Ezekiel 16

Ezekiel 16 WIFE AND FALLEN SISTER Eze_16:1-2 The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (Ezekiel 16:2) Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations. To demonstrate that his parable of the worthless vine was no exaggeration, Ezekiel surveys Jerusalem’ s history from the city’s birth to his own day. The prophet is almost indelicately realistic in his description. He meant it that way. Sin is ugly. If the prophet is going to “ tell it like it is,” he must resort from time to time to ugly words.

Hardened hearts sometimes respond to shock therapy. So the prophet is commissioned by God to cause Jerusalem to know her abominations.: WIFEEze_16:1-43 In four paragraphs Ezekiel reviews the past and future dealings between God and his people. In unfolding this allegory, Ezekiel discusses (1) the circumstances of Jerusalem’ s birth (Ezekiel 16:1-7); (2) the marriage and adornment of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16:8-14); (3) the infidelity of the bride (Ezekiel 16:15-34); and (4) the punishment of the harlot (Ezekiel 16:35-43). Abandonment and Rescue (Ezekiel 16:1-7) The birth of the child (Ezekiel 16:3): Say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your origin and birth are of the land of the Canaanite; your father was the Amorite, and your mother the Hittite. Jerusalem is specifically addressed, though much of what is said applies to the whole nation. Jerusalem’s origin and birth took place on the soil of Canaan. The city was conceived by the Amorite and the Hittite, i.e., it was founded by the heathen peoples of Canaan. At the time of the conquest, Jerusalem was a Jebusite city (Joshua 15:8; Joshua 15:63) and a member of the southern coalition of city states that opposed Joshua.

The neglect of the child (Ezekiel 16:4): As for your birth, on your birthday your navel was not cut. You were not washed in water for cleansing. You were not salted or wrapped at all. Like many female infants, Jerusalem was abandoned after birth, left exposed in a field to die. She had not received the customary treatment afforded newborn babes.

The abandonment of the child (Ezekiel 16:5): No eye had pity upon you to do any of these things to you to have compassion upon you; but you were cast out upon the surface of the ground when you were regarded as loathsome in the day of your birth. Normally after the navel was cut, a baby was rubbed all over with salt. The salt served as an antiseptic. It also strengthened the baby’s skin. The baby was then wrapped tightly in bands of cloth. Every seven days through day forty the dirty clothes were removed, the baby washed, anointed with oil, and rewrapped.

But none of these customary treatments was applied to this child. Instead, she had been regarded as loathsome. She had been exposed to death by neglect. The neglected baby is a picture of Jerusalem in her earliest years. The people of Canaan did not care about the place. Likewise the Israelites overlooked Jerusalem throughout the settlement period.

The child rescued (Ezekiel 16:6): When I passed by you, and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you: Though bloody, live; yes, I said to you, though bloody, live. God passed by the ugly and unwanted child. Though bloody is lit., in your blood. Although the child was repulsive to look upon, squirming about in her blood, i.e., unwashed, still God decreed that it should live (v 6). This probably refers to David’s capture of Jerusalem from the Jebusites (2 Samuel 5:6-10).

The growth of the child (Ezekiel 16:7): An increase like the sprout of the field I appointed you. You increased, and grew up, and came to excellent beauty. Your breasts were formed, and your hair was grown; yet you were naked and bare. To grow like the sprout of the field is a beautiful metaphor for what thrives through the blessing of God alone. The female infant grew to maturity. She possessed the physical attributes of a beautifully formed woman, viz., a full bust and long hair. Yet she was still naked and bare. The Hebrew terms usually mean, insufficiently clad. Jerusalem was like a poor desert shepherd girl inadequately clothed. The reference is to the earliest years of Israelite occupation of the city. Marriage (Ezekiel 16:8-9) Maturity for marriage (Ezekiel 16:8 a): Now when I passed by you, and saw you, behold, your time was the time of love. God passed by Jerusalem a second time. The relationship between God and Israel is frequently depicted under the metaphor of marriage. So it is here that the divine rescuer noticed that the Jerusalem had reached the time of love (‘ et dodim) or love-making, i.e., marriageable age.

Covenant of marriage (Ezekiel 16:8 b): I spread my skirt over you, and covered your nakedness. I swore to you, and entered into a covenant with you (oracle of the Lord GOD), and you became mine. He therefore spread his skirt over her, a gesture that was, apparently, part of the ancient marriage ceremony (cf. Rth 3:9). God thereby covered the nakedness of his bride, i.e., he provided for Jerusalem’ s needs. He entered into a marriage covenant with Jerusalem. God chose Jerusalem for a special relationship when David brought the ark of the covenant there (2 Samuel 6). Later David purchased a threshing floor in Jerusalem that became the site for God’s temple (2 Samuel 24). Rituals of marriage (Ezekiel 16:9): I washed you with water, cleansed your bloodfrom upon you, and I anointed you with oil. God treated his young bride most tenderly. He first washed her with water. The blood that is washed from the bride is surely not the blood of childbirth mentioned in Ezekiel 16:4, or menstrual blood (Cooke). It is probably the blood of virginal bleeding caused by initial coitus. He then anointed her with oil. Adornment (Ezekiel 16:10-14)

Aspects of the adornment (Ezekiel 16:10-13 b) Clothing (Ezekiel 16:10): I clothed you with woven work. I shod you with sealskin. I bound you with fine linen. I covered you with silk. God clothed her with the finest garments from head to toe. Accouterments (Ezekiel 16:11-13): (Ezekiel 16:11) I adorned you with ornaments. I put bracelets upon your hands, and a chain upon your neck. (Ezekiel 16:12) I put a ring upon your nose, and earrings upon your ears, and a beautiful turban upon your head. (Ezekiel 16:13) And you were decked with gold and silver, and your garments were offine linen, silk, and woven work. He placed jewelry upon her wrists, neck (Ezekiel 16:11), nose and ears. As befitting her queenly position, a beautiful crown was placed on her head (Ezekiel 16:12). Food (Ezekiel 16:13 b): You ate fine flour, honey and oil. She ate the finest foods. Result of the adornment (Ezekiel 16:13-14): You became more and more beautiful until you achieved royal rank. (14) Your reputation went forth among the nations for your beauty, for it was perfect through my splendor that I put upon you (oracle of the Lord GOD). Jerusalem became ever more beautiful until she finally achieved royal rank, i.e., became the Queen City of the Near East during the days of Solomon (Ezekiel 16:13). The beauty— the power and prosperity— of the nation was spoken of among other nations. But whatever greatness was achieved by Jerusalem was not self-earned. It was bestowed by her divine husband. She reflected the splendor of God (Ezekiel 16:14).

Infidelity of the Bride (Ezekiel 16:15-34)

Misuse of God’s blessings (Ezekiel 16:15-19) Misplaced trust (Ezekiel 16:15): But you trusted in your beauty, and committed harlotry because of your reputation. You poured out your harlotries upon all who passed by; it belonged to him. The beautiful bride proved unfaithful to the marriage covenant with God. Instead of trusting him, she began to trust in her beauty, i.e., her material prosperity. She thought she could follow her instincts without regard to the moral demands of her divine husband. Self­trust is the first step in committing iniquity (cf.

Ezekiel 33:13). Jerusalem began to commit harlotry with foreign nations and their gods. Jerusalem committed harlotry because of her reputation. She found herself popular. Because of her material prosperity and strategic location, the eyes of the nations were cast on Jerusalem. In response to the Lord’s gracious passing by (cf.

Ezekiel 16:6; Ezekiel 16:8), Jerusalem lavished her harlotry on all who passed by. She readily responded to every proffer of love, i.e., she took up with every form of idolatry. The reference is probably to the glory of Solomon’s era, that king’s entanglement in foreign alliances, and toleration of the pagan practices of his many wives. Misused wealth (Ezekiel 16:16-18 a) High places (Ezekiel 16:16): You took from your garments, and made for yourself high places decked with different colors. You committed harlotry upon them. They are not coming, and it will not lie. The garments given to her by her divine Husband (i.e., material blessings) were used to make and decorate high places. There Jerusalem pursued her idolatrous lust. The repetition of you took (vv 16, 17, 18, 20) stresses that Jerusalem’s involvement in idolatry was an act of free choice. The last expression in v 16 is difficult: they (feminine) are not coming and it (masculine) will not be. Perhaps these words express disgust at the lewdness of Jerusalem. Images (Ezekiel 16:17-18 a): You took your fair jewels of my gold and my silver that I had given to you. You made for yourself images of men, and committed harlotry with them. (Ezekiel 16:18) You took your woven garments, and you covered them. Jewelry of gold and silver had been melted down and fashioned into idols (cf. Hosea 2:10)—images of men with whom the adulterous wife might commit her harlotry. The images were dressed with the rich garb that God had given his bride. Misguided worship (Ezekiel 16:18 b-19): My oil and my incense you placed before them. (Ezekiel 16:19) My bread that I gave to you— fine flour, oil and honey that Ifed you— you set before them for a sweet savor. Thus it was (oracle of the Lord GOD). Oil and incense, God’s gifts to his people, were given as offerings to the lifeless idols. The rich foods God had given his bride were set before these idols in various pagan rituals to serve as a sweet savor, i.e., something to satisfy the appetite of the gods. Thus it was, God says; it cannot be denied. Child sacrifice (Ezekiel 16:20-22)

The facts in the case (Ezekiel 16:20 a): You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore unto me, and you sacrificed them to them to be devoured. As God’ s wife, Jerusalem had a responsibility to rear her children in the fear of the Lord. Some of these precious little ones, however, had been slaughtered and devoured (lit., eaten), i.e., immolated in the worship of the god Molech.The seriousness of the charge (Ezekiel 16:20-21): Were your harlotries a small matter, (Ezekiel 16:21) that you slaughtered my children, and gave them up, in causing them to pass (through the fire) to them? Not satisfied with the lewd rites of Canaanite worship, Jerusalem went the whole way even to the horrible extreme. of slaughtering children. These children belonged to God in a special way. Parents do not have absolute rights over the lives of their children. The root cause of the transgression (Ezekiel 16:22): In all of your abominations and harlotries, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were naked and bare, and you were wallowing in your blood. The bride of God had sunk to this extreme because she failed to remember the days of her youth when she was naked (‘ erom) and bare (‘ erya). If from time to time she had called to mind her humble origins, she surely would not have been guilty of these abominations. Insatiable lust (Ezekiel 16:23-29) Ominous beginning (Ezekiel 16:23): As the prophet contemplates the fate in store for Jerusalem as a result of her wickedness, he bursts forth in a lament—Woe, Woe unto you! He then expands upon the theme of the wickedness of Jerusalem. Canaanite shrines (Ezekiel 16:23-25): It came to pass after all your evil—woe, woe to you (oracle of the Lord GOD)—(Ezekiel 16:24) that you built for yourself a platform, and you made for yourself a high place in every street. (Ezekiel 16:25) At every head of the way you have built your lofty place, and you have made your beauty an abomination. You have opened your feet to every one that passed by. You have multiplied your harlotries. Jerusalem built a platform (gab) in every street, obviously some accommodation for the practice of idolatry. The term high place (rama) seems to refer a lofty shrine (NIV), perhaps a roof-top chamber of some kind (v 24). At every head of the way, i.e., intersection of every thoroughfare, the idols were conspicuous.

