Ezekiel 23

Ezekiel 23 A SAD HISTORYIn ch 23 Ezekiel vividly portrays the history of the sister kingdoms of Israel and Judah. In ch 16 God likened Jerusalem to a prostitute. The same figure is used of the entire nation here. The emphasis in the previous allegory was on spiritual fornication with Canaanite cults. Here the emphasis is on Israel’s political adultery, i.e., political alliances with foreign powers. Chapter 16 stressed the beginnings of Israel’s history, whereas ch 23 places more emphasis on her later history. OF THE SISTERS Ezekiel 23:1-4 Their Earliest Harlotry (Ezekiel 23:1-3): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (Ezekiel 23:2) Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of the same mother. (Ezekiel 23:3) They committed harlotry in Egypt. They committed harlotry in their youth. There their breasts were pressed, yes there their virgin breasts were fondled. The allegory begins with the introduction of two women, daughters of one mother. The kingdoms of Israel and Judah had their origin in the united nation of Israel that existed from the time of Egypt to Solomon (Ezekiel 23:2). The tribes of Judah (represented by Jerusalem) and Ephraim (represented by Samaria) had experienced the Egyptian bondage.

Even in that formative period of Israel’ s history, the sisters had shown inclinations toward idolatry. Using the figure of sexual license— the fondling of the breasts— Ezekiel describes how God’ s people lost their virgin chastity even before leaving Egypt (Ezekiel 23:3). Their Identity (Ezekiel 23:4): Their names were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister. They became mine. They bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah. The sisters are given similar names. Such was the practice in the East.

Samaria is Oholah (she who has a tent). The significance of this name is not clear. It may refer to Samaria’s propensity for heathen tent-shrines. Jerusalem is Oholibah (my tent is in her). Perhaps this name has reference to the tent that David erected in Jerusalem to house the ark of God. God says that both cities became mine, i.e., they belonged to the Lord as his possession.

This is usually taken to indicate marriage, although the text does not make this clear. Both cities bore sons and daughters. These children most likely referred to their inhabitants and satellite towns. SAMARIA’ S Eze_23:5-10 Description of the Harlotry (Ezekiel 23:5-8) Harlotry with the Assyrians (Ezekiel 23:5-6): Oholah committed harlotry under me. She threw herself on her lovers, on the Assyrians [They were] warriors, (Ezekiel 23:6) clothed with blue, governors and rulers, all of them handsome young men, horsemen riding on horses. For the purposes of this allegory, Samaria is called the elder sister because that city had experienced the judgment of God prior to Jerusalem. Oholah (Samaria) committed harlotry from under God, i.e., from under his authority as her lawful husband. She threw herself at various lovers among whom the Assyrians were most notable. The Assyrian warriors, dressed in handsome uniforms and led by men of note, attracted the inhabitants of Samaria.

Involvements of her harlotry (Ezekiel 23:7): She bestowed her harlotries upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them. On whomsoever she threw herself, with all their idols she defiled herself. Israel plunged headlong into political alliance with Assyria. She willingly paid the price demanded of all allies, viz., homage to the Assyrian deities. Thus did Samaria defile herself with all their idols. Magnitude of her harlotry (Ezekiel 23:8): She did not forsake her Egyptian harlotries; for they lay with her in her youth, and they bruised her virgin breasts. They poured out their lust upon her. The corrupt Oholah (Samaria) did not forsake her earlier harlotries when she took up with the Assyrians. She had committed spiritual adultery in Egypt. She had prostituted herself before Egyptian idols. Throughout her history she had continued to engage in those pagan cultic practices.

Samaria was fascinated by military powers and the gods worshiped by those powers. Punishment of the Harlotry (Ezekiel 23:9-10): Therefore, I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians upon whom she threw herself. (Ezekiel 23:10) They uncovered her nakedness. They took her sons and daughters, and slew her with the sword. She became a byword to women, for judgments were made against her. Because of her harlotries, Oholah (Samaria) was delivered by God into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians. What irony, to be destroyed by the nation that she counted on as lover, i.e., ally (Ezekiel 23:9).

