EZEKIEL 161-14 MY EVERYTHING
In the TV programme Ally McBeal Barry White sings that wonderful song about someone being his first, his last, his everything. John, in the series, usually dances along quite oblivious to the world around him. This morning I want to share with you from Ezekiel someone who is my everything and can and should be your everything. But first let me set the context for the whole passage so that we understand what is being said and why.
Context
Ezekiel’s ministry as a prophet spanned 22 years between 593BC and 571BC. Ezekiel was amongst the Jews exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar and his ministry was to confront the people of God with the reality that their exile would not soon end. One of the saddest passages in all of Scripture is written in chapter 24 where Ezekiel is told by God that ‘the delight of his eyes will be taken from him’ and within 24 hours his beloved wife dies. Ezekiel informs the people of God that their delight, Jerusalem, is going to be taken from their eyes and that is exactly what happens. In chapter 15 Ezekiel has used a parable about a useless vine, which bears no fruit and is too twisted to build with, to inform the people of their worthlessness to God and the coming judgment. The people do not believe him because they think that simply being the chosen people will spare them from God’s judgement. The reality as they are about to learn is so different. Being born into the Israelite nation was not sufficient – just as being born into a Christian family is not sufficient for salvation. So we come to chapter 16 and in this chapter Ezekiel does two things. First he points out the ‘The Glory of God’s Grace’ and secondly ‘The disgrace of Israel.’
This morning I only want to look at ‘The Glory of God’s Grace.’
In the verses read to us this morning God is dealing primarily with the city of Jerusalem. Once more in the history of the people of God they have deserted their first love and gone chasing after idols and become an adulterous nation. In the first 14 verses of this chapter Ezekiel points out the following:
1. There is a wretched condition
2. There is a wonderful compassion
3. There is a wonderful change.
There is a wretched condition.
We may have naturally winced a few times when the passage from Ezekiel was being read. It was not a pretty picture being painted with words. In the Ancient Near East children at birth were washed, the umbilical cord cut, they were rubbed with salt for antiseptic purposes and wrapped in clothes. The picture given in verses 1-5 is the very opposite. We see an unwanted, uncared for, unloved child (a girl) being abandoned and exposed to the elements in order that she might die. Ezekiel says to the people this is/was your wretched condition before God came to you. In this picture there is the perfect picture of all mankind before Christ came. Listen to me – this is the picture of everyone of us in this church this morning. Let us look at little more closely at verses 4 and 5.
Verse 4 – 5 Unclean, Unloved, Uncared for, Unclothed, Unclaimed and Uncontrollable. That is the picture painted here by Ezekiel of this child.
Unclean - The child has never been washed but remains in the state in which it was born. Here is the picture of us in our sinful state – unclean – as Rom. 3:23, Is. 64:6 tell us – we are all unclean in the sight and presence of God. The result of that uncleanness, sin, is that we are separated from God – in exile from him.
Unloved/Uncared for – this child has not even had it’s umbilical cord cut. It has not been washed, no one has rubbed salt into her body to keep it free from germs that would harm her and her body is not clothed – she has been left naked and exposed to all the dangers of the world into which she had been born. It would appear that everyone around this little child hated her to the point of wanting to commit infanticide. You know here is the picture of the world in which we live. Satan, the world and sometimes members of our own families have not and do not care for us, nor love us. That is why David could say in Psalm 142:2 ‘No man cared for my soul.’
Unclothed – this little one is left naked before a hostile world. Again we see ourselves here – we are clothed and think we hide our shame, our guilt and our sin – we do it very well from other people but the reality this morning is that before God each of us is naked and exposed. He knows everything about us – we are clothed before him only in the rags of our sins – Hebrews 4:13.
Unclaimed – no one wanted this little one. Neither mother nor father would claim her as their own. We are like her – we are orphans in this world without God, Ephesians 2:12. Yes, we have family and friends all around us but they could not and never can satisfy the desire and the longing of our souls. We needed what we did not have, a relationship with the living God.
