Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 16

Verses 1-63

Ezekiel 16:3 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.

Ezekiel 16:3 “thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite” Comments - Note Ezekiel 16:45-46, especially Ezekiel 16:47. God is saying that Israel has walked after their ways even more so.

Ezekiel 16:45-47, “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. 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. 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.”

Ezekiel 16:8 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.

Ezekiel 16:8 “I spread my skirt over thee” Comments - This phrase is used only again in Ruth 3:9. God claimed Israel, and betrothed her as His bride.

Ruth 3:9, “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.”

Ezekiel 16:15 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.

Ezekiel 16:15 “but thou wast cast out in the open field” - Comments - Abandoning a child is a common practice in underdeveloped and impoverished nations. Even then, a mother with a small measure of pity leaves the child at a hospital or in an open place for others to rescue. So, in Ezekiel 16:15 the emphasis is on the analogy of a baby being left with absolutely no pity regarding its rescue.

Ezekiel 16:20 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,

Ezekiel 16:20 “whom thou hast borne unto me” - Comments - Also, the firstborn were given to the Lord. Note Leviticus 12:2-6.

Leviticus 12:2-6, “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days. And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest:”

Ezekiel 16:46 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.

Ezekiel 16:46 “is Sodom and her daughters” Comments - Sodom’s daughters would be the other smaller cities of the plains, which includes Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim. The city of Zoar was spared because of Lot.

Ezekiel 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

Ezekiel 16:49 “pride” - Comments - Many people today have too much pride to find a job which society considers lowly.

Ezekiel 16:49 “fullness of bread” Illustration - When I used to drive a garbage truck, I often emptied grocery store compactors. Tremendous amounts of food are thrown away daily in America. This is typical of America’s fullness and wastefulness.

Ezekiel 16:49 “abundance of idleness”- Comments - Many Americans thrives on pleasure, tourism, and leisure activities.