The Assyrians stripped Oholah— ravished her land, removed her wealth. The sons and daughters of Samaria were carried away into captivity. Oholah herself was slain with the sword, i.e., Samaria was destroyed by military action. Oholah became a name— a byword or warning— to all other women (nations) who might contemplate unfaithfulness to the Lord. What happened to Samaria should have been a warning to Jerusalem (Ezekiel 23:10). ’ S Ezekiel 23:11-21 Her Harlotry with the Assyrians (Ezekiel 23:11-13): Her sister Oholibah saw this. She became corrupt in her doting more than she, and in harlotries more than the harlotries of her sister. (12) She threw herself upon the Assyrians. [They were] governors and rulers, warriors, clothed handsomely, horsemen riding horses, all of them handsome young men. (Ezekiel 23:13) I saw that she was defiled. They both went the same way. Oholibah (Jerusalem) learned nothing from the experience of her elder sister. She became yet more corrupt, adopting the same policy of political and religious flirtation with foreign powers, but intensifying it (Ezekiel 23:11). She too fell for the Assyrians with their handsomely clad officers and warriors (Ezekiel 23:12; cf.

Ezekiel 23:5-6). Whereas Judah derived much advantage from the alliance with Assyria, from the religious point of view, the association was disastrous. God saw immediately that Judah had defiled herself with the Mesopotamian practices. Both sisters— Samaria and Jerusalem— had pursued the same corrupt way (Ezekiel 23:13).

Her Lust for the Chaldeans (Ezekiel 23:14-16): She added to her harlotries; for she saw men depicted upon the wall. [She saw] the images of Chaldeans depicted in red color, (Ezekiel 23:15) girded with girdles upon their loins, with flowing turbans upon their heads, all of them with the appearance of captains, the likeness of the sons of Babylon, the Chaldeans, the land of their captivity. (Ezekiel 23:16) When she saw them, she threw herself upon them. She sent messengers to them to Chaldea. The harlotries— pagan practices— of Jerusalem were more extensive than those of Samaria. Oholibah saw paintings depicting the glories of a people who lived beyond Assyria. Oholibah’s lust for political liaison was kindled by the sight of the martial Chaldeans (Ezekiel 23:14) girded in native dress. The waist-belt and turban with dangling fillets was the garb that set the sons of Babylon apart as a distinct people in the ancient world (Ezekiel 23:15).

Oholibah (Jerusalem) was unable to resist the lure to associate with this strange and exotic people. She threw herself upon them by sending messengers there to negotiate the alliance (Exe 23:16). Her Harlotries with the Babylonians (Ezekiel 23:17-18): The Babylonians came to her to the bed of love. They defiled her with their harlotries. She was defiled by them. Then her soul was alienated from them. (Ezekiel 23:18) So she uncovered her harlotries. She uncovered her nakedness. Then my soul was alienated from her, as my soul was alienated from her sister.

The Babylonians were quick to take advantage of Judah’s thoughtless infatuation. They came to her into the bed of love, i.e., they entered eagerly into the alliance with Judah. The result was inevitable. Judah was further defiled by the Babylonian cults that were transplanted there. Eventually Judah felt revulsion at this alliance. She tried several times unsuccessfully to disengage herself from this entanglement.

One step remained before Oholibah (Jerusalem) reached the depth of corruption. In the process of trying to pry herself loose from the clutches of Babylon, Oholibah had uncovered her nakedness in an effort to attract other lovers who might rescue her. Such degrading national conduct was revolting to God. he now felt toward Judah the same antagonism that He had felt towards Samaria over a century earlier. He was alienated from his people (Ezekiel 23:18).

Further Harlotries (Ezekiel 23:19-21): Yet she multiplied her harlotries, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt. (Ezekiel 23:20) She threw herself upon their concubinage, whose flesh is as the flesh of donkeys, and whose sexual potency is like that of horses. (Ezekiel 23:21) So you relived the lewdness of your youth when in Egypt your breasts were bruised because of the breasts of your youth. Oholibah seemed undismayed at the accusation of God’s prophets that she was alienating herself from God. She multiplied her harlotries. Recalling her ancient association with Egypt, she made overtures in that direction (Ezekiel 23:19). To break her ties to Babylon, Oholibah threw herself upon their concubinage, i.e., Judah was willing to become one of the numerous vassal states of Egypt. The harlot Oholibah was attracted by the sexual potency of Egypt that is likened to that of a donkey or horse.

Flesh is a euphemism for male genitals (cf. NIV). Sexual potency refers to emission of semen. Oholibah was drawn toward bestiality! Ezekiel uses this astonishing figure to underscore the vulgarity of power politics (Ezekiel 23:20). Egyptian customs and cults long forgotten were called to remembrance.

Judah plunged headlong into spiritual harlotry and political alliance with their ancient enemy to the south (Ezekiel 23:21). ‘S Ezekiel 23:22-35 Ezekiel now utters four threats against Oholibah (Jerusalem). Each threat begins with thus says the Lord GOD. First Threat (Ezekiel 23:22-27) Coming of Babylon (Ezekiel 23:22-24) They come at God’s summons (Ezekiel 23:22): Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to stir up your lovers against you, those from whom your soul is alienated. I will bring them against you round about: As time went on, Judah became alienated from her lovers. She wished to be free of all foreign entanglements. But morally and spiritually the damage already had been done. Ironically, God will use Judah’ s lovers as the instrument by which to punish his people. They come a vast throng (Ezekiel 23:23): the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shea and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, governors and rulers all of them. [They are] captains and counselors, all of them riding upon horses. Ezekiel names the various racial and linguistic groups that made up the empire of Nebuchadnezzar. What a handsome sight that will be when those troops from far-off Mesopotamia come against Jerusalem! The description of the military personnel is virtually repeated from Ezekiel 23:6; Ezekiel 23:12. They come for war (Ezekiel 23:24 a): They will come against you with hosts, chariots, wheels, and with an assembly of peoples. With shield, buckler, and helmet they will set themselves against you round about. The host from Mesopotamia is armed to the teeth with the finest military equipment. This great force will be deployed against Jerusalem in siege operations. Ezekiel is underscoring Yahweh’s opposition to Israel’s involvement in the military culture of the day.

They come for judgment (Ezekiel 23:24 b): I will commit judgment to them. They will judge you according to their judgment. God had commissioned those troops to execute his judgment upon Jerusalem. They will fulfill that commission according to their judgment, i.e., in their own ruthless fashion. Deportation to Babylon(Ezekiel 23:25-27) Deported or killed (Ezekiel 23:25 a): I will set my jealousy against you. They will deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears. The rest of you will fall with the sword. They will take your sons and daughters. Yahweh is a jealous God.

He will not tolerate his people engaging in flirtations with other deities and trusting in human might. God will set his jealousy against Judah, i.e., he will bring divine retribution upon them. The I/they interchange underscores that God will use foreigners as the agents of his wrath. The attacking forces will deal ruthlessly with Jerusalem. The nose and ears of the adulterous Oholibah will be removed. The reference probably is to be taken figuratively of the execution or deportation of the leading citizens of the nation.

Other citizens will fall by the sword or be taken as slaves. Plundered and burned (Ezekiel 23:25-26): The rest of you will be consumed with fire. (Ezekiel 23:26) They will strip off your garments, and take away your fair jewels. The houses and property of the city will be put to the torch (Ezekiel 23:25) after being plundered (Ezekiel 23:26). Exposed and converted (Ezekiel 23:27): I will cause your lewdness to cease from you, and your Egyptian harlotry, so that you will not lift up your eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more. The fall of that nation and subsequent exile will cure the Jews of their lewdness, i.e., fascination with political power. Pagan practices learned in Egypt will be abandoned and forgotten. To lift up your eyes to them indicates trust and devotion. The expression is usually used of idols. Trusting in earthly powers is akin to idolatry. History records that God’ s judgment of Jerusalem did have this purging and purifying effect. Second Threat (Ezekiel 23:28-31) Announcement of doom (Ezekiel 23:28): For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold I am about to give you into the hand of the one you hate, into the hand of the one from whom your soul is alienated. The Jews will be delivered into the hand of their hated enemy, the Babylonians.Description of devastation (Ezekiel 23:29): They will deal with you in hatred. They will take away all your labor. They will leave you naked and bare. The nakedness of your harlotries will be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotries. The Babylonians will deal with the Jews in hatred.

They will take away all the labor, i.e., fruit of the labors, of the Jerusalemites. The land will be stripped of all its wealth and left naked and bare. By the drastic extremes of the punishment the magnitude of the harlotries of Jerusalem, i.e., idolatrous sins, will be revealed.

Explanation of disaster (Ezekiel 23:30-31): These things will be done to you because you have whored after nations, and because you were defiled by their idols. (Ezekiel 23:31) You walked in the way of your sister. Therefore, I will place her cup in your hand. Again the prophet pounds home his point that the judgment will fall upon Jerusalem because the Jews had entered into alliances with foreign nations instead of trusting in the Lord. Consequently they had been corrupted by the practices of these nations (Ezekiel 23:30). Oholibah (Jerusalem) had followed the example of her sister Oholah (Samaria). The bitter cup of divine judgment had been drunk by the northern kingdom in the days of the great Assyrian kings. Now that cup will pass into the hands of Judah (Ezekiel 23:31).

