Ezekiel chapter 16

Slept in very late yesterday. Feeling sick and stuff, so not surprising.

vs 11

Again, a show of value to a wife, to give such status symbols and symbols of wealth.

vs 12

This is extravagant wealth, in fact, not to mention the other symbols that a crown represents - authority and power.

vs 13

Talk about diamond in the rough. God has transformed this dying baby into a healthy child, then a healthy child into a beautiful queen. It's a rags-to-riches story.

vs 14

And it really did - in the golden age of Solomon, the fame of Jerusalem, its wealth, it's incredible blessing, spread far and wide. But that was 400 years ago...

vs 15

That's a disgusting picture, honestly, and not just because our queen is old and wrinkly. The truth about Israel is that, although blessed and pretty and rich, it was small. It wasn't an empire (although it did control the land of a few other peoples) and Egypt and Babylon and Assyria and such were always going to be bigger and stompier. But the fact is that it took very little time from the blessings of wealth and beauty to the worrying about keeping those things safe, and seeking to use them to make herself safe, rather than looking to God, who had given it all in the first place.

vs 16

Apparently half of this verse is uncertain, but only the TNIV tells you that (and also gives a vastly different translation to the other three). Not only did Israel go to other nations looking for protection, but she turned to other gods, seeking their blessings and protection. Honestly, it's like digging a hole and hitting oil, and going, "Woo, I'm rich!" and then turning your back on the spurting gusher of black gold and digging some more, looking for diamonds.

vs 17

They used the wealth of God to make idols of gold. That's just wrong. And so God paints a picture that is pretty damn wrong to make sure we know how wrong it is.

vs 18

Oh dear. It's an ugly picture, isn't it? The jealousy is mounting, even just as you read it. Imagine how God felt.

vs 19

God's gifts were then turned into gifts offered to idols. Not offered at his temple to him, mind you! See, this is the crazy thing about being married. You share everything you own, but you still buy presents for each other. But if your wife is taking the money you both own and spending it on presents for another man... ouch.

vs 20

This is some serious stuff. Some of these idols made strong and harsh demands, like the sacrifice of children. If we were to keep this a purely secular picture (which God doesn't, but bear with me) it would be like your wife cheating on you, spending your money on her other man, and then killing your children with him (or them). I mean, it's the difference between a divorce and calling the police and a mental asylum, or even (back in those days) killing her yourself.