Audio Download

Ezekiel 16:43-64  The Lord’s Useless and Faithless Bride, Part 3

[Study Aired May 13, 2024]

Introduction

Today’s study continues with the Lord showing us our abominations. It focuses on how our sins as the Lord’s elect far outweigh that of our sisters Sodom and Samaria. Before we can go further, we need to understand what Sodom and Samaria represent. Spiritually, Sodom represents Jerusalem which is and is in bondage with her children. Therefore, Sodom is another name for Babylon or the physical churches of this world in which we spent the days of our youth. 

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city (Jerusalem), which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 

Isa 1:1  The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.  

Isa 1:10  Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 

Samaritans were the Lord’s people (the ten tribes of Israel with the exception of Judah and Benjamin) who rejected the rulership of Rehoboam, the son of king Solomon. Spiritually therefore, we can say that Samaria represents the Lord’s people who have rebelled against Him. Samaria is therefore another term for Babylon. 

1Ki 12:16  So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. 
1Ki 12:17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
1Ki 12:18  Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. 
1Ki 12:19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. 

In another perspective, we can also say that Sodom represents the people of the world who have no portion in the Lord, in the sense that they worship themselves as idols. Samaria, on the other hand, signifies other religions apart from Christianity.  

The study ends with the assurance from the Lord that He will remember the promise He made during our days of youth (our lives in Babylon) and will make it a promise which will last forever.

As is the Mother, so is her Daughter

Eze 16:43  Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations. 

As we indicated in the previous study, the days of our youth refer to our time in Babylon when we were naked and polluted by our own blood. Being naked means we were sinful. Being polluted in our own blood means our lives are dominated by our flesh.

Lev 17:11  For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

Eze 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. 

Here in verse 43, we are told that we shall surely be judged by the Lord as long as we continue to wallow in sin. It is important to note that the judgment of the Lord is the prerogative of His elect in this age. We are the meek that the Lord is guiding to walk in His ways through His judgment.

Psa 25:9  The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 

Eze 16:44  Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter. 
Eze 16:45  Thou art thy mother’s daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
Eze 16:46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

We were just like our mother, the harlot, before the Lord came to us with the Spirit of His mouth and His brightness. Our mother here is Babylon or the physical churches of this world. In these verses, we are given to know some of the characteristics of our mother, the harlot. Our mother being a Hittite means that she is just like people of the world who are not given to know Christ.  This implies that we were just like people of the world during our stay in Babylon, a strange land where we are carried away captives by the evil one. Our father being an Amorite signifies the devil being our father. This is because Amorite comes from an unused name which means prominence. In this case, it is the devil who is prominent in a negative way. 

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

In verse 45, we are told that our mother loathed her husband. What is being implied here is that Babylon hates her husband Christ. No wonder she plays the harlot with another Jesus. In our time in Babylon, we thought we loved the Lord, but we were not prepared to obey Him. Obedience to the Lord is a sign that we love Him. 

Joh 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Joh 14:24  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 

Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

We are also told that our mother not only loathed her husband but also her children. This means that Babylon is not a typical mother who loves her children. In her case, she hates her children. No wonder the food we receive from our mother in Babylon poisons us to become spiritual dead. That is why she is drunk with the blood of the saints. 

Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Rev 17:7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

As indicated in verse 45, our sisters also loathe their husband and children. In other words, they hate both their husband, Christ, and His children. Externally, our sisters refer to all kinds of religion, including Christianity, which hate our Lord Jesus Christ and kill their children as they become worse off, that is, spiritually dead. In verse 46, Samaria and Sodom are mentioned as examples of our sisters who loathed their husband and children. 

Jer 23:13  Say this about the prophets of Samaria: I saw something disgusting. The prophets of Samaria prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray. 
Jer 23:14  Say this about the prophets of Jerusalem: I see something horrible. The prophets of Jerusalem commit adultery and live a lie. They support those who do evil so that no one turns back from his wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me, and those who live in Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.
Jer 23:15  This is what the LORD of Armies says about the prophets: I will give them wormwood to eat and poison to drink. The prophets of Jerusalem have spread godlessness throughout the land. 
Jer 23:16  This is what the LORD of Armies says: Don’t listen to what the prophets are saying to you. They fill you with false hope. They speak about visions that they dreamed up. These visions are not from the LORD. 
Jer 23:17  They keep saying to those who despise me, “The LORD says, ‘Everything will go well for you.'” They tell all who live by their own stubborn ways, “Nothing bad will happen to you.”
Jer 23:18  Who is in the LORD’S inner circle and sees and hears his word? Who pays attention and listens to his word? (GW)

The Sins of Sodom and Samaria

Eze 16:47  Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways. 
Eze 16:48  As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. 
Eze 16:49  Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
Eze 16:50  And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. 

The Lord is showing us in these verses that we have committed more grievous offenses against the Lord than our sister Sodom as He went ahead to narrate the offenses of Sodom. In other words, the Lord is showing to us, His elect, that we have committed more grievous sins than our brothers and sisters in Babylon. However, the Lord showed us His mercy.  The iniquity of our sister Sodom are pride, fullness of bread, abundance of idleness and their negligence to strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. Our pride is the result of our false doctrine of man having his own will to make his own decisions. We put ourselves in the status of the Lord when we think we make our own decisions.

Psa 10:4  The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

Psa 59:12  For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.

