“Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine,” declares the Lord Jehovah. Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil.”
— Ezekiel 16:8-9
Ruth was to anoint herself and change her clothes (Ruth 3:2-3). What do the anointing and the clothing refer to? The clothes in Ruth and the skirt in Ezekiel 16 refer to the same thing. In that passage the Lord says that He covered the children of Israel, washed them, and anointed them with oil. In the Bible, the anointing abides in us and implies consecration (1 John 2:27; Exo. 30:30). From Ezekiel we see that we need a consecration that is based upon His covering, washing, and anointing. This consecration is not based upon our ability but upon Christ’s redemptive work.
Adapted from Ruth: Growth Unto Maturity, page 52.
Tomorrow: “Coming to the Lord Based on What He Has Done”