2我们要领会旧约的历史，就需要圣经全面的视野。我们若照著这全面的视野来读旧约，就会领悟，神在西乃山那里娶了以色列为妻。在祂的观念和愿望里，祂对以色列像丈夫对妻子一样，祂也期望以色列对祂像妻子一样。我们读士师记时，需要记住这点。撒母耳在写历史书时，将士师记放在约书亚记之后，给我们看见以色列对她的丈夫是过怎样的生活。因著某种缘故，她无心作耶和华的妻子。身为妻子，她忘记她的丈夫，离开她的丈夫，照著自己的意欲行动。至终，以色列成了淫妇。在何西阿的时候，以色列在神眼中是淫妇。（何一2，二2。）她已落到奸淫的罪里，没有确定的丈夫。除了耶和华祂的丈夫以外，她有了许多别的男人。这是在士师记里以色列的情形。在士师记里，有一幅妻子离弃丈夫，甚至不承认祂存在的可怕图画。这是一幅淫妇（离弃丈夫并随从偶像之妻子）的丑陋图画。起初以色列对神有订亲的爱情，但在她结婚以后，她失去向丈夫作贞洁妻子的地位。她离弃神并随从偶像。每个偶像都是一个『男人』，以色列变得满了偶像。杰里迈亚十一章十三节说，百姓照著耶路撒冷街道16:24的数目，向偶像筑坛烧香。以西结十六章二十四节告诉我们，以色列『在各街上作了高台』。这就是说，每一条街都有偶像。新约与这一致；新约在启示录十七章给我们看见另一个大妓女，罗马天主教，就是众妓女之母。众妓女之母既是背道的天主教，众妓女（背道召会的女儿）必是基督教中一切的宗派和团体，她们在某种程度上，持守背道罗马天主教的教训、实行和传统。
2In order to understand the history in the Old Testament, we need the full scope of the Scriptures. If we read the Old Testament according to this full scope, we will realize that at Mount Sinai God married Israel. In His concept and desire, He wanted to be to Israel as a husband to a wife, and He expected Israel to act as a wife toward Him. We need to keep this point in mind as we read the book of Judges. In writing the books of history, Samuel put Judges after Joshua to show us what kind of life Israel lived toward her Husband. For some reason, she did not have a heart to be the wife of Jehovah. As a wife, she forgot her Husband, left her Husband, and acted according to her own desires. Eventually, Israel became a harlot. At the time of Hosea, Israel was a harlot in the eyes of God (Hosea 1:2; 2:2). Having fallen into the sin of adultery, she did not have a definite husband. In addition to Jehovah asher Husband, she had many other men. This was the situation of Israel in the book of Judges. In the book of Judges there is a terrible picture of a wife forsaking her Husband and not even acknowledging His existence. This is an ugly picture of a harlot, a wife who forsook her Husband and went after idols. In the beginning Israel had a bridal love toward God, but after her marriage she lost her position as a chaste wife to her husband. She forsook God and went to idols. Every idol was a “man,” and Israel became full of idols. Jeremiah 11:13 says that according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem the people had set up altars to burn incense to their idols. Ezekiel tells us that Israel made “a high place in every street.” This means that there was an idol on every street. This corresponds to the New Testament, which shows us another great harlot in Revelation 17, the Roman Catholic Church, which is the mother of many harlots. Since the mother of the harlots is the apostate Roman Church, the harlots, the daughters of the apostate church, must be all the sects and groups in Christianity that hold to some extent the teachings, practices, and traditions of the apostate Roman Church.