If a former prostitute returned to her prostitution, God would most assuredly not dismiss it, much less speak favorably of it. Her earnings would not be seen as holy or be approved for holy purposes. Such an endorsement would be completely against God’s character.
Then explain this:
At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord.
Isaiah 23:17-18
Okay, so Tyre is a city, not a person. God never commends the prostitution of a person. But do you see how positive the language is? Take this particular passage at face value, and the Lord is portrayed as an advocate of prostitution.
So we question the word, “prostitute.” What does it mean? Well, it’s the same word as is used in Isaiah 1:21, 57:3, and 76 other places throughout Scripture. It might also be translated, “fornication,” “harlotry,” or “whoredom.” Yes, it is a sinful act.
Then why does the Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, use this positive “prostitute” language to describe the restoration of Tyre? This “prostitution” is not only approved by the Lord, it is found to be in his perfect plan for this forgotten city. The Lord visits Tyre, a holy sort of “prostitution” results, and it’s a day of rejoicing.
I don’t know about you, but I’m baffled. No, I didn’t write this post to tell you how or why the Bible portrays a “positive prostitute.” If you have any thoughts, I’m all ears. I set this “inconsistency” before your mind not because I’ve discovered its proper interpretation {that’s doubtful}, but because of the reminder to take him at his word.
Did you notice how this article began? With my own perception of God. Who God is. What God does. What God would not allow. “Surely ‘prostitute,’ in this verse, means something else,” is my first thought. And maybe it does. Maybe it is simply an illustration {though seemingly an imperfect one} by which God is depicting the joyous transformation of a once wicked city.
But the point here is to take God at his word, whatever that may be. To believe everything he says. To view him as he views himself.
This means removing all lenses. This means taking in the whole of Scripture. This means loads of discernment. This means reading and saying “yes.”
[[Read the follow-up to this post here.]]
[image credit: pixabay.com]
Journey of the Word 
Tyre is a prostitute only in the sense of doing business with everyone with little regard to morals.
This prophecy is the only case where the word “Tyre” in Hebrew is preceded by the definite direct object. “Tyre” is being visited by God. (God is the subject. Tyre is the object.) I think this gives the sense of “The Tyre”. (Disclosure: I know very little of Hebrew grammar.) And I think Isaiah was inspired to write it this way because he was referring to a “new” and “different” Tyre.
This being the case, the prophecy is about our time. Queen Elizabeth II reigned 70 years. A previous verse mentions a ruler and 70 years. This would have been extremely rare in the ancient world. The new Tyre refers to China, the factory of the world. In 1949, China became communist. The foreign concessions were abrogated. The opium flow stopped, and China closed the door on trade. 70 years later, 2019, China is back with more trade than ever.
I believe the prophecy is that China is the new Tyre. And when China recognizes God, she will give some of her profit for “the people who dwell before the LORD.” As the people are not identified, it might not be Israel or Christian, but anyone in the Palestine area. God said His eyes were always on that place.
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