Ezekiel 16:14-19
14 And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God. 15 “But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his. 16 You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be. 17 You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. 18 And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them. 19 Also my bread that I gave you—I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey—you set before them for a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord God.
We have all been blessed by God beyond what we deserve. The first part of this chapter (verses 1-14) list the good things that God did for Israel, the gifts that he "bestowed on you" (verse 14). How it must hurt God when we turn away and use His blessings for evil. Israel took the beauty God had given them and with it they "played the whore" (verse 15). What is meant by that charge is that they took the blessings they had been given (beauty - verse 15, garments - verse 16, jewelry - verse 17, oil and incense - verse 18, food - verse 19) and used them to worship idols. There have been many times that I've taken God's gift of my imagination and used it to imagine immorality. Likewise we may take God's financial blessing or gift of beauty to indulge in illicit pleasure. God likens this to adultery and prostitution, for we are giving away God's good gift when we instead should be faithful to the Holy One that blessed us.
Lord, forgive me when I don't appreciate all You have done for me.
14 And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God. 15 “But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his. 16 You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be. 17 You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. 18 And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them. 19 Also my bread that I gave you—I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey—you set before them for a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord God.
We have all been blessed by God beyond what we deserve. The first part of this chapter (verses 1-14) list the good things that God did for Israel, the gifts that he "bestowed on you" (verse 14). How it must hurt God when we turn away and use His blessings for evil. Israel took the beauty God had given them and with it they "played the whore" (verse 15). What is meant by that charge is that they took the blessings they had been given (beauty - verse 15, garments - verse 16, jewelry - verse 17, oil and incense - verse 18, food - verse 19) and used them to worship idols. There have been many times that I've taken God's gift of my imagination and used it to imagine immorality. Likewise we may take God's financial blessing or gift of beauty to indulge in illicit pleasure. God likens this to adultery and prostitution, for we are giving away God's good gift when we instead should be faithful to the Holy One that blessed us.
Lord, forgive me when I don't appreciate all You have done for me.