In yet
another remarkable object lesson for the benefit of a backslidden and
idolatrous Israel, God again directs the prophet to marry a wife. This woman
too is compromised, this time by adulterous behaviour and as such is under
penalty of death and the dowry which is paid for her, is but the half the price
of a servant! Yet he is to love her and see her restored rather than destroyed
by her sin. In this powerful object lesson, is the story not only of Israel and
God’s dealings with His people, but also a fitting simile of our lives before
we knew the merciful Lord and Saviour of our souls! We, as that woman, had
given ourselves over to all kinds of iniquity and idolatry. Following the ways
of the world and adulterating our souls with the filth and degradation of sin,
we, like dumb sheep going to the slaughter, were doomed to eternal damnation in
retribution for our rebellion, disobedience and loose living. We rendered
ourselves worthless and miserable, without hope or future, and became the
inheritors of death. That was until the Lord in His inimitable love, reached
out to us, and while we were yet sinners, in our darkest spiritual fog, Jesus
died for us! He paid the price for our sins, but not merely what we were worth,
for that was precious little, even less than the price of a servant! No! He paid
the highest price – He yielded the one ingredient which alone could cleanse sin
and make repair for it. He submitted the one substance which all of heaven and
earth could not replace or equate in value – His precious, sinless blood! How
blessed are we to have this loving Benefactor and gracious Saviour, who
willingly condescended to reach down and lift us up from the depths and miry
clay of sure death and destruction, to heavenly places with Him!
http://www.pentecostalfamilychurch.com.au/devotion
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