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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.
“Untie the donkey and bring it to me.”He began with a manger and finished with a donkey, in Bethlehem with a manger, in Jerusalem with a donkey. This is like, “Rejoice, daughter of Zion, for behold, your king is coming to you, just and lowly and seated on a donkey.”
But the daughter of Zion saw him and was troubled. She looked at him and became sad. He the merciful One, and the Son of the merciful One, had spread his benevolence over her like a father, but she conducted herself as perversely toward him as she had done toward the One who had sent him. Not being able to abuse the Father, she displayed her hatred against his Only Begotten. The daughter of Zion repaid him with evil for the immensity of his grace. The Father had washed her from her blood, but she defiled his Son with her spitting.
The Father had clothed her with fine linen and purple, but she clothed him with garments of mockery.
He had placed a crown of glory on her head, but she plaited a crown of thorns for him.
He had nourished her with choicest food and honey, but she gave him gall.
He had given her pure wine, but she offered him vinegar and soaked it with blood.
The One who had introduced her into cities, she drove out into the desert. The One who had put shoes on her feet, she made hasten barefoot toward Golgotha.
The One who had girded her loins with sapphire, she pierced in the side with a lance.
When she had outraged the servants of God and killed the prophets, she was led into captivity to Babylon, and when the time of her punishment was completed, her return from captivity took place.
Our loins are girded with fine linen whenever the enticing incentives of lust have to be held back, and nothing of a heavy humor is left, and we are filled with the teaching of the apostle, when he says, “stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth.”
Our Lord is anointed with another oil, which is not supposed to soften the grief caused by wounds but nonetheless brings with it joy.
(V.9) And you became mine, and I washed you with water, and I cleansed your blood from you, and I anointed you with oil. For I spread my wings and covered your shame, and I swore to you, and I entered into a covenant with you; therefore you have become my possession: that which once belonged to another, when you appeared unclean, you began to belong to me, when I established my covenant with you by oath. Or, according to the custom of the prophets, 'You have become mine,' he said, 'insofar as you are united to me by marriage: and I washed you,' he says, 'with the water of saving baptism.' For unless someone is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, they cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5). And elsewhere we read: He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mark 1:8). Concerning this baptism, Isaiah also speaks, saying: The Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion; and he will cleanse the blood from their midst with the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning (Isaiah 4:4). But when he has washed and cleansed the blood, just as he healed the woman who was bleeding for twelve years by touching the edge of his cloak (Mark 5), it is not enough for him to wash with water and cleanse with blood, unless he also anoints with oil. This is in accordance with what the Samaritan, who is interpreted as a guardian, did: he first soothed wounds with the infusion of oil, and then restrained them with the severity of wine (Luke 10). But our Lord was anointed with another oil, which did not mitigate the pain of wounds, but bestowed joy, as the Holy Spirit said to him: Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions (Ps. 44:8). And there are fake strengths that simulate the gentleness of oil, promising sweet things through heretics; which turn into bitterness, and which the prophet detests when he says: But the oil of the sinner will not anoint my head (Ps. 140:5). But if someone is anointed by unction, that is, Christ is called, see how much Jerusalem has advanced: so that she herself, anointed with spiritual oil, has received the name of Christ; according to which we also read in the Psalms about Abraham: Do not touch my Christs, and do not malign my prophets.
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SUMMARY
Ezekiel 16:9 is a profoundly significant verse within a sweeping prophetic allegory, serving as a powerful turning point that illustrates God's compassionate and sovereign intervention in the life of Jerusalem, personified as an abandoned, defiled infant. It vividly depicts God's initiative to rescue, cleanse, and consecrate His chosen people from a state of utter destitution and impurity, transforming them through acts of washing and anointing into a state of dignity, purity, and readiness for a profound covenant relationship.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Ezekiel 16:9 employs several powerful literary devices to convey its profound theological and spiritual message. The entire chapter is an extended Allegory, where the literal narrative of an abandoned infant being rescued and transformed by a compassionate benefactor serves as a symbolic representation of Jerusalem's spiritual history and God's intricate relationship with her. Personification is central to this allegory, as Jerusalem is vividly depicted as a female child, allowing for a deeply emotional, relatable, and visceral portrayal of her spiritual state and God's redemptive actions. The verse utilizes vivid Imagery—"washed...with water," "washed away thy blood," "anointed...with oil"—to create a sensory experience for the reader, emphasizing both the graphic reality of Jerusalem's defilement and the tangible, comprehensive nature of God's redemptive care. The deliberate Repetition of the washing action ("washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood") serves to underscore the completeness, necessity, and intensity of God's purification, leaving no doubt about the thoroughness and efficacy of His cleansing work.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Ezekiel 16:9 powerfully articulates the core theological truth of salvation by divine grace alone. It demonstrates that humanity, in its fallen state, is utterly helpless and defiled, incapable of self-redemption or initiating its own spiritual cleansing. God, out of His sheer compassion and sovereign initiative, intervenes to cleanse, purify, and consecrate. This act of washing and anointing foreshadows the spiritual transformation available through God's redemptive work, emphasizing that our spiritual journey begins not with our efforts or merits, but with His sovereign and loving grace. It speaks profoundly to the concept of new birth and the setting apart of believers for His holy purposes, highlighting that our dignity and destiny are entirely gifts from His hand.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Ezekiel 16:9 offers a profound mirror for personal reflection and application, revealing the depths of God's redemptive love. Just as God found Jerusalem in a state of utter defilement and helplessness, so too does humanity find itself spiritually lost, impure, and utterly unable to cleanse its own sin or earn God's favor. This verse beautifully illustrates God's boundless love and proactive grace: He doesn't wait for us to become worthy; He intervenes in our most desperate state, reaching out with compassion when we are most vulnerable. It reminds us that spiritual transformation is not a result of our striving or good works but a gracious gift initiated by God's compassionate heart. We are called to recognize our own spiritual "blood"—our sin, our defilement, our inherent inability to save ourselves—and to humbly receive the washing and anointing that God freely offers through His Son. This passage encourages us to trust in God's complete work of cleansing and consecration, empowering us to live lives set apart for His glory, reflecting the dignity, purpose, and new identity He has graciously bestowed upon us.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "washed away thy blood" signify in this context?
