here's my version.
when you were born, you were completely unwanted. nobody cared enough to give you a bath, to give you a soft blanket to sleep on, to give you good things to eat. you were discarded and left in the middle of the road to die. not knowing what to do or how to live, you flailed around in the pain of a broken heart and the blood of your past.
and then God walked by. he saw you and immediately loved you, wanted to rock you in his arms and take care of you. he said, "it's okay. you don't have to cry--come here and let's get you all cleaned up." so you followed him and you grew up into a beautiful young woman. because you were still young and fragile, God spent lots of time taking care of you and always listened when you had a question or anything to say. he gave you a new dress and jewelry and even a crown to show everyone how proud he was of you. "you were provided with everything precious and beautiful...you were absolutely stunning." people all over the world found out how wonderful you were.
but you began to let the praise go to your head. willingly, you turned away from the father who had given so much in his love for you. you threw everything away for a few nights of pleasure, defiled the beautiful gifts and defiled yourself. you threw yourself at all kinds of men and threw the resulting children into the fire as a sacrifice to other gods. God was heartbroken. All of your actions made him angry and he had to punish you with the reputation you had earned. Still, he remembered you as an innocent young girl he said, "you'll remember your sorry past...you'll remember your past life and face the shame of it, but when I make [amends] for you, make everything right after all you've done, it will leave you speechless."
i love how it doesn't matter how far she runs away...that there's always a home to come back to and a deep love that is completely unshakable. and it definitely has left me speechless.
it's definitely one of my favorite passages of the bible. it's in the message version here:
http://bible.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=Ezekiel+16%3A4-63§ion=0&version=msg&new=1&oq=&NavBook=eze&NavGo=16&NavCurrentChapter=16
and this is one of the best songs i've heard in a while...it's by Caedmon's Call and it's called "Mystery of Mercy"
i am the woman at the well
i am the harlot
i am the scattered seed that fell along the path
i am the son that ran away
And i am the bitter son that stayed
my God, my God
why hast thou accepted me?
when all my love was vinegar
to a thirsty King
my God, my God
why hast though accepted me?
it's a mystery of mercy and the song
the song I sing
i am the angry man who came to stone the lover
i am the woman there ashamed before the crowd
i am the leper that gave thanks
yet i am the nine that never came
my God, my God
why hast thou accepted me?
when all my love was vinegar
to a thirsty King
my God, my God
why hast though accepted me?
it's a mystery of mercy and the song
the song I sing
You made the seed that made the tree
That made the cross that saved me
You gave me hope when there was none
You gave me only your Son
my God, Lord you are
my God, my God, Lord you are...
