The Gospel According to Ezekiel

The Gospel According to Ezekiel

Ezekiel 16:1-63; 23:1-46

Main Idea: At our absolute lowest point of depravity, God still chooses to atone for His people rather than abandoning us.

If Ezekiel 16 and 23 were summarized as one sentence from God to His people, it would be, Though you’ve been an adulterous nymphomaniac, I love you and will atone for all your whoredom (Stuart, Preacher’s Commentary, 211). To the church in Rome, Paul wrote, “The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more” (Rom 5:20). If there were ever two chapters in the Bible that demonstrate God’s grace is multiplied more than sin, it is Ezekiel 16 and 23. These chapters contain some of the most graphic language in Scripture. If they were sold in the music department of a store, they would come with a warning label for explicit content. When one considers they are words from the Lord, there is even more shock that He would utter such phrases. Why does He use such graphic terminology? Yahweh wants His people to know the depravity of their sin and the steadfastness of His love. He uses the most intimate of phrases to convey how He views their actions. In discussing Ezekiel 16, Piper contends, “God created us with sexual passion so that there would be language to describe what it means to cleave to him in love and what it means to turn away from him to others” (Piper and Taylor, Supremacy, 28). Israel’s actions have been nothing less than adulterous as she prostituted herself to every nation around her. She turned her back on her true love (23:35; cf. Rev 2:4) and embraced those who only wanted to use and abuse her. In the end we should be more shocked by Israel’s sin than by God’s semantics.

As we begin our journey in these texts, I want to remind you of a few questions I asked at the beginning of this commentary:

• Have you ever felt like your ability to sin is greater than God’s ability to save?
• Have you ever felt like you’ve overextended your sin limit and God’s daily mercies have run out?
• Have you ever felt like you’ve “done it now” and your sin is going to cause God to finally say, “I’m done with you! I quit”?
• Have you ever felt like God abandoned you in your sin and left you alone to experience the full consequences?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, then Ezekiel 16 and 23 are exactly what you need to hear from the Lord. Just as it seems Israel’s sin has reached a depth of no return, God promises restoration and atonement for His people. As shocking as the actions of His people are in these chapters, it’s His love that steals our breath. To a world filled with abandonment where marriages end and mothers or fathers walk out on children, God has given Ezekiel 16 and 23. To those who constantly think God is going to give up on them or drop them or forsake them, God has given Ezekiel 16 and 23. To those who easily forget His “grace is greater than all our sin,” God has given Ezekiel 16 and 23 (Johnston, “Grace Greater Than Our Sin”).

As remarkable as Ezekiel 16 and 23 are, I’m concerned some of its effect can be lost on those of us who have grown up in a John 3:16 world. We know of His love. We have been informed about it since the cradle roll at our church. We may even expect His love and see ourselves as worthy recipients of it. My real fear, however, is that we are more surprised by God’s discipline than by His grace. I fear we’ve come to think that we deserve His goodness because we have earned it. The real question we should be asking in light of these chapters is, “Why are You so good to us, even though we are so bad?” God’s discipline is always deserved; His grace is not.

If we are going to love God passionately and others rightly, we must meditate on the cross constantly. We need not go past the gospel but deeper into it. The lost world needs to see the gospel advancing in us and through us and to see that it still amazes us. I love that Ezekiel 16 and 23 show the absolute depth of our depravity and the overcoming love of our God. My prayer is that as we walk through these chapters you

may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph 3:18-19)

Without God We Are Helpless, Hopeless, and Left for Dead

Ezekiel 16:1-5

Ezekiel 16 begins and ends in the same way: the people of Israel are helpless to change their situation, and if God does not intervene, they will die.

Four years ago in Florida, an 18-year-old girl walked into an abortion clinic to terminate her pregnancy. Three days later she was prepped for the procedure, but the doctor was delayed, and she went into labor. She delivered the baby alive. One of the owners of the clinic then took the baby, placed it in a biohazard bag, and threw it out with the trash (“Newborn baby”). Last year in New Jersey a couple claimed to have a stillborn baby and threw the baby in the trash. Prior to this the mother had been seeking an abortion. Do you know what punishment the couple received? Each must each pay fines of $125 and perform 25 hours of community service (“Prosecutor”). In both of these stories, the babies were unwanted. Their parents had no desire for them, and they were discarded with the trash.

I’ve sat in the operating room for all four of my children’s deliveries. I go through the same routine with each C-section my wife has. I sit and try to comfort Tara while her body is experiencing major trauma, and all the while I wait breathlessly it seems to hear that first cry. With our youngest, Alastair, I was most anxious because there were so many unknowns about his condition. Yet, with all four deliveries, my reaction has been the same: I cry, I feel relief, I feel intense love, and then all I want to do is comfort and protect the little one and let them know they are safe. Not one single moment has this word ever come into my mind: UNWANTED.

