March/April 2004

The Entire Story
Thoughts on Ezekiel 16

Ezekiel is perhaps one of the most difficult books of the Bible to understand (at least in my case), but the 16th Chapter gives one of the clearest pictures of the Elect Family of God in the entire Word of God. There are some passages of Scripture that tell entire stories, and this chapter is one of them from start to finish. This chapter talks of the most deplorable state, blessed state, and many states in between that the children of God have been and will be in throughout the course of time and on into eternity.

Ezekiel 16 starts out in the first couple of verses by saying, “Again the word of the LORD came unto me saying, 2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3 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.” These opening verses were not much comfort at all to the Israelites in Ezekiel’s time, nor are they much consolation to us as the spiritual house of Israel today. The LORD is very clear about our condition. Our condition is so destitute, miserable, and hopeless that we don’t even know how pitiful we are.

The LORD starts by telling the prophet to cause Jerusalem to know something. Now, if the prophet Ezekiel has to make them know something, then they didn’t know it to begin with. These are new things to man’s ears, and every man that comes into this world will have to have these things told to him, because they are not intuitive to our fleshly nature. The prophet causes them to know their abominations; they have been living unacceptably before their God.

The LORD continues by saying that Israel’s nativity was sinful. The Amorites and Hittites were nations of people inhabiting the land of Canaan before the LORD blessed Israel to inhabit it. They were very wicked nations that were punished for their sins and idolatry. But, the LORD tells Israel that their nativity was of this group. Now, I don’t believe that he is referring to a nativity of succession in the land of Canaan, in other words, that the Amorites and Hittites were their predecessors by the land inhabited. If that had been the case, the LORD would not have said “thy birth and thy nativity”, but would have only said nativity. Rather, these nations, like Egypt, are representations of a sinful condition that man is in by nature. David spoke of this condition in Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” This makes it very clear what condition we are born in by nature. There is nothing good that can come from it. David also starts by saying “Behold,” which means that man doesn’t naturally come to this conclusion. In fact, one has to only look around to see that how highly man thinks of himself, and that there is no natural inclination to think of oneself in this low and miserable estate.

The prophet continues with this tale of woe in verses 4 and 5, “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. 5 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 loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.”

In this condition, man is shown his inability to regain favor in the sight of the Almighty. When man is born, this condition makes him unwanted by anybody or anything. He is so worthless that there is no effort to do anything for him. When the LORD tells us that our navel was not cut, we were even orphans. It is customary for the father to cut the navel of his offspring upon birth. To the Jews, it was their custom and tradition for the father to cut the navel, and this symbolized the child’s condition and estate in his father’s house. When a bastard was born in the land of Israel, the father would not cut the navel, and thus symbolize that he did not belong to his house.

We were bastards in the sight of God, in the fact that our navel was not cut, and we had no father or family to protect us in our vulnerable condition. Further, no care was taken for this child to make it able to fight illness and disease. The child was not salted, swaddled, or suppled, and these three things are very vital for a child’s survival at birth. This nourishing and cherishing by the parents of a child keeps their newborn from developing illnesses that can endanger his life. However, none of these things were done, and we (as represented by this child) were in a condition spoken of in Romans 3:13-18. The “cadaver” of our bodies shows that there was nothing good in us, and Jeremiah tells us that our heart is “desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). Finally, Isaiah sums it all up in Isaiah 1:6, “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” There was sickness within and without, no soundness, and no care given upon birth that would make us desirable in any form.

The LORD tells us that no one pitied us (and no wonder) for there was nothing to pity or love. In fact, we were so deplorable and unwanted that we despised even ourselves. The LORD gives us many Scriptures that tell us how man doth love himself. Romans 1 tells us that man even worships himself. Talking to different people, it is easy to find that we are all humanists by nature.

There is something in man’s flesh that makes him want to believe in himself. Man feels that if he tries hard enough, has enough will to make a way that he can pull himself out of any miry condition that he may find himself in. But this passage says that even the child loathed itself. This condition was enough to make the child despise its condition. However, the LORD already told Ezekiel that man doesn’t come to this conclusion about his condition on his own. This is one of the purposes of the gospel, which we’ll talk about in greater detail later.

