You watch as we read, you'll
see what I said, that the images are clear, the applications are
easy, as we read this simile here where God speaks in metaphors
about what He had done to and for Israel. So in verse 1, Ezekiel
16 and through verse 14, Again the word of the Lord came unto
me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abomination,
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, thy mother a Hittite. And as for thy nativity, in the
day that you were born, your navel was not cut, neither were
you washed in water to supple you. Thou was not salted at all,
nor swaddled at all. None I pitied thee to do any
of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee, but thou was cast
out in the open field to the loathing of thy person in the
day that you were born. And when I passed by thee, and
saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, In thy
blood live. Yea, I said unto thee, When thou
wast in thy blood live, I have caused thee to multiply as the
bud of the field. Thou hast increased and waxen
great, and art come to excellent ornaments. thy breast are fashioned,
thy hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Now when I passed by thee and
looked upon thee, behold, the time was the time of love, and
I spread my skirt over thee, covered thy nakedness, yea, I
swear unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith
the Lord, and Thou became us Mine. Then washed I Thee with
water, yea, I thoroughly washed away the blood from Thee, and
anointed Thee with oil." I clothed thee also with brooded work,
shod thee with badger skin, girded thee about with fine linen, and
I covered thee with silk. I decked thee also with ornaments.
I put bracelets upon thy hand, and a chain on thy neck, and
I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ear, and
a beautiful crown upon thy head. Thus wast thou decked with gold
and silver. Thy raiment was of fine linen
and silk and broadered work. Thou didst eat fine flour, and
honey, and oil. Thou wast exceedingly beautiful,
and did prosper into a kingdom, and Thy renown went forth among
the heathen for Thy beauty, for it was perfect through My calmliness
which I had put upon Thee, saith the Lord God. Now, there are
several ways in the Scripture that the relationship between
God and His people, or Christ and His people, are expressed
to give us a picture of that very intimate union that exists
in each such relationship that is pictured. For example, there
is the relationship of a shepherd and a sheep. We are the sheep,
the Lord, is our Great Shepherd. And this is so both in the Old
and in the New Testament, the relation of shepherd and sheep. Secondly, there is that image
of head and of members. Christ the head, we the members,
and from Him we receive our life, our nutrition, and all things. Thirdly, there is the foundation
and the building. Christ is the great solid rock. Christ is the great foundation. We are the living stones that
are set in that living temple as Peter refers unto it. Fourthly,
there is the potter. and the clay. He is that great,
wise potter who has power and authority over the clay and makes
of it whatsoever he would. Fifthly, there is that of the
vine and the branches, whereby life is communicated from the
root out through the stem and under the branches. And then,
of course, there is that imagery of husband and of wife or spouse,
like in our text here in Ezekiel chapter 16. And so it is. God or Christ is portrayed as
the shepherd, as the head, as the foundation of the building,
the potter, the root, and the husband, while the people of
God are portrayed under all of the answering symbols of sheep
and members and living stone and clay and branches and bride
are people of the Lord. Now, the passage from Ezekiel
chapter 16, or John Gill observed, represents the Jewish nation
under the image of a female. and one firstborn, a firstborn
female image who began life as an unwanted and a deserted child. But God came by and looked upon
in mercy and preserved the life of that maid into maidenhood
and womanhood and then took her actually to be his wife. The
one first cast out, not wanted, none had mercy or pity upon him. Now before we open these things,
these amazing things that are written here, let us see how
chapter 16 begins are open. Again the word of the Lord came
unto me." Again, on another time, another occasion, another message,
another impression from the Lord God. Now, looking back on chapter
15, we see that the prophet had also spoken unto Jerusalem using
this time the simile of a useless, barren vine or fig tree which
is good for nothing, but to be taken out and burned. Then in
chapter 16, there comes the image of an outcast female who eventually
becomes the people, the bride, the covenant people of God. Now we basically see her here
under four figures in this chapter and in this text. First of all,
a newborn, deserted infant. Can you imagine that? Not many
weeks go by, but what we hear on the news in Houston, that
a little bitty baby has been abandoned, has been left in a
box, put on a doorstep, thrown in the dumpster. So the first
image is that of a deserted little infant, even at birth. Secondly, there is that of an
adolescent. God preserved her. She would
have died otherwise, but God preserved her. She would have
been crushed under the feet of all those mighty nations that
were around about her, but God preserved her. Thirdly, we see
the image of a wife, that God takes her as a wife, that is,
answering to His covenant people. And finally and fourthly, as
an unfaithful spouse. and how unfaithful is described
later on in this chapter. Now the purpose of this prophecy
is stated in verse 2. Son of man caused Jerusalem to
know her abomination. That is, he was to cause them
to know their sin. Even as Nathan did unto David,
coming to him, and unveiling his sin under an image and in
a parable so that David did not at first recognize that. was
to make a list or a catalog and bring before them all of their
sin. He was to lay them out bare before
them. He was to speak to them frankly
and taste the faith, reckoning up their abomination, to leave
nothing hidden and to bring all of their iniquity out to light. Maybe one would think, surely
they knew. Surely they knew how sinful they
were. They knew what they were doing.