Oba 1:3  The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

The fullness of bread means that Babylon has all the resources needed, but we use these resources to gain treasures here on earth where thieves break through and steal. In other words, instead of using the resources the Lord has given us to know Him more, we become like the rich fool who filled his barn and told himself that it is time to enjoy!! In other words, we focus on what we can gain here on earth.

Mat 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 
Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Luk 12:16  And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
Luk 12:17  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
Luk 12:18  And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 
Luk 12:19  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 
Luk 12:20  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 
Luk 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Abundance of idleness means we do not work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We have this mantra that whatever will be will be!!

Ecc 10:18 By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.

As the Lord’s elect, we are admonished not to eat the bread of idleness. 

Pro 31:27  She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

Not strengthening the hand of the poor and the needy means that Babylon is not a place that seeks the spiritual development of the Lord’s elect, signified by the poor and needy.

In verse 50, the Lord taking away Sodom is to warn us of the consequences of our actions if we continue to rebel against the Lord. 

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 
1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 
1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Eze 16:51  Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done. 
Eze 16:52  Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. 

As we indicated, Samaria is also a type of the people of God who have rejected their king who is Christ our Lord and therefore Samaria is Babylon. Again, the Lord is telling us that our sins far outweighed that of Samaria. As Paul said, we are indeed the worst sinners that the Lord is saving us by His grace. 

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 
1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 
1Ti 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Eze 16:53  When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: 
Eze 16:54  That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. 
Eze 16:55  When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. 

These verses show us when our brothers and sisters in Babylon shall be saved. Although both Sodom and Samaria represent Babylon, Sodom and her daughters can specifically signify the people of the world who do not know the Lord. Samaria, on the other hand, represents other religions apart from Christianity who are trying to seek God through other means. What these verses under discussion mean is that the last on the line to be saved is our brothers and sisters in Babylon since they knew the Lord but did not worship Him as Lord but became futile in their thinking and committed more sins than even Sodom and Samaria.

Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 
Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 
Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 
Rev 18:5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

In verse 54, we are told that we shall suffer disgrace, that is, we shall be judged by the Lord as we remember the terrible things we have done during our time in Babylon.  In all of this, the Lord assures us that He will comfort us. The Lord’s comfort here means making a way in us for the glory of the Lord to be revealed through His judgment. 

Isa 40:1  Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 
Isa 40:2  Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins. 
Isa 40:3  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 
Isa 40:4  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 
Isa 40:5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 

Eze 16:56  For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride, 
Eze 16:57  Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about. 
Eze 16:58  Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD. 

In verse 56, we are told that we did not mention our sister Sodom during our time in Babylon which was the day of our pride. The false doctrine of the Lord burning all those who do not submit to Him in this life forever makes it impossible for us to acknowledge that the people of the world, signified here by Sodom, are also children of the Lord and that He has a plan for them. As a result, the physical churches of this world or Babylon are hated or despised by people of the world, represented in verse 57 as daughters of Syria and Philistines. This hatred is the fuel that will result in the destruction of Babylon in the fullness of time as shown by the Lord in the Book of Revelation.

Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Rev 17:18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

As stated in the beginning of chapter 16 of Ezekiel, the Lord’s intent is to show us our abominations. Thus, throughout this chapter, the Lord has painstakingly shown to us our lewdness and abominations.

Eze 16:1  Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 16:2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

In verse 58, the Lord is saying that we must bear our lewdness which refers to our wicked devices and abominations which has to do with something disgusting morally; especially idolatry or having an idol. 

Deu 29:17  And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)

Deu 32:16  They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.

The Lord is showing us our lewdness and abominations to serve as the occasion He is seeking to judge us. 

Jdg 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. 
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. 

Just as the Lord was seeking an occasion against the Philistines, because they had dominion over Israel, the Lord is seeking an occasion to come and judge our flesh or the old man (Philistines) who has dominated us during our sojourn in Babylon. 

The Lord’s Everlasting Covenant

Eze 16:59  For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
Eze 16:60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.

In verse 59, the Lord is showing us that because of our lewdness and abominations, we have despised His oath by breaking the covenant. As a result, we shall surely face His judgment. 

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 
1Pe 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. 

Through the Lord’s judgment, we learn righteousness and become obedient children of the Lord.  This judgment, therefore, is not to destroy us. It is the Lord’s merciful act to restore His everlasting covenant with us, His elect.

Heb 6:13  For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
Heb 6:14  Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 
Heb 6:15  And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 
Heb 6:16  For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 
Heb 6:17  Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 
Heb 6:18  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 
Heb 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 

Eze 16:61  Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. 
Eze 16:62  And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: 
Eze 16:63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth anymore because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD. 

As indicated, it is through the Lord’s judgment of our old man that we learn righteousness. Verse 61 is showing us the benefits of the Lord’s judgment. We shall be ashamed of what we have done against the Lord, and we shall learn to be merciful to our sisters, elders and the younger ones in the fullness of time during their judgment in the lake of fire.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 

Through the judgment of the Lord, we shall come to know Him as the Lord of everything. In verse 63, the Lord showing us our abominations and lewdness is also to humble us so that we become recipients of His grace. 

Jas 4:6  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 
Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 
Jas 4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 
Jas 4:9  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. 

May the Lord continue to show us our sins and help us to overcome as we see the day approaching. Amen!!