Who could love one in such a condition? Who could love what no one pitied? Who could love one who loved not himself? The child was also cast out into an open field, and this was done to remove the unwanted from sight. When you take trash to the dump, it is usually in a place that is far removed from society, so people won’t have to deal with the sight and smell of it. Where is the hope? It comes in verse 6.

Ezekiel 16:6, “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.” This verse has more in it than a dozen preachers could preach out in their lifetimes. It is important to notice what this verse says and what it does not say. First of all, who passed by? The LORD did, and he alone.

There was no gospel minister on the scene to help and aid the LORD in giving life to this poor, afflicted, and DEAD child. The LORD says in Isaiah 63:5, “And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury it upheld me.” The LORD even looked around, but it was He alone who brought this salvation. Whenever I hear someone say that the LORD needs help in getting folks to eternal glory, I wonder whether they have ever read this passage of Scripture.

The problem with the gospel minister aiding the LORD in this work of eternal salvation is that the minister is in this same dead condition as the child and every other of His elect family before the LORD passes by. The minister cannot bring life when he has none of his own to begin with. Rather, the gospel minister tells people about this story much like Ezekiel was to tell those Israelites in his day. II Timothy 1:8-10, “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:”

The gospel tells people about the condition that they are currently in, why they are there, what condition they have been raised from, and why they were in that condition. This salvation (timely) saves man from walking in ignorance and unbelief of the truth. So, the LORD passed by and no other. He brought salvation alone to those He foreknew (Romans 8:29).

It is interesting to note that the LORD gave the same statement twice in Ezekiel 16:6. He repeats the phrase, “when thou wast in thy blood, Live.” Everything in the Holy Writ is important, and the LORD did not waste one iota of space. He says in Mark 13:31, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” This verse mentions words plural. Therefore, He does not have reference to the entire Word as a whole, but every cross of every t and every dot of every i is important. The LORD divinely inspired all of it. II Peter 1:20-21, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” The LORD divinely inspired every word, and therefore, I must conclude that when He repeats something that it is of great importance (especially within the same verse). The great importance of this repeated phrase is very clear. The LORD and He alone provided salvation and life for His people. “When I passed by” is very clear, and anyone with clear reasoning can understand. The emphasis is placed on this phrase because the LORD is showing His power and benevolence. He connects the two phrases with the word “yea.” This word places emphasis on what is coming after. So, the LORD is emphasizing the fact that He is God, and there is none like Him. One of the purest “acid tests” on whether someone is preaching the true gospel is whether or not the preaching is God-honouring. The true gospel, as found in the Word of God, is ALL God-honouring. Man is shown in this pitiful state, and our LORD has all the power and glory. He emphasizes our state and how He raised us from it.

We have already discussed in great detail of the condition that we were in. The LORD gives an even more detailed look at our condition. WE WERE DEAD. Had we not been dead, He would not have commanded us to live, since we would be in that condition already. We were dead and polluted in our blood. Paul mentions it this way in Ephesians 2:1-3, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” We were dead in trespasses and sins. We were plunged into this position when our father Adam fell in the garden. The representation of Adam to us in found in Romans 5 and I Corinthians 15. So, here we were in this condition when the LORD passed by, but the LORD had pity, compassion, mercy, and love toward us who did not deserve or merit it. He told us to live. Remember where we were when we lived, for it is very important to note that man is not in church praying the prayer for acceptance of a personal savior. Man is not getting dunked in the baptistery, believing in God, having faith, pulling himself up by his own bootstraps, or anything of the kind. Deuteronomy 32:9-12, “For the LORD’S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. 10 He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. 11 As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: 12 So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.”

Where did the LORD find Jacob? Where did He find this child? Where did He find all of His family? This waste howling wilderness that Jacob was in is the same open field that the child in Ezekiel 16 is in. It is not a field that we would associate with crops or open pasture. Rather, it is a place associated with pain, filth, vileness, evil, and DEATH. It is worse than any sewage dump that we have seen or could imagine. That is where the LORD found us, and thanks be unto Him that is not where He left us. For, the LORD would have been just as holy and righteous to leave us there. He would remain the Great King to give us justly what we deserved, and He would still be Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omni benevolent. But, He didn’t! What a wonderful and mysterious story! He told us to LIVE!

