Ezekiel 16:34
And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary. And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.
The verse calls Jerusalem contrary because she reverses the common course of harlotry, chasing her lovers herself and paying them gifts and rewards instead of being sought and paid. In the figure the Lord is the husband, Jerusalem the wife and the people the children, and her whoredom is breaking his covenant by turning from his worship to alliances with the nations and their gods and to a mingling of idolatry with righteousness. A lewd woman is the symbol of a corrupt, fallen, apostate church, and the Jewish church espoused to the Lord alone became such a harlot in the same way the Christian church does, by turning from God her husband to seek the friendship of the world in unlawful union with the kings of the earth. That union with the world is spiritual fornication and adultery, and her rejection by God for it foreshadows Babylon's moral fall. It identifies Babylon as a professedly religious body unlawfully joined to earthly powers, seen especially when churches offer inducements to the State to enforce their doctrines by civil laws and penalties.
Language and Covenant Setting
The word contrary marks a reversal of the usual pattern of unfaithfulness, for Jerusalem is not pursued and paid as others are but herself pursues lovers and gives gifts and rewards while no payment is given to her in return. She seeks the relation instead of being sought, and she pays for it instead of being paid. The giving without receiving is what makes her unlike other women in her whoredoms.
In the figure the Lord is the husband, the land or Jerusalem is the wife, and the people are the children. The chapter sets forth the Lord's covenant with His people and their breaking of it by turning from Him to another. It is a strong parable rebuking the apostasy of Judah and Israel, laying bare the wickedness of sin while carrying God's earnest plea for His people to turn back to Him.
Her unfaithfulness consists in improper alliances with other nations and worship of their gods. It is turning from God's worship to join idolatrous or false religious groups. It is also the attempt to mix the worship of God with idolatry, an admixture of righteousness with sin portrayed as adultery.
Wantonly violating the holy ties of wedlock brings withdrawal of gifts and tokens of affection, contempt and wretchedness as an outcast, and final desolation. Yet the same marriage continues under an everlasting covenant in which the wife Jerusalem is restored to the Lord together with her sisters Samaria and Sodom. That restoration is the receiving of the Jerusalem that is to be His throne when the kingdom is the Lord's, the new-covenant counterpart to what old Jerusalem was under the old covenant.
Symbol of Apostate Church
A woman is the symbol of a church, and a harlot or lewd, licentious woman is the symbol of a corrupt, fallen, apostate church. That same image of a woman as a church is also used for Babylon in Revelation 17. The Jewish church was espoused to the Lord alone and became a harlot in the same manner as the Christian church does, by seeking the friendship of the world through unlawful connection with the kings of the earth. She becomes an adulterous woman when she turns from God her husband to follow the world and Babylon instead of keeping God's precepts, joining herself to the world though espoused to God alone.
The verse illustrates apostasy through an unfaithful relationship with the world, calling the church's union with the world fornication and adultery, even spiritual fornication and adultery. She is contrary to other women in that unlike a prostitute who receives payment, she pays others for her unlawful relations, pursuing them herself and giving gifts while receiving none in return. The fall of the Jewish church as a harlot illustrates rejection by God, with that rejection coming before its destruction, which was deferred for a considerable period. The chapter so serves as an illustration of Babylon's moral fall, in which because of alienation from God and union with the world God rejects her and leaves her to evil spirits.
This identifies Babylon as a corrupt, professedly religious body unlawfully united with the kings of the earth. It makes the harlot in Revelation a fitting symbol for the corrupt church. Israel's unfaithfulness in the account serves as a prototype of an apostate church seeking help from earthly powers instead of the Lord. The image is applied to churches seeking political support by offering inducements to the State so it will enforce their religious doctrines by civil laws and penalties. It concerns apostasy through unfaithfulness to God by turning from His worship and joining idolatrous or false religious groups, not a church's lawful use of civil government for temporal matters.