Ezekiel 16:1-59 Unfaithful Judah
God likens unfaithful Judah, especially Jerusalem, to that of an unfaithful bride. The bride He protected from her birth has turned away from Him.
As I was reading this and my bible helps along with it, I was thinking about when each of these events in the bride’s life would have taken place in Israel’s. I would like to go through her life and tie in what I see. While I was just thinking about this process with Israel, another woman who went through similar circumstances came to mind; Queen Ester. She stopped short of the infidelity that Israel exhibited though.
I’m trying to decide if the ‘birth’ of this unwanted child would be at the moment Adam and Eve sinned, at the reemergence of man onto the face of the earth after the flood, or when Abram was called to go to a foreign land. If we were strictly speaking of Israel, I would put it at Abram’s call. But the birth of the ‘unwanted child’ makes me think back farther.
When Adam and Eve fell, man became a child of sin; Satan. Satan didn’t want a ‘child’, he only wanted for God to lose His child. Satan didn’t step forward to take care of them. He made things as hard as possible. He still does! Also, when man began again with the ‘rebirth’ of civilization after the flood, Satan again didn’t come to the rescue of man. Because of his influence, sin again began in the world.
When Abram was called by God, he was called away from his family. He was allowed to bring what he had at the time. But he was alone as a people. The nation of Israel was born that day. There were none to advise him on how to become this great nation. Everything he learned he learned from God. And he had PLENTY of stumbles along the way, as any growing child will while learning.
The next time God ‘passed by’ He found a young girl in puberty. This, to me, would be when Israel went to join Joseph in Egypt. God prepared a place for them through Joseph but they were still only a young and fragile people.
God ‘passed by again’ and saw one ready for love. A fully developed woman in need of a husband. To me, this is when He sent the ten plagues on Egypt. His people were grown and ready to enter into relationship with Him. He spread “the corner of [His] garment over [Israel] and covered [her] nakedness” (verse 8b). He bound them together as a whole; a new nation that He nurtured from birth.
God entered into covenant with Israel in the wilderness. He took her as His bride and began to refine her and bring her to a place of honor. He ‘bathed’ them in the Red Sea and in the Jordan as they crossed over. He fed them on Heaven’s bread as He continued to bring them to a place of royalty. Everything from the time they left Egypt until they became a kingdom was their refining process. He laid a crown on Israel’s head with her first king; Saul. But her true royalty didn’t how through until King David took the throne. Now Israel was standing tall, in regal majesty and beauty. All the nations around learned of Israel and the God of Israel. They became renown for their ‘beauty’ and position as His wife.
Israel didn’t stay true to God for a long time. They were loyal through David’s rule and Solomon’s. But Solomon wasn’t always loyal to God. Later in his reign, he began to make political alliances that led to spiritual allowances. Solomon allowed, and even welcomed, other gods into Israel’s life. Solomon even built temples for these other gods because of the wishes of his wives!
From that time on, Israel became more and more unfaithful. When the kingdom split in two, each part made and broke allegiances with whomever they thought would benefit them the most at the time. They weren’t even faithful to their ‘lovers’! Idol worship grew in both halves of this beautiful kingdom. Israel was proud of her ‘beauty’ that GOD had bestowed on her and claimed it as her own doing. She used her beauty to bring others into agreement with her. She even adopted their gods to further enhance her appeal to them.
Finally, the depravity of sacrificing her children to idols came right into the heart of Jerusalem with King Manasseh. He even replaced God’s altar with one of his own IN GOD’S OWN HOUSE! The people were worshiping false gods even on the rooftops of their homes in the city of Jerusalem; the city that held God’s house and wore His name.
This would not stand. Justice demanded action. God reached out His hand and diminished His wife’s beauty. He let her enemies begin to rule over her. With the fall of the Northern Kingdom to the vassal kings in Judah, God stripped Israel of her status and beauty. The gifts of gold He had given her were used to pay her ‘lovers’ for her own protection. And often this was done willingly! Sending her best gifts to win over another protector or ally.
God gathered Jerusalem’s enemies from all around and let them besiege her to the point of finally falling. He gave them into the hands of their enemies; the ones who once claimed to be her lovers. Those in Jerusalem would be stripped of all their valuables and led away in chains. Jerusalem’s walls, houses, places of worship, and every other structure were torn down and or burned. Nothing remained untouched or intact. Her false gods were proven to be useless to defend or rescue her.
This is her JUST punishment for forsaking the one Who gave her life to begin with. The one who bestowed on her ALL her beauty. All that she had came from Him. She spoiled it completely through her own behavior. ALL that was to come was well earned justice and judgment.
God likened Jerusalem to Sodom and Samaria. Sodom’s sins were so great that God rained fire down on her and consumed her in a moment. Samaria fell to her neighbors from the north. Her sin was replacing God from the moment she was formed. Yet, God says that Jerusalem’s sins were even greater than both of these! Maybe because the other two weren’t even pretending to be true to Him.
After ALL this, God still speaks of restoration. He sets it off until AFTER Jerusalem has learned from her actions; born her disgrace for her actions.
Father God, I KNOW I am responsible for my actions too. I can also look back on my life and see the growth You have created in me. From when I was little and I knew of You but had only a surface relationship with You. To the times You have literally saved me from death and given me more time to get to know You. To the times when the cares of this world fought for dominance in my life. To times when I truly experience Your presence. I know I have chased after ‘things’ on more than one occasion but You have always brought me back to Your side. That is where I want to stay FOREVER!
THANK YOU for the beauty You have made in my life. It might not be the ‘beauty’ that the world calls beauty, but it is the beauty of a TRUE relationship with You. YOU made that possible. YOU grew it into being. And YOU protect it fiercely from ALL that would try and step between us. And YOU have taught me to protect it fiercely too! THANK YOU for my hope.
