BibleScribbler

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John 4 and Jesus' Conversation with Oholah

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In John 4, Jesus talks to a Samaritan woman that has had 5 husbands. People have always talked about what a sinful woman she was, and how controversial it would be for Jesus to talk to her.

Now I know why.

In Ezekiel 23, God talks about having two wives that left Him and cheated. One of those wives is Samaria; her name is Oholah. The stuff she does is pretty gross, inciting the ancient rabbis to only allow a man to read Ezekiel after he turned 30.

That woman at the well in John 4: she is Oholah.

In Ezekiel 23, Oholah lusted after the Assyrians(1) and the Egyptians(2). As time went on, Samaria would be ruled by Persia (3), then in 332 B.C. be filled with Macedonians(4), then in 63 B.C. it would become a Roman Province (5).

Jesus arrives on the scene with a nation that has long forgotten who her Husband is in all of her whoring. She’s had 5 identities, and is having trouble identifying herself with the man who is currently NOT her husband.

And still Jesus reaches out, tells her everything, and tells re-introduces her to her first love, The Father that seeks worshipers that worship in Spirit and in Truth. Awesome.

God Makes the Filthy Beautiful

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In Ezekiel 16, God talks about finding Israel out in the field as he was passing by. She was lying in her blood-a newborn whose cord hadn’t even been cut. This was the ancient method of abortion, to have the baby and then dump it in a field. They didn’t even bother cutting the cord because if they were just going to let the ‘thing’ die, why bother taking any care of it at all. The child and the placenta were treated with the same care. How awful.

I have seen the scarring, dismembering effects of poor medical care. Numerous people in poverty all over the world are crippled, blind, deaf, or dead simply because a completely preventable illness was not treated properly. I know a guy in Africa that had a little girl in his neighborhood that was being left to die of malaria. She was still a part of the family, etc, but they were just going to let her die in her fever. He paid the 72¢ for the medicine and she was treated and has now lived on for years.

So here is Israel, dumped out from the beginning in a field and left to die, and God cares for her. Not only that, but she blossoms into beauty. This girl should have been disfigured and scarred at the least from her poor care, but God cared for her to such an extent as to help her grow up beautiful too.

Twice God cleans Israel from her uncleanliness. First it is the uncleanliness of birth, second the uncleanliness of maturity (menstruation). Israel needed purifying at the beginning as they got rid of their Egyptian ways and idol dependance, but they needed cleaning again once they became a mature nation (actually they needed it again and again and again) so that they could be the Mother of Blessing to the whole world. (don’t freak out-just keeping in the metaphor. I’m not into that God is our Mother garbage.)

Israel needed to mature and be united with God, but as she matured she grew into new forms of uncleanliness. God purified her from those and cleaned her up, now not just making her a beautiful child but a beautiful bride.

I’m going to stop there for today, because what Israel did after all of that is heartbreaking, and much more so when you realize what great things God has done.

Of course, it‚Äôs all a DIRECT parable into our lives. Who of us, when lost and without God, was anything more than a bloody child abandoned in a field? And who of us, after being picked up by God our Savior, has not been cleaned up and made beautiful? (even if, in the case of some of us, only in His sight 😛 )

Ezekiel, Vision, Bitterness, and Silence

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Ezekiel 3
 14 The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the Lord being strong upon me. 15 And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.
16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 ‚ÄúSon of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.”

Ezekiel saw this great vision and then went away bitter and sat among the people. He was overwhelmed and didn’t tell anybody about it or share it for 7 days, then God came back and said , “Look, I made you a watchman, you gotta tell people this stuff!”

I found myself in Ezekiel 3, sitting around with a vision but bitter because I’m overwhelmed among the people in exile that didn’t have the vision. God IS telling me to quit being bitter. God IS giving me a chance to share the vision.

Cindy said, “wow, what’s next” and I thought ahead to Ezekiel 4. “I think I get to eat bread cooked over poop.”

“Great!” she said.