Betrayed Part 1 Series

Ezekiel 16: 1 – 12

‘Betrayed’ Part 1

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.

Our Holy Lord God Almighty depicted the nation of Israel in chapter 15 as a useless vine. Now in chapter 16 the Lord Yahweh will remind the Jews of their former despised status among the Canaanite nations. He will describe Jerusalem representing all of the people of Israel as an unwanted child. He will use the imagery of a young baby girl orphan from childhood to maturity. In fact not only is this little baby girl an orphan, the Magnificent Creator God points out that He rescues her from just being thrown away.

Out of all the people in the world the Holy One had pity on Israel and selected them out of His Own Mercy and Grace and bestowed blessings beyond what anyone could imagine. In effect He selected them as His Own as a man would select a bride as his own. How did this bride respond to this great love? I like the musical the ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and the words of one of my favorite songs reveal the answer here. ‘He was bound to love you, when he heard you sing. And now how you repaid me. Denied me and betrayed me.’ Man that hurts! Hearing that song breaks the strings of my heart in how the nation of Israel and more importantly me, have done the same to this Holy Special Loving God.

Our Precious God teaches us how His bride prostituted herself by seeking relationships with pagan nations and ultimately forsaking Him for their phony gods. As we study His Word let us examine ourselves to see if we likewise have done or are doing the same awful things to Him. Are we placing anything in our lives such as family, education, careers, or pleasure as our first love instead of Him, then, we are as guilty as the people He describes here. Our Lord Jesus Christ says this to us directly in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 10, “37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

“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.”

Have you ever wished that you also could hear from God the way Ezekiel did? What was it like? We know from our past studies that he had a unique vision of the Holy Yahweh. He then heard from Him directly and knew His voice every time He spoke directly to him. How can we get to experience this same awesome and wonderful interaction with the God we claim as our own? This might sound as an old lame answer but I strongly cling to the belief in prayer and thorough study of His Word. I like these Scriptures.