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Commentary on Ezekiel 16 verses 6–14
In there verses we have an account of the great things which God did for the Jewish nation in raising them up by degrees to be very considerable. 1. God saved them from the ruin they were upon the brink of in Egypt (Eze 16:6): "When I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thy own blood, loathed and abandoned, and appointed to die, as sheep for the slaughter, then I said unto thee, Live. I designed thee for life when thou wast doomed to destruction, and resolved to save thee from death." Those shall live to whom God commands life. God looked upon the world of mankind as thus cast off, thus cast out, thus polluted, thus weltering in blood, and his thoughts towards it were thoughts of good, designing it life, and that more abundantly. By converting grace, he says to the soul, Live. 2. He looked upon them with kindness and a tender affection, not only pitied them, but set his love upon them, which was unaccountable, for there was nothing lovely in them; but I looked upon thee, and, behold, thy time was the time of love, Eze 16:8. It was the kindness and love of God our Saviour that sent Christ to redeem us, that sends the Spirit to sanctify us, that brought us out of a state of nature into a state of grace. That was a time of love indeed, distinguishing love, when God manifested his love to us, and courted our love to him. Then was I in his eyes as one that found favour, Sol 8:10. 3. He took them under his protection: "I spread my skirt over thee, to shelter thee from wind and weather, and to cover thy nakedness, that the shame of it might not appear." Boaz spread his skirt over Ruth, in token of the special favour he designed her, Rut 3:9. God took them into his care, as an eagle bears her young ones upon her wings, Deu 32:11, Deu 32:12. When God owned them for his people, and sent Moses to Egypt to deliver them, which was an expression of the good-will of him that dwelt in the bush, then he spread his skirt over them. 4. He cleared them from the reproachful character which their bondage in Egypt laid them under (Eze 16:9): "Then washed I thee with water, to make thee clean, and anointed thee with oil, to make thee sweet and supple thee." All the disgrace of their slavery was rolled away when they were brought, with a high hand and a stretched-out arm, into the glorious liberty of the children of God. When God said, Israel is my son, my first-born - Let my people go, that they may serve me, that word, backed as it was with so many works of wonder, thoroughly washed away their blood; and when God led them under the convoy of the pillar of cloud and fire he spread his skirt over them. 5. He multiplied them and built them up into a people. This is here mentioned (Eze 16:7) before his spreading his skirt over them, because their numbers increased exceedingly while they were yet bond-slaves in Egypt. They multiplied as the bud of the field in spring time; they waxed great, exceedingly mighty, Exo 1:7. 20. Their breasts were fashioned when they were formed into distinct tribes and had officers of their own (Exo 5:19); their hair grew when they grew numerous, whereas they had been naked and bare, very few and therefore contemptible. 6. He admitted them into covenant with himself. See what glorious nuptials this poor forlorn infant is preferred to at last. How she is dignified who at first had scarcely her life given her for a prey: I swore unto thee and entered into covenant with thee. This was done at Mount Sinai: "when the covenant between God and Israel was sealed and ratified then thou becamest mine." God called them his people, and himself the God of Israel. Note, Those to whom God gives spiritual life he takes into covenant with himself; by that covenant they become his subjects and servants, which intimates their duty - his portion, his treasure, which intimates their privilege; and it is confirmed with an oath, that we might have strong consolation. 7. He beautified and adorned them. This maid cannot forget her ornaments, and she is gratified with abundance of them, Eze 16:10-13. We need not be particular in the application of these. Her wardrobe was well furnished with rich apparel; they had embroidered work to wear, shoes of fine badgers' skins, linen girdles, and silk veils, bracelets and necklaces, jewels and ear-rings, and even a beautiful crown, or coronet. Perhaps this may refer to the jewels and other rich goods which they took from the Egyptians, which might well be spoken of thus long after as a merciful circumstance of their deliverance, when it was spoken of long before, Gen 15:14. They shall come out with great substance. Or it may be taken figuratively for all those blessings of heaven which adorned both their church and state. In a little time they came to excellent ornaments, Eze 16:7. The laws and ordinances which God gave them were to them as ornaments of grace to the head and chains about the neck, Pro 1:9. God's sanctuary, which he set up among them, was a beautiful crown upon their head; it was the beauty of holiness. 