Ezekiel 16:43-48: a reflection

43“‘“Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have raged against me in all these things; therefore, behold, I also will bring your way on your head,” says the Lord GOD: “and you shall not commit this lewdness with all your abominations. 44“‘“Behold, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb against you, saying, ‘As is the mother, so is her daughter.’ 45You are the daughter of your mother, who loathes her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite. 46Your elder sister is Samaria, who dwells at your left hand, she and her daughters; and your younger sister, who dwells at your right hand, is Sodom with her daughters. 47Yet you have not walked in their ways, nor done their abominations; but soon you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. 48As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “Sodom your sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as you have done, you and your daughters.

Amid a hard word of judgment, God names the root of Jerusalem's drift from him: because you have not remembered the days of your youth, a warning against forgetting God's early kindness and how far he has brought us. Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, God says, but have raged against me in all these things. At the root of the people's turning away lay a forgetting: they had not remembered the days of their youth, the time when God had first found them, cared for them, and shown them kindness. Having forgotten God's early mercies and how he had brought them from small and helpless beginnings, they grew proud and drifted from him. Forgetting where they came from and what God had done bred ingratitude and turning away. This shows the danger of forgetting God's early kindness and how far he has brought us. Do not forget the days of your youth, God's early kindness to you. Forgetting how God has brought you breeds pride and drift. Remember your small beginnings and God's mercies, lest you grow proud. Ingratitude and drift often begin in forgetting what God has done.

Notice the root of the trouble God names. Amid the hard words of judgment, God puts his finger on a cause: because you have not remembered the days of your youth. The people had forgotten their beginnings, the days when God had first found them small and helpless, cared for them, and shown them his kindness. Having forgotten how God had brought them from such beginnings, and all his early mercies to them, they grew proud, took his gifts for granted, and drifted away from him, even raging against him. Their turning away had a root in forgetting. This holds a searching warning for us. Forgetting God's early kindness, how he first found us, what he has done for us, and how far he has brought us, is more dangerous than it seems. When we forget our beginnings and God's mercies, we easily grow proud, take his gifts for granted, and drift from him, as though we owed him nothing and had made ourselves. But remembering the days of our youth, God's early kindness, our small beginnings, and all he has done to bring us where we are, keeps us humble and grateful, and holds us close to him. We do well to remember God's early kindness and how far he has brought us, lest forgetting breed pride, ingratitude, and drift. Do not forget the days of your youth and God's early kindness to you. Forgetting how God has brought you breeds pride, ingratitude, and drift. Remember your small beginnings and all God has done, and stay humble and grateful. Guard against the forgetting in which turning away so often begins.

That is worth taking to heart, for forgetting God's early kindness and how far he has brought us breeds pride and drift, and we do well to remember, as God named forgetting the days of their youth as the root of the people's turning. We can forget our beginnings and God's early mercies, growing proud and drifting; but God named this forgetting as the root of the people's raging against him. Remember. Do not forget the days of your youth and God's early kindness to you; remember your small beginnings and all he has done, that you may stay humble and grateful and not drift. Remember the days of your youth and God's early kindness to you, keeping in mind your small beginnings and all he has done to bring you where you are, lest forgetting breed pride, ingratitude, and drift, as amid a hard word of judgment God named the root of Jerusalem's drift from him, that they had not remembered the days of their youth but raged against him; for at the root of the people's turning away lay a forgetting, that they had not remembered the days of their youth when God had first found them, cared for them, and shown them kindness, and having forgotten his early mercies and how he had brought them from small and helpless beginnings they grew proud and drifted from him, forgetting where they came from and what God had done breeding ingratitude and turning away, which holds a searching warning for us, since forgetting God's early kindness and how far he has brought us is more dangerous than it seems, and when we forget our beginnings and God's mercies we easily grow proud, take his gifts for granted, and drift from him as though we owed him nothing and had made ourselves, whereas remembering the days of our youth, God's early kindness, our small beginnings, and all he has done keeps us humble and grateful and holds us close to him, so that we do well to remember God's early kindness and how far he has brought us.

Lord, amid a hard word of judgment, you name the root of Jerusalem's drift from you: because you have not remembered the days of your youth, a warning to me against forgetting your early kindness and how far you have brought me. Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, you say, but have raged against me in all these things. At the root of the people's turning away lay a forgetting: they had not remembered the days of their youth, the time when you had first found them, cared for them, and shown them kindness. Having forgotten your early mercies and how you had brought them from small and helpless beginnings, they grew proud and drifted from you. Show me the root of the trouble you name. Amid the hard words of judgment, you put your finger on a cause: because you have not remembered the days of your youth. The people had forgotten their beginnings, the days when you had first found them small and helpless, cared for them, and shown them your kindness. Having forgotten how you had brought them from such beginnings, they grew proud, took your gifts for granted, and drifted away from you. Their turning away had a root in forgetting. This holds a searching warning for me. Forgetting your early kindness, how you first found me, what you have done for me, and how far you have brought me, is more dangerous than it seems. When I forget my beginnings and your mercies, I easily grow proud, take your gifts for granted, and drift from you, as though I owed you nothing and had made myself. But remembering the days of my youth, your early kindness, my small beginnings, and all you have done to bring me where I am, keeps me humble and grateful, and holds me close to you. Take that to my heart. Keep me from forgetting the days of my youth and your early kindness to me; help me remember, Lord, my small beginnings and all you have done, that I may stay humble and grateful and not drift, guarding against the forgetting in which turning away so often begins.