One of the sad tragedies which can creep in on any maturing believer is becoming overly familiar with Scripture. The tragedy is not in knowing the Bible, but being so familiar with the words to the point it no longer surprises you or carries the same weight as the first time you read it. I notice this with passages of Scripture I have literally read hundreds of times. I can effortlessly allow my eyes to roll right over words and phrases without considering what they mean.
That being said, one of the great remaining treasure fields full of surprises and weighty passages is the Old Testament. Let’s be honest, most of the prophets and more obscure writings are hardly read by most, including myself. However, there is as much gospel there, albeit unrealized, as there is in our favorite Epistle or Gospel. I recently uncovered one of these amazing treasures in the book of Ezekiel.
My reading plan takes me through one chapter from ten different books in the Bible each day. This forces me to read and consider the entire Bible not just my favorite books. These are not just ten isolated chapters held in individual silos. They are conspiring partners in crime. Not every chapter connects perfectly to every other chapter. Nor do they always address the same issues; but many times they do. It is important to see these consistent themes throughout all parts of the Bible.
I had one of these days recently as I read an all too familiar passage and one I may have never read consciously. I do not think the maker of the reading plan strategized this exact connection when he organized the groupings. However, I do think the Maker of the universe meant for these passages to stand side by side when he created the world and everything in it.
The first passage was Ephesians 5, and specifically the call on husbands to love their wives. I have read and studied this countless times in the past, but I still read through it and thought about the cost of loving another person. Loving a wife to the point of giving up your self is a very high calling. I casually jotted these verses down in my journal and moved on.
Next, I came to Ezekiel. I had been enjoying the simplicity and clarity of the book thus far and was looking forward to more. However, when I read the heading of the chapter I was not looking forward to reading it. The Lord’s Faithless Bride. Sometimes those kinds of chapters are the hardest to read. This might be because we don’t want to be confronted with sin and unfaithfulness. It’s not the brightest topic to start the day. But it might be the needed topic to start the day.
So I trudged through the passage trying to pay attention and understand what the author was saying. I was caught off guard by the picture he painted with his words. Ezekiel tells this story to the people of Israel to demonstrate their unfaithfulness.
There was this girl who was born to some sinful, terrible parents. They thought she was nothing special. They did not even try to keep her. They despised her and left her to die in the elements. As she was there alone, without hope in her desperation, a man happened by and had compassion on her. He took her in to his life and raised her. He gave her his love as a father. Then later, when the time was right, he set his love on her as a husband. He gave her himself and his best and put her forth as his prized possession. He promised himself to her forever. Everything he owned she now possessed too.
For a time they lived in this great marital relationship. As time wore on, she took advantage of her newfound position and began to think that she had made herself into who she was. She began to love the stuff he gave her more than him. She started to put herself out there to other men and eventually gave herself fully to them. It got so bad, that she was even paying them to take her and use her. This was the worst kind of unfaithfulness that this man ever had known. She chose to pay strangers to use her instead of living in the blessing and bounty of the marital promise. The man saw the destruction that she was heading toward and confronted her.
Now, this is the part that blows my mind. He did not take full advantage of his position and his right-standing. He did not completely throw her back to the elements. He could have rightly told her that he was getting on with his life. He could have just allowed her to chase these other things that were leading to her destruction. He could have lawfully removed himself from his obligations because she had broken the promise. He could easily backed away from the promise he made. But he did not do that. He chose a better way.
The man renewed his vows right there on the spot. He confessed his love for her. He recommitted himself to his side of the bargain. He promised to continue in his love for her and to make all the things right which she messed up. He was going to bear the cost, again, of loving her even in her filth, pride, and unfaithfulness.
How’s that for love? How’s that for a real life picture of what laying down your life and your rights looks like? How’s that for an example to follow? How’s that for a love to live in?
The reality of that story is that the man is God. The woman represents the Israelites. They, and we the same, have not been faithful to our rescuing husband. But he loves us anyways. Now, he definitely wants our faithfulness in return. He wants us to be his and his only. But he loved us while we were still unfaithful.
May we not begin to think that we have made ourselves into who we are. May we not love his things more than we love him. May we not give ourselves away to be used by the world and shame our father. May we live in a manner worthy of the gospel.
This was a gem to find the other morning. What a beautiful picture of the gospel, even 700 years before Jesus would ever come to the earth.
“yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. … I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord … when I atone for you for all that you have done declares the Lord God.” Ezekiel 16:60,62-63
