Ezekiel 16:8 - Exposition

The words point to the time of the love of the espousals of Jeremiah 2:2 , interpreting the parable, when Israel had grown to the maturity of a nation's life, and gave promise, in spite of previous degradation, of capacities that would render it worthy of the love of the Divine Bridegroom. I spread my skirt over thee. Garments were often used as coverlets, and the act described was therefore, as in Ruth 3:9 , the received symbol of a completed marriage (comp. Deuteronomy 22:30 ; Deuteronomy 27:20 ). The historical fact represented by the symbol here was probably the formal covenant between Jehovah and Israel ( Exodus 24:6 , Exodus 24:7 ). It was then that he became her God, and that she became his people.