Arkhaven logo

Passing By panel 1

Ezekiel 16:6,8, “When I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’”...When I passed by you again...I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into covenant with you, declares YHWH God, and you became mine.”

Now, what is especially significant here, is the repetition of the Lord ‘passing by” (עבר ) His people. This is a common word in the OT however, there is a specific usage that causes it to stand out, and that is Exodus 33:19 and 34:6. These texts form the definitive exposition of YHWH’s Name / Character in all of the OT. At Moses’ request to see YHWH’s glory, YHWH replies that He will ‘make all my goodness pass before (עבר ) you’, and will declare His name (Ex.33:19). Then, in Exodus 34:6, we read that ‘YHWH passed before (עבר ) [Moses] and proclaimed, ‘YHWH, YHWH, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness...’ So, from the context of Exodus 33-34, and especially when YHWH is the subject, עבר becomes a theophanic word...it is in passing by that YHWH proclaims His Name and so manifests His glory.

Thus, the repetition of עבר here in Ezekiel 16 is theologically charged. When YHWH passes by His people in Ezekiel 16, the actions that follow are applications of / expressions of the name He declares to Moses on Sinai, His covenant Name, His glory. THIS is what YHWH declares as He passes by Moses, and THIS is what YHWH enacts as He passes by His people in the extended metaphor of Ezekiel 16.

Another way to say this is that YHWH’s gracious regard for His the abandoned infant of His people (v.6); His merciful covering of His people with His own garments, the gathering of them to Himself while they are exposed and helpless and His binding them to Himself as His covenant Bride (v.8); His lavish adornment of them with all the glories and graces of His fullness (v.9-12)—These gracious and historic actions toward His people ARE His passing by...this is how YHWH passes by humanity and so declares His Name...Indeed, this IS His declaration of His Name / Beauty / Glory.

And once we have said this, we are led to realize that, though this is a recounting of YHWH’s creating and gathering Israel to Himself, it is ultimately an image of His gathering His trans-ethnic, trans-temporal, trans-spatial people to Himself in Christ. It is in Jesus that the true ‘Live!’ Is spoken over the aborted human race, wallowing in their own blood...it is in Jesus that the naked and helpless Church is covered with the garment of God’s own righteousness, bound to God as His covenant Bride, and known forevermore by God’s own Name, adorned with the beauties of His own splendor. These things could not have happened in history to Abraham and the Exodus generation and ethnic Israel if they had not happened from all eternity in Christ to His people.

What does that all mean? Well, IF YHWH’s redemptive dealings with His people in history is the passing by by which His name is made manifest, and IF those

historical redemptive dealings are rooted in, expressions of, and pointing toward the historic—indeed, the trans-historic—redemption achieved in the crucified and risen Jesus, THEN the supreme passing by of YHWH by which His name is enacted and so made manifest is Jesus Christ—specifically His cross, His death and resurrection—in whom and by which the ‘passings by’ of Ezekiel 16:6, 8 are fulfilled.

Passing By panel 3
Full of Eyes series cover
Passing By episode cover
24K views1.5K likes
8 comments