The bride of God had put her beauty to an abominable use. She had spread her feet, i.e., committed prostitution, with every one who passed by. She had taken up with every pagan cult with which she had come in contact (v 25). Egyptian influence (Ezekiel 16:26): You committed harlotry with the Egyptians, your neighbors, great of flesh. You multiplied your harlotry to provoke me. Jerusalem did not even confine her spiritual harlotries to Canaanite worship ways. Through foreign alliances, she became involved with the gods of more distant powers. Spiritual harlotry with the sensuous Egyptians, whose worship was characterized by obscene idolatries, was perhaps the climax of Jerusalem’ s degeneration. The tendency to worship so many foreign gods was motivated not so much by lust for forbidden forms of worship as by a subconscious desire to provoke and defy the Lord. Prior discipline (Ezekiel 16:27): Behold I have stretched out my hand against you. I have diminished your allowance. I have delivered you into the will of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistine, who are ashamed of your lewd way. Because of these acts of infidelity, God stretched out his hand over Jerusalem for the purpose of inflicting punishment. As a betrayed husband might withdraw or reduce an unfaithful wife’ s maintenance (cf. Hosea 2:11), so God reduced the portion He originally had assigned to Jerusalem.

The reference here is probably to the territorial incursions by foreign nations against Israel from the days of Solomon to the time of Ezekiel. At the time the prophet spoke these words, tiny Judah occupied only a fraction of the territory that God had given to Jerusalem of old. So weak were the people of God that their ancient archenemies the Philistines were now able to satisfy their desire for revenge. Sarcastically, Ezekiel adds that even the ruthless Philistines were ashamed of the disgraceful conduct of Jerusalem.

Mesopotamian influence (Ezekiel 16:28-29): You committed harlotry with the Assyrians without having enough. You committed harlotry with them, and yet you were not satisfied. (Ezekiel 16:29) You multiplied your harlotries with the land of merchants—Chaldea— but yet you were not satisfied. Assyria and Chaldea, the two great commercial centers, were among Jerusalem’ s lovers; but still the unfaithful wife could not find spiritual satisfaction. Utter degradation (Ezekiel 16:30-34) Manifestation of harlotry (Ezekiel 16:30-32): How weak is your heart (oracle of the Lord GOD) when you do all these things, the work of a wanton harlot. (Ezekiel 16:31) When you built your platforms at the head of every way, and have made your lofty place in every street, and you were not like the harlot who seeks more pay. How morally weak and degenerate was the heart of God’ s once lovely wife! She had become a wanton (lit., domineering) harlot, virtually a nymphomaniac whose promiscuous lust has caused her to reverse the usual order in prostitution (Ezekiel 16:30). Unlike the ordinary harlot, the profit motive did not figure in Jerusalem’ s spiritual liaison. Jerusalem prostituted herself not for gain, but to satisfy her unbridled lust (Ezekiel 16:31).

Ugliness of harlotry (Ezekiel 16:32): O woman that commits adultery, who takes strangers instead of her husband! The picture is pathetic. A woman unwilling to be a wife to her husband, but anxious for intimate association with strange gods and foreign lands. Lust for harlotry (Ezekiel 16:33-34): To all harlots gifts are given; but you have given your gifts to all your lovers. You have bribed them to come unto you from round about in your harlotries. (Ezekiel 16:34) You are different from other women, in that you solicited to harlotry, and you were not solicited. In that you paid the wages of prostitution rather than the wages of prostitution being given to you, so you were different. Rather than receiving gifts as is common with women of the street, Jerusalem actually bribed lovers, i.e., she solicited alliances with foreign nations. Punishment of the Harlot (Ezekiel 16:35-43): The verdict of the judge is introduced by a double therefore (Ezekiel 16:35; Ezekiel 16:37). The first therefore is followed by because, and then a reiteration of the charge of harlotry. The second therefore introduces the actual sentence. Reason for judgment (Ezekiel 16:35-36): Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD! (Ezekiel 16:36) Thus says the Lord GOD: Because your filthiness was poured out, and your nakedness revealed through your harlotry with your lovers, and because of all the idols of your abominations, and for the blood of your sons that you gave to them… Because of all her spiritual adultery with foreign nations, her abominable idols and her revolting sacrifice of little children to those idols, God will bring judgment upon the land. Agents of judgment (Ezekiel 16:37): therefore, behold, I am about to gather your lovers unto whom you have been pleasant, and all whom you have loved, along with all whom you hate; I will gather them against you round about, and I will reveal your nakedness unto them, that they may see all your nakedness. Jerusalem’ s lovers— nations with whom she had a treaty and those other nations with whom treaties had been broken. These nations will be used of God to bring national humiliation upon the people of God. The land will be stripped bare by these forces. Jerusalem’s nakedness thus will be exposed to public view. Appropriateness of judgment (Ezekiel 16:38):I will judge you with the judgments accorded adulteresses, and those who shed blood.

I will bring upon you the blood offury and jealousy. The allegory continues. The punishment of Jerusalem is described in terms of the punishment of an adulteress. An adulteress was executed publicly. Accusers will start the bloody work, and others will then join in (cf. Deuteronomy 13:10).

So Jerusalem’ s lovers (nations with whom she had political ties) will summon other nations to join in the attack upon her. Adulteresses and child murderers were judged most harshly under the law of Moses. That same severe judgment was now about to be brought against Jerusalem. Only the blood of the guilty could assuage the divine fury and jealousy (v 38). Result of judgment (Ezekiel 16:39-42) Land devastated (Ezekiel 16:39 a): I will give you into their hand. They will throw down your eminent places, and break down your lofty places. To accomplish that judgment, God will use foreign nations, those who once were Jerusalem’ s lovers. This ruthless force will destroy the eminent places used in idolatrous rites. Wealth plundered (Ezekiel 16:39 b): They will strip you of your garments, and take your fair jewels. They will leave you naked and bare. Enemy soldiers will strip the adulterous wife of clothing and jewels. They will leave her naked, i.e., Jerusalem will see her buildings destroyed and her wealth carried away. Public execution (Ezekiel 16:40-41 a): They will bring up an assembly against you. They will pelt you with stones, and will thrust you through with swords. (Ezekiel 16:41) They will burn your daughters with fire. They will execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. Stoning was the penalty for adultery (Leviticus 20:10). Jerusalem will be bombarded by the missiles of the enemies as well as thrust through by their swords. Houses and public buildings will be burned. Many women, i.e., neighboring nations, will witness the execution. Hopefully they will learn a lesson from it. Cessation of harlotry (Ezekiel 16:41 b): I will cause you to cease from being a harlot. Also the wages of prostitution you will not give anymore. With the destruction of Jerusalem, God will bring the harlotry of the nation to an abrupt end. No longer will Jerusalem be in a position to bribe neighbors for their friendship.

Divine anger assuaged (Ezekiel 16:42): So I will cause my wrath against you to rest. My jealousy will turn from you. I will be quiet, and will no more be vexed. Divine justice must punish such unfaithfulness as Jerusalem manifested. Only after the wrath and jealousy (zeal) of God had been satisfied could there be hope of reconciliation.

The reason for judgment (Ezekiel 16:43): Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, and you have made me angry with all of these things; therefore also, behold, I will bring your way on your head (oracle of the Lord GOD); or have you not done this lewdness above all your abominations? The calamities outlined in the previous verses will befall Jerusalem because she had forgotten her past; she was ungrateful for what God had done for her.: THE FALLEN SISTEREze_16:44-63 Introduction of the Sisters (Ezekiel 16:44-47): An observation (Ezekiel 16:44): Behold every one who employs proverbs will use this proverb against you, saying, As the mother, so the daughter. When the judgment fell, no one will be able to say that it was unjust. In years to come, those who specialized in proverbs will say concerning sinful Jerusalem, as the mother, so the daughter. An accusation (Ezekiel 16:45 a): You are the daughter of your mother who loathes her husband and her sons. You are the sister of your sisters who loathe their husbands and their children. Jerusalem was unfaithful in marriage and as a mother. The children are literal children, as in Ezekiel 16:20-22. Likewise, the husbands here are not gods or Yahweh (as in ch 23), but the human fathers of the children in these cities. Jerusalem and her sisters personify the married female population of Jerusalem, Samaria, and Sodom; the married men collectively are the husbands of these mothers. The point is that in sacrificing their children, the mothers have condemned the fathers of the children as well.

