God's Unfailing Love Depicted

God is Love  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  44:56
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The special love of God for His own is overwhelming. We should be in awe and humbled before such love. We have no right to God’s love. He does not owe it to us. Yet He sees fit to love us anyway. If our hearts aren’t stirred with love for God in return, then there’s something terribly wrong with us.

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The Elect are not sinless people.
Ezekiel 16:1–3 (ESV)
16 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
Last week we talked about God’s sovereign choice to love His elect; about the humbling nature of His choice to save us when He can freely choose and not choose anyone. I challenged you to meditate on that fact.
This week, we are going to do a little better, we are going to meditate on it together and see if we can begin to grasp this love.
In fact, God Himself explained His unique love for the elect in graphic terms in Ezekiel 16.
He pictures Israel in such loathsome terms that Jews, to this day, are restricted from reading this chapter in public. However, I don’t believe this passage is truly about Israel’s iniquity.
Rather, it is about God’s special, eternal love for His chosen. Let’s begin in verses 1-3:
Ezekiel 16:1–3 ESV
Again the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations, and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
Here God speaks to the city of Jerusalem, which represents the entire nation of Israel. Jerusalem was God’s city, His dwelling place; it was the center of Israel’s life and worship.
But something tragic occurred. Jerusalem was full of idolatry and sin; so the Lord instructed Ezekiel to make known to Jerusalem her own abominations.
There is nothing wonderful about the Elect that compels God to choose them.
Ezekiel 16:4–6 (ESV)
4 And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.
6 “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’
Notice now, in verses 4 -6, God’s description of Israel as a helpless, outcast infant. This is disturbing imagery:
Ezekiel 16:4–6 ESV
And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born. “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’
God paints a picture of Israel as an unwanted child, thrown out immediately after its birth into an open field, the umbilical cord still attached. The child was not even washed; left for the wild animals to devour. No chance of survival.
He is speaking of Israel during its captivity in Egypt, and us in our captivity to sin.
They were defenseless, pathetic, loathed, doomed to perish. But God decided to set His love on that helpless child. God picked them up and rescued them. Just as He delivers us from our sinfulness, He delivered Israel out of Egypt and gave them life. He calls to us, “Live!”.
Why? Because there was something lovable about Israel? No, as He describes the Israelites, they were ugly and bloody and dirty.
There was nothing about them to compel God to show compassion on them. But He passed by and saw them squirming in the dirt, and He chose to give them life.
It is God’s Sovereign choice to love and protect His Elect.
Ezekiel 16:7–8 (ESV)
7 I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.
8 “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine.
In verse 7-8, He continues:
Ezekiel 16:7–8 ESV
I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare. “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine.
Here the Lord depicts Israel as a girl who had reached puberty and was ready for marriage, that is what the phrase “you were at the age for love”, in verse 8, means.
The spreading of one’s “garment” was a Jewish custom that signified a wedding ceremony. It showed that the husband was taking the bride under his protection.
God raises us up out of our sin and, through Christ, deems us worthy of a relationship with Him and His resulting protection.
This is the sense conveyed by the final phrase of verse 8: “I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became Mine.”
So this describes the marriage of God to Israel. He chose her according to His sovereign will to love with an everlasting covenant.
The salvation of God’s Elect is an extraordinary gift of His goodness.
Ezekiel 16:10–13 (ESV)
10 I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. 11 And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.
Next, in verses 10-13, he bestows on Israel all the favors that the wealthiest King might give His bride, lavishing her with the riches of His grace:
Ezekiel 16:10–13 ESV
I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.
The love God showed Israel was extraordinary; this was a makeover of major proportions, a rebirth is depicted. God turned this riffraff into the most beautiful queen ever!
In fact, we see this truth in the brilliance and splendor of Israel’s kingdom under Solomon.
In 1 Kings 10:1-13, we are told that the Queen of Sheba traveled approximately 1,400 miles, probably somewhere between 3 - 6 months, just to see the glories of Solomon’s kingdom.
All the beauty and magnificence of Israel at her height of glory were only because of the goodness of God. The Christian’s rebirth bestows all of God’s magnificent gifts upon us simply because of His goodness.
The Elect are guilty of publicly and shamefully offering God’s gifts to the pleasure of the world.
Ezekiel 16:15–19 (ESV)
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.
But notice Ezekiel 16:15-19:
Ezekiel 16:15–19 ESV
“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. 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. 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. And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them. 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.
This describes the spiritual prostitution of Israel, who repeatedly fell into sins such as worshipping idols and mixing pagan religious ideas with the worship of God.
Like we see so prevalent in many churches today, Israel was distilling the righteousness of God into something that mixes well with a sinful world, and they were doing it in the most disgusting, loathsome way.
God’s own words were that she was like a whore on the street offering herself to anyone who passed by.
She used God’s gifts and his blessings for acts of unfaithfulness.
She used the riches God gave her to buy idols.
She made peace with pagans.
How often, brothers and sisters, are we guilty of this?
We don’t worship God wholeheartedly because we are embarrassed.
We don’t speak God’s truth because we are uncomfortable.
We excuse that we can’t give because we have too many bills.
We excuse that we can’t serve because our schedule is full.
But we’ll wildly cheer for an athlete, we’ll talk about our favorite TV show, we’ll save up for that vacation, and we’ll make time to go to that party or hunting trip.
I’m not saying those things are inherently evil, but when they are occurring in neglect of God, they are sinful.
