◄ Ezekiel 16:6 ►
Then I passed by and saw you wallowing in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, 'Live!' There I said to you, 'Live!'
Study Bible
Then I passed by and saw you wallowing in your blood,

This phrase depicts God’s observation of Israel in a state of helplessness and abandonment, symbolized by a newborn left in its blood. Historically, this reflects Israel's condition in Egypt, where they were oppressed and without hope. The imagery of blood signifies both life and death, highlighting the dire situation. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, unwanted infants were sometimes left to die, emphasizing the severity of Israel's plight. This also parallels the spiritual state of humanity before divine intervention, as seen in Romans 5:6-8, where Christ died for the ungodly.

Deu 26:7 So we called out to the LORD, the God of our fathers;…
Exo 3:7-8 The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction…
Psa 106:44-45 Nevertheless He heard their cry; He took note…

and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, ‘Live!’

God’s command for Israel to "Live!" signifies divine intervention and grace. This act of mercy is reminiscent of God’s covenant promises, where He chooses to give life and blessing despite Israel’s unworthiness. Theologically, this reflects the theme of regeneration and new birth found in the New Testament, such as in John 3:3-7, where Jesus speaks of being born again. The repetition of "Live!" underscores the certainty and power of God’s word, which brings life from death, echoing the resurrection power seen in Christ’s victory over the grave.

Deu 32:39 See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me…
1Sa 2:6 The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down…
Jhn 5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,…

There I said to you, ‘Live!’

The repetition of the command "Live!" emphasizes God’s determination and the effectiveness of His word. It signifies a turning point, where God’s intervention transforms Israel’s fate. This mirrors the prophetic nature of God’s promises, as seen in Ezekiel 37:1-14, where the dry bones are brought to life. Theologically, it points to the transformative power of God’s grace, which is central to the Christian message of salvation through Jesus Christ, who offers eternal life to all who believe, as stated in John 11:25-26.

Jhn 5:25 Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming…
Rom 4:17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations”…
Eph 2:5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Ezekiel
A prophet of God who ministered to the Israelites during their Babylonian exile. He is the author of the book of Ezekiel, which contains visions and messages from God.

2. Jerusalem
The city symbolically represented in this passage. God uses the imagery of an abandoned child to describe Jerusalem's spiritual state and His compassion towards it.

3. God
The speaker in this verse, who demonstrates His mercy and power by giving life to what was lifeless and abandoned.

4. Israel
The nation symbolized by the abandoned child, representing their spiritual destitution and God's redemptive intervention.

5. Babylonian Exile
The historical context during which Ezekiel prophesied. The Israelites were in captivity, reflecting their spiritual and physical desolation.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereign Grace
God initiates salvation and life. Just as He commanded life to the abandoned child, He calls us to spiritual life through His grace, not because of our merit.

Spiritual Desperation and Divine Intervention
The imagery of wallowing in blood signifies utter helplessness. Recognize our spiritual need and God's power to intervene and transform our lives.

The Value of Life
God values life and speaks life into situations of death and despair. We are called to value life and speak hope into the lives of others.

God's Faithfulness to His Promises
Despite Israel's unfaithfulness, God remains faithful. Trust in God's promises and His ability to fulfill them in our lives.

Repentance and Renewal
Acknowledge our spiritual state and turn to God for renewal. His command to "Live!" is an invitation to repentance and a new beginning.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the imagery of an abandoned child in Ezekiel 16:6 reflect our spiritual condition before God intervenes in our lives?

2. In what ways does God's command to "Live!" in Ezekiel 16:6 parallel the message of salvation found in the New Testament?

3. How can we apply the concept of God's sovereign grace in our daily lives, especially when we feel spiritually destitute?

4. What are some practical ways we can speak life and hope into the lives of those around us, following God's example in Ezekiel 16:6?

5. How does understanding God's faithfulness to Israel in Ezekiel 16:6 encourage us to trust in His promises today?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 7:7-8
This passage highlights God's love and choice of Israel, not because of their greatness, but because of His love and promise. It connects to Ezekiel 16:6 by emphasizing God's initiative in choosing and saving Israel.

Isaiah 1:18
This verse speaks of God's willingness to cleanse and redeem, similar to His command for life in Ezekiel 16:6.

