How we pain the Holy One of Israel - From my personal Bible reading

Welcome back, my beautiful readers...

I hope you don't mind, but this time, I did pull something out at random to talk about. Normally, my thoughts are provoked by a question, or a comment, but this time, they were triggered by something I read in the Bible.

As many of you probably already know, we, as those who want to learn more about Jehovah God and draw closer to him, are encouraged to read the Bible daily. That is how we develop an intimate relationship with our Creator. I do my best to do that, daily. Sometimes my life is busy and I miss a day or two, but when I get the chance, I catch back up and get back on schedule, as was the case today. I had the grand baby over the weekend, and so for the past two days, 'catch-up'.

My personal Bible reading took me to the book of Ezekiel chapter 16. Now mind you, I have an app on my tablet that helps me keep on schedule, and I have been reading the Bible in Chronological order. I am right in the middle of reading about all the profits that Jehovah is sending to the children of Israel, warning them to turn back from their wicked ways, to stop worshiping other gods, and return to their Husbandly owner, Jehovah. Jehovah is about to discipline his people, but not before warning them. And when I started reading this, the first few verses touched my heart... pause... go back and read that again... yep, touching... I actually cried, it was so beautiful.

Starting with verses 3-5, Jehovah describes how Israel first started out - 3  You must say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says to Jerusalem: “Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Caʹnaan·ite. Your father was an Amʹor·ite,+ and your mother was a Hitʹtite.+ 4  As for your birth, on the day you were born, your umbilical cord was not cut, you were not washed in water to make you clean, you were not rubbed with salt, and you were not wrapped in cloths. 5  No one pitied you enough to do any of these things. No one had compassion for you. Instead, you were thrown into the open field because you were* hated on the day you were born... Can you just picture it in your mind, an unwanted child? Me, I picture an abandon newborn puppy, but that's just me. :-)

Then with verses 6-7, Jehovah describes in a beautiful way how he first found Israel and took them in, caring for them, raising them, making them grow into a vast nation.6  “‘“When I was passing by, I saw you kicking about in your own blood, and as you lay there in your blood, I said: ‘Keep living!’ Yes, I said to you lying there in your blood: ‘Keep living!’ 7  I made you a very great multitude, like plants sprouting in the field, and you grew up and developed and wore the finest ornaments. Your breasts became firm, and your hair grew; but you were still naked and exposed.”’... I my mind, I picture them in when they were first in Egypt, multiplying, becoming feared by Pharaoh due to their numbers.

When I read verses 8- 9... I picture the love felt as Jehovah takes this nation, loving it, caring for it, clothing it, and taking possession of it when he says there in the last part of  “and you became mine.” That is just so beautiful to me, so loving.

I see loving concern in verse 9  Furthermore, I washed you with water and rinsed away your blood and put oil on you.+... kinda like cleaning a wound on a knee when someone slips and falls and skins it.

Now, here comes the 'spoiling' if I may say. Verses10  I then clothed you with an embroidered garment and gave you fine leather* sandals and wrapped you in fine linen, and I clothed you with costly garments. 11  I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. 12  I also put a ring in your nose and earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13  You kept adorning yourself with gold and silver, and your clothing was fine linen, costly material, and an embroidered garment. Fine flour, honey, and oil were what you ate, and you grew to be extremely beautiful,+ and you became fit to be a queen.’”*...now come on, how cool is that, the finest of clothing, ornament and bracelets, gold and silver, fine flour, honey and oil... and this struck me a royalty... “and you became fit to be a queen.” I don't know about you, but I could be that type of royalty... I...J...S...

Even verse 14 says royalty... 14  “‘Your fame* began to spread among the nations+ because of your beauty, for it was perfect because my own splendor I placed upon you,’+ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”...

However, and you knew this was coming, here come the sad part. The prostitution! And as I read it, I kept having this feeling of betrayal. Verses 15 -19 ... kinda like re-gifting of the original givers gift - “that I had given you” ... “you offered them my oil and my incense” ... “that I gave you to eat” to the enemy. Stabs to the heart!

And really, I can't imagine doing what those people did in verses 20 - 21... Words almost escape me. Actually, I don't even really want to picture this. But I can just imagine how HURT Jehovah God was over this!