Third Threat (Ezekiel 23:32-34): Thus says the Lord GOD: You will drink the cup of your sister that is deep and large. It will be for scorn and derision. It is full to the uttermost. (Ezekiel 23:33) You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria. (Ezekiel 23:34) You will drink it, drain it, and gnaw its shards. You will tear your breasts, for I have spoken (oracle of the Lord GOD). The cup of judgment was deep, large and full to the brim with bitter brew. Consuming the contents of that cup of judgment will bring scorn and derision to Judah (Ezekiel 23:32).

The nation will manifest the characteristics of a drunken man (Ezekiel 23:33). The cup will be drained to the last drop. The vessel itself will be chewed up so that the beverage that had soaked into the pottery could be consumed. In drunken madness, the inebriated Oholibah will tear at her breasts in anguish. This figure conveys the thought that the complete measure of divine judgment must be endured (Ezekiel 23:34).

Fourth Threat (Ezekiel 23:35): Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have forgotten me, and cast me behind your back; therefore, bear also your lewdness and your harlotries. The fourth threat repeats the word therefore. The first therefore identifies the root cause of Jerusalem’s dalliance with power politics and the associated idolatry. Jerusalem had forgotten God. To cast me behind your back is a metaphor depicting a deliberate and violent act. To forget God is to deny his saving acts and to choose the path of trusting in self or others rather than in God. The second therefore indicates that such lewdness and harlotries (i.e., faithlessness exhibited on numerous occasions) must be punished. AND Ezekiel 23:36-49 Apostasy Literally Depicted (Ezekiel 23:36-39): The LORD said unto me, Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. (Ezekiel 23:37) For they have committed adultery. Blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery. Also their sons, whom they bore to me, they offered up to them to be devoured. (Ezekiel 23:38) This also they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day. They have profaned my sabbaths. (Ezekiel 23:39) For when they had slain their sons to their idols, then they came unto my sanctuary the same day to profane it.

Behold, thus they did in the midst of my house. To correctly judge the guilty sisters, Ezekiel must declare to them the abominations that they had committed (v 36). What a record! Adultery — both literal and spiritual — bloodshed, idolatry! Children who had been committed to God in the rite of circumcision were later set apart to be devoured by (i.e., sacrificed to) the god Molech (Ezekiel 23:37).

Such gross pagan rites were deliberately scheduled for a Sabbath (Ezekiel 23:38). Human sacrifice at the high place of Molech was followed by a trip to the temple of the Lord. Was this brazen hypocrisy, or evidence of seared conscience? In either case, their presence in the temple was an affront to God (Ezekiel 23:39). Apostasy Figuratively Depicted (Ezekiel 23:40-44) Pursuit of lovers (Ezekiel 23:40-41): Furthermore you have sent for men that come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent. Behold, they came, [these] for whom you washed, painted your eyes, and decked yourself with ornaments. (Ezekiel 23:41) You sat upon a stately bed, with a table arranged before it, upon which you set my incense and my oil. . Judah actively pursued idolatry. Messengers were sent to far places to invite idolaters to come and teach them pagan rites. Like a harlot attempting to lure men into her house, Judah prepared for her lovers. She washed herself, put make-up about her eyes, and bedecked herself with ornaments (Ezekiel 23:40).

The harlot sat on a beautiful bed or couch at a sumptuous table. It was the custom at meals to burn incense and to rub oneself with scented oils after the meal. The adulterous Judah took the luxuries that God had bestowed on her and used them to advance the cause of idolatry (Ezekiel 23:41).

Pagan revelry (Ezekiel 23:42): The voice of a multitude at ease was in it. With men of the common sort were brought drunkards from the wilderness. They put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads. Sounds of careless revelry were heard in Jerusalem. Thus were alliances formed with various nations, even with common men and drunkards from the wilderness, i.e., men of the most degraded type. With bracelets and crowns, Oholibah sought to attract these worthless neighbors.