Romans 5:8
Demonstrates God's love in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, paralleling the unmerited grace shown in Ezekiel 16:6.
Sermons
Superhuman LoveJ.D. Davies Ezekiel 16:1-14
A Picture of Human Depravity and DestitutionW. Jones Ezekiel 16:1-15
People
Aram, Assyrians, Canaanites, Egyptians, Ezekiel
Places
Chaldea, Jerusalem, Samaria, Sodom, Syria
Topics
Blood, Kicking, Lay, Pass, Passed, Past, Polluted, Squirming, Stretched, Though, Trodden, Wallowing, Wast, Weltering, Yea, Yes
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Ezekiel 16:1-8

     6667   grace, in OT

Ezekiel 16:1-14

     1085   God, love of

Ezekiel 16:1-63

     7241   Jerusalem, significance

Ezekiel 16:3-6

     5770   abandonment

Ezekiel 16:4-6

     5663   childbirth

Ezekiel 16:6-7

     1305   God, activity of

Library
How Saints May Help the Devil
One way in which sinners frequently excuse themselves is by endeavoring to get some apology for their own iniquities from the inconsistencies of God's people. This is the reason why there is much slander in the world. A true Christian is a rebuke to the sinner, wherever he goes he is a living protest against the evil of sin. Hence it is that the worldling makes a dead set upon a pious man. His language in his heart is, "He accuses me to my face; I cannot bear the sight of his holy character; it makes …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

Vile Ingratitude!
I. First, then, let us consider our iniquities--I mean those committed since conversion, those committed yesterday, and the day before, and to-day--and let us see their sinfulness in the light of what we were when the Lord first looked upon us. In the words of the prophet Ezekiel, observe what was our "birth and our nativity." He says of us, "Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canan. Thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite." Now, Canaan, as you know, was a cursed one, and the …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 6: 1860

"Who Walk not after the Flesh, but after the Spirit. "
Rom. viii. 1.--"Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." It is difficult to determine which of these is the greatest privilege of a Christian,--that he is delivered from condemnation, or that he is made to walk according to the Spirit, and made a new creature; whether we owe more to Christ for our justification, or sanctification: for he is made both to us: but it is more necessary to conjoin them together, than to compare them with each other. The one is not more necessary--to be delivered …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Humbled and Silenced by Mercy. Ezek 0. 711111111
 …
John Newton—Olney Hymns

For whom did Christ Die?
While man is in this condition Jesus interposes for his salvation. "When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly"; "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," according to "his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins." The pith of my sermon will be an endeavour to declare that the reason of Christ's dying for us did not lie in our excellence; but where sin abounded grace did much more abound, for the persons for whom Jesus …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 20: 1874

The Use of Fear in Religion.
PROVERBS ix. 10.--"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Luke xii. 4, 5.--"And I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him." The place which the feeling of fear ought to hold in the religious experience of mankind is variously assigned. Theories of religion are continually passing …
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

Certainty of Our Justification.
"Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."--Rom. iii. 24. The foregoing illustrations shed unexpected light upon the fact that God justifies the ungodly, and not him who is actually just in himself; and upon the word of Christ: "Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." (John xv. 3) They illustrate the significant fact that God does not determine our status according to what we are, but by the status to which He assigns us He determines …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Some Helps to Mourning
Having removed the obstructions, let me in the last place propound some helps to holy mourning. 1 Set David's prospect continually before you. My sin is ever before me' (Psalm 51:3). David, that he might be a mourner, kept his eye full upon sin. See what sin is, and then tell me if there be not enough in it to draw forth tears. I know not what name to give it bad enough. One calls it the devil's excrement. Sin is a complication of all evils. It is the spirits of mischief distilled. Sin dishonours …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

"And the Redeemer Shall Come unto Zion, and unto them that Turn,"
Isaiah lix. 20.--"And the Redeemer shall come unto Zion, and unto them that turn," &c. Doctrines, as things, have their seasons and times. Every thing is beautiful in its season. So there is no word of truth, but it hath a season and time in which it is beautiful. And indeed that is a great part of wisdom, to bring forth everything in its season, to discern when and where, and to whom it is pertinent and edifying, to speak such and such truths. But there is one doctrine that is never out of season, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Annunciation of Jesus the Messiah, and the Birth of his Forerunner.
FROM the Temple to Nazareth! It seems indeed most fitting that the Evangelic story should have taken its beginning within the Sanctuary, and at the time of sacrifice. Despite its outward veneration for them, the Temple, its services, and specially its sacrifices, were, by an inward logical necessity, fast becoming a superfluity for Rabbinism. But the new development, passing over the intruded elements, which were, after all, of rationalistic origin, connected its beginning directly with the Old Testament …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

"But Ye are not in the Flesh, but in the Spirit, if So be that the Spirit of God Dwell in You. Now, if any Man
Rom. viii. 9.--"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Application is the very life of the word, at least it is a necessary condition for the living operation of it. The application of the word to the hearts of hearers by preaching, and the application of your hearts again to the word by meditation, these two meeting together, and striking one upon another, will yield fire. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Covenant of Grace
Q-20: DID GOD LEAVE ALL MANKIND TO PERISH 1N THE ESTATE OF SIN AND MISERY? A: No! He entered into a covenant of grace to deliver the elect out of that state, and to bring them into a state of grace by a Redeemer. 'I will make an everlasting covenant with you.' Isa 55:5. Man being by his fall plunged into a labyrinth of misery, and having no way left to recover himself, God was pleased to enter into a new covenant with him, and to restore him to life by a Redeemer. The great proposition I shall go …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