Uncontrollable – this newborn baby is completely helpless to change it’s situation. There is nothing she can do to make her parents love her. There is nothing she can do to rescue herself, wash, cloth or save herself from this hopeless situation. If someone does not come to her rescue she will surely die. Friends that is our position this morning – we are helpless in our sin. There is nothing we can do to rescue ourselves from certain death and a lost eternity. We cannot save ourselves, we cannot bring life to our dead souls and we can not reach God on our own way. We are helpless friends.
Friends the picture of these two verses is the picture of everyone in this church this morning who is outside of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You, like this little baby, and just like many of use to be, are totally helpless to save yourself from a lost eternity. You are in a wretched condition this morning and you need the Glory of God’s Grace in your life. If that was the end of the story it would be sad but thankfully it is not.
There is a wonderful compassion.
In verses 6 – 9 we get a wonderful picture of the wonderful compassion which God has for people. In these verses God is pictured as one walking past who stoops down and rescues this child from a certain death. In these verses we see what Christ has done for everyone who has placed their faith and trust in him.
Verses 6-7 He came to us. Will you note please that it is the Lord who reached down and saved this child. Ezekiel says that the Lord sees the helpless and hopeless situation of this little infant and reaches down into the midst of all the mess and rescues the child. The Lord speaks but one word ‘Live’. Death was a certainty but his voice speaks life and brings life as verse 7 illustrates. This abandoned child now thrives because of the Lord’s loving care. The very one despised, rejected, abandoned and deemed worthless is now adorned with beauty and jewels – what a picture of what Jesus does when he comes into our lives. What a transformation and it is all of grace because the child is helpless to do anything but receive the life given by her saviour.
Verse 8 - He has compassion on this child. The Lord looks with love and compassion on this abandoned infant and knows what must be done to save it from certain death and he did it. He covered this child with his garment. We could pass over that very quickly and miss the significance of that gesture. In those days if a man came and put is garment round a woman he was claiming her for his wife. It was a public sign of commitment, of love, of desire, of devotion. Ezekiel says God saw the nakedness of this child and he covered her with his garment thereby claiming her as his own, as his bride, as the desire of his heart as the centre of his love. That is why Ezekiel goes on to say that God entered into a covenant, an eternal covenant, with this chosen one. Ezekiel wants the people to know, and us to know, that God has claimed us as his own, that he has made a covenant which cannot be broken with us and that he has covered us with himself. In him alone we find shelter, salvation, love, compassion, security, hope and these not just for a short time but for all eternity. Friends this is the wonderful picture of God’s grace in action. Reaching down to the helpless, the hopeless, the rejected, the abandoned, the lonely, the unworthy and bringing them life, beauty, dignity and all by covering them with himself.
Verse 9 well in this verse Ezekiel spells out exactly what God has done for this child. He cleansed her, he cured her, and he consecrated her. God took the one he loved and he thoroughly washed her. He washed away all the impurities, all the sin, all that separates her from him. As Isaiah 1:18 says he made her white as snow. Every stain that sin has left in her life he has removed and she was forever cleansed. When God saves us friends he cleanses us totally by the blood of Christ Jesus. He also anointed this little one with oil. Oil had a twofold purpose in those days – medicinal and religious. In anointing this child with oil Ezekiel was showing that the Lord God comes to bring healing into the lives of those he saves. He comes to restore that which was broken, namely the relationship with God the Father. But he also comes to heal those hurts, those damaged relationships, those damaged emotions, those mental scars – he comes to cure us so that we might have abundant life. He also comes to anoint us with his Holy Spirit – that is to make us holy. At the moment of salvation he gives us the Holy Spirit as our sanctifier, as our counsellor and comforter. As such we are set apart for him, and for him alone. We have been consecrated for his glory and the result of that is that our lives are to glorify him always. We are called to be holy because he is holy and lives within us.
There is a wondrous change.