Knew that they had been unfaithful. Knew that what they were doing
was against the Word and the Law of God. The Scripture seems
to teach us that it is possible to be so blinded to one's very
own sin. Not to the sins of others, but
to our very own, so that we do not recognize or see the wickedness
of Him in our own sin. As proof of that, consider the
book of Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament, where every
charge from God is met with a cry out loud to show them their sin,
but every charge that is brought against them Wherein have we
done so? They answered unto God and the
prophet. Thus, Ezekiel is given a commission
to lay their sins before them and to cast them open before
the face of the people, that their sins are to be set in their
proper light, not from their standpoint, but from the standpoint
of a just and a holy God. They are to appear under their
true color, They are to magnify their base in gratitude. The prophet rehearses, therefore,
two things in order that he might do them as a prelude or as a
reminder to what is coming. Number one, he says unto them,
remember your origin. Do you remember where you came
from? You remember what you were by
nature. Paul does the same thing to the
Gentiles in the second chapter of Ephesians. He said unto them,
Wherefore remember at that time ye were Gentiles after the flesh,
you were without hope, you were without promise, you were without
God in this world. So the prophet is to remind them
where they came from. to remind them what they were
when God showed them mercy. Oh, brother and sister, we must
never forget that. In our own experience, what we
were had God left us to ourselves. But secondly, the prophet reminds
them of the mercy Oh yes, of the mercy and the goodnesses
that God had bestowed upon them without number. We notice again
their origin in verses 3 through 6. Were they a noble people of
noble origin? Were they many? Were they a mighty
people that put fear in nations round about them? Were they of
excellent breeding, according to their genealogy, and a people
of grandeur? Were they a great and a magnificent
race? And were they by nature and by
birth righteous? Nay. In verse 3 through 5, He
likens them to one of ill-breeding and birth, speaking of their
birth and nativity, that they were descended from a cursed
people and that in a cursed land. Now, nativity here refers to
lineage or to family or offspring or one's native country or native
city from which they have come, their issue or their kindred. Do we wonder why the prophet
does not make the connection here before them between Abraham
and the covenant made with him? For the Jews would certainly
plead this. We are Abraham's seed. Abraham and Sarah seem to be
Chaldeans and not Hittites or Amorites as is said here. Though they were idolaters before
the Lord God called Abraham, he was an idolater. Calvin said these things are
said here in metaphors and that by their sin They were unworthy
of ever being called the children of Abraham. Remember what we
hear, or remember what John the Baptist said unto them in Matthew
chapter 3? Don't tell me you're children
of Abraham. God's able of these stones to
raise up children unto Abraham. Then, let us remember, the prophet
speaks not so much to individuals here, but he speaks to the greater
body of the nation, to the people as a whole he is speaking in
this place. And in verse 4 and verse 5, There
is a clear picture painted using again a metaphor or a figure
of speech, if you will, consisting in the most pitiful portrayal
that one might be able to imagine. I repeat, it is of a newborn
baby girl cast out in the open field, whose parents did not
do for her the things that ought to be done to nourish and make
her healthy and grow and such like. None of these were done
under this little infant in our metaphor. He even says that the
navel cord was not cut and not tied, as is the usual custom. She was not washed clean of the
blood of her birth, nor was she shaped, nor was she formed, nor
was she salted to heal any wound, and to sustain her in birth and
in life. And in verse 5, look, none I
pitied them or showed them compassion. In fact, the very opposite. They
were hated and they were loathed. And like one newly born, lying
in an open field, naked and bloody, and exposed to the elements and
the varmint. Now this is something we see,
as I said, on the news quite often. What's more, Those who
saw her plight, those who might have passed by that way, would