Answer: In Ezekiel 16, "washed away thy blood" signifies a profound and comprehensive act of purification and rescue from a state of extreme defilement and impending death. The "blood" refers to the fluids of birth that would have made the abandoned newborn ritually unclean and physically vulnerable. In ancient Israelite culture, blood was associated with life, but also with ritual impurity, especially in the context of birth or death (e.g., Leviticus 12:4). God's act of washing away the blood is symbolic of His removing all traces of Jerusalem's inherent uncleanness and rescuing her from a state of abandonment and certain demise. It's a powerful image of divine cleansing and the granting of new life, transforming her from a state of rejection to one of acceptance and purity, much like God's redemptive work throughout Scripture, such as in Isaiah 1:18.
Why is "anointing with oil" significant after the washing?
Answer: Anointing with oil, following the thorough washing, carries multiple layers of profound significance in ancient Near Eastern culture and in this prophetic allegory. Practically, oil was used for hygiene, moisturizing, and healing, indicating God's comprehensive and tender care for the abandoned child's physical well-being. Symbolically, anointing with oil often signified consecration, setting someone or something apart for a special purpose, or bestowing honor and dignity. Kings, priests, and prophets were anointed as a sign of their divine appointment and empowerment. In this context, God's anointing of Jerusalem elevates her from a state of destitution to one of special favor, honor, and a designated role, preparing her for the glorious status and covenant relationship He intends to establish with her. It speaks to God's desire to not only cleanse but also to bless, empower, and dignify His chosen people, much like the anointing for honor and divine favor described in Psalm 23:5.
Is this parable only about Jerusalem, or does it have broader spiritual implications?
Answer: While the parable in Ezekiel 16 is specifically addressed to Jerusalem and meticulously details her spiritual history and covenant unfaithfulness, its underlying themes carry profound and universal spiritual implications for all humanity. The allegory of an abandoned, defiled infant represents the spiritual condition of all people apart from God's grace—helpless, impure, and destined for spiritual death due to sin. God's compassionate intervention, His initiative to cleanse and consecrate, illustrates the universal principle of salvation by grace through faith. It reveals God's character as a loving Redeemer who reaches out to the undeserving, washes away their sin, and sets them apart for a relationship with Him. Therefore, while historically rooted in Israel's story, the parable serves as a powerful testament to God's redemptive love and transformative power available to all who respond to His call, echoing the New Testament truth of spiritual rebirth and new creation (e.g., 2 Corinthians 5:17).
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Ezekiel 16:9 finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The graphic imagery of God washing away Jerusalem's "blood" and anointing her with oil powerfully foreshadows the spiritual cleansing and consecration accomplished through Christ's atoning sacrifice. Humanity, like the abandoned infant, is born into a state of spiritual defilement and helplessness, utterly unable to cleanse itself from the stain of sin. It is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, whose precious blood was shed to thoroughly wash away our spiritual "bloodguilt" and impurity, making us clean and righteous before a holy God (Hebrews 9:14 and 1 John 1:7). Furthermore, the anointing with oil points directly to the indispensable work of the Holy Spirit, whom Christ sends to indwell and empower believers. Just as Jesus Himself was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, so too are believers, through Him, anointed by God, setting them apart as His own, consecrating them for His purposes, and equipping them for a life of service and intimate fellowship with Him (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). Thus, Ezekiel 16:9 is a vivid Old Testament picture of the comprehensive salvation and spiritual transformation graciously provided by God through His Son, Jesus Christ, for His church, which He cleanses and sanctifies with the washing of water by the word and empowers by His Spirit.