Articles
An Unfaithful Wife - Ezekiel 16
An Unfaithful Wife - Ezekiel 16
The two shall become one flesh. The husband should love and cherish his wife. The wife is to respect her husband. Thus God established the marriage relationship. God chose to use this relationship to picture His relationship with His people.
I have counseled with many couples that have to deal with such unfaithfulness. It simply hurts. Seeing the tears, the anger, the shame. Such unfaithfulness rips the very foundations of life. Everything you believed and shared together is now suspect. How could they be so uncaring? How could they take such an intimate trusting relationship and throw it away? How?
God has used this picture before, but not as graphic as here in Ezek. 16. What we see is God’s side of this story. We are so prone to see only the human side , look at it through God's eyes. God saw ‘Israel’ as an abandoned infant. God chose, raised, nurtured, cared for, and loved her. God lavished his care upon her, providing everything she needed. How could she?
We are introduced to the other side of sin: what does it do to God? We sin against God. Like a loving and faithful husband that has been betrayed, He hurts. Though He tries to keep the relationship, she will have none of it. She readily accepts the gifts and blessings, but gives all of her affection and love to others. What should have been God’s alone, she has freely scattered among her lovers. Not once, nor even twice, but continually.
As with all relationships, there comes a breaking point. God, in rather explicit language, describes the complete wantonness and unfaithfulness of Judah. Just reading this makes us indignant with anger.
Here is what we miss about our sin: it hurts and offends God. We know that there is joy in heaven when sinners repent, we need to realize the sorrow that comes when we sin against God. He deserves better. He expects better. He desires better. The greatest commandment is yet to love the LORD with all of our heart, soul, and strength. When we place our affections on others or things, we have become like unfaithful Judah. God takes no pleasure in the punishment of such unfaithfulness. He desires to love, bless, to be our God. Faithfulness is not just about ‘not sinning’, but is a matter of our heart and affection. Is your heart faithful to God?
Hugh DeLong
