thecrump

In the 16th chapter of Ezekiel we find God painting a picture of Israel, and it's not real flattering.  In fact, God begins this story of Israel by describing her birth this way:

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. Ezekiel 16:4-5

Here at her very birth God descibes the nation as helpless, hated and alone. To toss a baby out into an open field was simply an act of murder. After all, if there is love for a child there is a desire to care for her needs, not place her at the mercy of the elements. When we read this we have to remember who God points to as Israel's parents at this time.  He says "your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite."  These are the ones who toss her into the wilderness.  In other words their idolatrous ways do no set up Israel to succeed as godly people.  Yet, we see God step in anyway.

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. Ezekiel 16:6-8

In an similar fashion as the good Samaritan, God sees this struggling nation forgotten by her idolatrous parents and rescues her. He pronouces "live" and in an instant she becomes a nation.  Not only does God grant her life but also plants her so that she may grow and then shields her and promises His love and protection.  Was it because she had a lot to offer? Nope, it was because God chose to show mercy & grace on her that she began experiencing the mercy & grace of God.

Sound familiar?  As I was reading this chapter I was reminded more and more of my own sinfulness.  God, in His great love, presented Jesus to me as a child.  I looked upon Christ and gave a nod in His direction but then turned the other way out of selfishness.  I liked what Jesus could offer me and I enjoyed the fruits found while dining with His people but I did not love Jesus.  Like Israel, I had rejected the truth of God's love for a lie and fell deeper and deeper into pride and sin.   I was born of this world and it's evil and therefore had no hope of eternal life.  Yet, God was not done.  You see God found me helpless and frail in a wilderness of my own making.  I lay covered in my own sin without a means to help myself.  In that instant, God said to me "live" and I awoke to the truth of His Word, the reality of Christ's love and the glorious good news of the Gospel. In an instant I was changed from a child of the devil to a child of God.  Not because I had some amazing things to offer God but because He is was so gracious to draw me to Himself and save me in the midst of my wilderness. 

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8