Full of Eyes

Created by
author avatar
WisePathBooks
The purpose of this series is to help you see (by faith), savor (as all satisfying food to your soul), and sing (in all of life) the beauty of the One True God as he is revealed in the crucified and risen Jesus throughout all of Scripture. This is not an arbitrary goal since the God for whom we—and all things—exist is communicated to his creation with definitive authority in the incarnate Son (John1:14,18), and with climactic finality at the cross (John 8:28, 17:1,5). The implication that derives from this truth is simple and yet, like the wardrobe in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, contains worlds of glory within it: if we would know the glory, the beauty, the identity of the One True God, we look to the resurrection-illuminated cross of Jesus Christ. - by Christopher Powers (www.FullOfEyes.com)
Guard Your Thoughts episode cover
Guard Your ThoughtsEpisode #70
Battle Cry of God episode cover
Battle Cry of GodEpisode #69
Cricifixion Baptism episode cover
Cricifixion BaptismEpisode #68
Reoriented Affections episode cover
Reoriented AffectionsEpisode #67
Indulgence of the Flesh episode cover
Indulgence of the FleshEpisode #66
Any Survivors? episode cover
Any Survivors?Episode #65
Through the True Abyss episode cover
Through the True AbyssEpisode #64
Medallions 4/4: Good Soil episode cover
Medallions 4/4: Good SoilEpisode #63
Medallions 3/4: Among Thorns episode cover
Medallions 3/4: Among ThornsEpisode #62
Medallions 2/4: On Rocky Ground episode cover
Medallions 2/4: On Rocky GroundEpisode #61
Medallions 1/4: Along the Path episode cover
Medallions 1/4: Along the PathEpisode #60
Christian Suffering episode cover
Christian SufferingEpisode #59
Bound to Him episode cover
Bound to HimEpisode #58
We Shall Again Praise Him episode cover
We Shall Again Praise HimEpisode #57
What Makes for Peace? episode cover
What Makes for Peace?Episode #56
Dead and Alive Again episode cover
Dead and Alive AgainEpisode #55
Soul-life In the Blood episode cover
Soul-life In the BloodEpisode #54
The Cup Passes None By episode cover
The Cup Passes None ByEpisode #53
The Object of Faith episode cover
The Object of FaithEpisode #52
Lay Down His Head episode cover
Lay Down His HeadEpisode #51
Lay Out Our Troubles episode cover
Lay Out Our TroublesEpisode #50
Suffering is Not Meaningless episode cover
Suffering is Not MeaninglessEpisode #49
It's All about Jesus episode cover
It's All about JesusEpisode #48
Building the House episode cover
Building the HouseEpisode #47
Judgment Seat episode cover
Judgment SeatEpisode #46
The Song of Christ and His People episode cover
The Song of Christ and His PeopleEpisode #45
True Obedience episode cover
True ObedienceEpisode #44
Central Transformation episode cover
Central TransformationEpisode #43
Rescue Mission episode cover
Rescue MissionEpisode #42
The Washing episode cover
The WashingEpisode #41
From Whence Comes Light episode cover
From Whence Comes LightEpisode #40
Ressurection-Shaped episode cover
Ressurection-ShapedEpisode #39
He Is Our Future episode cover
He Is Our FutureEpisode #38
Put to Death episode cover
Put to DeathEpisode #37
Sure Salvation episode cover
Sure SalvationEpisode #36
Living Tabernacle episode cover
Living TabernacleEpisode #35
Passing By episode cover
Passing ByEpisode #34
The Same Person episode cover
The Same PersonEpisode #33
Preparing Glory episode cover
Preparing GloryEpisode #32
Both At Once episode cover
Both At OnceEpisode #31
The Same episode cover
The SameEpisode #30
Crushed Rahab episode cover
Crushed RahabEpisode #29
Suffering With Us episode cover
Suffering With UsEpisode #28
Blessed from His Place episode cover
Blessed from His PlaceEpisode #27
Among Us episode cover
Among UsEpisode #26
Anguish to Joy episode cover
Anguish to JoyEpisode #25
Steadfast Love episode cover
Steadfast LoveEpisode #24
Identity episode cover
IdentityEpisode #23
Number Our Days episode cover
Number Our DaysEpisode #22
Beyond Forever episode cover
Beyond ForeverEpisode #21
Anastasiform Presence episode cover
Anastasiform PresenceEpisode #20
Look Only to Him episode cover
Look Only to HimEpisode #19
It Shall Be episode cover
It Shall BeEpisode #18
All Our Fallings episode cover
All Our FallingsEpisode #17
God With Us episode cover
God With UsEpisode #16
This is Love episode cover
This is LoveEpisode #15
Thorny Bush episode cover
Thorny BushEpisode #14
Where Else? episode cover
Where Else?Episode #13
Bound into a Yoke episode cover
Bound into a YokeEpisode #12
Dark Night of the Soul episode cover
Dark Night of the SoulEpisode #11
Why Not Be Defrauded? episode cover
Why Not Be Defrauded?Episode #10
Full Armor of God episode cover
Full Armor of GodEpisode #9
Light that is Life episode cover
Light that is LifeEpisode #8
Peace is a Person episode cover
Peace is a PersonEpisode #7
Meant for Evil, Meant for Good episode cover
Meant for Evil, Meant for GoodEpisode #6
Mighty Shepherd episode cover
Mighty ShepherdEpisode #5
Long Live the King episode cover
Long Live the KingEpisode #4
In Knowing His Name episode cover
In Knowing His NameEpisode #3
The Great Work Done episode cover
The Great Work DoneEpisode #2
Unexpected Welcome episode cover
Unexpected WelcomeEpisode #1
,
List icon
Comment icon
Prev icon
Next icon
Fullscreen icon