That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.
The verse pictures Jerusalem's unfaithfulness as building a prominent shrine at the head of every road and making a high place in every street throughout the city. The chapter sets forth the Lord's covenant with His people after His care and gifts, with the Lord as husband, Jerusalem as wife and the people as her children, who broke the bond by departure and wickedness and faced rejection and desolation, as a strong parable rebuking the apostasy of Judah and Israel and appealing for them to turn back. Its language of harlotry means apostasy as departing from the law and the testimony and the worship of Jehovah to unlawful connection with idolatrous sects, joining the surrounding nations and worshiping their gods and embracing Babylon's influence until Israel's life was joined to Babylon's. A woman is the symbol of the church, and a lewd and corrupt harlot is the symbol of a fallen apostate church used to represent Babylon as a worldly religious body, for as the Jewish church once espoused to the Lord became unfaithful like a harlot by seeking the friendship of the world in unlawful union with the kings of the earth, so the Christian church becomes Babylon. God calls such union of His church with the world fornication and adultery, seen here in the apostate church turning from God to seek support from earthly powers, yet merely using civil laws for the church's temporal affairs is not that spiritual fornication.
Setting and Imagery
Ezekiel was a prophet of priestly family who labored among the captives of Israel between the years 595 and 574. His prophetic work began and closed a little later than Jeremiah's. Before that work began God impressed His own great majesty and glory upon Ezekiel in wonderful visions, so that he afterward delivered awful messages of warning and reproof to sinners among his own people without fear of the face of man.
The verse pictures Jerusalem's unfaithfulness as building an eminent place, a prominent shrine, at the head of every road. It pictures her as making a high place in every street throughout the city. Those shrines and high places throughout the city stand for a worship set up in unfaithfulness to God.
The chapter sets forth the Lord's covenant with His people, with His care and gifts, and then their unfaithfulness. Its figure makes the Lord the husband, Jerusalem or the land the wife, and the people her children. After covenant, gifts, and care, Jerusalem broke the covenant, relied on another, and violated the bond in wickedness and departure from the Lord. For that violation she faced rejection and desolation.
The chapter is a strong parable rebuking the apostasy of Judah and Israel. It presents their awful sins and wickedness under the figure of a lewd woman. In that rebuke God earnestly appeals for His children to turn back to Him.
Apostasy as Adultery
The language of spiritual fornication in the eminent place and the high place in every street represents apostasy as departing from the law and the testimony and the worship of Jehovah to an unlawful connection with idolatrous or false religious sects. That departure was turning from God to join the surrounding nations and to worship their gods, for which the city is depicted as playing the harlot. The shrine built at the head of every road and the high place made in every street represent turning from God's commands and embracing Babylon's influence, so that Israel's life became joined to Babylon's.
The building of those places belongs to the record of Israel's backsliding, idolatry, and departure from God described as adultery. That adultery presents the mixing of heaven with earth and of righteousness with sin as spiritual unfaithfulness to God. God calls a union of His church with the world fornication and adultery, using the image of adultery to represent its union with the world. It stands as an example of the apostate church turning from God and seeking support from earthly powers.
Using civil laws for the church's temporal affairs is not made by this language an act of spiritual fornication.
Symbol of Fallen Church
A woman stands for a church, and a harlot stands for a corrupt church. A lewd woman portrays a corrupt or apostate church, and a corrupt, licentious woman represents a corrupt, fallen, apostate church. That same harlot figure is the one that represents Babylon, understood as a worldly religious body.
The Jewish church was once espoused to the Lord and then became unfaithful to Him like a harlot through an unlawful relationship with the world. That unfaithfulness came by seeking the friendship of the world through unlawful union with the kings of the earth. In the same manner the Christian church becomes Babylon.
The fall of the Jewish church as a harlot illustrates the fall of Babylon. Her fall was a moral fall and rejection by God for rejecting the message of Christ's coming, not her immediate destruction. Rejection by God is distinct from later destruction, for her destruction was deferred for a considerable period after God turned His face from her.
