EZEKIEL LESSON 16


     We will begin this lesson in Ezekiel 16:1 "Again the word of the
LORD came unto me, saying,"

     This begins a totally different Word from the LORD.

     Ezekiel 16:2 "Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her
abominations,"

     Jerusalem, as well as the physical house of Israel, are thought
of symbolically as the wife of God. This is in the same thinking as
the Christians being the bride of Christ. Notice, her abominations. We
know that abominations means revolting sins. There is no worse sin
than for a wife to be a harlot.

     Ezekiel 16:3 "And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem;
Thy birth and thy nativity [is] of the land of Canaan; thy father
[was] an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite."

     Canaan was the name of the land that later became the promised
land. It was named for the forth son of Ham, Canaan. The Canaanites
and Amorites many times speak of the same people. The Hittites were,
also, dwellers in Canaan. Jerusalem was not established with just
Hebrews, but had been established with those who intermarried with the
Hebrews. Jerusalem was a city born of Canaan.

     Ezekiel 16:4 And [as for] thy nativity, in the day thou wast born
thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple
[thee]; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

     Actually, this is, probably, speaking of the Israelite nation
being born in captivity. This speaks of a baby, whose birth mother has
abandoned it and it was not even cared for by others. They were not a
clean nation. They were not even washed with salt {preserved}. They
were naked, not wrapped in swaddling clothes.

     Ezekiel 16:5 "None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee,
to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open
field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born."

     The years when Jacob's family was in Egypt, it seemed as if they
were forgotten and abandoned. It seemed no one really cared for them.
The bondage they were under was not only hard, but degrading, as well.
Israel became a nation, when the family of Jacob left Egypt, headed
for the promised land.

     Ezekiel 16:6  "And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted
in thine own blood, I said unto thee [when thou wast] in thy blood,
Live; yea, I said unto thee [when thou wast] in thy blood, Live."

     God looked on this wretched family, and told them to live. They
were polluted, because they were not living the way God had intended.
They were in the land of Egypt {symbolic of the world}. This was an
evil land of many false gods. God looked down upon them, and told them
to live.

     Ezekiel 16:7 "I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the
field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to
excellent ornaments: [thy] breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is
grown, whereas thou [wast] naked and bare."

     A baby comes into the world naked and bare. This is speaking of a
time beyond that, when they have begun to mature. Just a handful of
Jacob's family went into Egypt, and approximately 3 million came out
of Egypt. God saw them, and sent them a deliverer, Moses. We see that
they are spoken of, here, as a maiden who is taking shape as a woman.

     Ezekiel 16:8 "Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee,
behold, thy time [was] the time of love; and I spread my skirt over
thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered
into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest
mine."

     God, through the ten plagues on Egypt, got them released. They
became His own. The skirt thrown over them, covering their nakedness,
was a sign of marriage. They had become His wife. The covenant made
between God and Israel, made Him their God and them His people.
Chapter 24 of Exodus speaks of this covenant sealed with blood. The
children of Israel agreed to that covenant. I will give just a little
of that here. Exodus 24:3  "And Moses came and told the people all the
words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered
with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will
we do." From that moment on, they were His.

     Ezekiel 16:9 "Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly
washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil."

     "Washing" and "anointing" were both symbols of the marriage. This
is similar to the washing {baptizing} and anointing with oil {Holy
Spirit} the Christians participate in, when they accept Jesus as their
bridegroom.

     Ezekiel 16:10 "I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod
thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and
I covered thee with silk."

     These items mentioned are things in the tabernacle in the
wilderness. They, also, speak of the beautiful garments God clothes
His bride with. The fine linen symbolizes righteousness. Broidered
work speaks of the beauty, and the silk speaks of the softness.
Badgers skin shows that their feet are protected with leather.

     Ezekiel 16:11 "I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put
bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck."

