Ezekiel 16:10

Ezekiel 16:10 says, I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.  God said He adorned those who were in a covenant relationship with Him with fine clothes.  When we enter into a covenant relationship with God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, we are spiritually adorned by the grace of God.   

Verse eleven adds, I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.  This is a continuation of God listing some of the ways He blessed them and may refer to the fact that they took all sorts of adornments with them when God delivered them from captivity in Egypt.  When we become a part of God’s family, it is because He freed us from being captive to sin and He will then bless us with even more than just the bare necessities spiritually.   

Verse twelve continues, And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.  This is a continuation of God telling them how He had blessed them.  I am not sure how many of us today would want a jewel on our forehead and earrings in our ears as men, but we will one day wear a crown of life.  These things were not to be because of the worthiness of the people but because of the mercy of God.  We will never become a part of God’s kingdom because we are worthy but can only become a part of it by confessing our unworthiness and accepting the gift of salvation that God has provided for us by putting our faith in Jesus Christ.   

Verse thirteen states, Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.  God said that when the people of Israel were obedient to Him and lived in accordance with their covenant with Him that they were a prosperous nation.  If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord we are forever saved, but if we want to be prosperous spiritually, then we must still be obedient to Him by the power and leadership of the Holy Spirit. 

Verse fourteen adds, And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.  God said that when the people of Israel had been obedient to Him that their fame went throughout the nations.  This was because they showed God and His power to the world.  We as Christians need to show the glory of God to the world today by the way we live our lives. 

Ezekiel 16:15

Ezekiel 16:15 says, 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.  Matthew Henry says that this turning away from God and worshipping false gods began toward the latter part of Solomon’s rein and continued through the captivity of Israel.   God now begins to speak of the iniquities of the people of Israel after He had redeemed them and made them a very prosperous nation.  They became unfaithful to God by chasing after other gods and seeking their own glory and pleasure.  As Christians, we should never allow anything to become more important to us than God.  

Verse sixteen adds, And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.  God said that the people of Israel had adorned high places with colors to worship them instead of worshipping Him, for which He said they played the harlot.  They had been in a marriage relationship with God, but they were not true to Him.  As followers of Christ, we are referred to as the bride of Christ, which I believe means that we should be totally devoted to Him as He will be to us.   

Verse seventeen continues, Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,  God said that they had taken His jewels, gold and silver that He had given them and turned them into idols.  We may sometimes lose sight of the fact, but everything belongs to God, and as Christians, we should never turn the things God blesses us with into something we worship.  They began to act out of pride of who they were materially as a nation more than they did out of an attitude of gratitude and obedience to God.  We can sometimes become the same way individually and as a nation, taking more pride in where we were born and feeling superior to others because of it, but one day all that we have put our faith in other than God will be destroyed.   

Verse eighteen states, And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.  God said that the people of Israel took their embroidered garments and made them into things to worship and then poured His oil and His increase out before these idols.  God was the one responsible for all their success, but instead of worshipping Him, they were worshipping idols and using what was God’s to do it.  Once more, we need to remember that everything already belongs to God and we should never make what God blesses us with into an idol.   

Verse nineteen adds, My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord God.  God continued by saying that the food that He had blessed them with was being used in the worship of idols as well.  It is not just the jewels, silver, and gold that we should see as belonging to God, but everything needed to live.  The meat and bread that the people had belonged to God and were things that He blessed them with, just as we should understand today.   

Ezekiel 16:6

Ezekiel 16:6 says, And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.  God said that when He passed over the people of Israel, He saw them polluted by their own blood.  This is a reference to when the people of Israel were held captive in Egypt and were helpless to escape by their own power.  They were looked down on and helpless to free themselves from captivity and doomed to die that way, but God said to them, ”Live.”  It was by His grace that He was going to restore them and not because they had earned it.  While we are captives to sin and under the death penalty for our sins, God looks down on us with mercy and calls us to live forever with Hiim because of His grace and not because of our worthiness.  

Verse seven adds, 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.  God said He had caused the nation of Israel to grow and that He had blessed them materially, even in captivity which might not have been evident until they followed Him out of captivity by faith.  They had been naked and bare before, but now they were clothed.  As followers of Christ, before we accepted Him as our Savior and Lord, we were spiritually in captivity to sin and without hope, but God in His mercy redeemed us to new life when we accepted Jesus Christ, and He has done the same for everyone if they only put their faith in Him.   

Verse eight continues, Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine.  God said when He passed over them that He did so with love and compassion.  Then, they entered into a covenant relationship with Him, and they became His and He covered them with His protection.  When God passes over us in love and compassion, which I believe He does with each individual, He calls us to a covenant relationship with Him by accepting His gift of salvation and when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, which is the only way to salvation, He covers us spiritually with His protection, so there is never a need to fear anything in this world anymore,  We are forever His by faith.   

Verse nine concludes, Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.  God said He washed the people with water and made them completely clean and then He anointed them with oil.  We are actually washed clean spiritually by the blood of Christ, but once we accept Him as our Savior and Lord, we are anointed by the Holy Spirit, which is much greater than oil or anything else will ever be.