Ezekiel 16 Study Notes: Jerusalem the Unfaithful Wife
God pictures Jerusalem as an abandoned baby girl He rescued, raised and made His own, who then turned to idols and foreign powers, a betrayal portrayed as adultery. He declares her worse than Samaria and Sodom, yet promises to remember His covenant, make it everlasting, and atone for her sins.
General
In the picture of Jerusalem as a newborn girl thrown into an open field, what did the LORD do when He passed by (Ezekiel 16:4-6)?
Answer: He spoke a word over her and commanded her to live
The LORD began by describing Jerusalem as a baby girl nobody wanted. On the day she was born, no one cut her cord, washed her, rubbed her with salt, or bundled her in cloth. No one pitied her enough to do any of it, and she was thrown out into a field because she was despised (16:4-5). Then the LORD passed by, saw her lying helpless in her blood, and spoke to her, telling her to live, and He said it twice (16:6). She had nothing to offer Him and could do nothing for herself; life came only because He chose to give it. This is grace, God’s kindness to people who do not deserve it. Moses told Israel that God loved them simply because He chose to love them (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). A related picture appears in Paul, who says that God, rich in mercy, makes alive those who were dead in their trespasses (Ephesians 2:4-5), and Christ died for people while they were still sinners (Romans 5:8).
- Ezekiel 16:4-5 (BSB)“On the day of your birth your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No one cared enough for you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. Instead, you were thrown out into the open field, because you were despised on the day of your birth.”The newborn is left uncared for, without pity, and thrown out into an open field.
- Ezekiel 16:6 (BSB)“Then I passed by and saw you wallowing in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, ‘Live!’ There I said to you, ‘Live!’”The LORD passes by the helpless infant and twice commands her to live.
- Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (BSB)“The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”God set His love on Israel because He chose to love them, not because of anything in them.
- Ephesians 2:4-5 (BSB)“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!”In a related picture, Paul says God in His mercy gives life to those who were dead in their trespasses.
- Romans 5:8 (BSB)“But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”God shows His love in that Christ gave His life for people who had not yet turned from their sin.
Theological
When the LORD passed by the cast-off infant in the field, how did He respond to her helpless state (Ezekiel 16:4-6)?
Answer: He spoke a word over her and commanded her to live
The allegory opens with Jerusalem as an exposed infant: denied every basic act of care at birth, unpitied, and cast into the field as loathed (16:4-5). Her rescue owes nothing to her condition or worth. The LORD passed by, saw her lying in her blood, and by His word alone commanded her to live, repeating the command for emphasis (16:6). Life is bestowed by sovereign decree on one who could contribute nothing, a vivid picture of unconditional grace. Deuteronomy grounds Israel’s election solely in the LORD’s free love, not in any quality of the people (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). A related pattern appears in salvation: God, rich in mercy, makes alive those dead in their trespasses (Ephesians 2:4-5), and Christ’s death for sinners before they could respond displays a love that precedes any response (Romans 5:8).
- Ezekiel 16:4-5 (BSB)“On the day of your birth your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No one cared enough for you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. Instead, you were thrown out into the open field, because you were despised on the day of your birth.”The newborn is left uncared for, without pity, and thrown out into an open field.
- Ezekiel 16:6 (BSB)“Then I passed by and saw you wallowing in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, ‘Live!’ There I said to you, ‘Live!’”The LORD passes by the helpless infant and twice commands her to live.
- Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (BSB)“The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”God set His love on Israel because He chose to love them, not because of anything in them.
- Ephesians 2:4-5 (BSB)“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!”In a related picture, Paul says God in His mercy gives life to those who were dead in their trespasses.
- Romans 5:8 (BSB)“But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”God shows His love in that Christ gave His life for people who had not yet turned from their sin.
General
True or False: The LORD charges Jerusalem with offering the children she had borne to Him as sacrifices to idols (Ezekiel 16:20-21).
Answer: True
This is true. Among the worst charges in the chapter, the LORD says Jerusalem took the children she had borne to Him and sacrificed them to idols, handing them over to be burned (16:20-21). God calls them His children, which shows how deeply this offended Him. The law had plainly forbidden giving children as sacrifices to the false god Molech, because it dishonored God’s name (Leviticus 18:21). Jeremiah records the same practice in a valley near Jerusalem and says it was something God never commanded and never even considered (Jeremiah 7:31). The psalmist later confessed that Israel had offered their own children to Canaan’s idols and defiled the land with innocent blood (Psalm 106:37-38). Idolatry is never harmless; here it destroyed the most helpless people of all.
- Ezekiel 16:2 (BSB)““Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominations”God sends Ezekiel to confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices, among them this charge.
- Leviticus 18:21 (BSB)“You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.”The law forbade giving children as sacrifices to Molech, because it profaned God’s name.
- Jeremiah 7:31 (BSB)“They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.”Jeremiah records the same practice in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, something God never commanded.
- Psalm 106:37-38 (BSB)“They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. They shed innocent blood—the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.”The psalmist confesses that Israel sacrificed sons and daughters to the idols of Canaan and polluted the land.
Theological
True or False: Ezekiel 16:20-21 accuses Jerusalem of sacrificing to idols the children she had borne to the LORD.
Answer: True
This is true. The indictment reaches its darkest point when the LORD charges Jerusalem with sacrificing the children she bore to Him and handing them over to idols in the fire (16:20-21). By calling them My children, God asserts His covenant claim on them, so the offense is both murder and sacrilege. The Mosaic law explicitly prohibited child sacrifice to Molech as a profaning of the divine name (Leviticus 18:21); Jeremiah condemns the same rite near Jerusalem as something God never commanded nor conceived (Jeremiah 7:31); and Psalm 106 confesses that Israel shed the innocent blood of sons and daughters offered to Canaan’s idols (Psalm 106:37-38). The passage shows idolatry for what it is: not neutral devotion but worship that destroys the weak.
- Ezekiel 16:2 (BSB)““Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominations”God sends Ezekiel to confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices, among them this charge.
- Leviticus 18:21 (BSB)“You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.”The law forbade giving children as sacrifices to Molech, because it profaned God’s name.
- Jeremiah 7:31 (BSB)“They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.”Jeremiah records the same practice in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, something God never commanded.
- Psalm 106:37-38 (BSB)“They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. They shed innocent blood—the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.”The psalmist confesses that Israel sacrificed sons and daughters to the idols of Canaan and polluted the land.
General
At the end of the chapter, what will finally leave Jerusalem silent, never again opening her mouth (Ezekiel 16:59-63)?
Answer: Shame over her ways when He atones for all she did
Jerusalem had despised her oath and broken the covenant, so God would deal with her as her deeds deserved (16:59). Yet the chapter ends with grace. God says He will not forget the covenant He made with her in her youth and set up a covenant with her that will last forever (16:60). He will atone for everything she has done, meaning He Himself will cover and remove her guilt. When He does, she will remember and feel ashamed, and her disgrace will keep her from ever speaking up again, and she will know that He is the LORD (16:62-63). Her silence is the silence of someone who knows she deserved nothing and was given everything. Jeremiah also foretold an everlasting covenant in which God keeps His people from turning away (Jeremiah 32:40). The New Testament shows how God makes atonement, through Christ’s sacrifice, a free gift of grace received through faith (Romans 3:24-25), and Paul draws a related conclusion, that boasting is shut out (Romans 3:27).
- Ezekiel 16:59-60 (BSB)“For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you according to your deeds, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant. But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.”Jerusalem has broken the covenant, yet God remembers it and promises an everlasting one.
- Ezekiel 16:62-63 (BSB)“So I will establish My covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD, so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord GOD.””God’s atonement leaves Jerusalem ashamed and silent, knowing that He is the LORD.
- Jeremiah 32:40 (BSB)“I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me.”Jeremiah also foretells an everlasting covenant in which God keeps His people from turning away.
- Romans 3:24-25 (BSB)“and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.”Paul says God set forth Christ as the atoning sacrifice, so sinners are declared righteous as a gift of grace, received through faith.
- Romans 3:27 (BSB)“Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith.”In a related conclusion, Paul says faith leaves no room for boasting.
Theological
What brings Jerusalem to silence in the closing promise of the chapter (Ezekiel 16:59-63)?