Tireless involvement (Ezekiel 23:43-44): Then I said to her worn out by adulteries: Still they commit harlotries with her, even her. (Ezekiel 23:44) For one went in unto her as one goes unto a harlot. So they went in unto Oholah and unto Oholibah, the lewd women. The two nations (Judah and Israel) never seemed to tire of this profligacy. They persisted in their imported idolatries (Ezekiel 23:43). The immoral sisters had relations with any idolatrous cult that made any effort to enter the country. Oholah and Oholibah became like a harlot who is indiscriminate in her immoral conduct (Ezekiel 23:44). Judgment Figuratively Depicted (Ezekiel 23:45-49) Nature of the judgment (Ezekiel 23:45): But righteous men will judge them with the judgment of women who commit adultery, and with the judgment of those who shed blood; for they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands. Compared to Jerusalem and Samaria, the Babylonians and Assyrians were righteous men. These “ righteous men” were God’ s appointed judges over the adulterous sisters. Oholah and Oholibah were adulteresses and murderesses. They were to be judged accordingly. The blood that stained the hands of the sisters was mainly that of innocent children slain in pagan rites. Execution of the judgment (Ezekiel 23:46-47): For thus says the Lord GOD: An assembly will be brought up against them. They will be made a horror and a spoil. (Ezekiel 23:47) The assembly will stone them with stones. They will be cut down by their swords. Their sons and their daughters they will slay. They will burn their houses. God was about to bring a great assembly of nations against Jerusalem. The holy city will be treated so mercilessly that it will become an object of horror and spoliation (Ezekiel 23:46). As under the law of Moses, the adulteress (Jerusalem) will be stoned (cf. Deuteronomy 13:10). The sons and daughters of Jerusalem will be thrust through with swords. The houses of the city will be burned (Ezekiel 23:47). Purpose of the Judgment (Ezekiel 23:48-49) A fourfold purpose in God’s judgment is indicated in Ezekiel 23:48­-49.

1. Lewdness to cease (Ezekiel 23:48 a): I will cause lewdness to cease from the land… Judgment will bring an end to lewdness (idolatry) in the Promised Land.
2. Others are warned (Ezekiel 23:48 b): that all the women might be taught that they might not do according to your lewdness. Other women (surrounding nations) will take warning from the fate of Oholibah.
3. Idolatry recompensed (Ezekiel 23:49 a): Your lewdness will be placed upon you. You will bear the sins of your idols. It was necessary that Jerusalem received the recompense for her idolatrous harlotry.
4. Knowledge increased (Ezekiel 23:49 b): You will know that I am the Lord GOD. Finally, God must execute this punishment in order to bring his people into a proper knowledge of himself.Ezekiel Chapter Twenty-ThreeVerse 1 OF OHOLAH AND ; SAMARIA AND Several of the authors whose works we have consulted with reference to this chapter have called the language of it repulsive, erotic, crude, indelicate and disgusting. We do not agree with such an attack. Our society has almost removed the common words for sin from their vocabulary. The prodigal waster refers to himself as “generous,” or “liberal.” The stingy miser thinks of himself as “thrifty.” The drunkard parades as “sociable,” or as an innocent sufferer from “alcoholism.” The adulterers like to appear as, “modern,” or subscribers to the “new morality.” Homosexuals call themselves “gay”; but God’s Word indulges no such euphemisms. Sins are described in brutal language that refers to them in terms of what they actually are. “Ezekiel selected the marriage metaphor here (we believe the selection was God’s choice, not Ezekiel’s) for the purpose of showing in a glaring light the full horror of the people’s disloyalty."[1] “It should be remembered that Ezekiel is here using the normal thought forms of his day to convey weighty teachings from God regarding the ways of men."[2]“The adultery in this chapter symbolizes primarily the foreign alliances with pagan nations (which indeed always involved the acknowledgement of the gods of the allied nations)."[3] Since the worship of those evil pagan gods was depraved and licentious almost beyond imagination, the representation of God’s Chosen People here under the figure of two sisters, insatiable in their lewdness, must be accepted as authentic and appropriate. It is a bit shocking that Samaria is presented here as the older of the two sisters, since historically, this is incorrect. “What seems to be meant is that the Northern kingdom was larger and more powerful than the southern kingdom.[4]Ezekiel 23:1-5“The word of Jehovah came again unto me, saying, Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: and they played the harlot in Egypt; they played the harlot in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there was handled the bosom of their virginity. And the names of them were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister; And they became mine, and they bare sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.““The daughters of one mother ..” (Ezekiel 23:2). Both were of the posterity of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “They played the harlot in Egypt …” (Ezekiel 23:3). The only proof of this needed is Genesis 32, where is recorded the apostasy of Israel in the matter of the Golden Calf, a development of just a little over a month during Moses’ absence. The cooperation of the people in giving their gold for the making of this copy of an Egyptian God, and the wholesale adultery and fornication with which it was “worshipped” dramatically demonstrate that all Israel were without doubt habitual practitioners of such licentious “worship.” Where? In Egypt, of course. Also, see Joshua 24:14. “Oholah and Oholibah …” (Ezekiel 23:4). “The names of these two sisters are not identical in meaning, despite the claims of some to that effect. Oholah signifies her tent'; and Oholibah signifies my tent is in her."[5] Thus these names indicate that God never approved or recognized the worship of the Northern Israel which Jeroboam I instituted following the rebellion of the Ten Tribes against the House of David.

