The Lord's Faithless Bride

 

Ezekiel 16: 1-14

 

November 27, 2023

 

The Lord's Faithless Bride

Again, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.   And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.   No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.

 

“And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’  I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown, yet you were naked and bare.

 

 “When I passed by you again and saw you behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine.  Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil.  I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.   And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck.  And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus, you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.  And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.

 

I read this early this morning as I woke Jan and before our dear friends, John and Brenda had got up and came into the family room.  When Jan came in, I read those first fourteen verses to her.  Jan and I discussed how that compared from heaven's view the way God found us.  We were without Life, we were wandering around in our sin, and we needed to be made whole.  That was from heaven's view, but it was not our view, we were full of self, had plans to get our needs met outside of Christ, and were both religious in many areas of our lives.  We saw ourselves with great value and had a plan to have a good life on Planet Earth.  

 

As I read these verses, I realize that like the Jewish people we the Church, have bought into not giving thanks to the one that took pity on us.  We were of no value to God in the condition He found us, but He chose us to be His.  

Here is the problem, you and I have a real enemy, he is a liar, and deceiver and is very good at what he does.  From a young age, he talked with us and planted seeds of relying on ourselves, on education, and on learning to get our needs met.  It sounds like a good plan, but it going to backfire on us.  

That plan is designed to make us not need God, to reject His love to not desire His voice, and if listened to will keep us separated from the Love of God.  Maybe once more a second read of verses 1-14 is required in a quiet room where you allow the Spirit of God to be heard.  Once again, I thanked my Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ, God's only Son who loved me enough to take God’s full wrath, by dying for my sins on the cross.   Now that is Love.  I now have Christ as my life, His blood redeemed me, and many years ago after reading Romans 10:9-10, ^“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved.”  It became apparent that I had nothing of value to offer, and I agreed with God that I needed life in the full that He wanted to give to anyone who came to that conclusion.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice