Ezekiel 16:8-14 – God wants to transform us.

Ezekiel’s parable portraying Jerusalem representing Israel as an unfaithful wife began by discussing her beginning in Ezekiel 16:1-7. Israel was like an unwanted female child untimely born and left uncared for. Deprived of the hygienic care that was usually given to a newborn she was abandoned at birth. But God saw her and took compassion on her. Even when she was all bloodied and left struggling for survival, He took her to Himself. God chose her over the Canaanites, namely the Amorites and Hittites, and took pain to nurture her till she was a mature adult, but not yet adequately clad.  

As time passed, Israel became a mature and lovely woman of marriageable age. Yahweh then made her His wife. Verse 8 described how God espoused Israel to Himself. He used His skirt to cover her nakedness. He even swore to her and entered a covenant with her so that she would become His own possession. God then pledged to take care of her. The terms that are used in verses 9-14 are those describing a royal marriage. As God’s bride, Israel was cleansed and extravagantly adorned with embroidered garment and costly jewellery and served food fit for royalty. Thus, she became God’s very own queen. Verses 8-14 point is this: providentially God took care of Israel since her inception as a nation. Slowly but surely, she became a nation greatly admired all over. This did not happen because they deserve it but it happened because of the privilege of the grace God had granted her. She attained her status on the account of God. Without God she would not have attained her status.

The same compassion God had shown Israel He also showered upon us in Christ. This is the assertion of Paul in Ephesians 1: 4-6. He said, “He (God) chose us in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”

While we were worthless and steeped in our sins, God commended His love towards us in Christ. And now He is still transforming us. We need to know that our pilgrimage must be constant growing moments of our relationship with God. It’s a complex, manifold, multilevel relationship with the lover of our soul. Bear in mind that while we are positionally made whole in an instance of a moment at our conversion, we are being changed and transformed progressively in our journey with God. The Holy Spirit wants to deal with us area by area till we are more and more like Him.