8. He fed them with abundance, with plenty, with dainty: Thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil - manna, angels' food - honey out of the rock, oil out of the flinty rock. In Canaan they did eat bread to the full, the finest of the wheat, Deu 32:13, Deu 32:14. Those whom God takes into covenant with himself are fed with the bread of life, clothed with the robe of righteousness, adorned with the graces and comforts of the spirit. The hidden man of the heart is that which is incorruptible. 9. He gave them great reputation among their neighbours, and made them considerable, acceptable to their friends and allies and formidable to their adversaries: Thou didst prosper into a kingdom (Eze 16:13), which speaks both dignity and dominion; and, They renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty, Eze 16:14. The nations about had their eye upon them, and admired them for the excellent laws by which they were governed, the privilege they had of access to God, Deu 4:7, Deu 4:8. Solomon's wisdom, and Solomon's temple, were very much the renown of that nation; and, if we put all the privileges of the Jewish church and kingdom together, we must own that it was the most accomplished beauty of all the nations of the earth. The beauty of it was perfect; you could not name the thing that would be the honour of a people but it was to be found in Israel, in David's and Solomon's time, when that kingdom was in its zenith-piety, learning, wisdom, justice, victory, peace, wealth, and all sure to continue if they had kept close to God. It was perfect, saith God, through my comeliness which I had put upon thee, through the beauty of their holiness, as they were a people set apart for God, and devoted to him, to be to him for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory. It was this that put a lustre upon all their other honours and was indeed the perfection of their beauty. We may apply this spiritually. Sanctified souls are truly beautiful; they are so in God's sight, and they themselves may take the comfort of it. But God must have all the glory, for they were by nature deformed and polluted, and, whatever comeliness they have, it is that which God has put upon them and beautified them with, and he will be well pleased with the work of his own hands.
Almighty God, grant to us to be worthy of the crown and glory on our head.
We are not only anointed with this oil, but we also live.
(Verse 12.) And I placed a jewel above the mouth or nostrils. The Hebrew word 'Nezem' (except for Symmachus, who interpreted it as 'ἐπιῤῥίνιον') is translated by all as 'jewel'. Not that the jewels are placed in the nostrils that are called earrings because they hang from the ears, but so that the circles made in the likeness of earrings are called by the same name, and even today among other ornaments of women, golden circles are accustomed to hang from the front of the mouth and hang over the nostrils. We then understand them according to mystical understanding, when we can say with the Apostle: We are the good odor of Christ to those who are saved and to those who perish. To some, we are the odor of death leading to death; to others, we are the odor of life leading to life (II Cor. II, 15). When we live and it can be said of us, the dead shall not praise you, O Lord, but we who live (Psal. CXIII, 17), then God smells the fragrance of our good sacrifice, and we have a golden circle of senses and divine doctrines in our nostrils. When we are truly dead and are turned into mud and in the filth of vices, we have that ring in our nostrils, of which Solomon wrote: Like a gold ring in a pig's snout, so is the beauty of a woman who is ill-tempered.
And circles in your ears. LXX: And wheels upon your ears. Who shuts his ears, so as not to hear the judgment of blood, and encloses them with thorns, so as not to become a partner to the envious and detractors, of whom it is written: Do not associate with detractors, for suddenly their destruction will come, and who knows the ruin of both (Prov. XXIV, 21, 22)? Both the one who detracts and the one who willingly listens to them have these circles and wheels in their ears, not the wheels that follow the Cherubim (for those are of angelic strength), but diminutive wheels that correspond to human frailty. Therefore it is said also to God: The voice of your thunder is in the wheel (Psalm 76:19). For in those who pass through earthly things and barely touch the earth with their small footsteps, of whom it is written: Holy stones are rolled upon the earth (Zachariah 9:16), the voice of the Lord's thunder resounds, and the sound of lofty teachings is heard. But those who are led astray by human errors and do not have solid footsteps, but are carried about by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 2), and are expelled from the paradise of stability, dwell in the region of Naid, which means fluctuation, and deserve to bear the judgment of the deceitful tongue, which inflames the wheel of our birth (Genesis 4).
