Ezekiel 16:1-5: a reflection

1Again the LORD’s word came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations; 3and say, ‘The Lord GOD says to Jerusalem: “Your origin and your birth is of the land of the Canaanite. An Amorite was your father, and your mother was a Hittite. 4As for your birth, in the day you were born your navel was not cut. You weren’t washed in water to cleanse you. You weren’t salted at all, nor wrapped in blankets at all. 5No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you, to have compassion on you; but you were cast out in the open field, because you were abhorred in the day that you were born.

In a tender and searching image, God describes Jerusalem as a newborn infant, abandoned at birth, unwashed and uncared for, cast out in the open field with no one to pity her, and yet, as the chapter goes on to show, loved and taken up by God. No eye pitied you, God says, to have compassion on you; but you were cast out in the open field. The picture is of utter helplessness and abandonment: a newborn no one wanted, left to die, with no one to show it the least care or compassion. And into that helpless, unlovely, abandoned state, God's love would come, taking up the one no one else would. This shows God's love reaching us in our most helpless and unlovely state. God's love reaches the helpless and abandoned. God takes up the one no one else pitied. Into our helpless, unlovely state, God's love comes. God loves us when we are helpless and unwanted.

Notice the depth of helplessness in this image, and the love that meets it. God pictures his people as a newborn abandoned at birth, not cleaned, not cared for, cast out in a field, with no one to pity or help. It is an image of complete helplessness and of being unwanted, unlovely, with nothing to commend one, nothing done to make one presentable. And it is precisely into this state that God's love comes, as the chapter goes on to show: God passes by, sees the helpless, abandoned infant, and takes her up, says to her, live, cares for her, makes her his own. God's love is drawn not to what is already lovely and cared for, but to the helpless, the abandoned, the one no one else would take. This is a picture of God's love for us. We come to God not lovely and presentable, but helpless in our sin, unable to make ourselves acceptable; and God's love reaches us there, takes us up, gives us life. We are loved not because we were lovely, but by a love that reaches the helpless and unwanted. God's love reaches us in our helplessness, not our loveliness. God takes up the helpless and makes them his own. We are loved by a love that reaches the abandoned and unwanted. God's love comes to us in our most helpless state.

That is worth resting in, for God's love reaches us in our most helpless and unlovely state, taking up the one no one else would, as God took up the abandoned infant no eye had pitied. We can think God's love must be earned, that we must make ourselves lovely and presentable to be loved; but God pictures his people as a helpless, abandoned newborn cast out in a field, and it is there, into that helplessness, that his love comes and takes us up. God loves the helpless and unwanted. When you feel unlovely, helpless, unworthy of love, remember that God's love reaches us precisely there, and takes us up. Rest in the truth that God's love reaches us in our most helpless and unlovely state, taking up the one no one else would, as God pictured his people as a newborn abandoned at birth, unwashed and uncared for, cast out in the open field with no eye to pity her, and yet passed by and took her up and gave her life; for we can think God's love must be earned, that we must make ourselves lovely and presentable to be loved, but God's love is drawn not to what is already lovely and cared for but to the helpless, the abandoned, the one no one else would take, so that we come to God not lovely and presentable but helpless in our sin, unable to make ourselves acceptable, and his love reaches us there, takes us up, and gives us life, loving us not because we were lovely but with a love that reaches the helpless and unwanted, so that when we feel unlovely and unworthy we can rest in knowing his love reaches us precisely there.

Lord, in a tender and searching image, you describe Jerusalem as a newborn infant, abandoned at birth, unwashed and uncared for, cast out in the open field with no one to pity her, and yet, as the chapter goes on to show, loved and taken up by you. No eye pitied you, you say, to have compassion on you; but you were cast out in the open field. The picture is of utter helplessness and abandonment: a newborn no one wanted, left with no one to show it the least care. And into that helpless, unlovely, abandoned state, your love would come, taking up the one no one else would. This shows your love reaching me in my most helpless and unlovely state. Show me the depth of helplessness in this image, and the love that meets it. You picture your people as a newborn abandoned at birth, cast out in a field, with no one to pity or help. It is an image of complete helplessness and of being unwanted, with nothing to commend one. And it is precisely into this state that your love comes: you pass by, see the helpless, abandoned infant, and take her up, say to her, live, make her your own. Your love is drawn not to what is already lovely, but to the helpless, the abandoned, the one no one else would take. This is a picture of your love for me. I come to you not lovely and presentable, but helpless in my sin, unable to make myself acceptable; and your love reaches me there, takes me up, gives me life. Take that to my heart, for your love reaches me in my most helpless and unlovely state, taking up the one no one else would. When I feel unlovely, helpless, unworthy of love, help me remember that your love reaches me precisely there, Lord, and takes me up, loving me not because I was lovely but with a love that reaches the helpless and unwanted, so that I rest in your love rather than trying to earn it.