Friends we cannot be but changed when we encounter the living and true God in Christ Jesus. This little one’s life would never be the same again because of the wonderful salvation from wretched condition and the wonderful compassion lavished upon her. In verses 10-14 we see the wondrous change brought about by God’s grace.
Verses 10 - 11 this child is now clothed. She was once dirty, naked and abandoned but now she is clothed. She is clothed in the finest of garments – the garments of glory and beauty. Friends listen to me this morning – when you come to Christ he clothes you in beauty and glory. Do you hear that? Beauty and glory. This morning if you are in Christ Jesus you are beautiful to God and you are glorious to him. All we can see is the outward appearance – the body and the clothes we wear but God sees the glorious clothes of justification, sanctification and righteousness in which our Lord Jesus has clothed us. There is nothing more beautiful to God this morning in all the earth than you. He changed this child completely. He washed her and he then adorned her with costly jewels and the finest garments. No expense was spared. No corners were cut. He made this child what she was not to others – beautiful, valuable, worthy of life. Friends that is what he does for those who come to him and put their faith and trust in him. He transforms what the world counts as worthless, what the world rejects and ignores – by his grace they all become trophies of grace. When God enters a life there is a wondrous change.
Verses 12 – 13 he crowns this child. The Lord took this woman and made her his queen. He blessed her and raised her to sit at his right hand with Him. He literally crowned her with his glory. He has promised to do the very same thing for each of those who are his people. He has promised to be with us in this life and to reward us when we get to heaven. In Rev. 4 verses 1-11 we read that there will be crowns to cast before him when we get to heaven.
Verse 14 she was changed. There was a time when no one came to her and no one wanted anything to do with her. But, he came to her and made a difference in her and now she is the envy of the world. He made a change in her and all the world wanted what she had. Friends listen to me here – when the Lord found us we were unloved, unwanted, uncared for but he loved us, he wanted us and he cared for us. When he came to us he changed us by his grace – 2 Cor. 5 verses 17. Now, we are different than we were before – we cannot be the same when we have been touched by his grace. This morning we have a peace the world cannot give. We have a beauty that the world cannot give and which will never fade. We have a glory that all the treasures of this earth could not buy or give and it will never fade. We have dignity that no honour from the queen could bestow upon us and it is for eternity. We have a love bestowed upon us that makes us the very centre of it, that loves unconditionally, that never fails us, never rejects us, never abandons us and is forever faithful. Friends when we experience the grace of God we cannot be but changed forever.
Conclusion
Ezekiel painted a picture of a helpless, unloved, rejected and abandoned child being rescued, loved, cared for and changed. The picture is of god’s grace in action in the lives of individual people. This morning we all know we are in a wretched condition because of our sin. I proclaim to you there is a wonderful compassion in Christ coming to and for you. The result of that is a wonderful change can be wrought in your soul and in your life by the grace of God if you only repent of your sin and put your trust in him.
I do not know in what state your soul is this morning but his I do know. Some of you in here this morning are like this little baby – unloved, uncared for, unclean and abandoned in your sin. God comes to you this morning in Christ Jesus and he holds out his arms of love and grace and he calls you to come into his loving embrace. You may feel unloved, unwanted and uncared for today but he comes and he calls to you – I want you, I love you and I will take care of you for all eternity. If you would only come to him and ask him he would save you right now, today.
Some of you know the salvation of which I speak. If we had read on in chapter 16 we would have read how Jerusalem took the blessings of God and despised them. She played the harlot chasing after other gods. Some of you may have done the same thing. Oh, you are saved, but you are not living this morning like you should. You have gone back into old ways and places and this morning God calls you to come home. In your heart, you know you are cold and not where you need to be. I invite you to come to Him today. For just as he saves the sinner, he also restores the saint. He will forgive and restore you if you come to him.
Whatever the need this morning there is help and hope in Christ. He is my everything, he is all I need. You come this morning if he is calling you. Amen.