Forgetting all the good that was done to them, and forgetting where they came from, how they started as nothing and yet, Jehovah made them great. Yep, they forgot it all. Verse 22. 22  While engaging in all your detestable practices and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and exposed, kicking about in your own blood...

And after pointing out all the bad that they had done, verse23  After all your evil, woe, woe to you,’+ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah... this verse, to me, was kinda like Jehovah saying 'REALLY?!?!?!' but again, that's just me.

And of course, enter in the worshiping of other gods, the prostitution again. Verses 24  ‘You built yourself a mound and made a high place for yourself in every public square. 25  You built your high places at the most prominent place of every street, and you turned your beauty into something detestable by offering yourself* to everyone passing by,+and you multiplied your acts of prostitution.+ 26  You prostituted yourself to the sons of Egypt,+ your lustful neighbors,* and you offended me with your countless acts of prostitution...They just had to go and do that!

Enter in the punishment. verse27  Now I will bring my hand against you and diminish your food allowance+ and give you over to the will* of the women who hate you,+ the daughters of the Phi·lisʹtines, who were appalled because of your obscene conduct.+...

Hey, more prostitution. Verses 28 - 29... So, like how bad does it have to get that they could not be satisfied? So much that they increased their prostitution. Honestly, I am having a hard time even picturing this, 'behaving like a brazen prostitute!' ...

Oh look! A free prostitute, one who takes no payment but pays out, and bribes those to come to 'her.' 31  But when you built your mound at the most prominent place of every street and made your high place in every public square, you were not like a prostitute, because you refused any payment. 32  You are an adulterous wife who takes strangers instead of her own husband!+ 33  People give all prostitutes a gift,+ but you are the one who has given gifts to all those lusting after you,+ and you bribe them to come to you from all around to commit prostitution.+ 34  You are the opposite of other women who engage in prostitution. No one commits prostitution your way! You pay others, and they do not pay you. Your way is the opposite.’... Now I don't care who you are, that is just MESSED UP!!!

And here's what's going down... 35  “Therefore, O prostitute,+ hear the word of Jehovah. 36  This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘Because your lust has been poured out and your nakedness has been exposed during your prostitution with your lovers and all your detestable, disgusting idols*+ to which you even sacrificed the blood of your sons,+ 37  therefore I am collecting together all the lovers you have given pleasure to, all those you loved together with all those you hated. I will collect them together against you from all around and expose your nakedness to them, and they will see you completely naked.+...the punishment for the deed. If you can't pay the time, don't do the crime. Hey, you were thinking it to!

This next part to me says 'ya get whatcha deserve' 38  “‘And I will punish you with the judgments that adulteresses+and women shedding blood+ deserve, and your blood will be shed in rage and jealousy.+ 39  I will give you into their hand, and they will tear down your mounds, and your high places will be pulled down;+and they will strip you of your garments+ and take your beautiful jewelry*+ and leave you naked and exposed. 40  They will bring against you a crowd,+ and they will stone you+ and will slaughter you with their swords.+ 41  They will burn your houses with fire+and execute judgment on you before the eyes of many women; and I will bring an end to your prostitution,+ and you will stop giving payment.42  I will satisfy my rage against you,+ and my indignation will turn away from you;+ and I will be calm and no longer feel offended.’... Can you imagine having angered you creator so much that you are given this warning - “your blood will be shed in rage and jealousy?” ... and verse 42... That's heavy! That's sad! That hurts!

There has to be consequences for your actions, and here they are - verse 43...Well, they can't say they weren't warned! And what a warning it was! 

I am glad that I was able to reflect on what Jehovah was trying to tell me. He really loved those people. He found them, took them in, gave them a name and a place to live. Protected them. Cared for them. Everything you would expect a loving parent to do. And what did 'Dad' get in return? A slap in the face. I...J...S... If you are a patent and have ever been treated this way by your children that you love, then you know what it feels like, what Jehovah was feeling. Sad indeed!

But what can we learn from this? What did I learn from this? Although I understand the Israelites had to be punished for behaving worse than a common criminal, I myself cling to the first part of this chapter, in where Jehovah loves his people, cares for them, protects them, and wants to do the same for me, us. We have been given the chance to develop an intimate relationship with our creator, and that my dear readers, is the lead-in for my next blog, where we can learn why we should and how we can have that intimate relationship with our creator, the sovereign of the universe, Jehovah God.

Stay tuned...