King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Monday, August 31, 2026
Chapters: Ezekiel 16-17
Lesson: Ezekiel: God’s Faithless Bride
Hello My Friend,
No saved, born-again Christian can read the chapters for today without thinking about this passage, [I Corinthians 6:15-20 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. 16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit. 18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.]
Fornication of the body is more than just lewd acts between unmarried, it is anything committed with the body that would defile it. As we continue in the reading of Ezekiel, we learn that God compares Israel to a woman whom He has married and has committed adultery with idols. When the things of the world take precedence over God that is when His jealously comes out, and his dealings with Israel is an example of what He does with every nation that turns on Him. First, God, takes the people of Judah down memory lane as He describes the state Israel was in when they were slaves to Egypt.
[Ezekiel 16:1-6 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. 4 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 lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. 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 is a picture of an abandoned infant, left to perish, whom God Himself rescued from death and raised as His own bride. In referring to Jerusalem as the birthplace of the nation of Israel, God, reminds them of the pollution in which they were found in. This is a picture of the state of every human life as it is formed within the womb from conception. Since every soul enters this world under the curse of death passed down from Adam, we are all conceived in a fallen nature, bearing the stain of sin before we ever draw our first breath. This is why Jesus was sent here through the Holy Spirit rather than normal conception, [Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.]
Because every soul is precious to God, He speaks the same word He spoke over that abandoned child: “Live.” His desire is life, not death; restoration, not ruin. The One who took on our nature came to break the curse that bound us, to cleanse what was polluted, and to give life to those who were spiritually dead, [John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.]
Jerusalem was the metropolis of Judah, the very heart of the nation, the place where the Temple stood, and the dwelling God Himself had claimed as His own. Yet her sins rose higher than the abominations of the heathen nations she had taken out of it. God, describes how unworthy she had become of the favor He had bestowed and of the honor He had placed upon her.
[Ezekiel 16:8-9,12,14-15 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. 9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. 12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. 14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD. 15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.]
The city He had adorned with His name corrupted herself, defiling the sanctuary, despising His statutes, and turning His gifts into instruments of idolatry. Her fall was deeper because her calling had been higher, and the honor she cast away had been given by God Himself. This is a sad truth today as many churches have defiled the very head of the Church, Jesus Christ Himself, [Hebrews 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.]
There is a saying, “Give them an inch and they take a mile.” Believe it or not, that is precisely how we become once we think we have gotten away with something. There is something in our fallen nature that gives us the boldness to test the limits when we sense there has been no immediate consequence. This is the very spirit that leads one to take for granted the good graces God has given them through salvation. God, goes on to show what happened when His people abused the blessings He had bestowed.
[Ezekiel 16:19-22 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD. 20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, 21 That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them? 22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.]
God is exceedingly angry that His people were using the very blessings He had placed in their hands to worship idols. It was not only that He had given them a land flowing with milk and honey, now left desolate and deserted because of their sin, it was that they went so far as to sacrifice their own children to these false gods. Think of this in light of the thousands of souls who never receive a chance at life. Every soul is precious to God, fashioned by His hand, known from the womb, why would He not get angry at those who destroy what He has created without cause?, [Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.]
People make mistakes, they do not always make wise decisions when putting themselves into compromising situations. God, is merciful in regards to our mishaps when we are repentant, but what angers Him the most is the blatant disregard for life itself. Most sin is not acted on impulse; it springs from what is hidden in the heart. Sooner or later, God, calls every person and every nation to account for what the heart reveals. God, goes on to describe how weak their heart had become.
[Ezekiel 16:30-32,38,41 How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman; 31 In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire; 32 But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband! 38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy. 41 And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.]
A weak heart is not one lacking emotion, it is a heart that has lost its sensitivity to God, a heart that no longer trembles at His Word, a heart that treats life lightly because it treats sin lightly. Israel, had reached that point. Their disregard for the innocent, their misuse of God’s blessings, and their boldness in wickedness all flowed from a heart that had grown feeble and faithless. The honest truth as to why so many Christians not only remain living in the world, but in the sins of it is because they are not satisfied with what they are given by God, [Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.]
God, forgives and blesses us as long as we remain humble, but pride can destroy us before we ever taste the glory we imagine for ourselves. While we are called to be a presence in the world, it is impossible for us to remain of the world; and those who try will learn the hard way why God commands His people to be separate. The world’s ways always pull downward, never upward, and the heart that clings to them will eventually mirror them. God, now compares Jerusalem to Sodom, and declares that Sodom was more righteous than they.
[Ezekiel 16:45-48 Thou art thy mother’s daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite. 46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. 47 Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways. 48 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.]