Answer: Shame over her ways when He atones for all she did
Having despised the oath and broken the covenant, Jerusalem deserves to be dealt with according to her deeds (16:59). Yet the final word is sovereign grace: the LORD will remember His covenant from her youth and set up an eternal covenant (16:60), not because of her faithfulness but in spite of her unfaithfulness. When He makes atonement for all she has done, she will remember in shame, her mouth closed for good by her disgrace, and she will know that He is the LORD (16:62-63). Grace that atones for the guilty humbles rather than flatters, silencing every claim to merit. Jeremiah’s everlasting covenant likewise rests on God’s pledge to keep His people from departing (Jeremiah 32:40). Paul finds that atonement in Christ’s sacrifice, applied freely by grace through faith (Romans 3:24-25), and draws the related conclusion that boasting is shut out (Romans 3:27).
- Ezekiel 16:59-60 (BSB)“For this is what the Lord GOD says: I will deal with you according to your deeds, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant. But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.”Jerusalem has broken the covenant, yet God remembers it and promises an everlasting one.
- Ezekiel 16:62-63 (BSB)“So I will establish My covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD, so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord GOD.””God’s atonement leaves Jerusalem ashamed and silent, knowing that He is the LORD.
- Jeremiah 32:40 (BSB)“I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me.”Jeremiah also foretells an everlasting covenant in which God keeps His people from turning away.
- Romans 3:24-25 (BSB)“and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.”Paul says God set forth Christ as the atoning sacrifice, so sinners are declared righteous as a gift of grace, received through faith.
- Romans 3:27 (BSB)“Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith.”In a related conclusion, Paul says faith leaves no room for boasting.
General
What is the point of the proverb people would quote about Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16:44-45)?
Answer: She had grown just like the pagan peoples she sprang from
At the very start, the LORD had said Jerusalem’s origins were in Canaan, with an Amorite father and a Hittite mother (16:3). Because she forgot how He had rescued her in her youth and provoked Him by all she had done, He declared that He would repay her for her deeds (16:43). Then He returns to that picture with a proverb about mothers and daughters that people would apply to her (16:44). Jerusalem was a true daughter of her mother, who scorned both husband and children, and a true sister of sisters who acted the same way (16:45). In other words, she had become just like the pagan peoples of the land. God had told Israel not to follow the customs of Egypt or Canaan (Leviticus 18:3) and not to imitate the disgusting practices of the peoples living there (Deuteronomy 18:9). Yet kings like Manasseh did exactly that, copying the detestable customs of the peoples God had expelled from the land (2 Kings 21:2).
- Ezekiel 16:3 (BSB)“and tell her that this is what the Lord GOD says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.”From the start, the LORD traces Jerusalem’s origins to the peoples of Canaan.
- Ezekiel 16:44-45 (BSB)“Behold, all who speak in proverbs will quote this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.”People will apply a proverb to Jerusalem: she is the true daughter of a pagan mother.
- Leviticus 18:3 (BSB)“You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.”God had told Israel not to follow the customs of Egypt or of Canaan.
- Deuteronomy 18:9 (BSB)“When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.”Israel was warned not to copy the detestable ways of the nations in the land.
- 2 Kings 21:2 (BSB)“And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.”King Manasseh did exactly this, copying the detestable customs of the peoples God had expelled from the land.
Theological
What does the proverb applied to Jerusalem in Ezekiel 16:44-45 declare about her?
Answer: She had grown just like the pagan peoples she sprang from
The allegory had begun by tracing Jerusalem’s origin to Canaan, Amorite on her father’s side and Hittite on her mother’s (16:3). Because she forgot how He had rescued her in her youth and provoked Him to anger, He would repay her conduct on her own head (16:43). The proverb of 16:44 then closes the circle: in spite of all the LORD had lavished on her, Jerusalem proved to be her mother’s daughter, sharing the family trait of despising husband and children (16:45). Covenant privilege had not altered her heart; she reverted to the very paganism from which God had taken her. The law had expressly forbidden conformity to the practices of Egypt and Canaan (Leviticus 18:3) and to the detestable customs of the nations in the land (Deuteronomy 18:9), yet Manasseh led Judah into the detestable customs of the dispossessed nations (2 Kings 21:2), confirming the proverb in Judah’s history.
- Ezekiel 16:3 (BSB)“and tell her that this is what the Lord GOD says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.”From the start, the LORD traces Jerusalem’s origins to the peoples of Canaan.
- Ezekiel 16:44-45 (BSB)“Behold, all who speak in proverbs will quote this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.”People will apply a proverb to Jerusalem: she is the true daughter of a pagan mother.
- Leviticus 18:3 (BSB)“You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.”God had told Israel not to follow the customs of Egypt or of Canaan.
