I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
The verse pictures the Lord adorning Jerusalem with ornaments, bracelets on her hands and a chain on her neck, as a husband decks his wife and bride in the solemn custom of marriage. The jewels and clothing are tokens of His affection and the grace, spiritual character, honor and royal beauty He gives His church, so that her prosperity and loveliness come from His majesty and reflect His own beauty and not from herself. The same gift belongs to the individual, for God covers the repentant sinner and clothes that person in Christ's perfect righteousness after godly sorrow, bringing pardon and comfort. The chapter sets this adorning against Judah's sins under the figure of a lewd and adulterous woman, for having become His by covenant she broke it and turned to foreign powers, idols and the ways of the world. A woman is the symbol of a church, and a harlot is a corrupt, fallen and apostate church, so the Jewish church espoused to the Lord became a harlot like Babylon by seeking the friendship of the world in unlawful union with the kings of the earth, and Babylon likewise is a professedly religious body unlawfully united with them rather than an earthly power or a literal city, whose fall was God's rejection of her when He turned His face away and not her immediate destruction.
God's Adorning of Jerusalem
The verse pictures divine care for Jerusalem in the act of decking her with ornaments and jewelry. The adorning with ornaments, bracelets upon the hands, and a chain upon the neck belongs to the marriage customs that accompanied a solemn union. In that union Jerusalem stands as the Lord's wife and bride.
The bracelets and the chain on the neck are gifts and tokens of affection. The ornaments express the beauty with which He adorned her. This adorning comes after washing and clothing His people, when He adds ornaments, bracelets, necklace, and crown. Those adornments represent the grace and beauty He bestows so that His people reflect His own beauty.
The ornaments together with fine clothing, food, and royal beauty describe the spiritual character and honor God gave His church. The bracelets and necklace are gifts from God who makes His church beautiful. Her beauty and prosperity therefore come from His majesty and not from herself. The same image applies to the individual, for God covers the repentant person's sin and clothes that person in Christ's perfect righteousness, so that the person's beauty comes from God's character and not their own. That gift follows godly sorrow and repentance and brings the comfort of grace and pardon.
Apostasy and the Harlot Church
Ezekiel 16 presents Judah's sins under the figure of a lewd woman, as a strong parable rebuking the apostasy of Judah and Israel and showing God earnestly pleading with His children to turn back to Him. The chapter speaks of the Lord's covenant with His people: they became His, but broke the covenant and relied on another. The combined symbol of a city and a woman represents a church or the professed people of God, with a woman as the symbol of a church.
A lewd, licentious woman and a harlot are the symbol of a corrupt, fallen, and apostate church. The Jewish church was espoused to the Lord and became a harlot in the same manner as Babylon, by apostatizing from God, seeking the friendship of the world through unlawful connection with the kings of the earth, joining the surrounding nations, and worshiping their gods. The chapter portrays Jerusalem as an adulterous wife who turns from God her husband to foreign powers and their ways, in backsliding, conformity to the world, idolatry, and departure from God that mixes heaven with earth and righteousness with sin.
God calls His church's union with the world spiritual fornication and adultery, so that when God's church is joined to the world instead of remaining faithful to God alone, it is counted as a harlot. This symbolic use supports identifying Babylon as a corrupt, worldly, professedly religious body rather than the earthly power of human government, an abstract evil, the whole world, or a literal city; Babylon is distinct from the kings of the earth though unlawfully united with them. The Jewish church as a harlot espoused to the Lord illustrates the fall of Babylon: her fall was her rejection by God when He turned His face from her, not her destruction, for her destruction was deferred for a considerable period and came later.
The verse pictures the Lord adorning Jerusalem with ornaments, bracelets on her hands and a chain on her neck, as a husband decks his wife and bride in the solemn custom of marriage. The jewels and clothing are tokens of His affection and the grace, spiritual character, honor and royal beauty He gives His church, so that her prosperity and loveliness come from His majesty and reflect His own beauty and not from herself. The same gift belongs to the individual, for God covers the repentant sinner and clothes that person in Christ's perfect righteousness after godly sorrow, bringing pardon and comfort. The chapter sets this adorning against Judah's sins under the figure of a lewd and adulterous woman, for having become His by covenant she broke it and turned to foreign powers, idols and the ways of the world. A woman is the symbol of a church, and a harlot is a corrupt, fallen and apostate church, so the Jewish church espoused to the Lord became a harlot like Babylon by seeking the friendship of the world in unlawful union with the kings of the earth, and Babylon likewise is a professedly religious body unlawfully united with them rather than an earthly power or a literal city, whose fall was God's rejection of her when He turned His face away and not her immediate destruction.
God's Adorning of Jerusalem
The verse pictures divine care for Jerusalem in the act of decking her with ornaments and jewelry. The adorning with ornaments, bracelets upon the hands, and a chain upon the neck belongs to the marriage customs that accompanied a solemn union. In that union Jerusalem stands as the Lord's wife and bride.
The bracelets and the chain on the neck are gifts and tokens of affection. The ornaments express the beauty with which He adorned her. This adorning comes after washing and clothing His people, when He adds ornaments, bracelets, necklace, and crown. Those adornments represent the grace and beauty He bestows so that His people reflect His own beauty.
The ornaments together with fine clothing, food, and royal beauty describe the spiritual character and honor God gave His church. The bracelets and necklace are gifts from God who makes His church beautiful. Her beauty and prosperity therefore come from His majesty and not from herself. The same image applies to the individual, for God covers the repentant person's sin and clothes that person in Christ's perfect righteousness, so that the person's beauty comes from God's character and not their own. That gift follows godly sorrow and repentance and brings the comfort of grace and pardon.
Apostasy and the Harlot Church
Ezekiel 16 presents Judah's sins under the figure of a lewd woman, as a strong parable rebuking the apostasy of Judah and Israel and showing God earnestly pleading with His children to turn back to Him. The chapter speaks of the Lord's covenant with His people: they became His, but broke the covenant and relied on another. The combined symbol of a city and a woman represents a church or the professed people of God, with a woman as the symbol of a church.
A lewd, licentious woman and a harlot are the symbol of a corrupt, fallen, and apostate church. The Jewish church was espoused to the Lord and became a harlot in the same manner as Babylon, by apostatizing from God, seeking the friendship of the world through unlawful connection with the kings of the earth, joining the surrounding nations, and worshiping their gods. The chapter portrays Jerusalem as an adulterous wife who turns from God her husband to foreign powers and their ways, in backsliding, conformity to the world, idolatry, and departure from God that mixes heaven with earth and righteousness with sin.
God calls His church's union with the world spiritual fornication and adultery, so that when God's church is joined to the world instead of remaining faithful to God alone, it is counted as a harlot. This symbolic use supports identifying Babylon as a corrupt, worldly, professedly religious body rather than the earthly power of human government, an abstract evil, the whole world, or a literal city; Babylon is distinct from the kings of the earth though unlawfully united with them. The Jewish church as a harlot espoused to the Lord illustrates the fall of Babylon: her fall was her rejection by God when He turned His face from her, not her destruction, for her destruction was deferred for a considerable period and came later.