Having had the busiest two weeks I've had for years I would have loved to find a ready made sermon for tomorrow but no such thing existed on my computer.
I decided that I would use the reading from Ezekiel ...a gentle allegory about a cedar tree....lovely!
Then I settled down with my two reference books...of choice, the Oxford Bible commentary and the Bible in order by Joe Rhymer. This last is most useful as it puts everything in the order in which it was written.
A few moments of reading revealed that the passage before the cedar tree was one that could destroy your faith forever.
The words of God as reported by the prophet were full of violent imagery about nakedness and wantoness and how the harlot would be punished!
It took me a few moments with recourse to my friend Joe 's book before I got it! The unfaithful woman was Jerusalem and it is in fact a prophecy about her fall after a long siege. Phew! It read like an S and M book to begin with.
I'm not using it in the sermon .... I've reverted back to the lovely cedar tree passage.
In fact it was a true prophecy....Jerusalem did fall and was destroyed. The language though was terrible and was obviously born of pain.
It shocked me! But clearly it's message went unheeded. It is ever thus!
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