     The children of Israel spoiled the Egyptians, and wore necklaces,
earrings, and bracelets made with gold into the wilderness.  Exodus
12:35 "And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses;
and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of
gold, and raiment:" Exodus 12:36 "And the LORD gave the people favour
in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them [such
things as they required]. And they spoiled the Egyptians."

     Ezekiel 16:12 "And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in
thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head."

     We know that Egyptian women wore jewels in the center of their
foreheads. All of this is speaking of the vast wealth the Israelites
brought out of Egypt.

     Ezekiel 16:13 "Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and
thy raiment [was of] fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou
didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding
beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom."

     This is speaking of the magnificence of Jerusalem when the
Israelites reached their height in the reign of David and Solomon.
They were favored above all the nations around them. All of the things
mentioned were part of their every day fare.

     Ezekiel 16:14 "And thy renown went forth among the heathen for
thy beauty: for it [was] perfect through my comeliness, which I had
put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD."

     This is speaking of the time of Solomon, when the temple was a
thing to behold. People from other countries came to see the beauty in
Jerusalem. Even the queen of Sheba came to see the beauty. God had
blessed them beyond their wildest dreams.

     Ezekiel 16:15  "But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and
playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy
fornications on every one that passed by; his it was."

     The spiritual adultery began in the time of Solomon, when he made
places of worship to please his foreign wives. Many of them were
idolaters. Not only did Solomon build the temple for God, but built
for the false gods of his wives, as well.

     Ezekiel 16:16 "And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst
thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot
thereupon: [the like things] shall not come, neither shall it be
[so]."

     These high places were places of idolatrous worship. They had
decorated them with beautiful tapestry. They committed spiritual
adultery by worshipping these false gods.

     Ezekiel 16:17 "Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold
and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images
of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,"
     At one time, they had been the richest country in the world. God
had blessed them with silver and gold. They had taken the gifts of
gold and silver God had given them, and formed gold and silver idols
with them. This is the worst kind of spiritual adultery. We have
talked, in previous lessons, about idols made with men's hands. An
idol is a nothing.

     Ezekiel 16:18 "And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst
them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them."

     The oil and the burning of incense symbolize prayers rising from
man to God. This is especially evil to involve false gods in their
prayers.

     Ezekiel 16:19 "My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and
oil, and honey, [wherewith] I fed thee, thou hast even set it before
them for a sweet savour: and [thus] it was, saith the Lord GOD."

     These gifts of God being offered in sacrifice to false gods, is
the very height of idolatry. The sweet savour offering was for God
alone.

     Ezekiel 16:20 "Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy
daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou
sacrificed unto them to be devoured. [Is this] of thy whoredoms a
small matter,"

     Children were a gift from God. The Hebrews had thought it a curse
from God to be barren. This sacrificing of their most precious gift
from God is horrible. The worship of Molech was involved in the
sacrifice of children. The True God brings life, not death. These
children, not only belonged to the parents, but were God's, as well.
This is one of the worst forms of worshipping false gods.

     Ezekiel 16:21 "That thou hast slain my children, and delivered
them to cause them to pass through [the fire] for them?"

     One of the terrible things they had their children do, was walk
through the fire. This, again, is associated with the false god
Molech.

     Ezekiel 16:22 "And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms
thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked
and bare, [and] wast polluted in thy blood."

     None of these false gods came to their rescue, when they were
slaves in Egypt. It was not one of these nothings that came and got
them out of Egypt. God saw them in their worst estate, and loved them
enough, to send them a deliverer.

     Ezekiel 16:23 "And it came to pass after all thy wickedness,
(woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD;)"

     God cannot overlook their unfaithfulness. These woes are for the
punishment, which is coming for their unfaithfulness.

     Ezekiel 16:24 "[That] thou hast also built unto thee an eminent
place, and hast made thee an high place in every street."

     "Eminent", here, means vault. There were places like this, where
women practiced prostitution. These high places, which seemed to be
everywhere, were places of whoredom. In this particular case, this is
spiritual whoredom.

