49

https://biblehub.com/nasb_/ezekiel/23.htm

Sex addiction is no laughing matter…

Here’s a sobering, real account of a woman named Rebecca whose sex addiction nearly destroyed her life:

At its worst, having sex five times a day wasn’t enough for her. The compulsion took over in 2014, and it became the first thing she thought of when she woke up—she “couldn’t get it off my mind”. She stopped going out, became a “hermit” at home, and felt so ashamed that she couldn’t even be around other people.

The addiction ruined her relationship with her partner. He initially enjoyed the attention, but over time he couldn’t understand it and accused her of having an affair, thinking her guilt explained her constant need for sex. She eventually left, telling him she “needed a break” to get better. The relationship broke down very quickly after that, and she lost her marriage and moved to France.

Her life unraveled further: she changed jobs, split up with her partner, and moved abroad. She was under a psychiatrist’s care for depression that had intensified, but no support groups or treatment for the addiction were offered. Barker describes the addiction as “life-destroying” and says the compulsion was all she could think about—shame, isolation, and relationship destruction were the direct consequences.

This story shows how sex addiction can chip away at identity, trust, financial stability, mental health, and family life, even for someone who is a mother of three and trying to function normally.

The problem is, we treat uncontrollable passions, like sex, as the problem; they aren’t. Fr. Donald McCormick, in his book Sin as Addiction,  argues that sin operates like an addiction: It produces compulsive, repetitive behavior that enslaves the person’s will, replacing freely chosen love of God with dependency on disordered desires. The addiction model explains why some sins persist despite genuine remorse.

Sex isn’t the addiction, sin is the addiction…

We are all born narcissists; we love, and want to serve, ourselves more than anything else.

Yet, Sex is one of the more powerful way that sin is exposed. So, God uses it as a metaphor for the sins of Israel and Judah. Ezekiel 23, the chapter equates sexual lust with the insatiable human desire to chase foreign gods and alliances instead of staying faithful to God. The metaphor works by showing idolatry as a kind of addictive, body-driven craving that destroys the covenant relationship

Explanation: Sexual Lust is the likely the perfect metaphor for straying from our covenant relationship with God.

1. Lust is compulsive and uncontrollable -The sisters “doted” and “lusted” after their lovers, showing that the desire to stray isn’t a calm decision—it’s an overwhelming craving that overrides reason and loyalty.
2. Lust seeks many partners, never one - Idolatry is portrayed as chasing many “lovers” (foreign powers and gods), which mirrors how people constantly shift their devotion instead of resting in one God.
3. Lust is never satisfied - The text says Judah was “still unsated” after many partners. This captures the human experience of trying to find fulfillment in power, wealth, or other gods—only to feel emptier.
4. Lust degrades the person - The donkey/horse imagery is meant to produce disgust. The chapter insists that turning from God is not just “wrong” but dehumanizing—it reduces spiritual desire to animalistic craving.

In the chapter we read an allegory of two sisters, Ohola and Oholiba, (representing the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah) who were sex (SIN) addicts. Egypt represents Judah’s earliest and most shameful political and spiritual infidelity. The chapter uses Egypt as both a starting point and a recurring temptation in the allegory of the two sisters.

The allegory pointing to the historical reality is, when Judah “lusted after Egypt,” it wasn’t about sexual desire—it was about seeking military protection and political alliances with Egypt instead of trusting Yahweh. Later, Judah repeated this pattern by seeking Egyptian protection against Assyria and Babylon. This was spiritual adultery: trusting a foreign power over the covenant God.

God’s response to their lust is brutal, violent judgment—he gives them over to the very “lovers” they pursued, allowing those nations to destroy, shame, and devastate them.

• After Samaria’s lust for Assyria: “I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians, for whom she lusted” (v. 9)
• After Judah’s lust for foreign powers: “I will stir up your lovers against you”—Babylon, Chaldeans, and Assyrians (v. 22–23)
• Directs “jealous anger” against them: “I will direct my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in fury” (v. 25)
• Forces them to stop the lust: “I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you began in Egypt. You will not look on these things with longing or remember Egypt anymore” (v. 27)
• 5. Makes it a warning to others: “I will put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you” (v. 48)

God says: “Since you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, you must bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution” (v. 35). The judgment is just repayment for:

• Adultery (idolatry)
• Bloodshed (burning their children as sacrifices)
• Forgetting God and turning their back on Him

God doesn’t just tolerate their lust—he ends it catastrophically by letting the allies they pursued become their executioners.

Application: No sin is quite as embarrassing and humiliating as sexual addiction. Most of us would rather be be labeled “druggies” or alcoholics.The embarrassment and humiliation is what makes it so difficult to overcome; we try to hide it rather than seek treatment.

