Confounded and Speechless

Ez 16:62, 63 "I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord GOD." ESV

 

This is just unreal. As I read through chapter 16, God lays out the sin of Israel. It was nasty. It was horrible. It was really unimaginable. God said that after all He did for Israel, made them comfortable, made them profitable, made them beautiful…they used their comfort and profit and beauty to betray Him and run after other gods. They prostituted themselves with others. Not only that, but they paid others so they could defile themselves with them. God even said that they were worse than Sodom. It was bad. The result, God extended His anger and His punishment so that Israel would be ashamed and disgraced.

 

But God is God. He didn't want to do this. He didn't enjoy punishing His people. Instead, He wanted to draw them in to a loving covenant relationship. Why? So they could know who He was. The same lesson was being learned in living through the consequences of their sin as well as in God's desire to bring them back: So they shall know that I am the Lord. And in knowing this they would remember. Remember what? How it used to be, how it is and how it can be. How it was: Profitable. How it is: Punishable. How it can be: Pardoned. It is that last realization that would blow them out of the water. It is the realization that even in all their junk, God forgave them, He covered them, He reconciled them…made things right again. What would this do? Confound them, humble them, and leave them speechless.

 

Isn't that the way it is? God blesses us and we kick Him in the teeth. God punishes us and we start to pay attention. God draws us back and forgives us and we are left humbled and speechless. That is the place that I want to be: humbled, confounded and speechless. "I don't know why Jesus loves me. I don't know why He cares. I don't know why He sacrificed His life. Oh, but I'm glad, I'm glad He did."