Ezekiel 16
COMMENTARY:
: 8 Now when I passed by you, and looked on you, behold, your time was the time of love; and I spread MY skirt over you, and covered your nakedness; yea, I swore to you, and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord GOD, and you became MINE. (1730 “love” [dowd] means beloved, a deep feeling and attraction, object of love, a romantic kindred spirit, one who is in close association to another, or the state or condition of romantic affection.)
DEVOTION: This chapter is one that states the relationship between Israel and the LORD at the beginning. HE chose her to be his bride. HE chose her to be with HIM forever. This is a marriage made in heaven. God was faithful but HIS bride was not faithful.
The verse describes the beginning of HIS relationship with Israel. HE knows her lineage. HE knew her from the beginning with the calling of Abraham. HE followed her history until HE established her as a nation. HE gave her great blessing. HE showed HIS love for her.
However, she didn’t return HIS love. She went after other gods. She worshiped the false gods of the nations around her. HE called her back to HIMSELF but she would not listen. It is because of her wandering from HIM that HE had to judge her for her lack of acceptance of their relationship.
Now things are different. HE had established a covenant with her but in her actions she broke the covenant. HE had to deal with her because HE was holy and she was not. This is true today with the church.
God has established a covenant with the church through HIS Son Jesus Christ who died on the cross for all those who believe. Those who believe are supposed to join the one true church. This church honors the LORD and wants to serve the LORD.
However, as the children of Israel have broken their covenant with the LORD many churches are not worshiping HIM in spirit and in truth. They are wandering after false gods. They are teaching that we can be PC with the world and still be OK with HIM. This is a lie. God is going to have to judge the church as HE judged Israel.
There is going to be a remnant in our time as there was in this time period of Israel. HE is going to spare this remnant from the judgment that is going to follow not only in this earth but also in eternity.
CHALLENGE: We must be part of the remnant that is faithful to our Savior Jesus Christ. HE is our bridegroom and we are HIS bride. The faithful church is one that is working to honor the LORD.
: 32 But as a wife that commits adultery, which takes strangers instead of her husband. (2114 “strangers” [zuwr] means estranged, foreigner, enemy, a person who does not belong in the environment in which they are found, often of those from another region or country or illegitimate.)
DEVOTION: Here we find that Israel was going to those who were foreigners or illegitimate. They were worshiping false gods that the LORD didn’t approve of and they didn’t seem to care.
The LORD was warning them that this would lead to trouble because HE was their husband. HE was the one who had married them and wanted them to stay married to HIM alone but they were looking for other lovers.
They were not satisfied with the LORD and what HE expected of them. HE wanted them to be faithful to HIM alone but they looked at other nations and saw their false gods and thought they could worship them as well as the LORD.
However, the LORD didn’t want to share them. HE wanted to have them worship HIM alone but they were not practicing an exclusive relationship with HIM and so HE had to judge them for their actions.
This is true today as well. HE wants us to worship HIM alone. HE doesn’t want to share our worship with any other. IF we try to live like the Israelites HE is going to have to judge us like HE did the children of Israel.
The world wants a hold on every believer and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can fight the desire to worship other gods that we find in our world today. Our actions need to please the LORD to receive HIS blessings and if we are not willing to follow HIM alone then the judgment of God will fall on us even today.
CHALLENGE: We have to ask ourselves if we are exclusively following the LORD each day. If our answer is “NO” then we need to change our actions if we want the LORD’S blessings.
: 38 And I will judge you, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give you blood in fury and jealousy. (5003 “break wedlock” [na’aph] means adultery, idolatrous worship, commit fornication, or to apostatize.)
DEVOTION: My wife and I will be married 48 years. We have four wonderful children who are married to believers and are raising their children (13 grandchildren) to love the LORD.
The LORD established marriage to be between one man and one woman for life. When God created the first couple, HE created one man and one woman. When the man saw the woman he said “WOW.” There should be a WOW factor in every marriage.