We have previously mentioned that this phrase “when thou wast in thy blood, Live” appears twice in this verse. This is NOT teaching that the LORD had to call us twice from death unto life. When the LORD calls us, it gets the job done the first time. The LORD’S call is an effectual one. I.e. It produces an effect. In John 11, our Savior raised Lazarus from the tomb. It is interesting to note several things about Lazarus’s resurrection. Firstly, Christ commanded Lazarus to do something that he was not capable of doing from a natural standpoint. Christ said, “Lazarus come forth.” Now, I can go into a cemetery and cry for every name on the tombstone to come forth, but my voice has no power in it. The LORD’S voice does have power, and Christ gave him the ability to come forth the moment that He said it. Secondly, Lazarus didn’t protest coming forth. He had no choice in the matter. An interesting question is raised, how did Lazarus come forth when he was bound with graveclothes? However he came out (flying, walking, etc.), he was completely passive in the matter. The child in Ezekiel 16 is also completely passive in the matter. How wonderful and blessed it is to know that the LORD did everything, and there was not a chance of us foiling the plans of the Almighty. Job says this about the effectual call, “Then thou shalt call, and I will answer thee:” (Job 14:15).

Ezekiel 16:7, “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.” This verse continues the beautiful story about our LORD caring for us in the most tender of ways. As already mentioned, He would have been just, righteous, and holy had He left us in our dead and pitiful state. He would have been just as righteous if He had told us to live and then left us alone. However, He did more than give us life, but He made us beautiful as well. Each phrase of this verse shows the care and relationship that we have to our LORD.

“I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field.” Whenever wildflowers start budding in a field, they come up very quickly, and there are more of them than you can count. Our LORD promised Abram in Genesis 15:5, “And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” God told Abram that his seed would be innumerable. There are very powerful telescopes in existence today that can see thousands of light years away into other galaxies, and some of these galaxies have so many stars that it can only be theorized how many billions of stars are in these single galaxies. Now, if there are hundreds or thousands of galaxies comprising the universe with billions of stars in each one, then Abram is going to have a seed according to this number. This seed is talked about in Romans 9:7, “Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.” The LORD says this seed is of Isaac, and Isaac’s case is a very special one. Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah when they were up in years. ACCORDING TO NATURE, they were unable to have offspring. However, the LORD blessed them to have Isaac as a birth by promise. Likewise, we (as part of that innumerable seed) are a birth by promise. The LORD caused us to “multiply as the bud of the field,” and it is an innumerable host.

“Thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown.” This expression gives us some indication of the care and love that our LORD took upon us. To be fashioned implies that it was not thrown together in some haphazard way. This was not a case of the LORD just implementing some generic structure for His elect. He took care and consideration when making them in the image that He wanted. Paul refers to the parts of the body in I Corinthians 12:22-25, “Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: 23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. 24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: 25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.” God gave honour and fashion to even the parts of the body that we are the most ashamed of. All of it is tempered together, and He has made it pure. Later, Paul says in I Corinthians 15:49, “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” This image our LORD fashioned according to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). He also says that our hair is grown. This phrase is a lead-in to verse 8 of Ezekiel 16, and begins to talk about our relationship with our Savior. To have long hair can mean one of two things: for a man it is shame, and for a woman it is glory (I Corinthians 11:14-15). When our hair is grown, the LORD is comparing us to a woman, but not just any woman. There was a time when our hair was not grown, and this is representative of a servant. Women who served masters (in OT days) cut their hair so that it would not get in the way of their work. Many of the strange women in Ruth’s day had short hair because they went into the fields to try to find food. However, when a woman passed by the field with long hair, it was a token of her glory and covering that she was the BRIDE of the Master. Not only did our LORD cause us to live but He fashioned us in His Son’s image, and then He married us! This is shown in further detail in verse 8.

Verse 8, “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.” Here our LORD is giving us deep detail as to our relationship with Him. Our time with Him was a time of love. There is similar language in Song of Solomon 2:4, “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.” When our LORD deals with us, He does it out of love. When we are full of pride and self-glory, He still loves us. Mark 10 said that Christ loved the rich young ruler, even though he was lifted up within himself. When He corrects us and chastens us for disobedience, He does it out of love as a father does for his child (Hebrews 12:6-9).