As Plumptre wrote, “The distinctive element in both of these names is that the worship in Samaria was not authorized by God."[6]“They became mine …” (Ezekiel 23:4). This is the formal statement of God that he indeed accepted racial Israel as his wife, or “bride.” God knew, of course, about the adulterous tendencies of his people, nevertheless he consented to become their husband. Verse 6 “And Oholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, the Assyrians her neighbors, who were clothed with blue, governors and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. And she bestowed her whoredoms upon them, the choicest men of Assyria, all of them; and upon whomsoever she doted, with all their idols she defiled herself. Neither hath she left her whoredoms since the days of Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they handled the bosom of her virginity.; and they poured out their whoredoms upon her. Wherefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. These uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters; and her they slew with the sword: and she became a byword among women; for they executed judgment upon her.“That Oholah should be judged and executed by her lovers verified one of the strange mysteries of wickedness, the classical example of which is that of Amnon (2 Samuel 13), who forced his sister Tamar. Afterward, the Scriptures record that, “Then Amnon hated Tamar with exceeding great hatred; for the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her (2 Samuel 13:15 ff).” “Assyrians, clothed with blue, governors and rulers, all desirable young men …” (Ezekiel 23:6). “This verse indicates symbolically the embracing of all of Assyria’s pagan gods. Oholah, true to her corrupt self, merely superimposed upon the ancient pagan gods of Egypt, the gods of Assyria, producing a syncretistic blend of pagan worship."[7] The most shameful thing of all was that Jehovah was also called upon, right along with the whole pantheon of pagan deities. The temptation to Israel lay in this: they were terrified by the universal reputation of the terrible Assyrians, known throughout all the world of that period as, The Breakers. “The paramour here, on whose account Israel forsook her God, is Assyria itself, not Assyria’s gods, although, no doubt, through fear of the people, Israel endeavored to make friends of the gods also. Thus the `adultery’ here was not so much religious as political."[8] We agree that the text here clearly indicates that Israel, although terrified by Assyria, nevertheless admired the beauty of the young men in the armies of their enemies, and also lusted after them. This did not justify their actions, but it affords an explanation of what they did. Keil also noted that, it was Israel’s efforts to avoid damage to themselves that motivated their efforts to form alliances with powerful nations.[9] Also, had not Israel’s most glorious king, Solomon himself, done exactly the same thing in his seven hundred marriages with foreign wives, and his honoring all of their gods with special shrines, high places, and other considerations? The result of Israel’s disobedience in this matter, contrary to the admonition of all of her holy prophets, was not their protection at all, but their ultimate destruction as a nation, the sack of their capital city Samaria, and the deportation to Assyria of many thousands of the people. It is simply amazing that Judah apparently never learned anything from the experience of her sinful sister Oholah. Verse 11 “And her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt in her doing than she, and in her whoredoms which were more than the whoredoms of her sister. She doted upon the Assyrians, governors and rulers, her neighbors, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. And I saw that she was defiled; they both took one way, And she increased her whoredoms; for she saw them portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, with flowing turbans upon their heads, all of them princes to look upon, after the likeness of the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their nativity. And as soon as she saw them she doted upon them, and they defiled her in their whoredom, and sent messengers unto them in Chaldea. And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her soul was alienated from them. So she uncovered her whoredoms, and uncovered her nakedness: then my soul was alienated from her, like as my soul was alienated from her sister.

Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, remembering the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in the handling of thy bosom by the Egyptians for the breasts of thy youth.““Clothed most gorgeously …” (Ezekiel 23:12). “The word here means `perfection,’ and the thought intended is, perfect beauty of clothing."[10]Ezekiel 23:12-13 stress the attractiveness of the clothing and appearance of Assyrian and Chaldean cavalry. “Chaldeans, as used later in the paragraph is a symbol for Babylonians."[11]“Men portrayed upon the wall in vermilion …” (Ezekiel 23:14). “This is illustrated by mural paintings recovered from Mesopotamia."[12] Also, “Sculpture brought by Layard from Nineveh, display all of the magnificence of Oriental finery."[13]These things suggest that it was the superior culture of the Assyrians and Babylonians which constituted the chief allurements to the people of God.

