Ezekiel 16:44 says, Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter. God said everyone who used proverbs would use this proverb against them, and that proverb was that the daughter was as the mother.
Verse forty-five adds, 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. God said that just as their mother had loathed her husband and committed adultery, so would the daughters. We need to remember that God’s people are referred to as the bride of Christ, so this applied to all the people of Israel and not just to the women and girls I believe. Matthew Henry says this also means that the people of Israel were no better than the Canaanites who lived in the land before them. If we who profess ourselves to be a Christian nation do not put our faith in God or even acknowledge His existence, we are no better than any other nation, even those that worship other gods.
Verse forty-six continues, 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. God then compared them to the people of Samaria and Sodom. Matthew Henry states that looking north, Samaria was to the left of Jerusalem and was called the elder sister because she was larger than Jerusalem and had once been a part of God’s people until they rejected Him. The people of Sodom would have been to their right and had never been a part of God’s kingdom, yet both were destroyed because of their failure to acknowledge God. Even if we call ourselves a Christian nation, if we don’t obey God’s commandments and put our trust in Him, we are no better than any other nation.
Verse forty-seven states, 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. God said that even though the people of Jerusalem had not followed the ways of these two cities that they were corrupted more than them. The people of Jerusalem still lived according to God’s word and in obedience to Him for a time, but then they turned away from Him as though this were but a small thing. Anytime we as Christians turn away from God, even if we see what we are doing as a small thing, we will soon be corrupted even more.
Verse forty-eight adds, 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. God once again says that the people of Jerusalem were more corrupt than the people of Sodom, which had been destroyed for their iniquity. The people of Jerusalem were still thinking that since they professed to be God’s people even if they were rejecting all His commandments that he would still give them victory over their enemies. As a so called Christian nation, we may think that God will always give us victory over our enemies even if we are not obedient to His word.
Verse forty-nine continues, 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. God then listed the sins of Sodom, pride, gluttony, and idleness, and added that they did not help the poor. If we become filled with self-pride, content in the fact they we have an abundance to eat and become idle in doing what we are called to do by God, then we are no better than those who openly deny and defy God. This leads to us not being concerned about the poor, seeing them as unworthy of our help or even our concern.
Verse fifty concludes, And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. God said the people of Sodom were haughty and committed abominations, therefore He did to them as He saw good. We may become haughty thinking that since we proclaim ourselves to be God’s people while committing abominations against Him that He will never punish us, but He will one day do with us what He sees to be good, which will be everlasting punishment.
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