However, this is only the beginning of the picture. “I spread my skirt over thee.” Reading this chapter year after year, I generally assumed that this spreading of the LORD’S skirt over us was simply a covering of our nakedness as He says later in the verse. That is true; the LORD covered our nakedness. However, He did much more than that. This expression is found one other time in the Word of God. Ruth 3:8-9, “And it came to pass at midnight that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. 9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.” The background to this is that Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi are widows dwelling in the land of Israel. Being a widow was a destitute condition, for a widow did not have a husband to care for her natural needs and support her. At this time, Ruth was following behind the reapers in Boaz’s field with the strangers to get enough food for her and Naomi to eat and live on. However, it was a custom in the land of Israel that the nearest kinsman to the widows and orphans would take them into his own home to care for their every need. If the widow was childless, then it was the near kinsman’s responsibility to raise up seed in the name of the widow’s husband. This was what Ruth was asking Boaz to do for her. By spreading his skirt over her, he was playing the part of the near kinsman, and she would live no longer in her desolate condition of widowhood. So, our LORD told us that He has played the part of the near kinsman. He lifted us out of our widowhood, and we became His. Playing the part of the near kinsman takes on a responsibility. In doing so, a near kinsman pledges on his honour that the widow will not be in need for as long as he lives. Therefore, we have nothing to worry about while our LORD liveth, and He knows no end.

Because our LORD played the part of a near kinsman to us, He became SURETY for us. Jesus is said to be our surety (Hebrews 7:22), and because of that we need not fear. Surety is a very comforting thing because no obligation whatsoever is placed on the receiver of surety. When someone becomes surety for someone else, they agree to take on all responsibility and obligation for the individual REGARDLESS of the circumstance. It does not matter whether the individual can pull himself out of the situation or not. The one who gives surety takes care of him. Our LORD loves us just that much that He takes care of us when we are at our best or worst. This is the covenant that He talks about in this verse. This covenant is not the old law service under Moses. This covenant is not the covenant that He made to Abraham that his seed would inherit the land of Canaan. While these are covenants that the LORD made, He is talking about the covenant, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5) This covenant is never-ending. Some covenants passed away (the old law service), but this one will never end. This is the covenant of a near kinsman. This is a covenant that He gave to us when we became His. When did we become His? Romans 8:29 tells us we were His before our very existence. We became His before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5), and from that time, we have never had to want for He cares for our every need.

Verse 9, “Then washed I thee with water; yea I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.” This verse tells us how our LORD currently sees us today. He has taken everything polluted away from us, and there is no more sign of it. He washed away our filthiness and blood with water. However, this water is not the water of the baptistery. This water is not the water of conversion that the Apostle Peter talked about on the day of Pentecost. Job says in chapter 9 that even “snow water” will not wash away our uncleanness. Pure snow, when melted, is the purest, cleanest, and most wholesome water that our bodies can ingest. But, even water this clean and pure will not do the job. So, what is this water? This water is not John the Baptist’s water from the Jordan River. This water is found in I John 5:8, “For there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” Now, I don’t have to wonder who John is talking about because back up in verse 6 it says, “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.” There was only one body that had full agreement with Spirit, water, and blood. That was the body of our LORD Jesus Christ. This body had no sin in it (Romans 8:3), and He washed away our blood by shedding blood of His own (Hebrews 9:22). He didn’t wash just part of it, but He throughly washed away all of it from our sight. Then He anointed us with oil to keep us free from re-infestation of sin. Psalm 23: 5 talks about Him anointing our head with oil. This is something that a shepherd does to his sheep to keep them from becoming infected and diseased. Our LORD’S work of washing and anointing keeps us free from disease and infestation. Our bodies still sin and will die because of sin, but there is something within us that is incapable of sinning (I John 3:9). Romans 11:26 tells us that He turned ungodliness away from Jacob. The reason He didn’t turn Jacob from ungodliness is that Jacob would have gone right back to it. But, He removed it from us not to be found again. Now, that doesn’t mean that we will be sinless from this day forward. NO IN NO WISE! It means that we are completely and totally removed forever from the final result of sin (eternal damnation). We will see in Ezekiel 16 that the sin is not completely gone from our actions.

