Eighteenth-century American pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards wrote of the beauty and wonder of God’s salvation: “There never was such an instance of goodness, mercy, pity, and compassion since the world began; all the mercy and goodness amongst creatures fall infinitely short of it: this is goodness that never was, never will, never can be paralleled by any other beings.”

God’s love is clearly seen in the allegory in today’s reading. The woman in the story is Jerusalem, representing the people of Judah. At first, she was an unloved baby (vv. 1–5). God allowed her to live (vv. 6–7). Later, He spread the corner of His garment over her (v. 8). Just as in the Ruth story, this meant that He’d chosen these people as His bride, marking the start of their covenant relationship. Israel became His chosen people. God prepared His people for marriage (vv. 9–14). He clothed her in an embroidered dress, leather sandals, and other costly garments. He bathed her and put jewelry and ointment on her. Thanks to His favor, she became famous for her beauty. This is a reference to the nation’s golden age under David and Solomon.

But Jerusalem rebelled, trusting in her own beauty and fame (vv. 15–19). She turned to pride and prostitution, that is, to the unfaithfulness of idolatry. The gifts of clothing and jewelry were used for false worship—the exact reverse of their intended purpose.The immorality here is both literal (cult prostitution) and figurative (idolatry, covenant unfaithfulness). The story came up to Ezekiel’s day, when the nation was in exile in Babylon. This “word of the Lord” was a prophetic warning. Ezekiel was confronting Judah with the history of its “detestable practices” (v. 1) in order to call her to repentance.

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