The verse pictures Jerusalem's unfaithfulness as building a prominent shrine at the head of every road and making a high place in every street throughout the city. The chapter sets forth the Lord's covenant with His people after His care and gifts, with the Lord as husband, Jerusalem as wife and the people as her children, who broke the bond by departure and wickedness and faced rejection and desolation, as a strong parable rebuking the apostasy of Judah and Israel and appealing for them to turn back. Its language of harlotry means apostasy as departing from the law and the testimony and the worship of Jehovah to unlawful connection with idolatrous sects, joining the surrounding nations and worshiping their gods and embracing Babylon's influence until Israel's life was joined to Babylon's. A woman is the symbol of the church, and a lewd and corrupt harlot is the symbol of a fallen apostate church used to represent Babylon as a worldly religious body, for as the Jewish church once espoused to the Lord became unfaithful like a harlot by seeking the friendship of the world in unlawful union with the kings of the earth, so the Christian church becomes Babylon. God calls such union of His church with the world fornication and adultery, seen here in the apostate church turning from God to seek support from earthly powers, yet merely using civil laws for the church's temporal affairs is not that spiritual fornication.
Setting and Imagery
Ezekiel was a prophet of priestly family who labored among the captives of Israel between the years 595 and 574. His prophetic work began and closed a little later than Jeremiah's. Before that work began God impressed His own great majesty and glory upon Ezekiel in wonderful visions, so that he afterward delivered awful messages of warning and reproof to sinners among his own people without fear of the face of man.
The verse pictures Jerusalem's unfaithfulness as building an eminent place, a prominent shrine, at the head of every road. It pictures her as making a high place in every street throughout the city. Those shrines and high places throughout the city stand for a worship set up in unfaithfulness to God.
The chapter sets forth the Lord's covenant with His people, with His care and gifts, and then their unfaithfulness. Its figure makes the Lord the husband, Jerusalem or the land the wife, and the people her children. After covenant, gifts, and care, Jerusalem broke the covenant, relied on another, and violated the bond in wickedness and departure from the Lord. For that violation she faced rejection and desolation.
The chapter is a strong parable rebuking the apostasy of Judah and Israel. It presents their awful sins and wickedness under the figure of a lewd woman. In that rebuke God earnestly appeals for His children to turn back to Him.
Apostasy as Adultery
The language of spiritual fornication in the eminent place and the high place in every street represents apostasy as departing from the law and the testimony and the worship of Jehovah to an unlawful connection with idolatrous or false religious sects. That departure was turning from God to join the surrounding nations and to worship their gods, for which the city is depicted as playing the harlot. The shrine built at the head of every road and the high place made in every street represent turning from God's commands and embracing Babylon's influence, so that Israel's life became joined to Babylon's.
The building of those places belongs to the record of Israel's backsliding, idolatry, and departure from God described as adultery. That adultery presents the mixing of heaven with earth and of righteousness with sin as spiritual unfaithfulness to God. God calls a union of His church with the world fornication and adultery, using the image of adultery to represent its union with the world. It stands as an example of the apostate church turning from God and seeking support from earthly powers.
Using civil laws for the church's temporal affairs is not made by this language an act of spiritual fornication.
Symbol of Fallen Church
A woman stands for a church, and a harlot stands for a corrupt church. A lewd woman portrays a corrupt or apostate church, and a corrupt, licentious woman represents a corrupt, fallen, apostate church. That same harlot figure is the one that represents Babylon, understood as a worldly religious body.
The Jewish church was once espoused to the Lord and then became unfaithful to Him like a harlot through an unlawful relationship with the world. That unfaithfulness came by seeking the friendship of the world through unlawful union with the kings of the earth. In the same manner the Christian church becomes Babylon.
The fall of the Jewish church as a harlot illustrates the fall of Babylon. Her fall was a moral fall and rejection by God for rejecting the message of Christ's coming, not her immediate destruction. Rejection by God is distinct from later destruction, for her destruction was deferred for a considerable period after God turned His face from her.