In Ezekiel chapter sixteen, God likens the children of Israel to a newborn child that was abandoned in a field.
“As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor swathed in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born. And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’” Ezekiel 16:4-6.
Ezekiel 18:1-4 was quoted in Part 1 of this series and is shown below to maintain context.
“The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ‘What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge”? ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God ‘you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die.’” Ezekiel 18:1-4.
It is amazing how God is blamed for all the horror we see around us, even among Christians who should know better. Even people who acknowledge a real personal devil believe this; furthermore, the devil himself is sometimes seen as the victim.
“And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebub [Satan],’ and, ‘by the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.’ So He called them to Him and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.’” Mark 3:22-27.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Colossians 3:16.