Jerusalem and Israel’s history was one of being unwanted by anyone but God. In Philippians 3 Paul informs us his lineage was once a source of great boasting for him, but in light of Christ, he considered all things rubbish. He was born into the right family who did the right things. Jerusalem, however, was not as privileged as Paul. The city was born in the “wrong” location to the “wrong” parents who ultimately did not want it (Block, Ezekiel 1–24, 474–75). Sometimes we forget where we came from, and sometimes we choose to forget where we came from; either way, Jerusalem did not have the beginning you would want to brag about. Jerusalem was born in Canaan to pagan parents (16:3).

After birth Jerusalem was thrown out, hated, and left for dead (16:4-5). No care was provided because no one who cared was present. Instead of being loved and tenderly cleaned, Jerusalem was despised and abandoned in a field. For God to paint a bleaker picture of Israel’s beginnings would be difficult to imagine. He is intentionally stressing, No one wanted you!

What happens to babies who experience this? What happens to babies thrown out into a field with no clothes, no protection, and no medical attention? They die. Without God there would be no Jerusalem and no people of Israel. God begins Ezekiel 16 by reminding Israel of her beginning. Jerusalem’s beginnings were not that great. And neither were ours. Whatever it takes, always remember where we would be without God: helpless, hopeless, and left for dead (Eph 2:1-4; Col 1:21; 1 Cor 1:26-31). Block points out, “The sentence of death hangs over all of us (Rom 3:23)” (Ezekiel 1–24, 520).

God’s Love for His People Is Not Only Extravagant and Undeserved but Also Transforming

Ezekiel 16:6-14

Despite being abandoned because she was abhorred, Jerusalem will be saved by adoption. “I passed by you and saw you lying in your blood, and I said to you as you lay in your blood: Live! Yes, I said to you as you lay in your blood: Live!” Duguid notes, “All it took to turn the field from a place of death to a place of life was God’s word” (Ezekiel, 210). While the child wallowed in its blood, God chose to intervene and to claim parental rights. Jerusalem may have not received any affection from those around her at her birth, but she would have all of God’s.

What’s staggering is that God knows full well what saying “Live” to Israel (and to us) is going to cost Him. On the days the Columbine shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were born, their parents had no idea the grief these boys would cause them and many others. God, however, knew full well how Israel (and we) would grieve Him, but His love is resolute.

Why does He do this? Does He look down a time tunnel and see that Israel will choose Him? Clearly not. Does He look forward in time and see that Israel will be really great one day, make it to the NFL, and buy God a house and car? Definitely not. Block contends, “The source and motivation of divine love lies entirely in God Himself” (Ezekiel, 521). God did not choose Israel (or us) because of who we would be but because of who He would make us to be. The potential was His, not ours. He knew what He was going to do with Israel and with us, so He said, “Live!”

As when she was born, God once again stepped in to protect her.

“Then I passed by you and saw you, and you were indeed at the age for love. So I spread the edge of My garment over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. (v. 8)

When she was a baby and naked, she needed protection from the elements and wild animals; now that she is at the age of marriage and naked, she also needs to be protected from those who would use and abuse her (Block, Ezekiel 1–24, 482).

God made a covenant with Israel and then displayed unrestrained and extravagant love. He does not love on a budget. His love knows no bounds. The covenant shows His seriousness and commitment, which is a security for His people. He washed and anointed her (16:9). He clothed her with the finest clothes, which would have been fitting for a queen (v.10). He adorned her with jewelry in every way possible (vv. 11-13). He fed her with the finest foods (v. 13).

What was the result? Transformation. Israel became extremely beautiful and attained royalty. Her fame spread among the nations because of her beauty. And what was the source of this transformation? It was God’s splendor, which he had bestowed on Israel. God’s love is not without effect. When we receive His love, we cannot help but be changed (2 Cor 3:18). And just as He showered love on Jerusalem, He has done the same for us (Eph 1:3-14). Through Christ, we have received every spiritual blessing the Lord can provide (Eph 1:3).

What about you? In what ways are you different today because God’s love has transformed your desires, your thoughts, and your behaviors? How often do you consider how truly powerful His love is that overcame all your rebellion and produced fruit where there had only been death and wretchedness? How often do you consider He is not obligated to love in this manner but chooses to do so? Could we ever think on this truth too much? The more we consider His love, the more we will walk in humility, gratitude, and dependence on Him.