Samaria, had fallen beneath the city that bore the memory of fire and brimstone. Pride had weakened her heart, presumption had blinded her eyes, and the world she refused to separate from became the very world she resembled. Yet God was not done, as wicked as Samaria had become, Judah put her to shame. God, goes on to describe just how corrupt Jerusalem had grown, surpassing her sisters in abominations.
[Ezekiel 16:51-54 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done. 52 Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. 53 When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: 54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.]
Judah, who possessed the Temple, the priesthood, the sacrifices, the Scriptures, and the very presence of God, sank lower than Samaria and Sodom. Her fall was not merely moral; it shattered the very covenant God had made with her. Yet even in the midst of her unfaithfulness, God, still had compassion. He reminds them that though they had broken their end of the covenant, He had not broken His.
[Ezekiel 16:60-63 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. 61 Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. 62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: 63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.]
Again, we are not of the world. We are not meant to live as they live, nor mirror their ways. We are called to be the example of Christ, not only the loving example, but the just example as well. Holiness is not optional for the people of God; it is the very mark of the covenant. He has established an everlasting covenant with us, and though He may chasten us when we stray, He will never forsake us. The covenant He made is eternal, and its foundation is none other than the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, [II Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.]
As long as we stay close to Jesus, we have nothing to fear. Even if we stumble into sin, He will lift us back up, restore us, and cause us to prosper as we return to Him. The covenant Jesus made with us will always stand. Through Ezekiel, and through the parable of the great eagles and the trees, God, reminds His believers of what everlasting life truly is.
[Ezekiel 17:3-6 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar: 4 He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants. 5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree. 6 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.]
This is in regards to Zedekiah, who reigned and prospered for a season, and the kingdom flourished under him though only in tolerable circumstances. Their stability was not the fruit of true strength, but one of submission. Judah, was humble and dependent upon Nebuchadnezzar, rooted and settled in their own land, yet still under the power and at the disposal of the Babylonian monarch. They had a measure of peace, but it was a borrowed peace; a measure of prosperity, but it was prosperity under another man’s yoke. Judah appeared secure, yet her security rested on obedience to the covenant she had made with Babylon. The moment she broke that covenant, she broke the fragile peace that sustained her, which God goes on to describe.
[Ezekiel 17:7-9 There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation. 8 It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. 9 Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.]
In other words, Nebuchadnezzar, had planted this vine, laid out the furrows, and provided the watering that caused it to prosper. By his means Judah became stable and flourishing. Yet Zedekiah, not content with the greatness and honor to which Nebuchadnezzar had raised him, sought help from the king of Egypt in hopes of freeing himself from Babylon’s authority. This act of presumption sealed his fate. Because he broke the covenant he had sworn, Nebuchadnezzar had no difficulty uprooting the entire kingdom. God, goes on to explain this.
[Ezekiel 17:16,19-21 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head. 20 And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me. 21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.]
This was the form of an oath, Nebuchadnezzar, binding Zedekiah to loyalty, and exposing the ingratitude that the prince of Judah showed toward the king of Babylon. Zedekiah’s revolt was an act of treachery, and it was to be punished as it deserved. He broke a covenant he had sworn in the name of God, and in doing so he invited the judgment that followed. This brings a sobering truth: when those who profess faith deal treacherously with those of a false religion, their profession makes their sin worse, [Mark 7:7-8,13 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.]
Nebuchadnezzar, might have removed the last king of David’s line from Jerusalem and even slain him, but that did not mean God went back on the promise He made to David. Earthly kings may fall, kingdoms may crumble, and thrones may be overturned, yet the covenant God established stands untouched. Therefore He promises that He Himself will take a seed from the family of David at the appointed time, plant it, and cause it to become the highest branch.
[Ezekiel 17:22-24 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent: 23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.]
This prophecy points beyond the ruins of Judah to the faithfulness of God. The tender twig taken from the lofty cedar is none other than the Messiah, Christ, the Son of David, whom God would exalt above every king and every kingdom. What Babylon destroyed, God would restore. What man uprooted, God would replant. And the branch He would raise up would not merely survive; it would flourish, grow, and become a tree under whose shadow all nations may find refuge, [Matthew 1:21-23 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.]
Today’s Prayer: God, I know that I have done wrong in my life, but thanks to Your mercy, grace, and sending Your Son to pay my sin debt, all the wrong is now erased, never to be remembered. Jesus, with Your pure blood, I am not only born again, I am Your bride, and have become one with You. If there is one thing I am learning through these past few years it is that Your mercy endures. You are long suffering, so good to me, and I never want to take that for granted. Lord, Lead me and guide me, please continue to give me Your mercy and grace, take my life, You are in control of it, let it flourish and grow as You purge it. Keep my heart tender, and help me remove anything that is accursed. I love You, Lord and ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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