- Deuteronomy 18:9 (BSB)“When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.”Israel was warned not to copy the detestable ways of the nations in the land.
- 2 Kings 21:2 (BSB)“And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.”King Manasseh did exactly this, copying the detestable customs of the peoples God had expelled from the land.
General
True or False: The LORD says Jerusalem sinned so much more than Samaria and Sodom that she made her sisters look righteous by comparison (Ezekiel 16:51-52).
Answer: True
This is true. The LORD said Samaria had not committed even half of Jerusalem’s sins. Jerusalem had multiplied her abominations so far beyond theirs that her sisters seemed righteous beside her, and so she must bear her shame (16:51-52). The LORD also said He would restore Sodom and Samaria and Jerusalem along with them, so that she would bear her disgrace (16:53-54). Earlier she had treated Sodom with scorn back when she was proud (16:56). This was not because Samaria and Sodom were good, but because Jerusalem had sinned against far greater privilege. Jeremiah heard the LORD make the same kind of comparison: the northern kingdom had shown itself more righteous than faithless Judah (Jeremiah 3:11). After Jerusalem fell, Lamentations judged her punishment greater than Sodom’s (Lamentations 4:6). Jesus taught the same principle when He said the towns that saw His miracles and did not repent would fare worse than Sodom when God judges (Matthew 11:23-24).
- Ezekiel 16:51-52 (BSB)“Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have multiplied your abominations beyond theirs, and all the abominations you have committed have made your sisters appear righteous. So now you must bear your disgrace, since you have brought justification for your sisters. For they appear more righteous than you, because your sins were more vile than theirs. So you too must bear your shame and disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.”Jerusalem’s abominations exceed Samaria’s so far that her sisters seem righteous beside her.
- Jeremiah 3:11 (BSB)“And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than unfaithful Judah.”Jeremiah heard the LORD make the same comparison: the northern kingdom proved more righteous than Judah.
- Lamentations 4:6 (BSB)“The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in an instant without a hand turned to help her.”After Jerusalem fell, Lamentations judged her punishment greater than Sodom’s.
- Matthew 11:23-24 (BSB)“And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.””Jesus says Sodom will fare better in the judgment than Capernaum, where His miracles had been done.
Theological
True or False: Ezekiel 16:51-52 says Jerusalem’s abominations so exceeded those of Samaria and Sodom that she made her sisters appear righteous.
Answer: True
This is true. Samaria had not committed half of Jerusalem’s sins; Jerusalem multiplied her abominations until, by comparison, her sisters appeared righteous, and she must therefore bear her disgrace (16:51-52). The LORD even promises to restore Sodom and Samaria, and Jerusalem with them, so that she bears her disgrace (16:53-54). The city that once held Sodom in contempt in her pride (16:56) now outstrips her. The principle is that guilt increases with privilege: Jerusalem sinned against the fullest revelation and the richest covenant blessings. Jeremiah received the same verdict about Israel and Judah (Jeremiah 3:11), and Lamentations reckons Jerusalem’s punishment heavier than Sodom’s (Lamentations 4:6). Jesus applies the principle to those who witnessed His works yet did not repent, for whom judgment will be less bearable than for Sodom (Matthew 11:23-24).
- Ezekiel 16:51-52 (BSB)“Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have multiplied your abominations beyond theirs, and all the abominations you have committed have made your sisters appear righteous. So now you must bear your disgrace, since you have brought justification for your sisters. For they appear more righteous than you, because your sins were more vile than theirs. So you too must bear your shame and disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.”Jerusalem’s abominations exceed Samaria’s so far that her sisters seem righteous beside her.
- Jeremiah 3:11 (BSB)“And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than unfaithful Judah.”Jeremiah heard the LORD make the same comparison: the northern kingdom proved more righteous than Judah.
- Lamentations 4:6 (BSB)“The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in an instant without a hand turned to help her.”After Jerusalem fell, Lamentations judged her punishment greater than Sodom’s.
- Matthew 11:23-24 (BSB)“And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.””Jesus says Sodom will fare better in the judgment than Capernaum, where His miracles had been done.
General
According to Ezekiel 16:49-50, what sins made up the guilt of Jerusalem’s sister Sodom?