not have. Their hearts were not moved to
compassion. Their eye was not directed toward
her. And so they went on by, like
the priest and the Levite in the parable there in the New
Testament in Luke chapter 10, verse 30 and following. In other
words, the prophet is painting the picture that they were a
loathsome sight, a pitiful sight, an awful case, and that none
did pity them. I can agree with those who say
that this refers to the infancy of Israel down in the land of
Egypt in the metaphorical language here. But then in verse 6, God
expresses how He had been their preserver. He had preserved their
life, otherwise it had been stamped out. He likens himself here to
one passing by, to a good Samaritan who passes by and sees an awful
sight. There she lay, trodden, cast
aside, trodden underfoot, still with the blood of her birth,
unwashed, the filth of the field now clinging under her. unclothed,
and worst of all, exposed to death and helpless and weak,
when it seemed that death was imminent to this little child
or this little girl. God passed their way, likening
Himself to a great Samaritan. And he saw them. He looked upon
them. They were not beautiful. They
were not desirable. They were polluted in their blood. And God said, even as they lay
there polluted in their blood, live. Yes, live. He preserved
them. This expresses the fact that
they owed their very existence to God or they had not been a
people any longer. He preserved them. He saved them.
from extinction. It would seem to stretch the
word live to signify that regeneration is here in verse 6, not yet. Rather, it was the Lord preserving
them, saving them from extinction, and this was an act of His free
and of His sovereign mercy. There was not any worth in them. Sometime read Deuteronomy chapter
7, verse 6 through verse 8. Moses, tell them God didn't choose
you because you were mighty or many, but simply because He would
and He loved you. And in verse 7 of our text continuing,
not only did God preserve them from death and extinction when
they were at death's door, but then see how in verse 7 he speaks
in a two-fold way of their increase. First by the actual thing, and
then in view of the metaphor of the female once again. I have caused you to multiply
as the bud. That is, like the grass of the
field in growing season. so that you have increased and
you have become a goodly and a great number. When Jacob's
family was brought by Joseph down into the land of Egypt,
they were 70 in number. Remember that in Exodus 1 and
verse 5. And when they had been in Egypt
for a while, Exodus 1 and verse 7, the children of Israel were
fruitful and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceedingly
mighty, and the land was filled with them." In Exodus 1 verse
12, the more they were afflicted, the more they multiplied and
they grew. The heavier the affliction the
Pharaoh lay upon them, the more they grew. In spite of the fact
they were afflicted, they were forced to perform menial, rigorous
tasks under a cruel bondsman, and the midwives were ordered
by the king to do post-birth abortion, to kill all little
boy babies who came out of the womb. That's in Exodus 1. and
15 through verse 22. But in Ezekiel 16, verse 7, and
the last part, the prophet reverts back again to the metaphor and
says, Thy breast are fashioned, thy hair is grown. These are
modest euphemisms for the arrival of puberty, a young woman, and
here she is arriving in her adolescence. I find agreement with those expositors
who apply this either to their prepubescence or as a figurative
expression of one just not yet quite ready for marriage. But in verse 8, The Lord then
passes by again, and using the figure of her now as ready and
a marriageable young maid, He again looks upon her or upon
them, that is, the people. No longer is she a little dirty
infant out in the field. No longer is she an underage
maid. But according now unto the metaphor,
thy time was the time of love. That is, she had become ready
for marriage. And as the metaphor, when a young
woman is ready, to become a bride. God does not portray himself
here as a lustful man with the same feeling of a young man,
but he's likened to a redeemer, a spiritual husband who at the
time of love said, I spread my skirt over you and I covered
your nakedness. Now this immediately reminds
us of Ruth. In the book of Ruth, requesting
of Boaz the same thing, Ruth 3 and verse 9, spread thy skirt
over me. This could have been a sign of
betrothal or a sign of covering or for protection or a combination
