Israel Depicted as a Prostitute

Well, that was uncomfortable. I should have blogged yesterday on this excerpt of Ezekiel but had no idea how to respond. This is by far the most graphic sexual imagery used in the Bible. And if it shocks us, in our day and time, to read it...imagine what it must have been like to listen to a prophet speak it aloud! Clearly the Lord intended to shock the Jews and jolt them out of their complacency. It seems the nation had fallen into a false sense of security, believing that as God's chosen people they would not be judged by Him. Ezekiel's objective was to slap them across the face with this shocking analogy so that they might feel the weight of their sin.

The analogy is fairly straightforward. Samaria and Jerusalem (the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel), are the two sisters. Their allowing their ""breasts to be fondled" even as young girls, refers to the time of Israel's captivity in Egypt. The nation was in its' infancy and the people were very affected by the idol worship of their oppressors. The Lord "married" them when He called them out of Egypt to be His people. The reference to their lusting after other lovers speaks of Israel's propensity to seek alliances with surrounding nations, or pay tribute to them, instead of looking to God for help. These powerful nations are depicted as handsome captains and commanders with charioteers driving their horses. First Assyria and then Babylon and then Egypt again, played the role of the sisters' lovers. These lovers are said to have genitals as large as a donkey's and emissions as large as a horse's. I read that these animals were proverbial for their strong sex drive, alluding to the intensity with which they pursued Israel.

From there, judgment was pronounced upon these two nations for their political and spiritual adultery. It feels like we have read that hundreds of times! Judgement is coming for your idolatrous ways, Israel! With so many prophets saying the same thing at the same time, (note that only 150 years separated the ministries of Isaiah, Nahum, Micah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Amos, Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel), perhaps it began to sound like white noise to the people. This particular message of Ezekie's was meant to stand out, and to get attention. It certainly got mine.

Tomorrow's reading: Ez. 24:15-25:17; Jer. 34:1-22, 21:1-14; Ez. 29:1-31:18