Inferior cultures have always been attracted and, in a sense, seduced by the luxuries, etc. of the superior culture. We should not be confused by the mention of both the Assyrians and the Chaldeans alike here as the paramour of Oholibah. Judah was “seduced” by both countries. They became tributary to Nebuchadnezzar when Jehoiachim was elevated to the kingship; he rebelled, seeking the friendship of Egypt; Nebuchadnezzar conquered the city, carried Jehoiachin to Babylon, and installed Zedekiah as his vassal; Zedekiah rebelled, seeking friendship and protection from Egypt; and that led to the final destruction of the City and the Temple! The vacillation and fickleness of Judah was a conspicuous element in all such changes “She … sent messengers unto them into Chaldea …” (Ezekiel 23:16). “This refers to the act of Ahaz (2 Kings 16:7)."[14]“Then my soul was alienated from her …” (Ezekiel 23:18). God became disgusted with Oholibah (Jerusalem) because, “The love of Oholibah was not for her husband (God Himself), but for a multitude of paramours whom she received without discretion or shame. This syncretism in politics led to the tragedy of moral deterioration and spiritual decay."[15]Thus it came to pass that, “Having forsaken God for what she vainly thought was her self-interest, and having abandoned reliance upon Him, Judah came to experience the bitterness of God’s alienation from her."[16]“Remembering the days of her youth … in Egypt …” (Ezekiel 23:19). Here is an unmistakable reference to adultery and sexual immorality in its unalloyed identification with the lusts of the flesh. In Egypt, there were no political alliances which Israel either would have or could have made. We find no excuse whatever for denying the plain, vulgar, and ordinary meaning of what is said here. Furthermore, where the sexual activity of horses and asses is brought forward in the following verse, we have the full confirmation of this view. “Whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses …” (Ezekiel 23:20). “The reference here is to the ‘membrum virile’ (very large in the ass)."[17]The spectacular and sensational sexual behavior of these animals made an appropriate illustration of the gross immorality of Judah. The scriptures have a number of references to this in Hosea 8:9; Jeremiah 2:24; Jeremiah 13:27, etc. Many translations and versions have softened the words to the extent of obscuring their meaning altogether. Perhaps Alexander has done the best job of providing an inoffensive, yet clear, translation of the passage, thus: “Whose genitals were like those of donkeys, and whose emissions were like that of horses."[18]Verse 22 “Therefore, O Oholibah, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side. The Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; desirable young men, governors and rulers all of them, princes and men of renown, all of them riding upon horses. And they shall come against thee with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with a company of peoples; and they shall set themselves against thee with buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will commit the judgment unto them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments. And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal with thee in fury; and they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy residue shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire. They shall also strip thee of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels. Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredoms brought from the land fo Egypt; so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.“Thompson noted, “This section (Ezekiel 23:23-35) consists of four oracles, each of them beginning with the formula, `Thus saith the Lord.’ (Ezekiel 23:22; Ezekiel 23:28; Ezekiel 23:32; Ezekiel 23:35). The first, second, and last of these have a certain amount of language in common; but the third is in a class by itself and consists of a poem about the cup of judgment."[19]“Pekod, Shoa, and Koa …” (Ezekiel 23:23). “These were part of the Babylonian homeland."[20] The particular area where these peoples lived is supposed to have been east of the Tigris river. “They shall take away thy nose and thine ears …” (Ezekiel 23:25). This is an explanation of what had just been said, namely, that God would commit the judgment of Judah to her enemies, allowing them to judge Judah by their laws, not the laws of God. “This horrible punishment was not allowed under God’s law, but in Mesopotamia it was the frequent punishment of unfaithful wives."[21]The rest of the horrible Oriental law was that the children of those thus humiliated were sold as slaves; all their property was burnt, and their clothes and their jewels became the perquisites of the executioners. The mutilated woman was left to lie naked, for anyone who wished to satisfy his lust upon her. And an Egyptian law prescribed precisely this punishment for an adulteress. Verse 28 “For thus saith the Lord Jehovah; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy soul is alienated; and they shall deal with thee in hatred, and shall take away all thy labor, and shall leave thee naked and bare; and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be uncovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. These things shall be done unto thee, for thou hast played the harlot after the nations, and because thou art polluted with their idols. Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thy hand.““All of these things shall be done unto thee, for thou hast just played the harlot after the nations …” (Ezekiel 23:30). The complete understanding of what God meant in this chapter is here cleared up. “The allegorical picture-language is omitted. Not lovers, but nations are referred to, with whom Israel has played the whore."[22] But in the very same verse the second reason for Judah’s punishment was given. Let it be remembered that this is in addition to the first reason: “And because thou art polluted with their idols”!