Explanation (Ezekiel 16:45 b-46): Your mother was a Hittite, and your father was an Amorite. (Ezekiel 16:46) Your older sister is Samaria— she and her daughters— who dwell on your left hand. Your younger sister on your right side is Sodom and her daughters. Jerusalem learned her ways from her mother and father, the Hittite and the Amorite. She had followed in the path of her older sister Samaria, and her younger sister Sodom. Samaria is Judah’ s elder sister because she was larger in size and more numerous in population. She is on the left, i.e., north of Judah. The younger sister on the right side (south) of Judah is Sodom. The daughters of Samaria and Sodom are subordinate towns. Further accusation (Ezekiel 16:47): Yet you did not walk in their ways. You have not done after their abominations. But in a very little while, you acted more corruptly than they in all your ways. For only a very little while after the fall of Samaria— during the reign of Hezekiah— Judah did not walk in the abominations of Samaria and Sodom. But after that short pause in her ugly history, Judah acted more corruptly than either of her sinful sisters.Comparison of the Sisters (Ezekiel 16:48-52)In Ezekiel 16:48-52 the comparison between the sins of the three sisters— Sodom, Samaria and Jerusalem— continues. The case of Sodom (Ezekiel 16:48-50): Comparatively less guilty (Ezekiel 16:48): As I live (oracle of the Lord GOD) Sodom your sister— she and her daughters— has not done as you have done, you and your daughters. Even sinful Sodom had not surpassed the sin of Jerusalem. A prideful sister (Ezekiel 16:49): Behold, this was the iniquity of Sodom your sister: pride, fullness of bread and careless ease were in her, and in her daughters. She did not strengthen the hand of the poor and the needy. The root of Sodom’ s sin was pride that grew out of her security and prosperity. Genesis (Genesis 18:20-21; Genesis 19:13) uses the word outcry to characterize the sin committed by Sodom. This word usually refers to the outcry of the oppressed. The outcry erupted because the Sodomites did not strengthen the hand of the poor and needy, i.e., they offered neither material assistance, nor did they give any encouragement.

A banished sister (Ezekiel 16:50): They became haughty, and committed abomination before me. Therefore, I removed them when I saw it. The Sodomites became so haughty that they committed abomination in the sight of God. He, therefore, removed (i.e., abolished) them after their sins came under his judicial inspection. The words I saw it hark back to Genesis 18:20. They allude to what Yahweh saw in Sodom in Genesis 19:1-9. The homosexual attack by the Sodomites was the ultimate manifestation of the haughty oppression that characterized the men of that place. The case of Samaria (Ezekiel 16:51 a): As for Samaria, she did not sin half as much as you. Samaria had not committed even half the sins committed by Jerusalem. In fact, in comparison to Jerusalem’ s guilt, Sodom and Samaria appeared almost righteous (cf. Amos 3:9-10). The case of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 16:51 b-52) Greater abomination (Ezekiel 16:51 b): Actually, you increased your abominations more than they while you vindicated your sisters in all the abominations that you did. Sins committed in Jerusalem were worse than those committed in Samaria and Sodom. The greater guilt results from greater revelation.

Greater shame (Ezekiel 16:52 a): You also, bear your own shame in which you have judged your sister. Ezekiel commands Jerusalem to bear your own shame, i.e., she must accept as just the punishment that she is already experiencing. Greater guilt (Ezekiel 16:52 c): Through your sins in which you have been more abominable than they, they have been more righteous than you; yes, you! How ashamed Jerusalem ought to be of her gross sin that will cause men to render a favorable judgment with regard to Samaria and Sodom. Jerusalem has been more abominable than her sisters. Appeal (Ezekiel 16:52 d): Be ashamed Bear your guilt in your vindication of your sisters. In suffering for her sin, Jerusalem would bring vindication to her sisters. God had merciful long-range intentions for Jerusalem. His justice requires that he must show the same kindness to the lesser offenders. Future of the Sisters (Ezekiel 16:53-63) Future of Sodom and Samaria (Ezekiel 16:53-55) Turn the captivity (Ezekiel 16:53): And I will turn their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of your captives in the midst of them. Sodom and Samaria have a future. God will turn their captivity (i.e., restore their fortunes) and that of Jerusalem as well in the midst of them, i.e., between Samaria to the north and Sodom to the south. Sodom and Samaria represent the peoples who once lived in those cities. Samaria represents the old northern kingdom of Israel, the survivors of which were known as Samaritans in New Testament times. Sodom represents the Gentile population that had not been fully assimilated into the political structure of Israel.

Many of these “Canaanites” worshiped Yahweh along with other gods. Ezekiel envisioned the day when such aliens, cleansed and converted (cf. Jeremiah 12:16), would have equal standing as part of the people of God (cf. Ezekiel 47:22-23).

Shame over sin (Ezekiel 16:54): [This I will do] in order that you may bear your own shame, and may be ashamed because of all that you have done in comforting them. The purpose in changing the fortunes of Samaria and Sodom is so that Jerusalem may experience shame for past sin. The Jews (represented by Jerusalem) will come to see the depth of sin that brought on the destruction of the temple and the exile to Babylon. The thought of the verse is similar to the thought in Romans 11:11-12.

Former state (Ezekiel 16:55): And your sisters— Sodom and her daughters— will return to their former state. Samaria and her daughters will return to their former state. You and your daughters will return to your former slate. If God restores Jerusalem, he must also restore the two sisters, for they had sinned less. The three sister cities are depicted returning to their former state, i.e., their former situation in their heyday. Ezekiel is speaking of spiritual transformation under images of physical reconstruction. Special Study THE OF SODOM Ezekiel’ s allusion to turning the captivity of Samaria and Sodom (16:53, 55) has occasioned commentators great difficulty. The prophet seems to be saying that Sodom, which was destroyed in the days of Abraham, and Samaria, which had been carried away into captivity in 722 B.C., will be restored as well as Jerusalem. Whereas there is no parallel in Scripture to the restoration of Sodom, the Bible does point to the restoration of other evil nations surrounding Israel (cf. Jeremiah 12:14-17). But how could Sodom, that was obliterated without survivor, be restored? Six different answers to this question have been given:

Currey and Ellicott deny that the passage contains any promise of restoration for Sodom. These commentators understand 16:53 to be underscoring the hopelessness of Jerusalem’ s punishment. Only when Sodom was restored— something manifestly impossible— will Jerusalem be restored. Yet it does appear in this passage that some kind of restoration is promised, or at least implied, for Sodom. Besides, if the prophet is saying that Jerusalem will never be restored, he will be contradicting, not only other prophets, but his own predictions as well.

Feinberg sees here a prediction of a literal rebuilding of Sodom and the cities of the plain. During the Millennium, these cities will be restored. But how can Sodom and her daughters be restored when all the inhabitants of that area have been swept off the face of the earth? Feinberg limply replies: “. . . the restoration of Sodom will pose no difficulty for the omnipotence of God.”

The renowned German commentator Keil insists that the passage must refer to literal Sodom. Keil, however, does not see here an earthly restoration. He contends that “. . . the realization of the prophecy must be sought for beyond the present order of things, in one that extends into life everlasting.” Keil is thus ambiguous about the fulfillment. Surely this passage does not refer to those Sodomite sinners who endure eternal fire (Jude 1:7). Keil’s proposed fulfillment of the passage borders on universalism.

Payne suggests that the post-exilic occupation of the Dead Sea area by the Jews constitutes a reasonable fulfillment to the prediction. However, it is difficult to see how this could constitute a reversal of the fortunes of Sodom.

Still others regard Sodom as symbolic of the descendants of Sodom. Ammon and Moab were born to Lot’ s daughters, who had escaped from the destruction of Sodom (Genesis 19:29-30). The restoration of Sodom will in reality be the restoration of Moab and Ammon. Jeremiah 20:16 refers to the cities of the plain as “ the cities that the Lord overthrew and repented not.” This statement seems to preclude a literal, physical restoration of Sodom. However, Jeremiah does predict the restoration of Ammon and Moab (48:47; 49:6). A.R. Fausset develops this view as follows:

Probably Ammon and Moab, were in part restored under Cyrus; but the full realization of the restoration is yet future; the heathen nations to be brought to Christ being typified by “ Sodom,” whose sins they now reproduce.

Perhaps Sodom represents the heathen in general— all that survived of the Canaanites and their culture. The thrust of the passage is not the restoration of cities, but of rightful inhabitants. Ellison points out that Samaria never actually ceased to be a city. Sargon, the conqueror of Samaria, immediately rebuilt and repopulated the place. Thus, the prophecy must be talking about changing the fortunes of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Samaria, and Sodom. God must punish wicked men; but his mercy is such that he must provide for the deliverance of even the greatest sinners. Ezekiel is filled with the thought of the spiritual conversion of wicked people like Sodom. He expresses this thought concretely in terms of a reversal of the fortunes for Sodom (i.e., gross sinners). Sodom and Samaria will be given to Jerusalem as daughters (v 61). Citizens of the former northern kingdom and heathen in general will become part of that new covenant Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22). Immediate future of Jerusalem (16:56-58): For Sodom your sister was not mentioned by your mouth in the day of your pride; (57) before your wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Aram and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistine who despise you round about. (58) You have borne your lewdness and your abominations (oracle of the LORD). In hypocritical self-righteousness, Judah in former days would not so much as mention the name of Sodom. In the day of your pride recalls the heyday of Jerusalem. That pride led to Jerusalem’s overthrow (v 56). Judah’ s own wickedness was uncovered, i.e., made public, through divine judgment. Humbled Judah became the object of disdain by the singers in Aram and Philistia. The particular occasion here mentioned is probably the humiliating and devastating Syro-Ephraimite invasion of Judah in the days of Ahaz (v 57). Judah already had suffered, and will yet suffer, for her infidelity. Lewdness (zimma) and abominations hark back to the catalogue of crimes mentioned in vv 2-43 (v 58). Long-range future of God’s people (Ezekiel 16:59-63) First comes punishment (Ezekiel 16:59): For thus says the Lord GOD: I will deal with you as you have done, you who has despised the oath to break the covenant. Words of comfort follow the condemnation and threat of the preceding verses. God could not ignore the adulterous behavior of his wife Jerusalem. She had broken the marriage covenant; she must suffer the consequences.

A new covenant (Ezekiel 16:60): Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth. I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. God, however, will remember that covenant that he had made with Jerusalem in the youth of the city, i.e., in the days of David. God remembers this covenant, not because he is bound by law to do so, but because he yearns for that relationship. After judgment, God will enter into a new covenant— an everlasting covenant—with his people. This covenant can be everlasting because of the new heart and the new spirit that are associated with this covenant (Ezekiel 11:19-20; Ezekiel 36:25-28). An expanding community (Ezekiel 16:61): You will remember your ways. You will be ashamed when you receive your sisters, the older and the younger. I will give them to you for daughters, but not because of your covenant. How ashamed Judah will be of her sordid past in that new day. God’s grace in overlooking past sin, making a new covenant with His people, and even bestowing upon them Sodom and Samaria, will arouse in them a deep sense of remorse. This reinstatement of Jerusalem has nothing to do with the old Sinai covenant. That covenant had been broken. The new covenant will be with converted sinners, whether Jew, Samaritan or Gentile (Sodom). Samaria and Sodom become daughters of the new Jerusalem, i.e., all three are part of a unified land or kingdom (cf. Ezekiel 37:15-22).

Spiritual insight (Ezekiel 16:62): I will establish my covenant with you. You will know that I am the LORD. The establishment of a new covenant is a sovereign act of God. This is emphasized by the pronoun I (emphatic in the Hebrew). Through the gracious provisions for the Jerusalem of the new covenant (Hebrews 12:22), men would learn about the nature of the God of the Bible

Gracious forgiveness (Ezekiel 16:63): [This I will do] in order that you might remember, and be ashamed, and never again open your mouth because of your shame when I have forgiven you of all which you have done (oracle of the Lord GOD). The unfathomable grace of God in forgiving past sin will forever silence any self-justification.Ezekiel Chapter SixteenVerse 1 THE OF THE WIFEThe sole purpose of this tremendous chapter was stated bluntly in the second verse: “Cause Jerusalem to know her abominations.” Ezekiel discharged this assignment in the most realistic, and some would say the most revolting, chapter in the Bible. Under the influence of Christ, men today would not speak in such harsh, realistic, even vulgar language which we find here; but the sad truth was that only this kind of brutally frank and honest language could get the attention of Israel. The problem was the national attitude of the whole Jewish nation. Remembering their past glory, the miraculous aid which had given them their eminence, the extravagant luxury of their formerly great empire, and their constant appropriation unto themselves of the most surpassing thoughts relative to their being “God’s chosen people,” “the choicest among the nations,” etc., the Jewish mind utterly despised all of the other races on earth. Had not God wiped out Samaria? and Sodom? Their national expectation looked forward to “the Lord’s Day,” when God would appear, probably on a white horse, kill all the Gentiles, and turn the whole world over to his favorite people, the Jews. It was this national conceit which had prevented the Jews, up to this point, in catching the point of Ezekiel’s many prophecies concerning the worthlessness and reprobacy of the “Once Chosen” people. That is the background of this chapter. Ezekiel seized upon the metaphor of the marriage covenant, so dramatically depicted in Hosea 2:2-14, expanded and elaborated it, and made it the startling “Allegory of the Unfaithful Wife,” fully meriting the brutal and sadistic punishment of adulteresses in ancient times. This whole chapter was summarized by Halley. “It is a graphic, vivid portrayal of Israel’s idolatry under the figure of a bride, rescued from her exposure as an infant, who became the wife of her benefactor, who made her a queen and lavished upon her silks, sealskins, and every beautiful thing; who then made herself a prostitute to every man that passed by, thereby becoming even worse than Samaria and Sodom."[1]Plumptre described the language here as unmatched by anything else except some passages in Dante, but cautioned us to remember that, “The scenes brought forth by the prophet here were a very familiar thing to the men of the generation addressed by Ezekiel."[2] The picture of Israel is so revolting in this chapter that the distinguished Jewish Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, “Forbade the chapter either to be read or translated in public!"[3] Plumptre noted that Israel is here revealed as, “The Messalina of the nations."[4] Messalina was the profligate third wife of the Emperor Claudius, executed in 48 A.D.[5]According to Jamieson, there are five great paragraphs in the chapter. (1) The Great Benefactor rescues the outcast infant foundling (vv. 1-7). (2) Later married to her Benefactor, she is made a queen (vv. 8-14). (3) She becomes a gross, unprincipled sinner (vv. 15-34). (4) She incurs the terrible punishment of an adulteress (vv. 35-52). (5) Her restoration is promised, but it is also extended to Samaria and Sodom! (vv. 53-63). The proposition to be exploited in this chapter is the unmitigated wickedness of Israel from its very beginning and throughout its history. ; BIRTH; INFANCY; ; AND RESCUEEze_16:1-7"Again, the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations; and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was thy father, and thy mother was a Hittite. And as for thy nativity, the day thou wast born, thy navel wast not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to cleanse thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor wast thou swaddled at all. No eye pitied thee, to do any of these things unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, for that thy person was abhorred, in the day that thou wast born. And when I passed by thee, and saw thee weltering in thy blood, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy blood, live; and I said unto thee, Though thou art weltering in thy blood, live. I caused thee to multiply as that which groweth in the field, and thou didst increase and wax great, and thou attainedst to excellent ornament; thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair was grown; yet thou wast naked and bare.““The word of the Lord unto Jerusalem …” (Ezekiel 16:3). Although Jerusalem alone is mentioned here, “The city is used as a representative of the whole Jewish nation."[6]The metaphor is that of a baby girl mercilessly exposed in an open field, for whom none of the necessary services for a newborn child were performed.

Unwashed, abhorred, thrown out to die, just like that newborn child recently picked up by the garbage men in Houston. McFadyen noted that, “In a similar way, Israel’s sins from the beginning to the end of her history constituted one unbroken record of black apostasy."[7]The picture of an unattended, abandoned new-born baby girl, with uncut navel and wallowing in the refuse of its afterbirth is described here in very indelicate language; “But Ezekiel meant it that way; he was exposing ugly sins, and he made the allegory fit the facts."[8]Those were cruel times in world history; and the exposure of unwanted children for the purpose of getting rid of them was widely known. Furthermore, as Plumptre said, “Everyone was familiar with scenes of this kind."[9]In fact, it must be supposed that, the captives themselves were particularly familiar with such things; because in that long terrible march, lasting a month or more, from Jerusalem to Babylon, the heartless captors would have allowed no time or consideration for the women whose children were born on the bitter march. Such unfortunate children as were born under those conditions were left by the side of the road to die. “Thy nativity is of the land of the Canaanites …” (Ezekiel 16:3). “Ezekiel here moved far beyond other prophets, asserting that from their very birth, Israel had the genes of depravity in her being."[10]The allegory here is somewhat inexact, because, strictly speaking, Abraham and the patriarchs were not Canaanites; however, what is said here indicates that the Chosen People did indeed become the children, in the spiritual sense, of the Canaanites. The Amorite father, and the Hittite mother, through their abominable idols with their licentious rites, won Israel over, and became the spiritual parents of the Jews, who actually became “Canaanites” in every spiritual sense (Hosea 12:7). The allegory fits especially in the matter of when the “infancy” of the Jewish nation actually occurred; it was not in the days of Abraham, but at the time of their coming up out of Egypt. The covenant from the days of Israel’s youth, however, referred to the Abrahamic promise, and not to the Mosaic covenant (verse 60). The comparison of the Jewish nation with an exposed and abandoned infant was extremely appropriate; because, “The Jews in Egypt were held to be contemptible by the Egyptians; and the Pharaoh’s determined to exterminate them through the murder of their male children. Moses, as a type of the whole nation, was himself exposed, and delivered from actual death, only by God’s providence."[11]“I said unto thee … live …” (Ezekiel 16:6). The repetition of this speaks of the miracle of God in the preservation and blessing of the infant nation, threatened as they were, by Egyptian intentions to destroy them. “Thou attainedst to excellent ornaments … thy breasts were fashioned … thy hair was grown …”(Ezekiel 16:7). The ornaments here are the natural beauty of womanhood, as distinguished from those mentioned in Ezekiel 16:11. “Her breasts were fashioned” was rendered by Keil as, “Her breasts expanded."[12]“Thy hair was grown …” (Ezekiel 16:7). This is not a reference merely to “longer hair,” but as Greenberg noted, to hair not visible at all previously, “Lo, hair is grown on thy vulva."[13]“I caused thee to multiply …” (Ezekiel 16:7). This is a reference to the marvelous growth of Israel, which is indicated here as being due to the special providence of God. “Yet thou wast naked and bare …” (Ezekiel 16:7). “This represents the days of their sojourn in Egypt, before the Sinaitic covenant."[14]Verse 8 “Now when I passed by thee and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou becamest mine. Then I washed thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with sealskin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and covered thee with silk. And I decked thee with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a ring upon thy nose, and ear-rings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head. Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; and thou wast exceeding beautiful; and thou didst prosper unto royal estate.

