To begin with too many of us equate lust with just sex

Dictionary Lust: =intense longing for...any passionate desire..for power...sex...pleasure...lewd desire...feel lecherous.

Biblical lust has the same meanings. However there are variations and I will list some different verses with the concordance rendering on each.

To begin with too many of us equate lust with just sex. For those who do I'm sharing what I learned about it.

In the Bible, Numbers 11:34, shows how God dealt with lust after the people He had led out of Egypt complained too much. They were in the desert with Moses, and moaning that the manna God was feeding them was not good enough. They missed the meat, and other foods they were used to. The hardship and all the abuse they lived under, during their slavery in Egypt, forgotten. They could think only of some good food. Nothing wrong in thinking about it, but to moan and complain and say it was better where they were, did not endear them to the Lord .

Yet, that is our typical self-seeking ungrateful reaction to any discomfort we must go through, no matter if what we were delivered from, was far worse.

Numbers 11:4-6 "Now the mixed multitude among them began to LUST greedily for the familiar food they used to eat, and the children of Israel wept and said ' who will give us meat to eat'."

So God gave them the meat they asked for.

11:31 " A wind went out from the Lord which brought quail from the sea...and the people stayed up all day and night gathering it and drying it for eating, but while the meat was still between their teeth, before they could chew it, the Lord's wrath struck them with a very great plague.
They all died. (Paraphrase)

11:34 "So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yeilded to their craving."

Kibroth Hattaavah in Hebrew means..."The graves of sensuous desire."

Lust in this instance, is listed in the concordance as:

# 183...Hebrew...avah(aw vaw)(primary root) meaning...to wish for...(greatly) desire...covet....lust (after).

We see that lusting for food, is not acceptable in God's eyes. This may seem harsh and unacceptable to us, until we realize that , with anything we put before God it is idolatry and God says "we shall not have strange gods before us". So my friends, if we lust after food and place it before all else it has become a god we worship. You may not like to hear it, but truth is like that.
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Another form of lust:
In the Concordance.. Hebrew...#8307..shriyruwth(shaw reer)...meaning...twisted imagination...lust.

In the Greek..."3715... orexis =excitement of the mind... longing after...lust.

Psalm 81:12 "So I gave them up to their own hearts LUST, and let them go after their own stubborn will, that they might follow their own counsels." (Also in Acts 7:42-43, 14:16...Romans 1:24-26)

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These next two are from the New Testament. In the concordance... Greek...#1939...Epithemeo...
set the heart upon...long for rightfully or otherwise...covet...desire...lust after.

James 4:2" You LUST and do not have. You murder and covet, and cannot obtain. You fight and war, yet you do not have, because you do not ask."

I Corinthians 10:6 "Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not LUST after evil things as they also LUSTED."
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The above Scripture don't mention the word sex, but in the context of the chapters they are taken from, all of the things we lust for are mentioned , including sex in it's natural and unnatural ways.

The fact is that no matter what we lust after, it is all the same in God's eyes. Idolatry is anathema to God, because it takes our eyes away from him and puts them on all the wrong things. If we did everything within the parameters of godliness, we could still have all the delights and desires of our hearts that we want.

However, the evil forces that rule this world are very strong, and will not allow us to easily follow what's right . Evil makes it hard for us to do things reasonably, for we are naturally drawn to what seems like the more exciting and glamorous way. If only we realized how wrong that notion is, before we messed our lives up with all the crap of the world. Yet, as long as we are alive we have the hope of renewal. Praise God for that!

Finally, there is nothing wrong with desire. Only when it turns to lust does it become evil. The reason is simple. When we lust after anything no matter what it is, it takes up our whole, heart, soul, and mind. There is no room left for God. We can't be doing right if we leave Him out, and He wants no part of us if we are lusting after things we think are more delightful than Him.


Eileen T. Waldron 2002 ©

There are many more Scriptures on Lust. I used only those I wanted for my purpose.
(God..;-)
(NKJV)
(Amplified)
(Strong's Concordance)

To all who observe...Happy Easter!...