Ezekiel, the prophet, describes God’s goodness in today’s reading. He highlights the condition that He found Jerusalem in, His compassion for her, and her eventual treatment of God. And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born. (Ezekiel 16:4–5, ESV)
So what did God do? “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!’ (Ezekiel 16:6, NKJV) God pitied Jerusalem. God took her in, made her His own, wrapped her in His garments, decked her with jewels, made a covenant with her, and loved her. God did what no one else would do (Ezekiel 16:9–14).
What a picture of God to have compassion on what no one else wants, to love what no one else will. It reminds me of what the New Testament says of us. When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners…God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:6, 8, NLT) What an incredible act of God’s greatness, goodness, and kindness to sinners! May we think upon this often, allowing our hearts to be stirred up more to love and obey God!
Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Ezekiel 16-17.