And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; and it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.“THE MARRIED TO HER “I spread my skirt over thee …” (Ezekiel 16:8). This was a symbol of marriage. A Biblical example of this is found in Rth 3:8. What is typified here is the marriage of God to Israel, a metaphorical representation of the Sinaitic covenant and the choice of the nation as “God’s Chosen People.” “Then I washed thee with water …” (Ezekiel 16:9). Commentators have struggled with this; but the explanation is in Ephesians 5:25 ff: “Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for it; that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself.” Thus the marriage of Christ to his Bride the Church followed the same pattern that is found here. The purpose of the “washing” in both instances was the cleansing of the bride and her consecration to the Lord. Paul further mentioned the “washing” of the first Bride, the Racial Israel, as their, “Being baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:2). “I washed away thy blood from thee …” (Ezekiel 16:9). Here again, some very powerful scholars are perplexed. “This washing is interpreted as the cleansing and purification from menstrual blood."[15] No indeed! The reference in both the Old Testament and the New Testament is to the washing that precedes union with God (or Christ) and cleanses from “all previous sin,” the same being typified by the elaborate ceremonies that attended the giving of the Law at Sinai. The blood that was washed away in Ezekiel 16:9 is typical of all sins and mistakes. Note also that “the anointing with oil” followed the washing, just as the anointing of Aaron followed his ceremonial washing, and just as the reception of the Holy Spirit followed the baptism (the washing) of Jesus Christ, and just as the reception of the Holy Spirit is always subsequent to and contingent upon Christian baptism of all the followers of Christ. “The anointing with oil indicates the powers of the Spirit of God, which flowed to Israel from the divine covenant of grace."[16]This custom of anointing with oil, which from the most ancient times, accompanied the making of any solemn covenant, has come down even into current times. Those who saw the coronation of Elizabeth II, Queen of England, cannot forget the solemn ceremony of the anointing of the Queen with oil. “Badgers’ skin (sealskin in ASV) …” (Ezekiel 16:10). “This is probably a reference to the skin of the dugong, a herbivorous cetacean found in the Red Sea."[17] Greenberg thought the leather referred to here was “a specially treated and dyed sheep or goat skin”;[18] but in the same breath he mentioned a certain Bodenheimer who believed that the skin of dolphins was meant. Jamieson tells us that, “Shoes made of this material were always worn by the Hebrews upon festal occasions."[19]“Through my majesty which I had put upon thee …” (Ezekiel 16:14). The words “my majesty,” with the possessive pronoun stress the fact that all of the renowned beauty and perfection of Israel were the gifts of God and were not due to any intrinsic worth or ability of the Jews themselves. Is it not also true of every gifted mortal? Verse 15 “But thou didst trust in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and poured out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by; his it was. And thou didst take of thy garments, and madest for thee high places decked with divers colors, and playedst the harlot upon them: like things shall not come, neither shall it be so. Thou didst also take thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest for thee images of men, and didst play the harlot with them; and thou tookest thy broidered garments and coveredst them, and didst set my oil and my incense before them.“THE OF ISRAELThis extensive paragraph encompasses Ezekiel 16:15-34, but we shall subdivide it. “Playedst the harlot … poured out thy whoredoms …” (Ezekiel 16:15). Although the particular sins of Israel mentioned in this long paragraph are here listed as “whoredoms,” the reference is inclusive of such things as seeking alliances with foreign nations, and the adoption of the religious idols and customs of the pagan world around them. Nevertheless, the allegory is very proper and accurate, because, as May noted, “As in Hosea and other prophets, such terminology here carries with it a connotation of association with the sexual rites of the Canaanite cults."[20] The unbelievable licentiousness which marked the worship of the various fertility gods and goddesses was extremely immoral and depraved. “God had warned Israel not to forget him when she came into all the benefits that he would give her in the Promised land (Deuteronomy 6:10-12);"[21] But no sooner had God given them a magnificent and glorious kingdom under Solomon, than the nation, led by the scandalous Solomon, did exactly what is outlined here. “They committed spiritual adultery with every nation on earth”[22] Solomon had seven hundred wives, each of them representing an alliance he had made with some foreign state or principality, and three hundred concubines. This was not merely “spiritual adultery.” It was unmitigated, lustful adultery practiced on a Gargantuan scale. There’s no better word for it than the harsh realism of this allegory. All of that reprehensible conduct showed that Israel was no longer trusting God who had so richly blessed them. They were trusting their own ability to take care of themselves by their alliances with other states. The evil outlined in this long paragraph, “Began when Israel adopted the Canaanite sanctuaries of Palestine (Jeremiah 2:5-7, also 5:28 here)”;[23] but, as noted in the previous paragraph, it was Solomon who brought the whole pantheon of pagan gods into Israel. All of Solomon’s pagan wives brought their own religion, their own pagan priests, and all of the evil practices of their religion. And of course, Solomon built every one of them a temple, or shrine, or high place. There is nothing more scandalous than Solomon’s debauchery of the whole nation. “And madest for thee images of men …” (Ezekiel 16:17). “There is reference here to a certain form of very abominable idolatry, namely, the worship of the phallus, or the membrum virile, which the Egyptians regarded as the emblem of fecundity, and which is still licentiously worshipped by the Hindus under the name of lingam."[24]These verses stress the fact that it was the very gifts of God Himself which the Israelites used to construct their pagan shrines and to be wasted in pagan worship. “This was a crowning aggravation of their guilt, that the very valuables designed for God’s worship were prostituted in the worship of his pagan rivals."[25]Verse 19 “My bread also, which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou didst even set it before them for a sweet savor; and thus it was, saith the Lord Jehovah. Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters which thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter, that thou hast slain my children, and delivered them up, in causing them to pass through the fire unto them? And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast weltering in thy blood.““Before them for a sweet savor …” (Ezekiel 16:19). These were food offerings to idols. “To pass through the fire to them …” (Ezekiel 16:20-21). This is a reference to the horrible infanticide identified with the worship of Molech, a pagan practice that continued throughout the greater part of Israel’s history, even some of their kings making their sons “pass through the fire to Molech.” “Thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth …” (Ezekiel 16:22). Matthew Henry has an extensive analysis of this whole long paragraph (Ezekiel 16:15-35).

I. Causes of Israel’s sin. A. They grew proud (Ezekiel 16:15). B. They refused to remember (Ezekiel 16:22). C. They were weak in heart (Ezekiel 16:30). II. Particulars of their sins. A. They worshipped every idol they heard of (Ezekiel 16:15). B. They lavished their God-given wealth on their idols (Ezekiel 16:16; Ezekiel 16:18). C. They made idols from gold God had given them (Ezekiel 16:17). D. They served idols with the wealth God gave them (Ezekiel 16:18). E. They sacrificed their children to Molech (Ezekiel 16:20). F. They even built shrines for their idols (Ezekiel 16:23-25). III. Aggravations of their Guilt. A. They even worshipped the idols of those nations which were their enemies (Ezekiel 16:28). B. God rebuked them, but still they continued in the same sins (Ezekiel 16:27). C. They spent much money on their idols (Ezekiel 16:31-34).[26]Later in this study of the paragraph, we shall refer to this outline. Verse 23 “And it is come to pass after all thy wickedness, woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord Jehovah, that thou hast built unto thee a vaulted place, and hast made unto thee a lofty place in every street. Thou hast built thy lofty place at the head of every way, and hast made thy beauty an abomination, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians, thy neighbors, great of flesh; and hast multiplied thy whoredoms to provoke me to anger. Behold therefore, I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, that are ashamed of thy lewd way. Thou hast played the harlot with the Assyrians, because thou wast insatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet thou wast not satisfied. Thou hast moreover multiplied thy whoredom unto the land of traffic, unto Chaldea, and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.““At the head of every way …” (Ezekiel 16:25). “The meaning here, as noted also in the LXX, clearly indicates that these were used for prostitution. Such places of prostitution were found in the high places' of Judah."[27] The amazing charge here is that there was one of these on "every street," or at the head of every way. The aggravation of Israel's guilt was especially seen in their worship of the gods of their sworn enemies. This paragraph mentions the Egyptians (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/16/28" class="green-link">Ezekiel 16:28</a>), the Philistines (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/16/27" class="green-link">Ezekiel 16:27</a>), the Assyrians (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/16/28" class="green-link">Ezekiel 16:28</a>), and the Chaldeans (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/16/29" class="green-link">Ezekiel 16:29</a>), All of which, at one time or another, had oppressed Israel. "Thou hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/16/25" class="green-link">Ezekiel 16:25</a>). The meaning is that Israel, like an insatiable whore, had spread her legs apart for anyone who would have her. An example of this, as applied in the political sector of Israel's behavior, is found in Zedekiah's attempt to form political alliances with such countries as Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/27/1" class="green-link">Jeremiah 27:1-4</a>). Verse 30 "How weak is thy heart, saith the Lord Jehovah, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an impudent harlot; in that thou buildest thy vaulted place at the head of every way, and makest thy lofty place in every street, and hast not been as a harlot, in that thou scornest hire. A wife that committeth adultery! that taketh strangers instead of her husband! They give gifts to all harlots; but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and bribest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredoms. And thou art different from other women in thy whoredoms, in that none followeth thee to play the harlot; and whereas thou givest hire, and no hire is given thee, therefore thou art different."This paragraph fits the last entry in Matthew Henry's outline, above. The wealth and honor of Israel were squandered in their shameful efforts to build and strengthen alliances with foreign governments, instead of trusting Jehovah, who alone had power to protect and bless his people. There is no more shameful episode in the history of Israel than the vain and foolish efforts of her final series of kings to mimic the scandalous conduct of Solomon in his alliances with many nations. The whole world was ashamed of them, even the Philistines (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/16/27" class="green-link">Ezekiel 16:27</a>); and they were also the laughing-stock of all the nations. It must be admitted that Ezekiel, at this point, had fulfilled his commission to "Make Jerusalem know her abominations" (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/16/2" class="green-link">Ezekiel 16:2</a>). If language could accomplish such an assignment, then Ezekiel had done it! Verse 35 "Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness uncovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers; and because of all the idols of thy abominations, and for the blood of thy children, that thou didst give unto them; therefore behold, I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them against thee on every side, and will uncover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood; and I will bring upon thee the blood of wrath and jealousy."ISRAEL'S AS AN These eighteen verses (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/16/35" class="green-link">Ezekiel 16:35-51</a>) speak of the awful punishment of the Chosen People and of its absolute justice in God's sight. The punishment of unfaithful wives in antiquity was as sadistically cruel as anything ever known. It is described in <a href="/bible/parallel/NAH/3/4" class="green-link">Nahum 3:4-7</a>. (We refer the reader to my commentary on Nahum in the Minor Prophets Series, Vol. 3, p. 48.) In this paragraph, God condemned Israel to suffer such a shameful and terrible punishment. Why? They had cast into jeopardy the salvation of all mankind! "Thy filthiness was poured out ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/EZK/16/36" class="green-link">Ezekiel 16:36</a>). The marginal reading for "filthiness" is "brass," standing "for wealth or money."[28] However Greenberg stated that the word is actually, "The cognate of the Akkadian "nahsati", meaning morbid genital outflow’ of a woman, a reference to female genital distillation produced by sexual arousal."[29] He translated this place, “Your juice was poured out.” We feel certain that the marginal reference is preferable. Verse 39 “I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thy vaulted place, and break down thy lofty place; and they shall strip thee of thy clothes, and take thy fair jewels; and they shall leave thee naked and bare. They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords. And they shall burn thy houses with fire, and shall execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women; and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou shalt also give no hire any more. So will I cause my wrath toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry. Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast raged against me in all these things; therefore, behold, I also will bring thy way upon thy head, saith the Lord Jehovah: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness with all thine abominations.““They shall strip thee of thy clothes …” (Ezekiel 16:39). Biblical examples of the degradation of a harlot by exhibiting her naked are found in Hosea 2:12; Nahum 3:5, and in Jeremiah 13:22; Jeremiah 13:26. Verse 44 “Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter. Thou art the daughter of thy mother, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters that loathed their husbands and their children: your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. And thine elder sister is Samaria, that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. Yet hast thou not walked in their ways, nor done after their abominations; but as if that were a very little thing, thou wast more corrupt than they in all thy ways. As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.““Hittite … Amorite …” (Ezekiel 16:45).

