The title for chapter 16 says it all. If you love a good word picture of what God has gone through with the nation of Israel, then this chapter paints a masterpiece. To sum up...
- It starts off with a "Your Momma" joke!
- On the day you were born, you were thrown into an open field and left for dead
- I (God) passed by and rescued you. I made you flourish like a plant in a field
- You became a full-sized adult, ready for love, I spread a garment over you.
- I made my vow to you and we entered a covenant(bride-bridegroom)
- I washed every stain off of you, clothed you, gave you shoes, silk.
- I gave you bracelets, a chain for your neck, a ring for your nose, and earrings.
- I gave you the finest of flour, honey and oil.
- You were famous among the nations because of my gifts to you.
- All the beauty given to you by God was reciprocated by you being a whore. Ouch!!!
In the rest of the word picture the word whore is used 14 times on top of the word prostitute, adulterer and lovers. It really drives the point home. We rightfully expect our spouses to not cheat on us. The pain of that failure is plain to see. It paints a great picture as God paints this bride/bridegroom picture in many places in the Bible.
The million dollar question is...Does the last bullet point make you feel bad OR does it give you some perspective about God's continued love in these matters? For a moment I invite you to not make this be about you and your guilt, but allow it to be about God and his great love for us. The riches of his blessings and a strong desire in our hearts to say thank you, thank you, thank you.
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