However…Sin must be effectively treated…

Ezekiel 23 for Christians and churches today centers on warning against the sins of idolatry and spiritual compromise—treating the allegory as a picture of the church’s relationship with God. Here are some practical applications:

1. The church must not “throw herself at the world” - “The church is warned against throwing herself at the world, seeking its favours and pleasures, selling its soul and body for its approval.”Churches today face this temptation when they chase cultural approval by compromising truth; adopting secular values to be “relevant,” seeking financial success through worldly alliances and prioritizing political influence over faithfulness to Christ

• Idolatry always leads to destruction - “The end of sin is destruction, misery, and ultimately death. Judah didn’t learn from Samaria’s judgment. “Instead of learning from Israel’s punishment, Judah continued in her sins”

2. Churches must watch what happens to other churches that compromise and learn from their downfall, not just admire their success. “God has scrubbed off your filth. Do not run back to the filth”
3. For individuals: Don’t look back longingly at sins you’ve been freed from. Don’t keep allowing filth to remain stuck to your life. Trust that God’s cleansing can stick if you stop looking backward.

• Choose obedience - it leads to good. “It is good to obey. It is not good to disobey” The core prayer from Ezekiel 23:49: “Help us to choose that which is good today. Help us to obey you. Help us to trust you. Help us to worship you alone”
• Stand for those who can’t defend themselves - “We must redouble our efforts to stand up for those who cannot defend themselves” The blood and child-sacrifice imagery in Ezekiel 23 warns that shedding innocent blood warrants God’s wrath. Christians must stand against abortion and protect the vulnerable.

The ultimate warning: “God’s terrible judgement was directed against his people—something we dare not forget”Judgment doesn’t come to the world first—it comes to God’s covenant people. This is why the church must take this passage seriously: God judges His own people for spiritual adultery.

Prayer: “Dear God, Father of all mercy and source of every good thing,

We come before you as your people—believers scattered across the world and the church gathered in towns and cities—humbly confessing our weakness and our desperate need for your protection.

Lord, we have seen how addiction destroys lives. We have watched the bondage it creates, the shame it breeds, the relationships it breaks, and the dignity it strips away. From the ancient lusts of Samaria and Judah to the modern compulsions that grip our hearts, we know that when we turn from you to chase what cannot satisfy, we fall into ruin.

Protect us, O God, from the addiction of SIN.

Guard our hearts from becoming like the adulterous sisters who forgot their covenant and threw themselves at every lover. Do not let us, your people, develop an undue fondness for the things of the world. When we feel the pull to chase more and more—more pleasure, more money, more power, more control—remind us that you alone are enough.

For believers: Break the chains of compulsive behavior before they form. Teach us that lust is unbelief disguised as desire. When we feel the first tug toward addiction, lead us to prayer instead. Give us the courage to confess quickly and seek help immediately. Let us remember that we are not defined by our failures but by your grace.

For the church: Keep us from seeking the world’s approval by compromising your truth. Do not let our churches become addicted to success, popularity, or trends. Help us to stand for those who cannot defend themselves—the vulnerable, the broken, the addicted. Make our churches places where addicts find healing, not shame. Let us not look back to the filth you have scrubbed from us, but run to you instead.

Father, we know that addiction begins in the heart. It starts with forgetting you. It begins when we turn our backs on your love and try to find satisfaction in anything less than yourself. For this reason, we pray:

Do not let us forget you.
Do not let us turn our backs on you.
Do not let us seek Egypt when you have brought us home.

Instead, fill us with such a deep satisfaction in your presence that the world’s offerings appear hollow. Let our hearts be so anchored in Christ that no addiction can pull us away. Bind us together in community where we strengthen one another, encourage one another, and hold one another accountable.

When addiction strikes, Lord, give us: The courage to admit we are powerless without you. The humility to seek help. The faith to believe you can restore what has been broken. The hope that your grace is greater than our failure.

We pray this especially for those already trapped in addiction’s grip. Gentle them with your presence. Wake them with your truth. Break their chains with your power. Let them know that you have scrubbed off their filth and that running back to it is not the only option.

Lord God, we choose that which is good today. We choose to obey you. We choose to trust you.
We choose to worship you alone.

Do not let addiction take root in our hearts or our churches. Protect us from the lust that forgets you. Guard us from the craving that turns our backs on you. Deliver us from the bondage that destroys what you have made.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our true and faithful lover, who never abandons us, who never fails us, and who gives us satisfaction that no addiction can match.

Amen.”

Live boldly out there today…

Resources:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel+23&version=NIV
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/23
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/ezekiel-23/
https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/ezekiel/ezekiel-23.cfm
https://theologyandchurch.com/2021/04/26/scripture-on-sunday-ezekiel-23/
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2019/09/06/difficult-bible-passages-ezekiel-23/
https://www.melissabeaty.com/studies/bible-study-ezekiel-231-49
https://outorah.org/p/3725/
https://seekingscripture.com/ezekiel-23-24-25-27/
https://versebyverseministry.org/lessons/ezekiel-23-24
https://bibleproject.com/classroom/ezekiel
https://bibleproject.com/videos/ezekiel-1-33/