Ezekiel 16

Message: A picture of salvation. God saves the ugly and unwanted and gives them life and then people ignore Him. But, God made a covenant with a people and no matter what He will keep it.

Time: A message to Ezekiel from the Lord.

What the Lord is Saying:

Parable of God's Adulterous Wife

Jerusalem came from poor origins. Father - Amorite. Mother - Hittite. At birth, umbilical cord was not cut. And you were not washed clean with water. Not rubbed with salt. Not wrapped in cloths. Despised. No one had compassion for you.

The Lord passed by you and said, "Live!" I made you thrive. You grew up and matured and became very beautiful. I covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you. I made a covenant with you. You became Mine. I washed you and I anointed you. I clothed you in good cloth and gave you leather sandals. And gave you jewelry. You were adorned with beauty. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became royalty. And your fame spread among the nations.

But, the give of beauty I gave you became something that you focused on too much. Because of your fame, you became a prostitute, thinking you could sell yourself now to others. And you gave my gifts to anyone that passed by. You took the jewelry I gave you and turned it into an image to worship. And you set the food I had given you before others. You even took your offspring, my gift to you, and set them before these images, sacrificing them. Through all of this, you forgot where you had been, where you had come from, your birth, your beginnings.

And you kept going. You made a mound and elevated your position above everyone else. And your prostitution, the giving of my gifts to others, increased. My anger was provoked. So, I reduced your provisions. I gave you over to the desire of your heart, to those that hate you. And suddenly you were engaged in rampant prostitution with as many as you could find. From nation to nation. You loved lust. But, unlike a prostitute, you did this all for free. You didn't want anything return. This is how much you enjoyed your sin.

The Lord will gather all those you loved and together your nakedness will be exposed. You will be judged. I will hand you over to them. You will be naked before all. Your houses will burn and I will then stop you from being a prostitute. My wrath will be satisfied. My jealousy will turn away. You walked in the detestable ways of your ancestry (Hittite, Amorite), but you took it a step further and lived more detestable lives than they did. Your sins are so great that your detestable sisters seem righteous. Bear your disgrace. Be ashamed.

You must bear the consequence of your detestable practices. The Lord will deal with you according to what you have done.

But....

The Lord will remember the covenant He made with you. He will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Not because of the covenant you made with me, but because of the covenant I made with you (verse 61, 62). And you will know that I am Yahweh. I will make atonement. You will remember. Your mouth will be closed. 

Promise: God is just and His justice will be served. What matters is His covenant with us. He is Lord. Always.