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Pretty Woman
Posted on April 4th, 2008 in Faith by Fred McKinnon
9 “Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. 14 Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,†says the Lord God.
Jerusalem’s Harlotry
15 “But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it. 16 You took some of your garments and adorned multicolored high places for yourself, and played the harlot on them. Such things should not happen, nor be.
This passage reminds me of the movie “Pretty Woman”, but in reverse. In the movie, Julia Roberts starts as a prostitute but is “hired” by Richard Gere as an escort. Over time, we see a type of redemption happening where the prostitute becomes a fine lady.
Jerusalem’s response here is the opposite, and I can’t help but see the parallel to all of mankind, including myself. God came to those who are unwanted, sinful, and wicked – redeemed them (us), clothed them and lavished His love, provision, and identity on us … but rather than respond out of gratitude and thanksgiving, these people took their new-found fame and prominence and abused it.
I can’t help but think of how God has redeemed us. He’s clothed us, gifted us, and prospered us. He’s blessed us with material possessions, wealth (most anyone reading this on a computer is already more wealthy than so many more in the world), health. He took us, sinful, wicked creatures – and clothed us with his righteousness. He took a horrific, sinful race and bestowed honor and goodness to us. Yet, so many times we squander this on the world. The way our time and money are spent, the things we do, the selfish ambitions … somehow, saying “look at me, and how great I am”.
God, thank you for saving us. Thank you for rescuing us. Forgive us where we’ve become prostitutes to the world, cheapening the value of the gifts and promises that you’ve blessed us with.
For the Kingdom,
Fred
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6 Responses to “Pretty Woman”
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We must be good stewards of what we have and worship Him in everything we do.
It’s funny though. I don’t like the actors in that movie.
One of my favorite movies and one of my most favorite stories in the bible. It describes the “church” pretty well, unfortunately.
Totally reminds me of “Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers – a great novel based on the book of Hosea, I’ve read it 3 times. I really need to read that again – it’s been at least a year!
A few years back I read a volume in the New Studies in Biblical Theology series named “Whoredom” – title got my attention, especially since I saw it in the theology section of a Christian bookstore! It is a collection of studies on EVERY Bible verse that compares God’s people to prostitutes. Let’s just say: “overwhelming”. By the way, I think some Christians complained about the title because shortly there-after it was re-released as “God’s Unfaithful Wife” …figures.
Good post, bro.
A really excellent post!
Good post, Fred – VERY thought-provoking! I need to watch the movie again from a more redemptive perspective…
I got my own worship blog up and going, something different…check it out!