God’s Love and Care for His People

Ezekiel 16:1-14 

1 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3 and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: "Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born.

6 "And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' Yes, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' 7 I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.

8 "When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine," says the Lord GOD.

9 "Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. 14 Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you," says the Lord GOD.

God showed His love and care for His people and told them so many times as here through Ezekiel in the midst of their rejection of idolatry and immortality.  The LORD made them see and und the depth of their abominations of sin against Him and reminded them of His tender loving care from the beginning of Israel’s calling as a people according to His word and promises.  When they were unwanted as an abandoned baby in the wilderness, He pitied and had compassion on them when no one else would as nobody else could.  As they struggled to live and survive, God made them thrive.  They grew to become a beautiful child of the LORD by His lovingkindness and grace because He had called them to and for Himself.  Such is God’s love and care for His people even now as one in Christ!  He gave Israel His divine love and covered their nakedness of sin as in the Garden with atoning grace (Genesis 3:10, 21).  Then He made a covenant with them to seal them as His own, just as now He seals everyone with Himself as a guarantee forever of this new and unbreakable covenant (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, 5:5, Hebrews 12:24).  We are also His special people now (1 Peter 2:9, Titus 2:14) according to His certain promise according to that same grace.  Just as He had cleaned up Israel, anointed them as His, clothed them with the beauty of holiness (1 Chronicles 16:29) as fine jewels, and made as royalty, so are we in Christ for eternity to praise Him for it all.  Their fame went into the whole world, but in Christ our fame echoes into forever and into heaven as well as on earth (Ephesians 3:10-11).  This perfect grace makes us beautifully righteous in Christ, perfect because it is His splendor which we are clothed with, even more than in the beginning with God’s people then!  Remember, therefore, God’s love and care for we the people of the heavenly kingdom as the depth of its entirety was foreshadowed here.