of all of the three. But in Ezekiel 16 and verse 8,
I spread my skirt, some prefer wings, over you, and I covered
your neck in it. But look at the last part, if
you will, of verse 8. And I swear unto thee, and entered
into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord, and thou became us
mine." Entered into a covenant. I have no doubt that they are
right who see this as being what transpired at Mount Sinai as
God had brought them out. And answers to the figure of
the marriage rites. A man taking his wife. Let us not forget that in addition
to portraying the relation to the people as that of a marriage,
he also holds it forth under the image of adoption. Exodus 4, verse 22. Israel is my son, Paul said in
Romans 9 and verse 4 of Israel, to whom pertains the adoption. They are adopted, taken as the
son of Jehovah. But in Ezekiel 16, the imagery
of marriage is used to describe the covenant relation of God
to the people of His choosing. And He speaks as a husband would
of his bride. You became mine. My special and
peculiar people. Exodus 19 and verse 5. A peculiar treasure unto me above
all people is how God described them. There is a passage in Deuteronomy
and it is in the fourth chapter. I'm flipping there. Chapter 4
to read verse 7 and following. In fact, verse 7 through verse
13 of Deuteronomy chapter 4. For what nation is there so great
whom God hath so nigh unto them as the Lord our God in all things
that we call upon Him for? What nation is there so great
that hath statutes and judgment so righteous as this law which
I have set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, keep
thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine
eyes have seen, lest they depart from thine heart all the days
of thy life. But teach them to thy sons and
thy son's son, especially the day that thou stoodest before
the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather
me the people together, I will make them hear my words, that
they may learn to fear Me all the day, that they shall live
upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. And
you came near, and you stood under the mountain, and the mountain
burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, and darkness, clouds,
and thick darkness. And the Lord God spake unto you
out of the midst of the fire, You heard the voice of the Word.
You saw no similitude, only a voice. And He declared unto you His
covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments,
and wrote them upon tables of stone. There is a great, wonderful
remembrance of what God had done for them. Just think of all the
peoples which God might have chosen, of all the nations mightier
and of great number, yet He pitched His electing love upon little
Israel. He entered into covenant with
them. He owned them as His people and delivered them out of their
bondage. Furthermore, in verse 9-14, God
reminds them how He had so graciously endowed them, blessed them, provided
for them, met their needs so that they had no lack. He richly
and plentifully endowed her. as tokens and expressions of
His love, of His goodness and of His mercy toward her. Look
at verse 9, cleansed her, washed away the blood of her filth,
anointed her with oil as a bride adorned for her husband on their
wedding day. Verse 10, all minor of finery,
to dress her with. Brodered work, not common, but
fancy and brodered. Fine needlework and footwear
of elegant badger skin was provided for her. Fine linen as a girdle. Garments were of silk. Expensive
and exquisite were these gifts that God bestowed upon her. Verse 11, name some more. ornaments, bracelets for the
wrist, chain, a necklace to go about her neck. Verse 12, a jewel
for the forehead, earrings for the ear, a beautiful crown to
sit upon her head. Verse 13 and 14 is a sort of
a summation of the many gifts and the blessing she received
as the wife and the covenant people of Jehovah. Gold, and
silver ornament, the finest of clothes, an exquisite diet, the
best of all, the best of everything. And the result in verse 13 and
the last part, you were exceedingly beautiful and under my blessing
you prospered into a kingdom. Then in verse 14, the fame of
her beauty was known abroad. It was heard about, even in the
heathen land, that God, her husband, as her covenant God, had put
His glory in His covenant people by bestowing many good, gracious
gifts upon her. Holy ordinances she had. Just
statues were given. She was known as the wife of
