16:8-14
At this point the Lord entered into a covenant with Israel, this being like marriage. This is almost certainly pointing to Sinai and the giving of the Law. Israel belongs to the Lord. This is a concept found in the New Testament. In 1 Cor 6:20 and 7:23 Paul says we were bought at a price, as does 2 Pet 2:1. Now if we react against this idea then it is an indication that we are still in rebellion. We are not our own, we belong to the Lord. This is a fundamental concept for living that we need to get a hold of. Without it we will never understand life, nor what the Lord is doing with us. “You are not your own” (1 Cor 6:19,20).
Earlier we read in the analogy that the baby had been abandoned, unwashed. Now we read of the Lord washing and dressing Israel. Further, she was adorned with jewelry. She was dressed and with the finest of clothes, bedecked with the finest of jewels, and given the finest of food. So she became beautiful and rose to be a queen. Her beauty was recognised by the nations. We see this most clearly when the Queen of Sheba came to see King Solomon (1 Kings 10:1-13). This fame came about because of the splendour that the Lord had given to her.
In the same way sometimes churches, or individual Christians, become famous even in the world. When this happens for good reasons it is purely because of the splendour that the Lord has given to us.
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