Christians are making peace with the world, rasing up idols to offer God's gifts to.
Likewise, the Israelites took the abundant goodness of God and they offered it to foreign gods. God describes it as a whore going out of her way to make her sins as public and shameful as possible.
God’s elect are worse than sinners because they forsake God’s special gifts for sin.
Ezekiel 16:30–33 (ESV)
30 “How sick is your heart, declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, 31 building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. 32 Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! 33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings.
But Israel wasn’t satisfied, verses 30- 33 expand their sinfulness:
Ezekiel 16:30–33 ESV
“How sick is your heart, declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings.
This was even worse than a prostitute, even the prostitutes looked down on them, because prostitutes gained something for their sin.
But Israel was willing to give away God’s gifts, to lose something precious in order to be a prostitute to the world.
They committed adultery against God for nothing of value in return.
Israel was like a woman so lustful, she was paying others to make her their whore. Do you see the degree to which Israel had gone in sinning against the Lord?
When we dilute the truth of Scripture to make it fit in this world and when we dedicate our blessings to the passions of this world instead of God, how are we any better?
You can only put so much fault on someone who rejects the Gospel and never receives God’s gift of salvation.
But how much more fault belongs to the one who has received God’s special gift and still chooses to forsake it?
God withholds His blessings from the Elect when they misuse them.
Ezekiel 16:39–43 (ESV)
39 And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your lofty places. They shall strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful jewels and leave you naked and bare. 40 They shall bring up a crowd against you, and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 And they shall burn your houses and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. I will make you stop playing the whore, and you shall also give payment no more. 42 So will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry. 43 Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord God. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?
So, in verses 39 - 43, God pronounces the result:
Ezekiel 16:39–43 ESV
And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your lofty places. They shall strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful jewels and leave you naked and bare. They shall bring up a crowd against you, and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. And they shall burn your houses and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. I will make you stop playing the whore, and you shall also give payment no more. So will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry. Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord God. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?
Israel was indifferent to her sin. She had dishonored God and profaned His name before the whole world. Now God would dishonor her openly as well.
We water down the Gospel, we twist God’s truth, we offer up our blessings to the passions of this world, we put God in a tiny box in a remote corner of our lives; but how quick are we to complain, judge, and condemn God the moment something goes wrong?
The glory of God’s election is that it is truly, fully unconditional.
Ezekiel 16:60–61 (ESV)
60 yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you.
But here is the astonishing part, though it appears at this point that God has cast off His own people, verses 60 - 61 show that His love for Israel still moved Him:
Ezekiel 16:60–61 ESV
yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you.
Note that God did not say, “I will hate you with a holy hatred and condemn you to hell”. Why? Why did He not treat Israel as He had treated other people, like the Sodomites?
Ezekiel 16:48
He says in verse 48 that Israel's sins are worse:
Ezekiel 16:48 ESV
As I live, declares the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.
Ezekiel 16:51
Why did He not forgive Samaria for their sins? After all, God says in verse 51 that they weren’t half as bad as Israel:
Ezekiel 16:51 ESV
Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed.
The answer is simply and only because God had set His eternal love on Israel, as He does us.
Israel were the people whom He had chosen to love and with whom He had made His covenant. He loved them as fully as he had the capacity to love.
His love was not because of anything worthy he found in the Israelites, therefore nothing unworthy in them could destroy His love.
His love for them was eternal and unconditional. This is the glory of God’s sovereign choice for salvation. This is the magnificence of the special love of God for His elect.
The sovereignty of God’s election is that He loves whom He chooses to love. We are all unworthy.
Ezekiel 16:62–63 (ESV)
62 I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, 63 that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.”
Notice, now, the conclusion of this chapter in verses 62 - 63:
Ezekiel 16:62–63 ESV
I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.”
God silenced Israel. He reduced her to humiliation. How? He forgave her. He accomplished it with His love.
Why didn’t God forgive Sodom? They weren’t His elect. W
Why didn’t He forgive Samaria? He never made a covenant with them.
God loves who he chooses to love. Sodom was destroyed and unredeemed. Samaria was likewise condemned. But Israel, whose sins were worse than both because they abused God’s blessings, He forgave.
God’s love for His Elect is a saving love for which Jesus gave His life.
Now that I’ve sufficiently beaten our pride into a pulp, here’s the punchline, the good news!
John 10:14-15
Israel was God’s own in a unique sense; the same sense in which Jesus says of true believers, His elect, in John 10:14-15:
John 10:14–15 ESV
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
His love for His own is a far greater degree of love than the compassion He has for the whole world.
This love is perfect. This love is complete. This love is redemptive and eternal. It is this special love that caused Him to lay down His life for His own.
The special love of God for His own is overwhelming. It is powerful. If you don’t stand in awe of it, then you don’t really grasp its significance.
We should be in awe, and like Israel, humiliated before such love. We have no right to God’s love. He does not owe it to us. Yet He sees fit to love us anyway.
If our hearts aren’t stirred with love for God in return, then there’s something terribly wrong with us.

PRAYER

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