Do You Reflect God’s Beauty? (Ezekiel 13-24)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

Are you a beautiful person?

This might seem like a strange question, but it’s one the Prophet Ezekiel addresses in Ezekiel 16. The main theme of chapters 13-24 is the condemnation of Israel's idolatry and unfaithfulness and the ensuing judgment from God. Through vivid allegories, parables, and symbolic acts, Ezekiel exposes the false prophets and leaders who mislead the people and highlights the severe consequences of turning away from God. Speaking of Israel as a faithless bride, God speaks through the prophet in Ezekiel 16:8-14 and says:  

⁸ “‘Then I passed by you and saw you, and you were indeed at the age for love. So I spread the edge of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged myself to you, entered into a covenant with you—this is the declaration of the Lord God—and you became mine. ⁹ I washed you with water, rinsed off your blood, and anointed you with oil. ¹⁰ I clothed you in embroidered cloth and provided you with fine leather sandals. I also wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ I adorned you with jewelry, putting bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck. ¹² I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained royalty. ¹⁴ Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through my splendor, which I had bestowed on you. This is the declaration of the Lord God.

These verses provide some profound insight into the character of God. He is a God of immeasurable beauty and desires that each of his creatures reflects this beauty to the world. Unfortunately, in response to God’s gracious offer, the children of Israel want little to do with him. Verse 15 says, “But you trusted in your beauty and acted like a prostitute because of your fame. You lavished your sexual favors on everyone who passed by. Your beauty became his.”

“Fundamental to Jerusalem’s harlotry was a misplacement of confidence,” Daniel Block wrote. “Instead of committing herself to her divine husband, she placed her confidence in her beauty.^[1] The very blessing God gave them to display his beauty to the world became the very tools they used to elevate themselves in place of others. They took something extraordinary and used it for selfish ends. In the words of Iain M. Duguid,

Like the prodigal son, she wasted her substance in riotous living. The beautiful clothes were used to adorn the high places where idolatrous worship occurred and to clothe the idols housed within. The gold and silver were used to manufacture the idols themselves; the flour, oil, and honey, which had been given to her for food, were offered instead to her idols (16:16–19). Even her children, those whom she had borne to the Lord, were not safe; they were sacrificed to the idols she had made for herself (16:20–21).^[2]

The behavior of Israel was the fruit of Satan. At his core, Satan’s primary goal is to distort what God intended for good and to use fallen creatures to twist it for evil. He takes the beauty of sexual union between one male and one female and says something else will work. He takes the results of hard work and uses them as a way to build ego. He takes the blessing of wealth and turns it into greed. This is what he does because this is who he is. It’s up to us to be on guard against this.