Answer: They were proud and well fed but ignored the needy
The LORD compared Jerusalem with two sisters, Samaria to the north and Sodom to the south (16:46). He then spelled out Sodom’s iniquity. Sodom and her towns were proud, had more food than they needed, and lived at ease without a care, yet they gave no aid to people who were poor and in need. In their pride they did detestable things before God, so He removed them (16:49-50). Genesis describes Sodom’s people as wicked, great sinners in the LORD’s sight (Genesis 13:13). God’s law told His people to be generous to anyone poor or in need (Deuteronomy 15:11), and Proverbs warns that pride leads to ruin (Proverbs 16:18).
- Ezekiel 16:49-50 (BSB)“Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them, as you have seen.”The LORD names Sodom’s iniquity and says He removed her for it.
- Genesis 13:13 (BSB)“But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.”Genesis describes the men of Sodom as wicked and grave sinners before the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 15:11 (BSB)“For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land.”God commanded His people to be generous toward the poor and needy in the land.
- Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”Proverbs warns that pride and arrogance lead to ruin.
Theological
What does the LORD identify as Sodom’s iniquity in Ezekiel 16:49-50?
Answer: They were proud and well fed but ignored the needy
Setting Jerusalem beside her sisters Samaria and Sodom (16:46), the LORD defines Sodom’s guilt: arrogance, surfeit of food and careless ease, coupled with a refusal to aid the poor and the needy; in their haughtiness they committed abominations before Him, and He removed them (16:49-50). Genesis had already characterized Sodom as exceedingly wicked before the LORD (Genesis 13:13). The law commanded generosity toward those in poverty and need (Deuteronomy 15:11), and Proverbs warns that pride leads to ruin (Proverbs 16:18).
- Ezekiel 16:49-50 (BSB)“Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them, as you have seen.”The LORD names Sodom’s iniquity and says He removed her for it.
- Genesis 13:13 (BSB)“But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.”Genesis describes the men of Sodom as wicked and grave sinners before the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 15:11 (BSB)“For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land.”God commanded His people to be generous toward the poor and needy in the land.
- Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”Proverbs warns that pride and arrogance lead to ruin.
General
According to Ezekiel 16:14, why did Jerusalem become famous among the nations?
Answer: Her beauty was made complete by the glory God gave her
After rescuing the abandoned child, the LORD made her thrive. He bound Himself to her in a covenant, a binding promise that made her His own (16:8), and He clothed her, adorned her and fed her with the finest things until she became a queen (16:9-13). She became renowned among other peoples for her beauty, and that beauty was perfect only because of the splendor the LORD had put on her (16:14). Everything she had was a gift. Yet she trusted in her beauty rather than in the One who gave it (16:15). Moses had warned Israel not to say that their own strength had made them rich, since the LORD is the one who enables them to become rich (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). Paul makes the same point with a question, reminding believers that everything we have was first given to us (1 Corinthians 4:7). Hosea shows the same failure, as Israel used God’s silver and gold for Baal (Hosea 2:8).
- Ezekiel 16:14 (BSB)“Your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect in the splendor I bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD.”Jerusalem’s renown among the nations rests on the splendor the LORD gave her.
- Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (BSB)“You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.” But remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.”Moses warned Israel not to credit their wealth to their own strength, since it is the LORD who enables them to prosper.
- 1 Corinthians 4:7 (BSB)“For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”Paul asks what anyone has that was not received, so there is no ground for boasting in gifts.
- Hosea 2:8 (BSB)“For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.”Hosea charges Israel with the same failure: God supplied the silver and gold, and the people used it for Baal.
Theological
What does Ezekiel 16:14 give as the source of Jerusalem’s renown among the nations?
Answer: Her beauty was made complete by the glory God gave her
Having given the foundling life, the LORD bound Himself to her in covenant (16:8) and lavished on her clothing, ornaments and the choicest food, raising her to royal dignity (16:9-13). Her renown among the nations rested on a beauty made perfect by the splendor He conferred (16:14): every excellence she possessed was derivative, a gift of grace. Her fall began precisely here, when she trusted in the gift rather than the Giver (16:15). The covenant warning against crediting prosperity to one’s own power (Deuteronomy 8:17-18) and Paul’s question about what anyone possesses that was not received (1 Corinthians 4:7) expose the same root of pride. Hosea’s indictment, that Israel spent the LORD’s silver and gold on Baal (Hosea 2:8), traces the identical ingratitude.