     Ezekiel 16:25 "Thou hast built thy high place at every head of
the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy
feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms."

     From this, we see they were not guilty of worshipping one false
god, but every one they were offered. They had picked up the ways of
the evil ones around them. They were worshipping many false gods. Just
as any beautiful girl, who becomes a harlot, they were now ugly and
filled with sin.

     Ezekiel 16:26 "Thou hast also committed fornication with the
Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy
whoredoms, to provoke me to anger."

     We have mentioned several times, that Egypt symbolized the world.
This means they have become very worldly. They have taken up the ways
of the Egyptians, who worshipped many false gods. All of this causes
God to be very angry. He is like a jealous husband.

     Ezekiel 16:27 "Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand
over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary [food], and delivered
thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the
Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way."

     The stretched out hand of God speaks of judgement. Their food
supply has dwindled severely. Suddenly, God has cut the provisions for
His adulterous wife {Israel}. The Philistines had always been the
enemy of Israel. Even they knew that God's chastisement was upon them,
because of their unfaithfulness.

     Ezekiel 16:28 "Thou hast played the whore also with the
Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the
harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied."

     Each one of the nations, like Assyria that they had made
political agreements with, was as if they were saying God was not
powerful enough to help them. They were depending on the arm, of man
instead of the arm of God. They picked up the worship of everyone's
false gods in all the countries they made agreements with.

     Ezekiel 16:29 "Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in
the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied
herewith."

     We are quickly brought back to the fact that Ezekiel is in
captivity, when this is given. He is shaming them, because they still
do not realize why they are in captivity. They are, now, worshipping
the false gods of Chaldea.

     Ezekiel 16:30 "How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD,
seeing thou doest all these [things], the work of an imperious whorish
woman;"

     Their hearts are not stayed upon God. They have two-faced hearts.
They are making deals with the devil. A whore is someone who is for
hire. This is what is meant here. Their worship can be bought, for
special favors. They are no longer a faithful wife. They are a whore.

     Ezekiel 16:31 "In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the
head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and
hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;"

     They are so deep into their sins, they no longer even have to be
paid. They sin for free. They are freely running after all the false
gods.

     Ezekiel 16:32 "[But as] a wife that committeth adultery, [which]
taketh strangers instead of her husband!"

     The sad thing is, she is now giving herself to strangers, instead
of to her own husband, God.



























                         Ezekiel 16 Questions


1.  Cause Jerusalem to know her ________________.
2.  Who was Jerusalem, symbolically?
3.  Who is the bride of Christ?
4.  Thy birth and thy nativity is of ____________.
5.  Thy father was an ___________.
6.  Thy mother was an ____________.
7.  What did Canaan later become?
8.  Verse 4 is speaking of what?
9.  The years Jacob's family was in Egypt, it seemed as if they were
    _____________ and __________.
10. When did Israel become a nation?
11. When God passed by them in Egypt, what did He say to them?
12. Egypt is symbolic of the ________.
13. The handful of Jacob's family that went into Egypt grew to
    approximately ______ _______.
14. What was the skirt being thrown over their nakedness a sign of?
15. What had they become to God?
16. "Washing" and "anointing" were symbols of the _________.
17. What do these symbolize in the Christian?
18. The children of Israel spoiled Egypt, and took what with them into
    the wilderness?
19. What is verse 13 describing?
20. In what king's reign did Jerusalem attract the queen of Sheba?
21. When did the spiritual adultery begin?
22. What had they made their idols of?
23. What does the oil and the burning of incense symbolize?
24. What was the name of the false god they sacrificed their children
    to?
25. Who do these children really belong to?
26. What does "eminent", in verse 24, mean?
27. What ways of the Egyptians had they taken up?
28. They had played the _______ with the Assyrians?
29. Where was Ezekiel, when he brought this prophecy?
30. What is the sad thing they have done to God?