Tonight, we are looking at Ezekiel 16 – 17 which casts Jerusalem as an unfaithful wife. Whenever we or the Church or the Scriptures speak of things Divine, we necessarily use analogies or metaphors. For example, whenever Jesus was asked about the Kingdom of Heaven, he always responded “The Kingdom of Heaven is like . . . .” One of these analogies is that Israel/Church is the Bride of God/Christ. We will begin our discussion this Tuesday by talking about what this analogy means. If we look at God’s covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15 or his covenant with Moses and Israel at the end of their desert wandering in Deuteronomy 30, these covenants resemble that of a vassal to an overlord. The vassal pledges loyalty and obedience and the overload pledges protection and prosperity. Although the relationship between a husband and a wife may contain some of the characteristics of a contractual relationship such as a mutuality of obligations and duties of loyalty, the foundation of the relationship and the ultimate end or purpose of the relationship is unique. Before Tuesday evening think about your relationship with your spouse or back to the first years with your spouse and how the nature and purpose of a spousal relationship can be compared with Christ’s relationship with us. And then to complete the analogy of Ezekiel 16, think about what it means for a spouse to commit adultery and then what it takes for that relationship to be fully restored.
Dinner is at 6. Invite a friend. A revised outline for our study is attached.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-8