Jehovah, or if you please, of the people in covenant with Almighty
God. They were known as the covenant
people. This was a reminder unto them,
none of their renown or their beauty or their decorations or
their excellence or their comeliness were none of them of their own
doing. Their graces were not the result
of their striving. They had not made themselves
to differ or to make themselves into such a people. The whole
of their covenant status was owing to the sovereign good pleasure
of Almighty God. He had chosen them. They had
not chosen Him. They had not come to Him. He
had passed by there when they lay in a place or state of death,
delivered them from a horrible, horrible end. Just think, consider
if we can, from a deserted unwanted, dirty infant to the wife or the
people of Jehovah from a band of seventy in the land of Egypt
under the boot of Pharaoh to the covenant people of God. the infant pictures, one, our
natural state, what we were by nature, let us not forget. Two,
our subjection unto death, had we remained in that state. And
three, our weakness or our helplessness to remedy our situation and deliver
ourselves. But by sovereign grace brought
to the knowledge of the God of heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ,
This is not the end of the prophetical discourse. It is only the prelude
to expose their horrible unfaithfulness. And that's done in verse 15 through
verse 52 of this chapter we can only briefly touch upon. We don't
have time to look at it. The metaphor has played out in
their society. The metaphors played out in our
society and is both common and familiar. A woman of meager beginnings,
as we used to say, from the wrong side of the tracks, coming from
almost nothing. marrying a wealthy man and is
provided for bountifully, dressed in finery, drives a new car,
lives in a fine home, shops to her heart's contempt and delight. From those beginnings, from those
starts, marries one who takes such care of her. Imagine one
to become then unfaithful. to become unfaithful after being
treated in such a great way, and great tokens of love being
heaped upon them. This section is one of the most
chastising of all of those in Scripture toward the people,
and particularly in the Old Testament, as it compares their idolatry
with harlotry. Play the harlot. She played the
harlot. The people played the harlot.
Comparing her idolatry to that. Verse 15, they played the harlot. Verse 16, played the harlot.
Verse 26, committed fornication. Verse 28, played the whore. Verse
32, committed idolatry. Verse 35, oh, harlot. This people had become so horribly
unfaithful unto God. It is scathing. It says, Jeremiah
3 and verse 1, thou hast played the harlot with many lovers."
Ezekiel 16 and 15, everyone that passes by. Ezekiel 16, 25, open
thy feet to everyone that pass by. The picture is that of an
immoral, promiscuous harlot, which is how they repaid God's
goodness and mercy toward them. In Ezekiel 16, verse 60 through
63, God will remain true to His covenant. He will not break it. He changes not, Malachi chapter
3 and verse 6. And He owns them yet as His people
and reclaims and cleanses them again. How many times has God
done that individually? to all of His saints or all of
His elect. Now, a quick application or so
in closing. This nation is in some ways a
type and a reflection of individuals who were born in sin shapen in
iniquity, sure to be swallowed up in death, except the sovereign
God pass by and say unto them, Lill, and impart spiritual life
unto us. Wash us from our sin in the blood
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. And
clothe us with the righteousness of God. the best robe out of
the Father's closet and bestow upon us that bountiful dowry
of grace which the Lord God has given to His people. How this
magnified their unfaithfulness and how it magnifies our unfaithfulness. Often God shows us the horror
of our sin by the bounty of His grace. how gracious He has been. What has He done? How have we
repaid Him for His kindness? One old-time writer penned these
words, quote, My soul has been that faithless spouse of God,
unquote. But what begins in grace ends
in grace. Thank God for that. Because He
is a faithful God that keeps covenant. He keeps His grace
up and He keeps His people and He recovers them and delivers
them and restores them and strengthens them and blesses them again. But here we see what we were
at the beginning and what we have become by the grace and
the goodness of God. And the picture is great and
is marvelous.