Ezekiel 16:14

The Beauty of the Lord

Intro. God is tracing His work on the nation of Israel. He took her from

nothing and made of her a beautiful and strong nation. His

complaint is that when she became beautiful, others began to court

her, and she turned from Him, to follow after other lovers. She

began to worship other gods. Tragically we are following the same

pattern. America, America, God shed His grace on thee, and crowned

thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shinning sea. But we have

turned from our relationship with God and we too bow our knee to

Baal, and Molech.

I. The fame of her beauty. "Thy renown went forth among the heathen for

thy beauty."

A. Throughout the world people were watching the emergence of this

nation.

1. Travelers who would pass through the land, would go

home and tell family and friends of this beautiful

place that they had visited.

a. The people were living in prosperity and peace.

b. They would probably tell how on the Sabbath

day, everything would shut down, and the people

would gather with their families to worship

the God who created the heaven and the earth.

c. There was a strong commitment to the marriage

vows, and thus very strong and loving families.

d. The land was very fertile, and produced an over

abundance of food. Beautiful fields of grain;

beautiful forests of trees; beautiful cities

and villages; beautiful vineyards; and

beautiful orchards. It was ideal.

e. The people had such love for their God, and

for each other, that there was no crime, no

one had to lock their door, they could walk

safely anywhere, day or night.

2. All over the world, people had a desire to come and see

this beautiful land of joyful people.

a. The Queen of Sheba upon her visit exclaimed

that she could not really believe the reports

that came to her because they sounded too

good to be true, but she said that they did not

even tell the half of it.

b. Other nations tried to follow the pattern of

government but without success for they left

the worship of God out of the equation. They

did not realize that the key to the beauty and

success of the nation was that God was their

Lord. "Happy is the people whose God is their

Lord."

c. We have the same thing happening here at

Calvary, their are many who come to observe

what God is doing, and then they try to copy

our services, not realizing that this is a

special work of God blessing His word as He

promised above His name.

II. God said, "Thy beauty was perfect through My comeliness, which I had put upon you." A. It was God that had blessed them and made them strong, because of covenant that they had made with Him. 1. They had sworn, "All that God tells us we will do." 2. God had laid out the rules for a happy and prosperous life. 3. As they followed the rules, they became happy and successful. B. The secret of their beauty was their submission to God. 1. Because they were His people, His bride so to speak, He delighted in making them beautiful. 2.

He enjoyed lavishing His love and blessing upon them. a. He speaks of anointing them with perfumed oils. b. He clothed them with fancy embroidered work, and furs, with fine linen and silk. c. He covered them with jewels. d. He gave to them the finest of food. e. They were indeed a beautiful people, but it was the beauty that the Lord had given to them. C. As we walk with the Lord and commit ourselves to Him in a covenant relationship, He begins to work in us to make us beautiful.

D. God desires a beautiful bride for His Son, and he will work within our lives to make us beautiful for Him. E. The most beautiful person to walk the face of this earth was Jesus Christ. 1. As we study His life, we become entranced by His beauty. 2. John said, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory as the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth." a. We see His grace manifested toward the woman taken in the very act of adultery, when the self righteous crowd would have stoned her, He said, "Let him that is without sin among you cast the first stone." b.

We see with such tenderness He works with the weaknesses of His disciples. Peter, so prone to mistakes when he should be praying, he is sleeping. So sure of himself, yet so weak. Denying his Lord in the hour of testing. Yet Jesus said, "O Peter, Satan has desired you that He may sift you as wheat, but I have been praying for you." And the Lord made of this big rough fisherman, a tender and loving apostle, whose favorite word became precious. He uses it 7 times in his two letters. c.

We see how the little children are attracted to Him. F. As God, the Master Artist is working in your life by His Spirit, molding and shaping you into an object of great beauty, the model that He is using is Jesus Christ. 1. The psalmist said, "And I shall be satisfied when I awake in His likeness." 2. Paul said, "As we behold the glory of the Lord, we are being changed from glory to glory into the same image, by the power of His Spirit working in us." 3. Even as God took Israel in her very crude and rough stage, and began to work in her until He made of her an object of great beauty, to He desires to take your life with all of imperfections, and make of you an object of great beauty. 4.

He desires that the world may see His beauty as it is manifested in and through you, and thus be attracted to Him. G. We used to sing: "Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me, All His wonderful passion and purity, O Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine, Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in Me."

III. The tragedy, "You began to trust in your beauty, and played the

harlot."

A. That is, the nation which was made beautiful by their

relationship to God, turned from God who had made them

beautiful, and began to trust in their beauty instead of God.

1. America that beautiful nation under God, with liberty

and justice for all, is by choice no longer under God.

2. We were known as the leaders of the world in industry,

resources, wealth, glory and freedoms.

3. We still lead the world, but unfortunately it is in

abortion, pornography, drug use, crime, and divorces.

4. King Asa was warned by the prophet of God that the

Lord would be with him as long as he would be with the

Lord, but if he forsook the Lord, the Lord would

forsake him. And it was recorded that as long as he

sought the Lord, the Lord made his ways to prosper.

a. This truth expresses an eternal principle

of God.

b. It is expressed by the psalmist with these

words; Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin

is a reproach to any people.

c. Whether it be an individual or nation, if you

have been joined to God in a covenant

relationship of marriage, God will make you

beautiful with His beauty, but if you turn from

Him, you will revert back to that ugly state in

which He first found you.

d. Your life can be beautiful, you can become an

instrument of His grace and charm, greatly

desired by the world, but if you give your love

to the world, you will be forsaken by Him and

become again what you once were, unattractive,

and unwanted by Him.