And a crown of beauty on your head. LXX: And a crown of glory upon your head. We have interpreted 'decor' as 'elegance' according to Symmachus for the sake of the senses. Otherwise, in Hebrew it is called 'Thopherth', and in other translations 'καύχησις' or 'gloriation'. The other ornamentations belong to each individual member. The ornamentation of the head is the dignity of the whole body. But the crown is called a diadem for women, with which the hair is bound and ambition is adorned. We want to know what is the crown of beauty on the head of Jerusalem, let us turn to Exodus, in which it is written: And he made a golden plate, and wrote on it the letters deformed with the seal of the sanctification of the Lord, and put it on the head of Aaron (Exod. XXXIX, 29). The sign of the Lord's sanctification, the name of the almighty God, is written with four Hebrew letters (), and among them it is called ineffable, because his name cannot be spoken. Whose majesty even the pagans do not ignore, and the altar of the Athenians testifies to the unknown God. Hence the Apostle says: Him whom you worship as unknown, Him we proclaim to you (Acts 17:23). I believe this crown is the one of which the psalmist speaks: You have put a shine on us in the light of your face, O Lord (Psalm 4:7). And the Apostle said: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the righteous judge will give to me (2 Timothy 4:7, 8). And in another place to the Believers: My joy and my crown (Phil. 4:1). For the glory of the fathers is the children. And in Solomon it is written: The crown of glory is old age (Prov. 12:6); namely, those who have destroyed those things that belong to children, and after reaching maturity, have come to old age and the names of the fathers, of whom John writes after the children (1 John 2), and the young men who can say: When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I understood like a child, I thought like a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things (1 Cor. 13:11).
After clothing, she shows what she has of food, so that Jerusalem may eat fine flour and honey and oil. This can be either individually or in a mixture of the three, which is a sweeter bread, the bread that comes down from heaven. The three names, as several think, indicate the mystery of the Trinity, not each within a separate substance but diversely, like fine flour and honey and oil, so that the single sweetness of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit can be made manifest.
We have frequently said that gold relates to the mind and silver to eloquence.
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SUMMARY
Ezekiel 16:12 is a pivotal verse within a sweeping allegory where God recounts His redemptive relationship with Jerusalem, personified as an abandoned infant whom He miraculously rescued, cleansed, and elevated to a position of unparalleled honor. This verse specifically details the lavish adornment—a jewel on her forehead, earrings in her ears, and a beautiful crown upon her head—that God bestowed upon her, symbolizing the unique dignity, beauty, and royal status He conferred upon Israel as His chosen covenant partner. It underscores God's profound grace and transformative power, setting the stage for the tragic contrast of Israel's subsequent unfaithfulness despite such immense divine favor.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Ezekiel 16:12, embedded within its larger chapter, masterfully employs several potent Literary Devices. The overarching device is Allegory, where the entire narrative of Jerusalem as an abandoned infant, rescued, nurtured, and adorned by God, serves as an extended metaphor for God's historical relationship with the nation of Israel. This allegory allows complex theological truths to be conveyed through a vivid, relatable story. Within this allegory, Personification is central, as Jerusalem is depicted as a female character who experiences rescue, adornment, and later, betrayal. This humanization allows for a deeply emotional and relatable portrayal of the covenant relationship between God and His people. Furthermore, the specific items of adornment—the jewel, earrings, and crown—are rich in Symbolism. They are not merely literal objects but represent the spiritual blessings, honor, dignity, and royal status that God conferred upon Israel. The crown, in particular, symbolizes her unique position as God's chosen people, set apart and elevated to a queenly status among the nations. The progression of adornment, from basic clothing to precious jewelry and finally a crown, also demonstrates a form of Climax, building to the ultimate declaration of Jerusalem's royal dignity. These devices collectively amplify the message of God's immense grace and the profound tragedy of Israel's subsequent unfaithfulness.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Ezekiel 16:12 profoundly illustrates God's unmerited grace and transformative power. It speaks to the divine initiative in salvation, where God takes what is utterly destitute and, through His sovereign love, bestows upon it beauty, dignity, and a covenant relationship. This act of adornment is a powerful metaphor for God's election of Israel, not based on her merit, but purely on His compassionate choice. It signifies the depth of His commitment to His covenant people, elevating them to a position of unique honor and making them a testament to His glory among the nations. The lavishness of the gifts underscores the immense privilege and responsibility that came with being God's chosen bride, setting a stark contrast for the subsequent narrative of Israel's spiritual adultery. This passage highlights that all true beauty and honor for God's people originate from His gracious hand.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Ezekiel 16:12 serves as a timeless reminder of the profound, transformative love and grace of God. Just as He took a helpless, abandoned infant and adorned her with splendor, He approaches us in our spiritual brokenness, defilement, and utter inability to save ourselves. Through His boundless mercy, He cleanses us, clothes us in righteousness, and bestows upon us spiritual beauty, dignity, and a new identity in Christ. This echoes the truth that we are saved "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy" (Titus 3:5). The verse challenges us to reflect on the source of our spiritual blessings and identity: they are entirely from God's gracious hand. This recognition should cultivate profound gratitude, humility, and a renewed commitment to faithfulness. It calls us to live lives that honor Him in return, reflecting the glory and beauty He has imparted, and to remember the great responsibility that accompanies such divine favor, compelling us to "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called" (Ephesians 4:1). Our identity is not self-made, but God-given, a testament to His redemptive power.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What is the significance of the specific items of adornment mentioned in Ezekiel 16:12?