An Exhortation to Love God
1. An exhortation. Let me earnestly persuade all who bear the name of Christians to become lovers of God. "O love the Lord, all ye his saints" (Psalm xxxi. 23). There are but few that love God: many give Him hypocritical kisses, but few love Him. It is not so easy to love God as most imagine. The affection of love is natural, but the grace is not. Men are by nature haters of God (Rom. i. 30). The wicked would flee from God; they would neither be under His rules, nor within His reach. They fear God, …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Degrees of Sin
Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous? Some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others. He that delivered me unto thee, has the greater sin.' John 19: 11. The Stoic philosophers held that all sins were equal; but this Scripture clearly holds forth that there is a gradual difference in sin; some are greater than others; some are mighty sins,' and crying sins.' Amos 5: 12; Gen 18: 21. Every sin has a voice to speak, but some …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

"And He is the Propitiation,"
1 John ii. 2.--"And he is the propitiation," &c. Here is the strength of Christ's plea, and ground of his advocation, that "he is the propitiation." The advocate is the priest, and the priest is the sacrifice, and such efficacy this sacrifice hath, that the propitiatory sacrifice may be called the very propitiation and pacification for sin. Here is the marrow of the gospel, and these are the breasts of consolation which any poor sinner might draw by faith, and bring out soul refreshment. But truly, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Spiced Wine of My Pomegranate;
OR, THE COMMUNION OF COMMUNICATION. I would cause Thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate."--Song of Solomon viii. 2.And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace."--John i. 16. THE SPICED WINE OF MY POMEGRANATE. THE immovable basis of communion having been laid of old in the eternal union which subsisted between Christ and His elect, it only needed a fitting occasion to manifest itself in active development. The Lord Jesus had for ever delighted Himself with the …
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come

The Section Chap. I. -iii.
The question which here above all engages our attention, and requires to be answered, is this: Whether that which is reported in these chapters did, or did not, actually and outwardly take place. The history of the inquiries connected with this question is found most fully in Marckius's "Diatribe de uxore fornicationum," Leyden, 1696, reprinted in the Commentary on the Minor Prophets by the same author. The various views may be divided into three classes. 1. It is maintained by very many interpreters, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Annunciation to Joseph of the Birth of Jesus.
(at Nazareth, b.c. 5.) ^A Matt. I. 18-25. ^a 18 Now the birth [The birth of Jesus is to handled with reverential awe. We are not to probe into its mysteries with presumptuous curiosity. The birth of common persons is mysterious enough (Eccl. ix. 5; Ps. cxxxix. 13-16), and we do not well, therefore, if we seek to be wise above what is written as to the birth of the Son of God] of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed [The Jews were usually betrothed ten or twelve months …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Epistle cxxii. To Rechared, King of the visigoths .
To Rechared, King of the Visigoths [82] . Gregory to Rechared, &c. I cannot express in words, most excellent son, how much I am delighted with thy work and thy life. For on hearing of the power of a new miracle in our days, to wit that the whole nation of the Goths has through thy Excellency been brought over from the error of Arian heresy to the firmness of a right faith, one is disposed to exclaim with the prophet, This is the change wrought by the right hand of the Most High (Ps. lxxvi. 11 [83] …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Bunyan's Last Sermon --Preached July 1688.
"Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God;" John i. 13. The words have a dependence on what goes before, and therefore I must direct you to them for the right understanding of it. You have it thus,--"He came to his own, but his own received him not; but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them which believe on his name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God." In …
by John Bunyan—Miscellaneous Pieces

Effectual Calling
THE second qualification of the persons to whom this privilege in the text belongs, is, They are the called of God. All things work for good "to them who are called." Though this word called is placed in order after loving of God, yet in nature it goes before it. Love is first named, but not first wrought; we must be called of God, before we can love God. Calling is made (Rom. viii. 30) the middle link of the golden chain of salvation. It is placed between predestination and glorification; and if …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Mr. Bunyan's Last Sermon:
Preached August 19TH, 1688 [ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR] This sermon, although very short, is peculiarly interesting: how it was preserved we are not told; but it bears strong marks of having been published from notes taken by one of the hearers. There is no proof that any memorandum or notes of this sermon was found in the autograph of the preacher. In the list of Bunyan's works published by Chas. Doe, at the end of the 'Heavenly Footman,' March 1690, it stands No. 44. He professes to give the title-page, …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Birth of Jesus.
(at Bethlehem of Judæa, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke II. 1-7. ^c 1 Now it came to pass in those days [the days of the birth of John the Baptist], there went out a decree [a law] from Cæsar Augustus [Octavius, or Augustus, Cæsar was the nephew of and successor to Julius Cæsar. He took the name Augustus in compliment to his own greatness; and our month August is named for him; its old name being Sextilis], that all the world should be enrolled. [This enrollment or census was the first step …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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