“And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD.”
– Ezekiel 16:14
Hi James and Ellen,
Have you ever had a guy or gal demean you? Have you ever had a guy or gal yell at you? Have you ever had a guy or gal tell you how atrocious that you are? How would you like it if God called you weak-willed? How would you like it if God considered you a two-timer? How would you like it if God labeled you a pleasure-seeker? How do you think that Ezekiel felt on the day that God – as God the Father, as He had God – as God the Spirit, breath on him to let Ezekiel know – which is in Ezekiel 16 in the Ezekiel Book, what He really thought about all the detestable practices that were being endorsed in the city of Jerusalem? Why do you think that God – as God the Father, chose to single out the city of Jerusalem to receive the brunt of His rage and not just on the Israelite people group guys and gals – His specially chosen guys and gals, who were at the time some of the residents of the city of Jerusalem? How do you feel about God – as God the Father, unloading His festering ire on the city of Jerusalem because of what was taking place there versus on the guys and gals who were living in the city on Jerusalem? What do you believe were the underlying reasons for God – as God the Father, to go into a diatribe – through His prophet spokesman Ezekiel, against the city of Jerusalem? The city of Jerusalem may have around 5,000 years of history. The city of Jerusalem is possibly one of the oldest settlements/communities/cities on planet Earth. The convergence of a trade route in the developing ‘world’ in the land of Canaan may have been the impetus for a small settlement to spring up that evolved over time to become the city of Jerusalem. At the time when the first guys and gals began to settle the site which is known today as the city of Jerusalem, the Amorite people group guys and gals inhabited the area. Another people group of guys and gals – the Hittites, were the inhabitants of a large area of the developing ‘world’ to the northeast of the land of Canaan. Your grandpaa thinks that there is a possibility that Hittite people group guys and gals used the trade route that passed through what is now the city of Jerusalem – with some Hittite people group’s guys and gals deciding to remain at the site to live alongside some Amorite people group’s guys and gals who were already living there. Your grandpaa believes that Melchizedek – who was alive when Abraham was alive on planet Earth, is linked somehow to the city of Jerusalem.
The city of Jerusalem appears to have been a rogue settlement that God – as God the Father, adopted to nurture into something very significant and beautiful. The city of Jerusalem site may be quite near where Abraham had his tent. The city of Sodom and the land area of Samaria were wicked, haughty neighbors of the city of Jerusalem. The countries of Egypt, Philistia, Babylonia, Edom and Assyria all brought shame to the city of Jerusalem. During the reigns of two kings – David and then David’s kid Solomon, over the guys and gals who lived in the land of Judah, the city of Jerusalem flourished. Verse 14 says, “And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD.” God led David to make the city of Jerusalem the central city for His specially chosen guys and gals in the land area that He gave them to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . God had Solomon construct a magnificent temple in the city of Jerusalem for His presence. For a place that was at one time no more than a key juncture on a trade route, the city of Jerusalem has experienced during its history most everything that a place could experience. There were periods of time when God was faithfully worshipped by guys and gals in the city of Jerusalem. There were other times when guys and gals took their kids and offered them as food to a false deity that was being worshipped in the city of Jerusalem. When God was no longer worshipped in the city of Jerusalem, guys built lofty shrines for the inanimate idol gods that they handmade from wood, stone, clay and metal. The city of Jerusalem during these times was an extremely depraved, perverse place to live. God gave the city of Jerusalem a humbling punishment 2,597 years ago when He had King Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army totally ransack and ravage the place.
The city of Jerusalem continues to be a major enigma to the developing ‘world’. Competing belief paradigms that are driven by guys and gals who are Jews and by guys and gals who are Muslims want their religiosity center to be the city of Jerusalem. Because of a sacrificial atonement that took place on a cross almost 2,000 years ago – that brought in a new covenant, Jews – who are still God’s specially chosen guys and gals, have the right to lay claim to the city of Jerusalem. Your grandpaa sees a parallel between the city of Jerusalem and the United States of America. Both places were settled by guys and gals who were looking for a new beginning. God used both of these places as places where He would be honored and where He would have His name magnified. Even though God specifically chose the city of Jerusalem to become the political, economic, cultural and religious center for His specially chosen guys and gals, God’s specially chosen guys and gals would over time completely turn their backs on God. The first arrivals of guys and gals in the United States of America sailed from their homes with the dream to go to a place to worship God. Does it bother you that God is now being more and more renounced in the United States of America?
Ezekiel 16 (1103)