“…’Come with me,’ he said, ‘and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters'” (Revelation 17:1 NLT).
A lengthy except from the Biblical book of Ezekiel summarizes (and humanizes) the pain God experiences in response to spiritual infidelity…
“…Ezekiel, son of man, remind the people of Jerusalem of their disgusting sins and tell them [what] I, the LORD God, am saying… When you were born, no one cut you loose from your mother or washed your body. No one rubbed your skin with salt and olive oil, and wrapped you in warm blankets. Not one person loved you enough to do any of these things, and no one even felt sorry for you.
You were despised, thrown into a field, and forgotten. I saw you lying there, rolling around in your own blood, and I couldn’t let you die. I took care of you, like someone caring for a tender, young plant. You grew up to be a beautiful young woman with perfect breasts and long hair, but you were still naked… So I covered your naked body with my own robe.
Then I solemnly promised that you would belong to me and that I, the LORD God, would take care of you… I gave you the finest clothes and the most expensive robes, as well as sandals made from the best leather. I gave you bracelets, a necklace, a ring for your nose, some earrings, and a beautiful crown. Your jewelry was gold and silver, and your clothes were made of only the finest material and embroidered linen… You were as beautiful as a queen, and everyone on earth knew it.
I, the LORD God, had helped you become a lovely young woman. You learned that you were attractive enough to have any man you wanted, so you offered yourself to every passerby. You made shrines for yourself and decorated them with some of your clothes. That’s where you took your visitors to have sex with them. These things should never have happened!
You made idols out of the gold and silver jewelry I gave you, then you sinned by worshiping those idols. You dressed them in the clothes you got from me, and you offered them the olive oil and incense I gave you. I supplied you with fine flour, olive oil, and honey, but you sacrificed it all as offerings to please those idols. I, the LORD God, watched this happen.
But you did something even worse than that–you sacrificed your own children to those idols! You slaughtered my children, so you could offer them as sacrifices. You were so busy sinning and being a prostitute that you refused to think about the days when you were young and were rolling around naked in your own blood. Now I, the LORD God, say you are doomed…” (Ezekiel 16:1-23 CEV).