Ingratitude Toward God and Pride in Self Inevitably Lead to Spiritual Harlotry

Ezekiel 16:15-34

How is it even possible that verse 15 starts with the contrasting word “But”? How could this story take such a wretched and wounding turn? Somehow Israel became confident in her beauty instead of in God (v. 15), and she did not remember the days of her youth (v. 20). Astonishingly, she forgot God (23:35). Why does Israel seem to suffer from amnesia so much in the Bible? They crossed the Red Sea and days later doubted God’s ability to provide food and water for them. When they were weighed down with the treasure God caused the Egyptians to give them, did it not occur to anyone besides Moses that God provides for His people? They witnessed God crush Pharaoh and his army, but did they not believe God could give them Canaan? When the children born in the wilderness finally got to enter the promised land, they acted as if they forgot everything Moses told them. Despite all the Ebenezers Israel raised to commemorate great events, they could never seem to remember it was God who gave them the occasion to raise them.

Enamored with what they had become, God’s people forgot from where they came. Their confidence was in how they were made rather than in their Maker. At some point their story line shifted from Sovereign made to self-made, and it would result in their downfall. Are we ever prone to put more emphasis in God’s gifts than we do in God? At times Israel loved the ark of the covenant and the temple more than they loved the One whose presence was with both. We are always in trouble if our confidence is in who we are rather than whose we are.

When they were not looking at themselves in the mirror, God’s people were staring at other countries and lusting after what they saw (23:12). In particular they were drawn to the men of Egypt, Assyria, and Chaldea (16:23-29; 23:12-21). God describes Israel’s actions in some of the most graphic language in the Bible (16:25-26; 23:19-21). The essence of Yahweh’s grievance with His people is that they have used His resources to initiate relationships with other nations and have sought security in their embrace rather than in His. Those nations were all too willing to comply (23:21).

In Ezekiel 16:15-34 God states His case against Israel and accuses them of both religious and political adultery. Imagine a married woman has another lover waiting for her at a designated location. Now imagine she goes to her husband and asks for money. She then takes the money and uses it to lavish her lover with gifts. This is what Israel did (16:15-19,32-33; 23:41) and what we do (Jas 4:3-4). Jerusalem used the gifts God gave them to chase after nonexistent gods, and what’s worse, they even sacrificed their children to them (16:20-21). God has one word for all of it: prostitution.

What had God done that justified this treatment? What good thing had He withheld? Or when was a time He ever proved unreliable? Apparently, Jerusalem thought He could not be trusted alone with their well-being since they sought alliances with other countries and their gods (16:23-29). Their actions were so awful that even the Philistine women were embarrassed by Jerusalem’s indecent behavior (16:27). In all of it, Jerusalem was no ordinary prostitute because instead of getting paid, she was paying everyone else. She initiated the tryst (23:16), let the other nation have their way with her, and then turned away from them in disgust (23:17).

The best way not to end up like Jerusalem is for us never to forget where God brought us from and all that His love has made us to be. How many times are we like Israel and look for love and security in all the wrong places? Why don’t we really believe that in His presence is abundant joy and at His right hand are eternal pleasures (Ps 16:11)? When we consider our own lack of faithfulness to God, which sin do we think is not wounding to Him? Which sin is not our looking for satisfaction or security somewhere else? Which sin is not our placing something else above Him in our heart? If there is a greater picture of betrayal and ingratitude in the Bible, I do not know it!

God Is as Passionate in His Judgment as He Is in His Love

Ezekiel 16:35-43

Has God ever given you something you thought you wanted only for you to realize you did not want it after all? If Israel wanted to expose her nakedness (16:36), then He was going to make sure her lovers could see her completely naked (16:37), which was not a good thing.

As a consequence of her prostitution, God is going to gather all her lovers against her (16:37). He will use those lovers to bring about her bloodshed (16:38). Her lovers will tear down her elevated places. They will also stone her, cut her, and burn down her houses (16:39-41). Though the wording is slightly different, the divine Judge gives a similar sentence in Ezekiel 23:47. The nations Israel prostituted herself to will now execute the Lord’s judgment (23:24). Those she delighted in pursuing will now pursue her destruction. Israel will be left naked, penniless, and covered in shame (23:29).

