Stop! In the name of love, before you break my heart…
Baby, baby, I’m aware of where you go each time you leave my door…
I’ve known of your secluded nights; I’ve even seen her maybe once or twice…
But is her sweet expression worth more than my love and affection? …
Haven’t I been good to you?…
Stop! In the name of love, before you break my heart.
Deuteronomy 31:16 New International Version (NIV)
And the Lord said to Moses:
“You are going to rest with your ancestors,
and these people will soon prostitute themselves
to the foreign gods of the land they are entering.
They will forsake me and beak the covenant I made with them.”
An Allegory of Unfaithful Jerusalem
al·le·go·ry [ˈaləˌɡôrē]
noun: allegory; plural noun: allegories
a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
“Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory of the spiritual journey”
synonyms: parable, analogy, metaphor, symbol, emblem “Saramago’s latest novel is an allegory of social disintegration”
a symbol.
Ezekiel 16:7b-14 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
You grew up and became tall and arrived at full womanhood;
your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown;
yet you were naked and bare. I passed by you again and looked on you; you were at the age for love. I spread the edge of my cloak over you, and covered your nakedness:
I pledged myself to you and entered into a covenant with you,
says the Lord God, and you became mine.
Then I bathed you with water and washed off the blood from you,
and anointed you with oil. I clothed you with embroidered cloth and with sandals of fine leather; I bound you in fine linen and covered you with rich fabric.
I adorned you with ornaments: I put bracelets on your arms, a chain on your neck, a ring on your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head.
You were adorned with gold and silver, while your clothing was of fine linen, rich fabric, and embroidered cloth. You had choice flour and honey and oil for food.
You grew exceedingly beautiful, fit to be a queen.
Your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty,
for it was perfect because of my splendor
that I had bestowed on you, says the Lord God.
Ezekiel 16:15-16 (NRSV)
But you trusted in your beauty, and played the whore
because of you fame, and lavished your whorings
on any passerby. You took some of your garments,
and made for yourself colorful shrines,
and on them played the whore;
nothing like this has ever been or ever shall be.
Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord!
This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Because you poured out your lust and exposed you naked body
in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children’s blood, therefore I am going to gather all your lovers,
with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around
and will strip you in front of them, and they will see you stark naked.
Agape Love – unconditional
Philio Love – brotherly/sisterly
Eros Love – erotic, sensual, intimate
Stop! In the name of Love…before you break my heart.
God wants you. All of you.
Today’s Challenge: A Self-Inventory