“And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.” (Ezekiel 16:6)
Ezekiel is prophesying about Israel in a simile of a newborn baby from the Lord’s perspective. Israel was as a newborn which was disdained and discarded, left to die. They were insignificant in Egypt and would have been utterly destroyed except for the fact that they were usefully abused in hard labor. Even so the Lord saw Israel. He saw their low estate.
They had nothing to offer the Lord. They had no worth. They were helpless. But the Lord had mercy on her and commanded her to live. This is a perfect picture of the believer before being born-again of God, before the Lord commanded us to live. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13) We were polluted with the blood of our sin in the kingdom of sin and darkness, abused and tormented by demons of sickness, fear, hopelessness and misery. We were helpless against them and unable to help ourselves. The Lord saw us in our polluted and helpless state. We had nothing to offer Him but our anguish. And regardless He said to our spirit, “Live.”
There was nothing that we could do to help ourselves, to reach out to God, but it was His mercy when He saw our pitiful sinful state. “For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” (Romans 9:15-16) It is the Lord’s mercy and pity on us that compelled Him to say to us, “Live.”
The Lord has said to us, “Live.” And He has propelled us by His Holy Spirit indwelling in us to live a new life apart from the world because we are no longer citizens of this world. No longer do we have to follow the ways of the world and cringe under its demands. We have a new spirit. We have a new way of living. And the Lord tells us, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” (2Corinthians 6:17-18) Peter exhorted the crowd at Pentecost. “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.” (Acts 2:40)
The Lord said, “Live.” But real life, peace and joy is only found in the kingdom of God. There is nothing in this world, not the world’s words, fruit, possessions nor riches that can satisfy. “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 14:17) What good is living in a palace without joy? What good is a full stomach with delicacies without peace? What good is rich raiment without the love of the Lord? And what good is the approval of the world when we are perishing? It would all be nothing. There is no gain in the world. It’s temporal and not eternal. This does not mean we are to live shabbily, go hungry or be clothed in rags. It means that what home we have is a blessing from God. He gives us a home to suit our needs, our wants and our ability to live in it according to His purposes. The Lord provides us with foods that will nourish and make us strong to serve Him. He will dress us in a style that is comfortable for our bodies and our wallets. There is no need to make the world rich with witless spending.
The Lord saw our pathetic lives and said, “Live.” Live a holy and peaceful life. Live a life of plenty and not need. Live a life of peace and not war. Live a life of love and not regret. Live and be my son and my daughter. Live eternally.
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