Why was God acting in such a wrathful manner toward His people? Well, one answer is because Jerusalem asked for it. She enraged (intentionally provoked) God by not remembering the days of her youth (16:43). But God had another purpose for His discipline: I will stop you from being a prostitute, and you will never again pay fees for lovers (16:41). In the depth of their depravity and despite their hearts that were inflamed with lust (16:30), God would save His people from themselves. He will bring all their lewdness to an end (23:27). He will work in their lives so they will no longer seek security anywhere but in Him. His discipline of His children is never just punitive but purifying. In the movie Forrest Gump (1994), Forrest’s love for the wayward Jenny was steadfast but not transformative. His love was insufficient to produce any lasting changes in Jenny’s desires and behaviors. God’s love, however, is not that weak. His love transforms those who receive it. He will not leave His people in the same condition that He finds them. His plan is that all will be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom 8:29).

Our Sin Is More Wretched Than We Care to Acknowledge

Ezekiel 16:44-52

As if all God said up to this point was not sufficient to give His people an accurate portrait of their sin and sickness, He provided one more comparison. He wanted them to know they had behaved more corruptly than Sodom and that Samaria did not commit half their sins (16:47,51). It would have been astoundingly offensive for Israel to hear God’s indictments because they considered themselves more pious than the rest. But God’s assessments did not lack facts. It was as if Israel had seen Samaria’s ways and said, “Anything you can do, I can do far worse” (23:11). God’s people had so multiplied their detestable practices they made Sodom and Samaria appear righteous (16:52). How grieving and how gross that God’s people loved sin so much.

It should not be surprising when Gentiles act like those who do not know God, since they do not. When God’s people, however, act in like manner, something is terribly wrong. Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to “abstain from sexual immorality, so that each of you knows how to control his own body in sanctification and honor, not with lustful desires, like the Gentiles who don’t know God” (1 Thess 4:3-5). He clearly implies those who know God act in one way and those who do not know God act in another. Israel’s actions in Ezekiel 16 and 23 were the same as those who did not know God. But Israel did know Him, so they were without excuse when called to give an account for their actions. As Christians, we’ve been called to holiness (1 Thess 4:7) and have been given His Spirit (1 Thess 4:8). If our pursuit of sin is making those who do not know God appear to be more righteous, we are without excuse as well.

Rather Than Abandon His People God Chooses

to Atone for Them

Ezekiel 16:53-63

If this passage was about a contemporary marriage, then most likely the union would dissolve based on marital infidelity and irreconcilable differences, but for God there is no such thing. Instead of abandoning His people, He will make atonement for all they had done (16:63). Can we read that once more? Instead of forsaking His unfaithful bride, He will atone for her by forsaking His faithful Son. In making atonement, the Father will treat Jesus as if He was the one who engaged in prostitution. He will treat Jesus as if He worshiped other gods. He will treat Jesus as if He had looked for security somewhere besides the Father. He will treat Jesus as if He had looked at porn, or gossiped, or had an abortion. In short, God the Father will treat Jesus as if He was guilty of every single act of rebellion we have ever committed against God.

To all those who would say, “There is no way God can forgive the filthy things I’ve done,” Ezekiel 16 and 23 stand as a lighthouse shining truth against that lie. He knows all that we have done, and instead of running away from us, He runs to us. Whatever we confess, He has covered with the blood of His Son. When we truly grasp the love displayed in Ezekiel 16 and 23,

our hearts break because of the unexpected beauty of it. God keeps coming to us, even in our bloody tawdriness, and says, “Live!” And in the end, he gives us his very life through the Son to make just that possible. (Hoezee, “Jeremiah 8:18–9:1”)

No sinner is beyond the reach of God’s grace. Fanny Crosby led us to sing,

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood!

To every believer the promise of God;

The vilest offender who truly believes,

that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Let the earth hear His voice!

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Let the people rejoice;

O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son:

And give Him the glory! Great things He hath done! (Fanny J. Crosby, “To God Be the Glory”)

If you have been made keenly aware of how awful you are in comparison to the Lord’s holy standard, then rejoice, because “there is more mercy in Christ than sin in us” (Sibbes, The Bruised Reed).

Reflect and Discuss

1. What steps can we take never to forget what we were like before Christ rescued us? Why should we do this?
2. Why are we tempted to become confident in what Christ has made us instead of being confident in Christ alone?
3. In what ways has God’s love transformed you and others around you?
4. Why are we prone to use God’s good gifts on our own cravings and pursuits? How can we avoid this?
5. Have you ever considered your sin to be prostitution or adultery in relation to God? Why or why not?
6. Though we may not be like Israel and seek security in other countries, what are some places or things in which we seek security besides God?
7. When was a time in your life that you found God’s discipline to be not just punitive but purifying?
8. Why do we often fail to grasp the wretchedness of our sin?
9. Why is it so amazing that instead of abandoning us in our own filth, God has chosen to atone for us?
10. Why do we sometimes feel as if we are too dirty for God? Is that ever truly the case?