It's so neat to read a passage that fascinates you, helping you find yourself afresh as it reminds you of where you need to live in your life experience. This passage in Ezekiel has served as a fresh reminder of how pride can precipitate ruin in the best of us. Ezekiel provides a parable, giving a window into God's dealings with Israel and their response to his dealing with them.
Ruin in our lives is easily averted if we but remember afresh our humble beginnings.
Israel forgot its common birth. It was born of Canaanite beginnings, spiritually it seems here.
"your [spiritual] father was an Amorite and your [spiritual] mother a Hittite. [Ezekiel 16:45; John 8:44] AMP
God as it were soaked, swaddled, and sprung Israel into a thriving nation, breeding, bearing, and buoying her when others treated her with contempt rather than with compassion.
God covenanted with her promising seed, nation, blessing to all [Genesis 12:1, 15]
He prospered her exponentially, protecting her in her pouring over in blessing to the nations; yet in her bounty, her reliance on God was shrouded in self-reliance as she spat in the face of her Source.
V.15 says her renown made for self-reliance, which showed itself in spiritual unfaithfulness.
Israel made other gods to herself, making hers the hedonism, harlotry, and even child sacrifice practices of her neighboring nations. Her children were made to pass through the fire of her many places of worship, strewn through a nation, whose God was supposedly, Yahweh "at every crossway you built you high place" [for idol worship] v.25
It was just a matter of time before Israel would force God's hand into acting in way consistent with his place as Just Father-the very hand that created them would now be against them with heart to remedy their ruinous straying from the way right and good. They were faithful to the wrong gods.
v. 33 tells Israel's love of evil was such that they did wrong for the love of doing wrong-they did wrong for the fun of it, not even for pay.
"How weak and spent with longing and lust is your heart and mind, says the Lord God, seeing you do all these things, the work of a bold, domineering harlot," v.30 AMP
God, in his love, was committed righting Israel in her wrongdoing. For his part, he'd take pains to be no more quiet or angry toward Israel-his loving roe.
"Because you have not [earnestly] remembered the days of your youth but have enraged Me with all these things, therefore behold, I also will bring your deeds down on your own head, says the Lord God." v.43 AMP
Sodom's erring ways were nothing compared to Israel's unfaithful meandering away from their faithful One v.49.
Samaria committed not as much as half Israel's sins v.51.
Her trust in her beauty made for her-blessed-becoming an abomination to those near her. She was wholly unsatiable (wanting more, without fill) in her sin-never satisfied till she did more of what beckoned judgment, not blessing.
God had to act in a way consistent with his love for her.
v.52 "Take upon you and bear your own shame and disgrace [in your punishment]," v.52
"Yes, be ashamed and confounded and bear your shame and disgrace,"
The God, who acted in concert with the need of his people allowed her to experience the end of her ways yet promised restoration as his heart is always the good of his people. The very shame he allowed was meant to convert her, making for consolation and comfort to be felt beyond her borders. v.54
Though he deals with us as we've done, he doesn't give us what we deserve, for he is a pitying Father, who knows still we are his. Ps. 112.
His commitment was always to forgive all they'd done; he took pains to uncover their evil. His heart through their winding detour was to realign and renew their minds so that they'd once more be on course to faithful reliance on him to better mirror and live changed by his beauty.
May we see the precancerous development of pride in our lives before it precipitates personal loss by our relying on God. May the roaming costs of displeasing God keep us from wandering again from him.
16:1-58 In this chapter God's dealings with the Jewish nation, and their conduct towards him, are described, and their punishment through the surrounding nations, even those they most trusted in. This is done under the parable of an exposed infant rescued from death, educated, espoused, and richly provided for, but afterwards guilty of the most abandoned conduct, and punished for it; yet at last received into favour, and ashamed of her base conduct. We are not to judge of these expressions by modern ideas, but by those of the times and places in which they were used, where many of them would not sound as they do to us. The design was to raise hatred to idolatry, and such a parable was well suited for that purpose. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
Ruin in our lives is easily averted if we but remember afresh our humble beginnings.
Israel forgot its common birth. It was born of Canaanite beginnings, spiritually it seems here.
"your [spiritual] father was an Amorite and your [spiritual] mother a Hittite. [Ezekiel 16:45; John 8:44] AMP
God as it were soaked, swaddled, and sprung Israel into a thriving nation, breeding, bearing, and buoying her when others treated her with contempt rather than with compassion.
God covenanted with her promising seed, nation, blessing to all [Genesis 12:1, 15]
He prospered her exponentially, protecting her in her pouring over in blessing to the nations; yet in her bounty, her reliance on God was shrouded in self-reliance as she spat in the face of her Source.
V.15 says her renown made for self-reliance, which showed itself in spiritual unfaithfulness.
Israel made other gods to herself, making hers the hedonism, harlotry, and even child sacrifice practices of her neighboring nations. Her children were made to pass through the fire of her many places of worship, strewn through a nation, whose God was supposedly, Yahweh "at every crossway you built you high place" [for idol worship] v.25
It was just a matter of time before Israel would force God's hand into acting in way consistent with his place as Just Father-the very hand that created them would now be against them with heart to remedy their ruinous straying from the way right and good. They were faithful to the wrong gods.
v. 33 tells Israel's love of evil was such that they did wrong for the love of doing wrong-they did wrong for the fun of it, not even for pay.
"How weak and spent with longing and lust is your heart and mind, says the Lord God, seeing you do all these things, the work of a bold, domineering harlot," v.30 AMP
God, in his love, was committed righting Israel in her wrongdoing. For his part, he'd take pains to be no more quiet or angry toward Israel-his loving roe.
"Because you have not [earnestly] remembered the days of your youth but have enraged Me with all these things, therefore behold, I also will bring your deeds down on your own head, says the Lord God." v.43 AMP
Sodom's erring ways were nothing compared to Israel's unfaithful meandering away from their faithful One v.49.
Samaria committed not as much as half Israel's sins v.51.
Her trust in her beauty made for her-blessed-becoming an abomination to those near her. She was wholly unsatiable (wanting more, without fill) in her sin-never satisfied till she did more of what beckoned judgment, not blessing.
God had to act in a way consistent with his love for her.
v.52 "Take upon you and bear your own shame and disgrace [in your punishment]," v.52
"Yes, be ashamed and confounded and bear your shame and disgrace,"
The God, who acted in concert with the need of his people allowed her to experience the end of her ways yet promised restoration as his heart is always the good of his people. The very shame he allowed was meant to convert her, making for consolation and comfort to be felt beyond her borders. v.54
Though he deals with us as we've done, he doesn't give us what we deserve, for he is a pitying Father, who knows still we are his. Ps. 112.
His commitment was always to forgive all they'd done; he took pains to uncover their evil. His heart through their winding detour was to realign and renew their minds so that they'd once more be on course to faithful reliance on him to better mirror and live changed by his beauty.
May we see the precancerous development of pride in our lives before it precipitates personal loss by our relying on God. May the roaming costs of displeasing God keep us from wandering again from him.
16:1-58 In this chapter God's dealings with the Jewish nation, and their conduct towards him, are described, and their punishment through the surrounding nations, even those they most trusted in. This is done under the parable of an exposed infant rescued from death, educated, espoused, and richly provided for, but afterwards guilty of the most abandoned conduct, and punished for it; yet at last received into favour, and ashamed of her base conduct. We are not to judge of these expressions by modern ideas, but by those of the times and places in which they were used, where many of them would not sound as they do to us. The design was to raise hatred to idolatry, and such a parable was well suited for that purpose. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
