"Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, And say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born." (Ezekiel 16:1 to 5)
I want to say something here that I’ve said in a couple of other places, and which I’ll continue to stress: these prophecies were God’s love to His people. They may have been harsh and sobering, but they were spoken out of His love, nonetheless. You see, the Lord always sent His prophets to His people in an attempt to turn them back to Him before the consequences for their transgressions were manifested. In other words, these were not words of condemnation as much as they were words of warning to turn from their ways; but there was no time for “pretty please with sugar on it”.
Now reel it ahead 2600 or so years to our days. Have we changed? Not really. So, has God changed? Not one iota. What we need to realize is, though we may be followers of Jesus, we tend to take offense if someone speaks to us in the manner that the prophets spoke, or that Jesus spoke at times. However, as it was in the days of Ezekiel, so it is today: judgment and subsequent destruction is just over the horizon, and far too many of God’s people are expecting to escape it.
The Jews thought the same thing.
And again, as then, there’s no time for “pretty please with sugar on it”.
There’s also something else that I want to bring out here that I’ve brought out previously a few times, and which I’ll continue to bring out. Though the Lord seemed to be speaking about every one of His people, He really wasn’t. If you recall, there were those who were marked to be spared from death because of their faithfulness and devotion to Him, and it’s the same today. However, because He sees all of His people, whether faithful or not, as one body, then, when He says that judgment is coming to His body, it will come; but it will be determined primarily for the rebellious.
You see, He’s going to send us into the churches with His words of warning about what is coming; and it will then fall to the hearers to either heed or forbear. Just as with Stephen in the seventh chapter of the book of Acts, we’ll begin to spell out where they had started, what He did for them, and how they ultimately transgressed. And just as the council did, many of them will take great offence and will react as the council did with Stephen.
Therefore, just as the Lord told the natural Jews that they had been brought forth in the midst of a powerful and idolatrous nation, He’ll tell the spiritual Jews the same thing. The Christian church was originally rejected and persecuted by many of the leaders both in Judaism and Rome, who attempted to rid themselves of that new sect. But God was the One Who brought her forth, and no power in heaven nor on earth was going to stop her.
"I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare." (Ezekiel 16:7)
In due course the Lord caused her to blossom and to become a powerhouse in the world. By His Spirit, He was manifested through them, so that His beauty and glory was seen by all. In essence, they became His tabernacle and his priesthood; and the Kingdom of heaven was once again seen in the earth.
Then, after recounting how the glory of the Lord was seen through the church in her formative years, we’ll speak to them of what she has become as a result of so many ministries and people having their own agendas. You see, as the days of the apostolic church faded, and the anointing they had received also faded, then the more the door was gradually opened for the enemy to enter. Along with that, as the persecution of the early church waned, and she ultimately was elevated to the Roman Empire’s chief religion, then she adopted the pomp and extravagance of the emperors. And, though there have been various attempts to mitigate the issues that have arisen, up to and including separation, the resultant religious offshoots have, for the most part, been simply extensions of the original.
At that point, there will be a change. Whereas the focus will have been on the beginning of the church and her history, her present condition will then be the subject; and that’s where the dog that is hit will yelp. After all, unlike a good number of messages and prophecies that are heard in churches these days, the word that the Lord will bring forth through us will be hard, sobering, and straightforward. Many people will be offended by what will be spoken and how; yet there will also be many who will gladly receive what they’ll hear, knowing it will be coming from the Lord.
"But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was." (Ezekiel 16:15)
The biggest problem far too many in the churches have is the fact that they think more highly of themselves than they should. Though they outwardly attribute their success and dedication to the Lord, inwardly they believe that it comes through their abilities and efforts. Consequently, everything else, including God’s precious things, are relegated to a lesser place; and that’s what will bring His judgment upon them. You see, it’s that mindset that opens the door to the enemy; and he does everything he can to magnify their self worth. Thus, the more they cling to their spiritual narcissism, the further they get from God. In most cases they don’t even know it; but what would have once been unthinkable to them becomes readily acceptable.
However, one of their most grievous sins is the judgment of others while they do worse. You see, they’ve found that pointing out the transgressions of others has become a fairly good way to draw attention away from themselves and their actions. Well, actually, they may be able to pull the wool over the eyes of many believers; but their success rate with the Lord is FAR less. Therefore, since it’s impossible for them to hide anything from Him, then He’ll speak through us to call them out publicly, to make known what they’ve been trying to keep hidden.
But then we’ll declare something that will astonish everyone who will hear it.
"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. Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant." (Ezekiel 16:59 and 60)
After recounting in detail the reasons judgment is coming upon many in the church, the Lord, through us, will state His intentions to deal with them as He never has before that time. They’ve been so accustomed to a God Who is ever-merciful that they’ve foolishly ignored the fact that He is also a just King Who ultimately requires accountability from His people. And, try though they may to deny the truth, they’ll be unable to withstand the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we’ll tell them that they’ve despised the covenant that they made with Him and they’ll pay the price for it.
But when they hear “Nevertheless” and what He’ll say afterward then they’ll be dumbfounded. You see, with everything that He’ll speak to them through us, they’ll come to the realization that they’ll have forfeited everything they could have had if they had been obedient. But, instead of receiving what they’ll expect and deserve, they’ll find the Lord to be abundantly merciful to them. Whereas they’ll have despised the covenant, the Lord will never go back on His word and will remain faithful to what He had once established with them.