“When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me: no man cared for my soul” Psalm 142:3-4. This was a prayer of David while in the cave. But can we read this scripture and not think of Judas, in his betrayal of Jesus to the high priests of Israel? And of the snare which had long been forthcoming: at long last, in Gethsemane‘s garden, would they take Him. “there was no man that would know me,” the forsaking of His disciples as He said, and which was recorded much earlier in the scriptures. Of Simon, who would deny Him three times: “I know not the man!” “refuge failed me.” There was no cave for Him, a place of refuge; only a cross, upon a hill called Golgotha. “no man cared for my soul,” rather would they cry, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” “I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living” Psalm 142: 5. But He was destined to depart the land of the living; and, for the moment, He will cry, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me. . .
“A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.” Luke 10:30.
A certain man, went down (condescended) from Jerusalem (the New One) to Jericho (the earth), He was born of woman: she was conceived of the Holy Ghost. But rather than being accepted for who He was, (He came unto his own, and his own received him not” John1 :11.) He fell among thieves, “He was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” Isa.53:12b. But there were other thieves who would rob Him: of His deity; of His compassion for the outcasts, of His very life. These thieves would smite Him, wound Him, bruise Him, crucify Him. They would strip Him of his raiment, leaving Him naked. (“And they parted his raiment, and cast lots” Luke 23:34.) But they would not be satisfied to leave Him half dead: “He was cut off out of the land of the living. . .He made his grave with the wicked. . .He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth” Isa. 53. Jesus Christ, the Good Samaritan! “I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken. . .” Ezek. 34:16. “And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them [No man cared for my soul.] derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God” Luke 23:35. Save Himself? For this cause He came; that His blood might be shed; that He might die in our stead; for the remission of our sin, for our forgiveness, for our justification, for our reconciliation to our God and Creator. The traveler, being cared for, was taken to an inn: but there was neither an inn for Jesus at His birth, nor an inn at His death. The thieves cared nothing for the man whom they had wounded and robbed; they would never have returned to see about his well being or no. The Samaritan promised to return unto the inn to see about his friend: “And if I go. . .I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I AM, there ye may be also” John 14:3.
Laid within the unusual writings of Ezekiel chapter 16 is a picture of extreme grief - and a picture of extreme gladness! The same may be said of the parable of the Good Samaritan recorded for us in Luke chapter ten. It might be worth our time to compare the two. . .
The Condition. And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all” vs. 4. “It was a sign that she was loathed by those who bore her, and she appeared loathsome to all that looked upon her.
The Condition. “And a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead” Luke 10:30.
The Callousness. None eye pitied thee, to do to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee;” vs. 5. They were “without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful” Rom. 1:31. “I designed thee for life when thou wast doomed to destruction, and resolved to save thee from death. Those shall live to whom God commands life.” (Matthew Henry)
The Callousness. “And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side” Luke 10:31-32.
The Casting out. “but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born” vs. 5b.
The Casting Out. “and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, leaving him half dead” vs. 30.
The Compassion. “And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live” Ezek. 16:6.
The Compassion. “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him [he passed by on the other side, as did the priest and Levite?] No! “he had compassion on him!” vs. 33.
“God looked upon the world of mankind as thus cast off, thus cast out, thus polluted, thus weltering in blood, and His thoughts towards it were thoughts of good, designing it Life, and that more abundantly”
“By converting grace, he said to the soul, Live. He looked upon them with a kindness and a tender affection, not only pitied them, but set His love upon them, which was unaccountable, for there was nothing lovely in them.” (Matthew Henry)
“Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love” vs.8. Behold! the Mercy and Grace of your God!
“It was the kindness and love of God our Saviour that sent Christ to redeem us, that sends the Spirit to sanctify us, that brought us out of a state of nature into a state of grace. That was a time of love indeed, distinguishing love, when God manifested His love to us, and courted our love to Him.” (M. Henry)
The Covering. “and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness” vs. 8b. The word skirt, kanaph, as used throughout the Old Testament scriptures is almost exclusively defined as “Wing!”
The Covering. Though not expressly stated, the man who had been ‘stripped of his raiment’ must assuredly have been covered by the cloak or coat of the Samaritan. Of what covering is there afforded the sinner, naked and unclothed? Why the Robe of Right-eousness of the Good Samaritan, the Lord Jesus!
The Covenant. “yea, I entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine” vs. 8c.
The Covenant. “and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee” Luke 10:34b,35. When shall the Good Samaritan return? Will the man whom he rescued from a certain death still be there at the inn; will he be waiting for his return? “and ye are not your own - For ye are bought with a price” I Cor. 6:19b,20a.
The Cleansing. “Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee” vs.9a.
The Cleansing. “And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine” Luke 10:34. The pouring in of the wine was for the cleansing of the wounds. Was the color of the wine not red; or crimson? Question and answer: “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. O precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow! No other fount I know; nothing but the blood of Jesus!” (Lowry)
The Consecration. “and I anointed thee with oil” vs. 9b. “Then washed I thee with water, to make thee clean, and anointed thee with oil, to make thee sweet and supple thee.” M.H.
The Consecration. “And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil. . .” What can heal the wounded spirit? Is not the oil of the Spirit? Is it (He) not likewise to be compared with the fruit of the Spirit? What can make one sweet and supple more than love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance?
The Clothing. “I clothed thee also with broidered cloth, and shod thee with badger’s skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk” vs. 10.
The Clothing. It would appear that there is something of a duplication here: the covering, introduced earlier, and now the clothing. But notice - the covering was in order to cover the nakedness of the traveler; and this we identified with the Robe of Righteousness. The clothing denotes even more, as illustrated by the parable of the Lost Son: “But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the Best Robe, and put it on him. . .For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found” Luke 15:22a,24. So we see, the first was for a covering; the last lays claim to, identifies the traveler as a Son!
“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them” Gen. 3:21. With the skins He covered their nakedness; He clothed them, Adam being again identified as a son; yet, not without the shedding of blood. . .
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