Ezekiel 16
Writer Author Sylvia Huffnagle
Christian Article
:
Bible Teaching
- Fiction No
Ezek: 16:1-5: Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2: Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3: And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. 4: And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. 5: None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.
(God is addressing all of Israel when He says Jerusalem. He is saying that before He got involved with Abram and his descendants his people were as a godless infant not cared for.)
6-7: And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live. 7: I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.
(To get His point across, God compares Israel’s development to a female maturing into womanhood.)
8-14: Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine. 9: Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. 10: I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. 11: I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. 12: And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. 13: Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. 14: And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
(This address to Jerusalem is, in this day and age, fittingly applied to the church. After Israel matured, through God’s love, she produced Jesus, the Savior of the world. He, Jesus, then provided the church with all the things listed above--the church is washed in the water by the Word. Eph: 5:26 The church is anointed with Jesus’ anointing. 2Cor: 1:21 The church is clothed in fine linen (righteousness). Rev: 19:8 The church is adorned with love, wisdom, faith, and good works. Prov: 3:13-15, Mal: 3:17, 1Pt: 1:7, 1Pt: 2:120 The church has a banquet feast spread out before her. (The Bible) The church described in the Bible is exceedingly beautiful. The church is made prosperous in all things in Christ Jesus. Rom: 8:32 The church’s renown went through all the earth. Rom: 9:23, 2Cor: 3:2, Eph: 4:12-14)
15-19: But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was. 16: And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so. 17: Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, 18: And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them. 19: My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.
(How has the church trusted in her own beauty? Well, what beauty did God adorn the church with? Jesus anointing, righteousness, wisdom, love, and good works. These are the attractions that God wants the church to use to draw people and to evangelize. What is the church depending on today? Ingenuity, creativity, bribes, and broadening the Way.)
20-21: Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, 21: That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire lfor them?
(How has the church sacrificed their children to their idols? In many ways. They do that when they set a poor example for them--like confessing Christ, but living like the world--like kids seeing parents indulging in worldly entertainment, but don’t see them reading their Bible, praying or doing Christian service--like letting their children watch ungodly shows and videos--like letting their children dress, talk, and hang out with the world--like spending much time earning and spending money, and playing and not having time for them. These things send a powerful message to the children. If the parents live godly according to the Word, that sends God’s powerful message to all.)
22-24: And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood. 23: And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD;) 24: That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.
(How is the church guilty of this? The church people don’t think about how lost and undone they were before their quote/unquote salvation. They don’t see the radical difference from when they were wallowing helpless in their own blood and how good they have it now. The reason they don’t is because the radical change that was supposed to take place in their heart didn’t happen. Why? Because the gospel is short-changed and adulterated and therefore no radical change takes place. Their hearts still love the world. Their minds are not renewed and their priorities as not Jesus’ priorities. The high places are their church buildings lifted up as the place to find God, salvation, and spiritual guidance. It has given Christianity a bad reputation.)
25-31: Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. 26: Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger. 27: Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way. 28: Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. 29: Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith. 30: How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman; 31: In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;
(How has the church played the whore? The church has changed the gospel so much that it is unrecognizable. The change came about gradually. The devil is the deceiver who incited, manipulated, and encouraged the new interpretation of love and freedom. They have broaden the way, enhanced the benefits, and diminished the consequences of wrongdoing. In so doing they think they will gain many members and gain many souls for Christ, but God feels the way the Bible reveals that He feels in the books of the prophets. Many have changed God into a benevolent sugar daddy in the sky, but He is the God revealed in the Bible that is why I dare to write this. The Bible backs up every word I write. When Chaldea is mentioned--that is another term for Babylon. The church has a post-modern interpretation of the Bible and it is babbling, as far as God is concerned. Notice how it galls Him to see churches built and proclaiming to be able to show people the way to God and salvation, yet what they teach is babble.
The rest of the chapter tells what the inevitable result of the above behavior produces. And it is exactly what we have today. A worldly church that babbles, is weak due to permissiveness and therefore suffers heartache, toil, and defeat due to ungodly thinking, lifestyles, and choices.)
16:59-61: For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant. 60: Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. 61: Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
(The everlasting covenant is on the church’s part to TRUST AND OBEY. On God’s part it is to be their Father in every sense of the word. In order to be reconciled to God one must repent. Repent of sin and repent of doing things their own way instead of God’s way. That is why God can make the guarantees of Isaiah 54. The sure and everlasting covenant is those who have repented.)
The salvation that God offers through Christ is a salvation from sin and death. He brings this about by providing believers with a new heart, His Spirit, a renewed mind, the blood covering, the full armor of God in Eph. 6, and a church full of like-minded souls that are on the same journey as they are--all looking for a city whose author and builder is God. PTL!)
Sylvia Huffnagle
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