- Ezekiel 16:14 (BSB)“Your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect in the splendor I bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD.”Jerusalem’s renown among the nations rests on the splendor the LORD gave her.
- Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (BSB)“You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.” But remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.”Moses warned Israel not to credit their wealth to their own strength, since it is the LORD who enables them to prosper.
- 1 Corinthians 4:7 (BSB)“For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”Paul asks what anyone has that was not received, so there is no ground for boasting in gifts.
- Hosea 2:8 (BSB)“For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.”Hosea charges Israel with the same failure: God supplied the silver and gold, and the people used it for Baal.
General
The LORD pictures Jerusalem as a wife who was unfaithful to her husband. What real sins does this picture stand for (Ezekiel 16:15-34)?
Answer: Turning to idols and leaning on foreign nations
God sent Ezekiel to make Jerusalem face her abominations, her detestable practices (16:2). In the middle of the chapter, her spiritual unfaithfulness is pictured as adultery. She took the clothing, jewelry, oil and food God had given her and used them to make and honor idols (16:16-19). She set up shrines in every town square (16:24, 31). She also turned for help to foreign powers, named as Egypt, Assyria and Chaldea (Babylon), instead of trusting the LORD (16:26-29). Worshiping other gods and relying on other nations were both ways of abandoning the God who had made her His own. Jeremiah used the same picture of a wife betraying her husband (Jeremiah 3:20), and Isaiah condemned those who ran to Egypt for aid instead of seeking the LORD (Isaiah 31:1). James uses the image for God’s people whose loyalty to the world sets them against God (James 4:4).
- Ezekiel 16:2 (BSB)““Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominations”God sends Ezekiel to make Jerusalem face her detestable practices.
- Ezekiel 16:18-19 (BSB)“You took your embroidered garments to cover them, and you set My oil and incense before them. And you set before them as a pleasing aroma the food I had given you—the fine flour, oil, and honey that I had fed you. That is what happened, declares the Lord GOD.”Jerusalem offers the garments, oil, incense and food God gave her to her idols.
- Jeremiah 3:20 (BSB)“But as a woman may betray her husband, so you have betrayed Me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD.”Jeremiah compares Israel’s unfaithfulness to the LORD with a wife’s unfaithfulness to her husband.
- Isaiah 31:1 (BSB)“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.”Isaiah pronounces woe on those who look to Egypt’s horses and chariots rather than to the LORD.
- James 4:4 (BSB)“You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.”James uses the same image for God’s people who give their loyalty to the world.
Theological
What concrete sins does the extended image of the unfaithful wife represent (Ezekiel 16:15-34)?
Answer: Turning to idols and leaning on foreign nations
Ezekiel is commissioned to set Jerusalem’s abominations before her (16:2), and the center of the allegory portrays her covenant breaking as adultery. Two forms of unfaithfulness are in view. First, idolatry: she turned the very gifts the LORD had given her, garments, gold, oil, flour and honey, into idols and their offerings (16:16-19), and multiplied shrines in every square (16:24, 31). Second, political alliances: she sought security from Egypt, Assyria and Chaldea rather than from her covenant Lord (16:26-29). Both are spiritual adultery, the transfer of trust and worship owed to God alone. Jeremiah frames Israel’s apostasy in the same marital terms (Jeremiah 3:20), Isaiah condemns reliance on Egypt as a refusal to seek the LORD (Isaiah 31:1), and James applies the image to God’s people whose loyalty to the world sets them against God (James 4:4).
- Ezekiel 16:2 (BSB)““Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominations”God sends Ezekiel to make Jerusalem face her detestable practices.
- Ezekiel 16:18-19 (BSB)“You took your embroidered garments to cover them, and you set My oil and incense before them. And you set before them as a pleasing aroma the food I had given you—the fine flour, oil, and honey that I had fed you. That is what happened, declares the Lord GOD.”Jerusalem offers the garments, oil, incense and food God gave her to her idols.
- Jeremiah 3:20 (BSB)“But as a woman may betray her husband, so you have betrayed Me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD.”Jeremiah compares Israel’s unfaithfulness to the LORD with a wife’s unfaithfulness to her husband.
- Isaiah 31:1 (BSB)“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.”Isaiah pronounces woe on those who look to Egypt’s horses and chariots rather than to the LORD.
- James 4:4 (BSB)“You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.”James uses the same image for God’s people who give their loyalty to the world.