Day 222: Idolatry and Adultery

Isaiah 65:1-16 The final two chapters of Isaiah pertain to the end times and the Final Judgment. God conveys in a powerful way that he is always eager and ready to come to the aid of his People. Everyone can count on the Lord’s help provided they seek him with the desire to do his will. Everyone will be rewarded and punished respectively according to their deeds. (CCC 1021, 1031, 1040)


Ch 65:16 God of truth: Literally, “God of the Amen,” a God who keeps his promises. (CCC 1063)


Ch 65:17-25 A new Heaven and new earth will be created by God at the end of time. Just as the righteous will have glorified bodies and rise from their graves, so, too, will all of creation undergo a glorious renewal beyond the realm of imagination. In a certain sense, the new Heaven and new earth will reflect the state of innocence before the Fall of Adam and Eve. (CCC 1041-1050)


Ch 65:25 The descriptions of harmony among the beasts, similar to what was written in an earlier chapter (cf. 11:6-9), gives a sample of the new order of creation and the peace that the Messiah brings to the world. (CCC 337-344, 353)


Ezekiel 23:1-35 In this metaphor of marriage, the Lord is depicted as married to two sisters, both of whom “play the harlot” in Egypt. The sisters represent the divided nation, the Southern Kingdom of Judah and the Northern Kingdom of Israel; their indiscretions refer to the practice of idolatry they adopted in Egypt and in the wilderness. The marriage metaphor demonstrates God’s eternal fidelity to his covenant with his Chosen People, who had obstinately broken it by worshiping false gods. This allegory also describes the permanence and fidelity of marriage between a husband and wife. (CCC 1611)


Ch 23:36-49 Judgment was again passed on the two kingdoms for their sins, which were committed with full knowledge of the Law. These verses convey the message that these severe punishments are aimed at converting Israel: “You shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry; and you shall know that I am the Lord God.”


Ch 24:1-14 In this allegory Jerusalem is the stew pot and the people are the “flesh” to be boiled. This was punishment yet also purification, as the pot needed to reach a very high temperature for the purifying process to take effect. 


Ch 24:15-27 In this passage his wife represents the Temple, and Ezekiel represents the deep and silent grief that the exiles felt for the city’s destruction. Here, too, we see the confirmation of God’s prophetic words that are fulfilled by the death of Ezekiel’s wife, which occurred on the same day Jerusalem was under siege. 

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)



Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we thank you so much and we give you praise. Gosh, Lord God, thank you for this day. And thank you for continuing to call us back. We get off course so easily, Lord God. But you are just so gentle with us in bringing us back often. Sometimes you’re not. Sometimes we need to be woken up. And sometimes you shout to us to wake us up and we thank you for that. We thank you for your gentleness. We also thank you for your strength. We thank you that you are desperate, in some ways you are so desperate, Lord, to bring us back to your heart. So please today do whatever it takes. Do whatever it takes to bring us back to your heart today. Lord God, whether that be a gentle call, or a gentle correction. Or whether that be something big, Lord God. Do whatever it takes to get us back to your heart this day so we can live our Eternity and so we can live this day and Eternity with you forever. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”