See under Ezekiel 16:3, above, for discussion of this. The designation of these as the parents of Israel must be understood spiritually. As Matthew Henry explained it, “The Jews were as much like the Canaanites as if they had been the literal children of them."[30]“Left hand … right hand …” (Ezekiel 16:46). In Biblical literature, the perspective for determining which was left or right was that of facing eastward; thus the left hand was north, and the right hand was south, the respective locations, as related to Jerusalem, of Samaria (north), and Sodom (south). “Elder sister, Samaria … younger sister Sodom …” (Ezekiel 16:46). This has puzzled some writers, because, chronologically, it is contrary to the facts. Sodom was older by more than a thousand years than Samaria. What is indicated is that Samaria had usurped the place of Sodom as the chief sinner of history, represented here as the younger sister supplanting the older. There is another instance of Ezekiel’s reversing the chronology in Ezekiel 14:20, above. Spiritually, Samaria had indeed become the older sinner, that is, the worse sinner. The next verse reveals that Jerusalem had surpassed them all in wickedness. “Thou wast more corrupt than they …” (Ezekiel 16:47). The “they” here refers to Samaria and Sodom; Jerusalem was more wicked than either of them. This fundamental truth is the foundation of a tremendous moral problem. God had totally destroyed Sodom; how then could it be just for God to spare a remnant of Israel who was more wicked than Sodom? This will be cleared up later in the chapter. As we have often pointed out, the salvation of all men was contingent upon the fulfillment of the promises to Abraham and the patriarchs; and, in a very real sense, God was “stuck with Israel,” until the Messiah should at last be born of Mary and cradled in the manger at Bethlehem. The salvation of all the earth depended upon it. Beasley-Murray commented on this verse thus, “Jerusalem’s sin was not only as bad as that of her heathen predecessors, and not only as bad as the sins of Samaria nad Sodom, but even worse than they (Ezekiel 16:47)."[31]This paragraph is significant in that the pagan city of Sodom is classified as a “sister” of Israel, both alike being God’s people in the general sense that all nations are God’s, and that God is the God of all nations, and not merely the God of the Jews. This principle is further confirmed in the following paragraph in which restoration is also promised to Sodom. Verse 49 “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, ruiness of bread, and prosperous ease in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters by all thine abominations which thou hast done. Thou also, bear thine own shame, in that thou has given judgment for thy sisters; through thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they, they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.“These verses put the icing on the cake for Ezekiel’s efforts to make her abominations known to Jerusalem. It must be admitted that the prophet had done a remarkably effective job of fulfilling his assignment (Ezekiel 16:2). As for the reasons why Jerusalem’s sins were so much worse than those of her sisters Sodom and Samaria, they are resident in the privileges and obligations of the covenant. “To whom much is given, of him much is required” (Luke 12:48). The terrible punishment that was executed upon Jerusalem was necessary, because God’s justice required it. He had utterly destroyed Sodom for less sin than that of Israel. Verse 53 “And I will turn again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them; that thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be ashamed because of all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. And thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate; and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate; and thou and thy daughters shall return to their former estate. For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride, because thy wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, that do despite unto thee round about.““I will turn again their captivity …” (Ezekiel 16:53). The simple meaning of this is that God will rescue them from the captivity of sin. That is the meaning of the term when Jesus used it in Luke 4:18, and that is the meaning of it here. There was never any captivity of Sodom. This promise of restoration for apostate Israel is here projected as including also the restoration of Sodom and Samaria, with Jerusalem mentioned last, indicating that racial Israel will be on the level with all the rest of mankind, even with the Gentiles, and even be of lesser importance in the kingdom of the Messiah. Such a promise could not possibly have satisfied the ego of Israel. “Yes, Israel would again be restored, but only along with Samaria and Sodom."[32]“Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former estate …” (Ezekiel 16:55). How could such a thing be? Sodom had been totally destroyed; how then would God restore them? The meaning here is that, “The spiritual descendants, or successors, of Sodom, the people of the same character as the Sodomites would, under the New Covenant in Christ, enjoy the privileges of forgiveness and salvation."[33]In fact, this indeed happened at Corinth (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). Paul noted that the very worst sinners, including drunkards and Sodomites, were saved, cleansed, sanctified, and justified, not as continuing practitioners of their vile sins, of course, but, as in the case of every other Christian, upon the prior condition of their repentance and turning away from their wickedness.

Christ did not come into this world and die in order to save men in their sins but from their sins. In the very passage, cited above, where Paul told of the redemption of these Sodomites of his generation, he also stated that practitioners of such gross sins, “cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” Of course, they can be saved, all right, but upon the same terms under which anyone else may be saved, namely, upon the condition of their unqualified repentance and turning from their wicked ways. Verse 58 “Thou has borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith Jehovah. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant. Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. Then shalt thou remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder sisters and thy younger; and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah; that thou mayest remember and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I have forgiven thee of all that thou hast done, saith the Lord Jehovah.““Who hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant …” (Ezekiel 16:59). This meant the absolute, terminal abrogation of the Sinaitic covenant with Israel.

What happens when any party to a covenant breaks it; it terminates the covenant. As Jeremiah put it, “Which my covenant they brake” (Jeremiah 31:32). Oh, but how about the restoration promised in this chapter? isn’t God going to restore that old status of their being his “Chosen People” to Israel? No indeed! Look at Ezekiel 16:61, “But not by thy covenant!”! That old covenant is no more.

There is a New Testament in everyone’s Bible! “I will remember my covenant …” (Ezekiel 16:60). This was without a doubt the covenant with Abraham, in which God promised that in his seed, the seed singular, which is Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16), God would bless all the families of men (Genesis 12:3). That very verse is the seed of the everlasting covenant promised in this verse. However, all of those who will be redeemed under that everlasting covenant will constitute the true Israel of God, having no connection whatever with any racial consideration whatever, but made up of Jews and Gentiles alike, who will repent, be baptized into Christ, and thus be inducted into Christ, who is indeed the TRUE ISRAEL OF GOD (John 15:1 ff). All of such recipients of salvation, by virtue of their identity with Christ become “Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:27-29). “I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant …” (Ezekiel 16:60). As Plumptre said. “This reference is, of course, to the new covenant of Jer 31:31-35."[34]“Thou shalt receive thy elder sisters and the younger… as daughters… (Ezekiel 16:61). The use of `elder sisters and younger’ here is different from such designations earlier in the chapter. “Elder sisters” (note the plural) is a reference to Sodom and all other Gentile nations, and Samaria is here the younger sister because Judah, the southern Israel, was older than Ephraim (son of Joseph), the Northern kingdom. Also this reveals the fact that Sodom in the earlier reference is a representative of all the Gentiles. Now just how is it that all of these will be received as daughters of Israel? This took place in the establishment of the New Covenant, and is still going on. When the redeemed of all nations who are united with Christ and identified with him, thus becoming TRUE , by virtue of their being Christ’s spiritual body, every single soul becomes automatically a “son of Abraham.” The saved of all nations therefore become daughters of Israel, in exactly the same way that by worshipping Jesus Christ, the glorious promises of all nations falling down and worshipping Israel are actually fulfilled, because our Lord Jesus Christ is indeed ISRAEL.

Ezekiel 16:1

Ezekiel 16:1, This is a very unusual and interesting chapter, in which the Lord supposed a situation pertaining to human relations to illustrate His relations with Judah, the 2-tribe kingdom. It is true that some of the items are out of the ordinary as to the general events in the field of romance, but we have previously seen that even figures of speech may be so managed as to cover the actual facta in the subject being illustrated. But the central thought that runs through the long parable i3 true to conditions and actions that either do or eould exist in actual life. Let us keep in mind that the marriage relation with its various privileges and obligations is com-pared in the Bible to the union of mankind with God. By the same token, the corruptions of the marriage relation in temporal affairs are used to compare the abominations of idolatry that provoke the jealousy of God.

