The Lord’s Faithless Bride

The Lord’s Faithless Bride

(Based on Ezekiel 16)

Just as a bride seeks a groom, here I stand and wait for you.

While you have waited on this day for oh so long, what you don’t realize is that I have been here all along.

On the day you were born you were left abandoned, all alone. “No eye pitied you” (Ezekiel 16:5). You were left to manage on your own.

But I heard your cry, I heard the sounds of my child left to die.

Quickly I came and saw you wallowing in your own blood,

I spoke the words “LIVE” and therefore, it was done (Ezekiel 16:6)

I watched as you grew tall, and I made sure you lacked nothing at all

Your hair had grown, and you developed quickly, but on the inside your remained naked and empty (16:7)

I covered you with my garment and made a vow to you that you were mine,

I said to you “I am your God, and I will always provide”

I bathed you with water and anointed you in oil

I made you clean and brand new.

Daughter, there was no single flaw in you.

You were beautiful and perfect in my eyes , all because of your obedience to abide.

Everything was perfect and wonderful in my eyes,

but to you, my gifts were not enough to suffice

You trusted in your beauty and used it for your selfish ways,

you sought out your own desires and laid mine to waste. (16:15)

It wasn’t long until the world recognized your beauty as well,

you quickly became an idol and were being compelled.

They told you what you wanted to hear, you sought out their evil ways,

and all the things I had given you, you used them in the worldly race.

You gave up everything that was important to you, everything that mattered

There was nothing I could say to you, you had forgotten about me, your groom, and I was left shattered

Your sinfulness grew as you sought out more evil.

And when I found you in the same bed as your enemies, you began an upheaval.

I cried out “How sick is your heart? (16:30)” You took everything that I gave you and tore it apart

Now you are left with your sin and your idols, you are left with your guilt and unsatisfaction

Where will you turn, where will you go? You have no plan of action.

Child, you have forgotten about me. You have forgotten and have chosen a different way.

You have become mesmerized by those around you but see the sin that they live in every day.

Still, you chose the latter. You chose what you thought matters.

Beauty, idols, and the world. You chose all of these things and gained... what?

Maybe you thought doing things your way would lead you to a shortcut.

But child, I am here to tell you that I am jealous. I am jealous of the love you so freely give out.

I watch as your heart is so easily pulled about.

You may have forgotten what I have done for you and the covenant we made so long ago,

But this is what you must know...

I have not forgotten about you.

There is not a day that has gone by where I have not cried a tear or two.

You are my beloved daughter, you are my bride,

I cry out every day, “Please turn your face towards me, may you no longer hide.”

I know the sin you carry and the shame that eats at you

May you follow that nudge, that feeling in your heart, you know what it’s calling you to do.

Please daughter cry out to me, and then you will see. You are beautiful and perfect in my eyes.

Remember there is no flaw in you, with me there is nothing you need to disguise.

Let go of the world and the pressure you feel, to be perfect and the need to always conceal.

Your heart needs healing, your soul needs reviving.

Can’t you see? I am the one who can do the providing.

Here I will stand and wait for you, as a groom waits for his bride.

I will never stop seeking after you, for you are the one who is always on my mind.

Daughter, I promise you I will wait, and whenever you are ready, all you have to do is say my name.

And there I will be, no matter the time or the place.

In Ezekiel 16, God compares this faithless bride to his people, Israel. He says that Israel is a nation that was forgotten and left to die. The Lord came in and saved them and gave them everything they needed to survive. He even created them to be beautiful and “advanced them to royalty.” He clothed them in silver and gold and fed them with flour, oil, and honey. They were given everything they needed to flourish. They then used the Lord’s gifts for their own desires and turned away from him. They sought after their own idols and became a very rebellious people. They acted in their own ways and were “unsatisfied.” They forgot about the Lord and all the things he had done for them. They forgot, but he never did. He tried reminding them time and time again to turn from their evil ways. At the end of the day, he was a faithful groom waiting for his faithless bride.

It is important to note that in the Old Testament, God was angry with Israel when they do not remember him. He says “So I will satisfy my wrath with you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry. Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all of these things, therefore, behold, I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 16:42-43)

The Lord is angry and is ready to punish Israel for the ways they have forgotten him and have chosen their own ways. They chose sin, idolatry, and their own desires. They used the gifts the Lord had given them for their own selfish ways and now God is making them pay.

God ends the chapter with describing his everlasting covenant. “For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant.”

God is saying that he is still going to do good to this rebellious people, so they may open their eyes and see the ways they have acted in evil. God says, “you will remember your ways and be ashamed.” They will see his goodness, but they will still feel shame for their sin so that they may know they did wrong. Also, while the people forgot about God, he did not forget his covenant with them, grace.

There is an important difference to note from the people of Israel and us today. The people of Israel did not have Jesus to bear their sins for them. Therefore, they carried the weight and shame of their own sins for the things they have done. Because of Jesus, we do not have to feel shame or guilt. We are free of these chains, and we can walk in freedom knowing that salvation is found in Christ alone.