Answer: The "jewel on thy forehead," "earrings in thine ears," and "beautiful crown upon thine head" are highly symbolic. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, these items were not merely decorative; they were potent indicators of wealth, status, and honor. The jewel (Hebrew nezem, likely a nose-ring or forehead ornament) and earrings (Hebrew ʻâgîyl) signified beauty, value, and a cherished status, often associated with a bride. The "beautiful crown" (Hebrew ʻaṭârâh) is the most significant, universally symbolizing royalty, authority, and supreme honor. By bestowing these upon Jerusalem, God was elevating her from an abandoned, despised state to that of a queen, a royal bride, signifying the unique dignity, beauty, and sovereign status He conferred upon Israel as His chosen covenant people. This imagery underscores God's immense love and His desire to exalt His beloved, making her a testament to His glory.
How does Ezekiel 16:12 fit into the broader narrative of God's relationship with Israel in chapter 16?
Answer: Ezekiel 16:12 is a pivotal part of the first section of Ezekiel chapter 16, which describes God's compassionate rescue and lavish provision for Jerusalem (Israel). It follows God finding her as an abandoned infant, cleansing her, and clothing her in fine garments (Ezekiel 16:6-11). Verse 12 completes this picture of divine adornment, establishing Jerusalem's elevated, queenly status. This initial portrayal of God's overwhelming grace and covenant faithfulness serves as a stark and tragic contrast to the subsequent sections of the chapter, which detail Jerusalem's spiritual harlotry, idolatry, and betrayal of the covenant despite such immense blessings (Ezekiel 16:15ff). The beauty and honor of verse 12 highlight the enormity of her sin and the justness of God's subsequent judgment, emphasizing the depth of her ingratitude.
Does this passage imply that God values outward appearance or material wealth?
Answer: No, this passage does not imply that God values outward appearance or material wealth for their own sake. The adornment in Ezekiel 16:12 is an allegorical representation of spiritual and covenantal realities. The physical beauty and material riches symbolize the spiritual blessings, honor, dignity, and unique status that God bestowed upon Israel. They represent the covenant relationship, the Law, the Temple, the land, and the divine presence that distinguished Israel from all other nations. The emphasis is on God's transformative power and unmerited grace in taking a despised, destitute people and elevating them to a position of unparalleled glory and privilege, not on the inherent value of the physical items themselves. The passage critiques Israel precisely because she used these divine blessings for idolatry and self-exaltation, rather than for God's glory (Ezekiel 16:17-19). The adornment serves as a backdrop to highlight Israel's profound unfaithfulness, demonstrating that even immense divine favor could not guarantee obedience.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Ezekiel 16:12, with its vivid imagery of God lavishing adornment upon His chosen, finds its ultimate and most glorious fulfillment in Jesus Christ and His relationship with the Church. Just as God rescued and adorned Jerusalem, Christ, through His sacrificial love, rescues humanity from spiritual destitution, from being "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). He cleanses us by His blood (Revelation 1:5) and clothes us not with mere earthly finery, but with His own righteousness, making us "the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). The "jewel," "earrings," and "beautiful crown" foreshadow the spiritual beauty, dignity, and royal status bestowed upon believers in Christ. We are made "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people" (1 Peter 2:9), adorned with the Holy Spirit as our seal and guarantee (Ephesians 1:13-14). The Church, as the Bride of Christ, is being prepared and made beautiful, without spot or wrinkle, to be presented to Him in glory (Ephesians 5:25-27). Thus, the lavish grace shown to Jerusalem in Ezekiel 16:12 points forward to the even greater, more profound, and eternal adornment that Christ bestows upon His redeemed people, making them co-heirs with Him and participants in His heavenly glory (Romans 8:17), ultimately fulfilling the promise of a glorious people for God's own possession.