Ezekiel 16:2

Ezekiel 16:2. This verse is a solemn charge to Ezekiel; lie was to cause Jerusalem to realize the greatness of her abominations and unfaithfulness.

Ezekiel 16:3

Ezekiel 16:3. Nations, like individuals, may rise from very humble circumstances to a position of dignity and favor. If that rise is caused solely by the unselfish favor of another nation or person, such advancement will be no just cause for the favored one to become proud or have a feeling of importance. Instead, such nation should show its appreciation by the most faithful devotion. This verse shows the insignificant and obscure origin of Jerusalem (or Judah), She was born in Canaan which was a country of much unworthiness before the Lord took it over and dignified it by His oversight. Amorites and Hittit.es were two of the inferior heathen peoples who inhabited the land of Canaan at the time God’ s people appeared.

The terms father and mother are used figuratively to conform to the parable of family relations that has been adopted on the present occasion. We are supposed to think of a babe who is born of a very ordinary father and mother, in a land out of which no great personage would he expected to come. (For a like comparison see John 1:46.)

Ezekiel 16:4

Ezekiel 16:4. This verse represents a possible though very unusual circumstance. It Is the case where a babe arrives who was not wanted and of whom its parents are ashamed even though they have nothing of which to be so proud. They have such a feeling of contempt for the helpless creature that they do not give it the usual treatment of cleansing and surgical care usually accorded every newborn infant. They do not even furnish it with the swaddling band which was commonly used at such times, but which was a very meager article of clothing at best.

Ezekiel 16:5

Ezekiel 16:5. Not only did the parents of this unfortunate creature fail to administer to its needs, but none of the neighbors offered to lend a helping hand. Nor was that all; the infant was cast uneleansed and unclothed into the open field where it might have been the prey of wild beasts.

Ezekiel 16:6

Ezekiel 16:6. The man who was to represent God in thiB great parable was one whose affairs caused him to make various journeys through the country; on one of his trips he passed by the infant described in the preceding verses. He saw the miserable condition of the neglected creature and had compassion on it. I said . . . live. A story like this could not include all the details connected with the case. We are not told how the traveler could make his kindness effective but in some way he arranged that this baby girl could live in spite of the flithy and neglected condition. Having made the necessary preparation for the survival and growth of the babe, the traveler went on his way.

Ezekiel 16:7

Ezekiel 16:7. Through the arrangements referred to in the preceding verse, the girl baby experienced the things described in this which took place in the course of some years; such is the significance of I have caused thee that begins this verse. The developments indicated took place between the first and second journeys of the traveler through the community. Multiply is used because the parable really refers to the nation of Judah, although the imagery is that of a babe and her development Into the adolescent age. Excellent ornaments means the attractiveness of a girl growing toward womanhood. Some of those ornaments are specified; female breasts, also long hair, which is one of the God- given ornaments ol’ women (1 Corinthians 11:15),

Ezekiel 16:8

Ezekiel 16:8. The baby girl has passed through childhood and adolescence and has reached the time of lore, which means she has matured and become of marriageable age. Her benefactor then falls In love with her and offers to receive her as his wife. In ancient times there were no formal marriage ceremonies directly connected with the union of a male and female. Their fleshly relations made them one and entitled them to live together as husband and wife. By that token, the spreading of one’ s skirt over another signified the intimacy that was to start the couple on their journey in life as a united pair. Hence we have that action regarding the skirt mentioned in this verse and the phrase thou t/ccamest mine is so used. (See Ruth 3; 9.)

Ezekiel 16:9

Ezekiel 16:9. In spite of the advancement that nature had made for this neglected girl, she had not become completely rid of the undesirable conditions that had been imposed upon her at the time of and after her birth. But after the man became so intimately interested in her, he gave her further attention to prepare her for the life with him as his life’ s companion in the marriage relation.

Ezekiel 16:10

Ezekiel 16:10. It would be proper for a man to take persona] Interest in and take part in the selection of clothing of his wife; he would wish her to have the most delicate robes even of such materials as silk and linen.

Ezekiel 16:11

Ezekiel 16:11. No ornaments of jewelry could be too good or costly for the woman whom a man loves, who has given herself to him and who has merged her being with his in the most intimate and sacred relation possible to the human body.

Ezekiel 16:12

Ezekiel 16:12. The crown was not used in the sense of authority, but as a token of the giory that he recognized it meant to him to have the love and association with such a creature. (See 1 Corinthians 11:7.)

Ezekiel 16:13

Ezekiel 16:13. The husband continued his favors upon the woman he loved. The actual subject of the parable was indicated by the closing words, thou didst prosper into a kingdom,. We know that a wife would not develop into a kingdom, so the idea is plain that God’s relation with Judah was the subject of the illustration, But His love and favor toward that nation could not he described so as to overdraw the truth, even by the most extreme devotion that an ardent husband could lavish upon a wife whom he loved with his whole heart.

Ezekiel 16:14

Ezekiel 16:14. The terms and descriptions running through the chapter will be those directly applicable to a wife, yet the language will occasionally become so literal that we will know the prophet is considering the kingdom of Judah in her relations with God, This verse deals with such a thought when it says renown among the heathen. It is true that the kingdom which had Jerusalem for its capital became renowned in many parts of the earth. (See 1 Kings 4:21; 1 Kings 10:1; 1 Kings 10:6-7,)

Ezekiel 16:15

Ezekiel 16:15. The husband continued his traveling to and fro and hence could not always he in the company of his wife. But if she were true to him she would not take advantage of his absence to receive the attentions of Other men; that is where the wife of our story showed her disloyalty. She seemed to forget all of the tokens of love and unselfish service which her husband had shown to her in the first years of her life. It was evident that the favors thus lavished upon her had “spoiled” her and turned her head in the direction of unlawful lovers. She even admitted the men passing by to come in to her and commit fornication. Let the reader bear in mind that the idolatry of Judah is what the prophet was really considering, because that abomination is likened in the Bible to moral unfaithfulness.

Ezekiel 16:16

6 Ezekiel 16:16, This husband had given the fine clothing to his wife for her use as a virtuous woman but she abused the privilege. She changed them in such a way as to attract the attentions of evil men seeking lustful intimacy.

Ezekiel 16:17

Ezekiel 16:17, The wife was not satisfied with unlawful intimacy with strange men, but fashioned for herself some images of men that she might admire them in her private life. What added to the greatness of such abomination was the fact that she formed those images out of t.he precious metals that a loving husband had provided for her personal adornment as a wife.

Ezekiel 16:18

Ezekiel 16:18. She covered the unlawful images with the fine garments that her husband had given her to clothe her own body.

Ezekiel 16:19

Ezekiel 16:19. Let us keep in mind that the prophet is comparing the unfaithfulness of a wife to her true and loving husband with the faithlessness of Judah toward God. She took the dainty foods which her husband had provided for her use, and set them before these images of men that she had made from the precious metals, in a make-believe performance of religious sacrifice such as was done usually before other idols.

Ezekiel 16:20

Ezekiel 16:20. The lawful intimacy of this wife with her husband had produced sons and daughters for him. In her mad devotion to idolatry she sacrificed these sons and daughters. (That the people of the Lord actually did make human sacrifices, see the note at 2 Kings 16:3 in volume 2 of this Commentary.) This unfaithful wife was asked if she regarded such whoredoms (spiritual fornication or idolatry) as a light matter.

Ezekiel 16:21

Ezekiel 16:21, If it were possible for a woman to be the sole producer of children, it would be bad enough for her to offer them in the fire as a sacrifice. But this woman had sacrificed my Children said her husband.

Ezekiel 16:22

Ezekiel 16:22. Ingratitude is condemned very severely in the Bible (Judges 8:34; 2 Chronicles 24:22; Isaiah 51:13; Jeremiah 2:32; Jeremiah 23:27; Romans 1:21; 2 Timothy 2:3). The corrupt interests this wife had acquired turned her into an ingrate of the worst kind, in view of the lowly and helpless condition from which her husband had raised her.

Ezekiel 16:23

Ezekiel 16:23. This wronged husband was deeply affected by the wickedness of his unfaithful wife. In the midst of tile figurative parable the prophet injected a tew words of direct significance from the Lord, to warn the unfaithful wife (Jtidah) that great woe was in store for her.

Ezekiel 16:24

Ezekiel 16:24. The word place occurs in the A.V. here and in a number of other verses but it has no original as a separate word. Eminent place is from one original word and literally means a higher spot Of some kind. Idolatry is compared to moral evil, especially in the marriage relation, hence the conclusion is that this eminent place meant some provision for the entertainment of men in fornication.

Ezekiel 16:25

Ezekiel 16:25. Head of the way means the street corners, they being places to attract the eyes of the passers-by on the several thoroughfares. Opened thy feet refers to the voluntary position taken by a harlot in yielding her body for the act of adultery. Beauty to be abhorred. This wicked woman had made advances to every one that passed by, and that made her to be detested even by the men who practiced immorality. Men seeking the unrighteous indulgence will finally tire of a woman who goes too far in her brazen solicitations.

Ezekiel 16:26

Ezekiel 16:26. Since idolatry was compared to the sin of fornication, we would expect the comparison to be continued by naming some of the guilty partners. Those partners would be the Idolatrous nations with whom Judah committed her spiritual lewdness, and a number of them will be cited; the Egyptians were the ones named here.

Ezekiel 16:27

Ezekiel 16:37. Taken pleasure in the way of spiritual fornication, regardless of her personal feeling toward her lovers as to sentimental affection. Hast loved. An unfaithful wife might have an affectionate sentiment for some of her guilty partners as well as enjoy the immoral association with them. Hast hated. By the same token as that just Indicated, an unfaithful wife might have immoral love (fornication) with a person whom she would hate or abhor sentimentally.

