Ezekiel 16:59-63 I Will Remember
God has just told His unfaithful wife, Jerusalem/Israel/Judah, of her punishment for her actions. Now He tells her that He still LOVES her. “I will remember our covenant.”
God is addressing Judah peripherally and Jerusalem specifically. Israel is implied in this message too. He addresses Jerusalem as the symbolic city of Israel for that is where He has placed His name on His nation. Jerusalem WILL fall for Israel/Judah’s sins. And GREAT will be that fall! But that is not the end of the story.
When Moses was giving God’s law to the people he was confronted with the question of divorce. Divorce was granted in the event of an unfaithful wife. God is the one who allowed this and included it in His Law. But He NEVER approved of it. We see this when Jesus is questioned about divorce by the Pharisees. “’Haven’t you read,’ he replied, ‘that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate’” (Matthew 19: 4-6).
In ALL of Israel’s infidelity God never once considered “divorce.” Justice for her sins but NOT divorce. He made a promise in the beginning and He was sticking to it, even when SHE wasn’t. Why? Because He NEVER stopped loving her. Even in her deepest sins, He STILL called out to her. If you are in doubt, look at the life of the WORST king Judah ever had; Manasseh. God changed Manasseh’s heart and brought it to Himself through captivity. God could have washed His hands of this man for all his sins but He didn’t. He worked in Manasseh’s life until he finally recognized his sin and repented. It was too late to turn the people back from his wicked ways but Manasseh was brought back to God. Manasseh tried to bring the people back because of his heart’s TRUE change but they had gone too far to listen. They may even have believed it was all an act on Manasseh’s part. It wasn’t. Manasseh’s sins and how he brought the people to sin would be one of the major points God sited for their judgment though. Manasseh was forgiven but his sins still had consequences.
There is NOTHING we can do that will make God stop loving us! Once He has made a commitment in relationship with us, He WILL NEVER terminate that relationship. There WILL BE consequences for sin. Some will last beyond forgiveness because of natural laws. But He promises to not hold that sin against us personally after we repent of it AND turn away from it. But even in the DEEPEST and DARKEST moments of that sin, He STILL loves us! And He does EVERYTHING possible to cause us to turn away from that sin and return to Him.
DON’T test that love! It WON’T be pretty for you. But you can TRUST in that love instead. Knowing that God will be with you forever once you give your life to Him. Those who never truly give them their hearts don’t have His promise of covenant. Those who refuse to even acknowledge Him have NO promise from Him at all beyond judgment IF they continue to refuse Him. He still loves them but He has no relationship with them until they choose to accept His love.
Father God, I LOVE You with ALL my heart. THANK YOU for Your love first. Thank You for ALWAYS being with me, even when I’m not following Your ways. I’m PRAYING with ALL my heart that I don’t wander onto the wrong paths again.
I’m PRAYING WITH ALL MY HEART that my children made a true commitment to You when they were younger too! I’m praying this because I KNOW that You will bring them back if they did. I’m trusting You to bring them to Yourself by any means necessary Father God. Because I KNOW You love them too.