God put a WOW factor in HIS marriage to the children of Israel. This chapter reveals how HE established a relationship with them. HE saw their condition and improved on it by establishing a covenant with them. HE gave them many gifts. HE blessed them.
What did they do in response? They took all HIS gifts and blessings and used their possessions to worship false gods. They didn’t honor their marriage vows but committed abominations with many lovers. They didn’t even look in the direction of the ONE who provided all their wealth.
Once we become a follower of Jesus Christ we are promised all the blessing that heaven has to offer. We are promised the peace that passes all understanding. We are promised the presence of the LORD continually. We are promised the engagement ring of the Holy Spirit to bring us to the wedding of us and the bridegroom, Jesus Christ. We are promised an abundant life. The promises are more than can be listed here.
The problem is that we act just like the Israelites with our blessings that the LORD has given us. We start to worship the blessings rather than the LORD. We start looking in other directions for enjoyment. We start thinking that there is more pleasure in this world than in the worship of the LORD. These are thoughts that should not enter the mind of a believer who has the mind of Christ.
Our churches, just like the nation of Israel, begin to look like places where our giving glory to the LORD starts to look like our glory to a religious leader. If we put any man before the LORD we are worshiping an idol. We start using our money for our own personal pleasure rather than to support the work of the ministry of the LORD.
Many people who claim to be Christians think nothing of breaking their vows with other people. This can be forgiven if confession is made but the children of Israel and some people today don’t want to confess. If confession doesn’t take place than the LORD will send judgment on the individuals but also if the church isn’t teaching the Word of God and HIS authority over marriage it will be judged.
It is never too late to confess our sins and reestablish a proper relationship with the LORD before HE has to judge us. Honor the LORD in your relationships with others, especially in marriage.
CHALLENGE: The Biblical church is married to Jesus Christ the bridegroom.
: 63 That you may remember, and be confounded, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I am pacified toward you for all that you have done, says the Lord GOD. (3722 “pacified” [kaphar] means give a gift, to cover, purge, make atonement, make reconciliation, make amends or cover over with pitch.)
DEVOTION: One point that the LORD is making through the prophet Ezekiel is that HE wants the children of Israel to realize that HE is LORD. HE is Jehovah. Jehovah is a covenant keeping God.
They had broken their covenant with HIM. HE is going to judge them as a woman who breaks her vows in wedlock. HE knows that HE has to cause the people to get to the point that they are ashamed of their sins against HIM.
HE calls Judah Sodom and Samaria her sister. They both are guilt before God. The list of sins is great. Their attitude is one of pride. That pride had to be broken before they could be restored.
Captivity is the only answer. They need to atone for their sins. There are consequences to sin. They need to get to the point where they don’t even open their mouth to the LORD. They will not be like the Pharisee in the temple who thanks God that he is not like the publican.
The LORD remembered HIS covenant with them. HE remembered when they were a young nation. They had forgotten but HE remembered. HE was going to establish HIS everlasting covenant with HIS people. The reason for the captivity was that they needed to remember “I am the LORD.”
We need to get to that point in our lives that we realize that we are no better than others who are around us. We are in a martial relationship with Christ. HE is the bridegroom and we are the bride. We need to make sure that we keep short accounts with God. We need to make sure that we keep short accounts with others.
Today is a new day. Have we forgiven those who have trespassed against us? Do we want the LORD to forgive our trespasses against HIM, so that, we can receive a blessing from HIM? If we don’t forgive humans we can see, why should the LORD forgive us?
Start the new day right. Christ made the atonement for our sins. God is satisfied with HIS atonement. Our fellowship depends on our short accounts with God and others. The LORD promises that in the future the nation of Israel will be blessed again. PTL.
CHALLENGE: Make amends with those around you that you have hurt. Confess your sins to the LORD. Never think that you are sinless before you arrive in heaven. Never think that you can get away with sin and suffer no consequences.
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org. Also, if you can support this ministry through your local church please use that method. Thank you.
Visit our Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.