It is true that the people of God had been taught to have that attitude toward the Ammonites and Moabites (Deuteronomy 23:3-4), while they were instructed not to feel that way toward the Edomites (verse 7). And yet God’s people committed spiritual fornication (idolatry) with the gods of these nations. Discover thy nakedness is a figure of speech, meaning that these same strange nations would be allowed to see the humiliation of this unfaithful wife (Judah), even though they had been intimate with her frequently in their idolatrous cohabitations.

Ezekiel 16:28

Ezekiel 16:28. Unsatiable means to he difficult if not impossible to he satisfied. Judah was not content with her own idols but looked elsewhere for gratification. In this inflamed desire for spiritual adultery she turned to the Assyrians.

Ezekiel 16:29

Ezekiel 16:29. This verse is somewhat of a summing up of the extensive corruptions of the nation. Canaan unto Chaldea takes in all the territory from the home land to that country where the bulk of the Jews were already in captivity, and to which the remaining ones in Jerusalem and Us vicinity were soon to be taken.

Ezekiel 16:30

Ezekiel 16:30. Imperious means to be domineering or overbearing. An imperious woman of loose morals would be determined to procure tbe gratification of her lust by any means possible. The extent to which this wicked woman went for that purpose will be seen in some verses that follow.

Ezekiel 16:31

Verse 31. Eminent place and head of the way is explained at verses 24. 25 which the reader should see. This unfaithful wife was worse than the ordinary public women. They engage in prostitution for the sake of money, but this wife scorned hire.

Ezekiel 16:32

Ezekiel 16:32. Ordinary harlotry is bad enough, where a professional woman practices it for the sake of money. But. the woman of our parable was a married woman with a husband who was true to her and who loved her very deeply. Not only so, but he was one who possessed the strength of functioning to the fullest degree and who could and was willing to give her complete satisfaction in their inti-mate relations. Yet that did not satisfy her; instead, she turned her polluted gaze toward strange men.

Ezekiel 16:33

Ezekiel 16:33. The depth of this woman was shown in another manner, As a rule, men are willing to hire the professional harlot to contribute to their lust, while this corrupt wife even scorned taking money from the strange men. But she did not stop at such depravity; she actually offered them gifts to induce them to come and he intimate with her. Another thing that added to the blackness of her abominable life (if that were possible), was the fact that she hired those strange men with the gifts that had been furnished her by her faith-ful husband (verses 17-19),

Ezekiel 16:34

Ezekiel 16:34, The Lord summed up the special corruptions of this unfaithful wife in this verse. She was not in the class of regular harlots but was so bad that even Other loose women would not associate with her. They practiced their trade for the money they made from it while this woman did it out of a strict desire for lustful gratification. In such a manner of trade the other women would have no part with her.

Ezekiel 16:35

Ezekiel 16:35. While most of the language will continue to he in terms adapted to the marriage relation, we should keep in mind that the idolatry of Judah is really the subject. That will account for the direct and literal expressions that will occasionally appear in the verses.

Ezekiel 16:36

Ezekiel 16:36. An instance of the thought offered in the preceding verse occurs in this. Here we have whoredom and idols mentioned in the same connection. though the first pertains ordinarily to the marriage relation and other things involving morals, and the second pertains literally to the corruptions that have been the basis of the parable all along. Blood of thy children is a literal reference to human sacrifices that idolaters made in ancient times. On this item see the information offered at 2 Kings 16:3 in volume 2 of this Commentary.

Ezekiel 16:38

Ezekiel 16:38. Judah was to be treated as an unfaithful wife. A jealous husband sometimes exhibits his feelings by physical violence upon the unworthy woman who had once professed to love him only. Likewise the Lord was going to bring the strangers (idolatrous nations) against Judah and some of her citizens would be slain (2 Kings 25:7).

Ezekiel 16:39

Ezekiel 16:39. The first part of this verse was literally fulfilled when the Babylonians took and destroyed Jerusalem. The second part is in the figures that were used in verse 10 of this chapter. The glorious favors that God had bestowed upon Judah and Jerusalem were taken over by the army of Babylon.

Ezekiel 16:40

Ezekiel 16:40. This verse is a direct and literal reference to the siege and destruction of Jerusalem that was soon to be made by the Babylonians,

Ezekiel 16:41

Ezekiel 16:41. For the fulfillment of this see 2 Kings 25:8-10. Sight of many women. Idolatry was compared to fornication and idolatrous nations to Immoral women; hence this phrase refers to the heathen nations that would witness the downfall of Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 16:42

Ezekiel 16:42. Jealousy shall depart was looking forward to the time when Judah would no longer be a worshiper of idols, since such worship was the cause of the Lord’s jealousy according to Exodus 20:5.

Ezekiel 16:43

Ezekiel 16:43. Days of thy youth refers to the early years of the nation, described figuratively in verses 6-14, where Judah is represented as a young girl who had been deserted by her parents and then taken into the care of this wronged husband.

Ezekiel 16:44

Ezekiel 16:44. It is a common thing to hear such a comparison made as this. Some may do so merely as a coincidence. while others will think that depravity is inherited. Still others will regard the situation as one where the daughter was influenced by the character and practices of the mother.

Ezekiel 16:45

Ezekiel 16:45. See verse 3 for explanation of this parentage. If Idolatrous nations were compared to immoral women, they would all be related to Judah who was in that class, hence sisters means the various heathen peo-ple around her.

Ezekiel 16:46

Ezekiel 16:46. One word in the definition for elder is “great.” Samaria was Indeed greater than Judah in that she had 10 tribes out of the 12. Also because the 10-tribe kingdom was the first of the two to make idolatry a national affair when she set up the idols at Dan and Bethel. <1 Kings 12:29). Sodom would be younger sister (by contrast) on the same principle that Samaria was elder.

Ezekiel 16:47

Ezekiel 16:47. Not walked after their ways means that Judah did not stop at becoming as bad as Samaria and Sodom, but went on and became worse.

Ezekiel 16:48

Ezekiel 16:48. Sodom was considered less guilty than Judah on the principle of the responsibility due to the differ- eriee in opportunity. Jesus taught this identical lesson, in Matthew 11:23-24.

Ezekiel 16:49

Ezekiel 16:49. The corruptions of Sodom were described in order to make the guilt of Judah appear still greater, since that had been already declared to be worse than the sins of Sodom.

Ezekiel 16:50

Ezekiel 16:50. The history of Sodom’ s destruction is In Genesis 19.

Ezekiel 16:51

Ezekiel 16:51. Neither half of thy sins is to be understood in the same light as the thoughts in vrese 48, Judah had many advantages for spiritual encouragement not least of which was her possession of Jerusalem and the temple service. Also, she had seen the years of service to idols which Samaria had experienced and should have observed how useless such a service is. In view of all this the Lord regarded Judah with greater condemnation and pointed the finger of shame at her.

Ezekiel 16:52

Ezekiel 16:52. Sisters means the other idolatrous nations who did not have the advantages for knowing better that Judah had. This fact is the explanation of the phrase more righteous than thou.

Ezekiel 16:53

Ezekiel 16:53. Much of this verse and others following is figurative or general in its application. Sodom was not actually ever restored, hut God was promising to extend his mercy to those who had disobeyed the law that was binding upon them.

Ezekiel 16:54

Ezekiel 16:54. Judah had encouraged the inferior nations in their sinful course by the eaxmple she had set. However, while being more or less responsible for the abominable life manifested by the other nations, Judah professed to abhor them in their evil ways. “When the time came that it. would all be changed by the powerful hand of the Lord, Judah was to be humiliated over her own wicked conduct.

Ezekiel 16:55

Ezekiel 16:55. Judah as well as the other groups that had dishonored God was destined to be placed in a better condition, but the comparative improvement at that time will be measured by the extent of responsibility that each group had borne.

Ezekiel 16:56

Ezekiel 16:56. Judah had felt above Sodom in the years she was a powerful kingdom, although that wicked city was to be justified rather than Judah in view of the principle of responsibility that has been discussed in the preceding verses.

Ezekiel 16:57

Ezekiel 16:57. This verse continues the thought begun in the preceding one, and the attitude of Judah toward Syria and the Philistines is to be regarded in the same sense as Sodom because it is principles of action that are being considered.

Ezekiel 16:58

Ezekiel 16:58. Hast borne is past tense in grammatical form but is prophetic in thought. Judah was to bear the penalty of her lewdness (idolatry) at the hand of the Babylonians and by the decree of God.

Ezekiel 16:59

Ezekiel 16:59. As thou hast done denotes the reason for dealing out the punishment to Judah; that it will be what her conduct deserved.

Ezekiel 16:60

Ezekiel 16:60. After the chastisement lias reformed the wayward wife, her husband will receive her to himself again. Remember my covenant is a reference to the days of their first love, when the husband pledged his constancy for the young wife. He had never broken that promise though she had betrayed his confidence.

Ezekiel 16:61

Ezekiel 16:61. This verse is a prediction of the cure from idolatry. See the note at Isaiah 1:25 for the fulfillment of this prophecy. Judah was to be united with her former associates after the captivity. Not by thy covenant signifies that Judah had not made any agreement that would have entitled her to this reunion.

Ezekiel 16:62

Ezekiel 16:62, One meaning of establish is to confirm. God had covenanted with Judah to bring her back to her home land after the captivity had cured her of her iniquity. In so doing it would prove that He always makes his word good. The final fact that would be proved by this restoration would be that all might know that I am the Lord.

Ezekiel 16:63

Ezekiel 16:63. The human memory is very frail at times, especially when some obligation would place a heavy or difficult tine of duty upon the individual. The long period of affliction imposed upon Judah by the captivity was to make such a deep impression upon the people that they would never forget it. Yea, they were to remember with shame how unfaithful they had been and be thereby held back from any complaints. It will be well for the reader to see Nehemiah 9 th chapter in connection with this prediction of the penitent mind that would be manifested after the return from the captivity. By this state of mind and by their avoidance of idolatry from this time onward, the Lord was pacified toward his people as predicted In this verse.