Verses 10-14 talk about the further beauty that our LORD clothes us with. He is so gracious and good to us in every deed and action. He didn’t just cause us to live, marry us, adopt us, born us into His family, become our near kinsmen, keep us holy in His sight, but He does “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20). Verses 10-14 tell us that He made us so beautiful that even the world took notice of us. The very heathen of this world hear of our renown, beauty, and glory. When people see us today, that same thing still applies. We have something that the world cannot give us. We have a hope within us that saves us (Romans 8:24). This hope allows us to stare into the face of death and not fear what may come. When in His Spirit, we walk in a way to bring glory to Him and not ourselves (Matthew 5:16). He has given us the capacity to bear fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Because of all that, the very ungodly can become jealous and full of envy. Our beauty they will seek to destroy, and our renown they will try to trample under foot. He has given us so very much.
Our LORD is not satisfied by giving us His spirit, but He clothes us with the very finest of everything. There is not one thing that He ever gives to His people that is not the absolute best. It is always amazing to me that folks can forget to give God any credit whatsoever about the good things in their life, but they immediately blame Him for everything that goes wrong in their life. James 1:17 tells us that exact opposite is true. These four verses show in fact what God does give us, and each of these things takes care and consideration on the part of the Giver. These jewels, broidered work, beautiful crowns, earrings, gold, silver, and silk are fine things that take effort to find and make. The things our LORD gives us aren’t just lying around to pick up, but they are the good things that show that care was involved. We also are given the finest to eat (honey, flour, and oil). Our LORD’S bounty and dainties are far richer than anything this old world has to offer. Because of all this, we are beautiful. Not of ourselves, but all because of Him. Now, these things that the LORD gives us are at the very peak of our minds. The human, finite mind cannot comprehend anything better than what our LORD has given us in these verses. Yet, these are only the firstfruits. Heaven is far better than these things, not because it is any different but because there it is unbounded and reaching through all eternity. Heaven is made of the very substance of spiritual things our LORD gives us on earth, but heaven will be the fullness of what now is in part (I Corinthians 13).

Now if this was where the story ended, the Calvinists would have ground to stand on. But, verse 15 starts out, “But thou didst trust in thine own beauty-” From verse 15 to verse 59, the LORD paints a picture of what we do even after He has done all these things for us. Even though He has given us everything good in our lives, we still are obstinate, sinful, and bear forth bad fruit. These deplorable actions denounce the doctrine of perseverance by the Elect Family of God. To say that these actions are just showing that they were never elect to begin with makes God a liar when He said “thou becamest mine” in verse 8. We are still His through all of these sinful actions. The man Lot had a righteous soul (II Peter 2:7-8) but lived among wicked acquaintances and wicked actions of his own. This child in Ezekiel 16 spends most of the chapter with the LORD pointing out how it continues to live in a state not pleasing to Him. Indeed, there are many of God’s children walking in a way not pleasing to Him. All of His Elect will sin even after He plants that seed within them. Obviously, if perseverance was the trait and quality that the saints will possess in their lives, then we should be able to find examples of this in the Scriptures, but they are no where to be found. Take the Apostle Peter in Matthew 16:17. Christ calls him blessed, but Peter’s life after this statement by our LORD is replete with backslidings and disobedience. King David was a man after God’s own heart as early as his anointing by Samuel, but he also was found guilty of many shameful crimes and sins after this fact. To say that disobedience is a sign that one was never elect to begin with will not stand up to the Holy Writ. Still, this is not the end of the story, and praise be to Him that it is not!

Verse 60, “Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.” Thank God for that “nevertheless!” Despite the fact that we fail to give God the thanks, praise, honour, glory, and service that we should, He is still faithful to us. Even though we have been born again (Ezekiel 36, John 3, Titus 3), we still fall short. The very idea that we could do it for ourselves becomes even more ludicrous. Not only were we incapable before to do any good, but even after He makes us capable we still don’t come close. However, our LORD still loves us. Another “nevertheless” that brings comfort is, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.” (II Timothy 2:19)

Once our LORD loves us, borns us into His family, adopts us, marries us, plays the near kinsman to us, and becomes our surety, He doesn’t change His mind. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8) “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17) Although we change all the time, our LORD does not. He will never leave us or forsake us. Indeed, we are secure in Him. “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)

This is the entire story of every elect child of God. There was a time when they were dead in trespasses and in sins. Then, God loved them, raised them up, cared for them, chastened them, and WILL one day come back for them. He said that He was coming back again to take us to be with Him (John 14, I Thessalonians 4, Colossians 3:4). What a comfort and blessing it is to know that He has done it all for us, and one day we will see Him as He is and know Him even as He knows us. “Wherefore comfort ye one another with these words.”

                                                                    Philip N. Conley - Mississippi