So, it was actually whoredom, after all, namely, shameless indulgence in the wholesale immorality of the religious licentious of the pagan idols that was also a vital element in precipitating the terrible punishment that fell upon the people of God. This fact makes the meaning and fully justifies the repulsive terminology employed in the presentation of this remarkable allegory. To speak of Judah’s sin here as “nothing more than the seeking of political alliances” is to miss the point altogether. Verse 32 There are extensive references to the “cup of the wrath of Jehovah” in the Bible. See Jeremiah 25:15-29; Jeremiah 49:12-13; Jeremiah 51:6-7; Isaiah 51:17-23; Isaiah 56:12; Zechariah 12:2; Habakkuk 2:16; Psalms 11:6; Psalms 75:8; and Revelation 14:20. Also see our comments on most of these passages, except the ones in Psalms. Verse 35 “Therefore, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. So Jehovah said moreover unto me: Son of man, wilt thou judge Oholah and Oholibah? then declare unto them their abominations. For they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery; and they have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass through the fire unto them to be devoured. Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, this they have done in the midst of my house. And furthermore ye have sent for men that come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent, and, lo, they came; for whom thou didst wash thyself, paint thine eyes, and deck thyself with ornaments, and sit upon a stately bed, with a table prepared before it, whereupon thou didst set mine incense and mine oil.

And the voice of a multitude at ease was with her: and with men of the common sort were brought drunkards from the wilderness; and they put bracelets upon the hands of them twain, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.““Thou hast forgotten me …” (Ezekiel 23:35). Add this to the other reasons God here outlined as the basis of Jerusalem’s destruction. (1) They made forbidden political alliances with the nations; (2) they were polluted morally through the idols of the nations with their licentious worship; and (3) they had forgotten God! Thus, they violated the great imperative of the Law of Moses, thundered in the ears of Israel no less than four times, “See that thou forget not the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 8:11). This was the ultimate disaster and the reason for all of Israel’s other sins. “They have caused their sons to pass through the fire …” (Ezekiel 23:37). This atrocious worship of Molech was a result of shameless unfaithfulness of God’s people, who, in this despicable action, fell as completely into paganism as was possible. Furthermore, as revealed in the same chapter, they had the audacity to enter into God’s temple on the very same day, thus aggravating their guilt. God’s house, his ordinances and his statutes, including even the sabbath, were totally ignored, despised, and profaned. “With men of the common sort were brought drunkards of the wilderness …” (Ezekiel 23:42). “These refer to Israel’s new neighbors, Arabs, Moabites, Tyre, Sidon, etc."[23]The extent of Judah’s whoredom is emphasized in this reference to her courting with all the ardor of an insatiable prostitute these comparatively insignificant nations, as compared with the Assyrians, Egypt, and the Babylonians. Yes, this is speaking of Judah’s seeking an alliance with these very peoples (See Jeremiah 27:3 f). The relative of value of these “powers” in world politics is evident in their comparison with “men of the common sort, and drunkards from the wilderness”! Judah would have made an alliance with anyone. Verse 43 “Then said I of her who is old in adulteries. Now will they play the harlot with her? and she with them? And they went in unto her, as they go in unto a harlot: so went they in unto Oholab, and unto Oholibah, the lewd women. And the righteous men, they shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and with the judgment of women who shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will bring up a company against them, and will give them to be tossed to and fro and robbed. And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.

Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols; and ye shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah.““The righteous men, they will judge them …” (Ezekiel 23:45). “We need not look for righteous men here."[24] The evil men who “judged” Judah were righteous only in the understanding that the sentence which they carried out against her was just and fully in keeping with the Word of God. Thus ends the tragic allegory of Oholah and Oholibah. A summary of why they deserved the awful fate which they endured must be understood as (1) their forgetting God and relying upon alliances with evil nations for their protection, (2) forgetting God and wallowing in the sensuous debaucheries connected with their shameless worshipping the pagan fertility gods, resulting in the total wreck of the nation’s morality, and (3) forgetting God and the profaning of his sanctuary, his sabbaths, and their whole land, along with their forsaking all of his holy commandments and ordinances. They were indeed ruined morally, socially, religiously, and militarily. Israel as a separate people were no longer of any value whatever to their God as a witness to the pagan nations concerning the true God and his will for mankind. There was absolutely nothing left for God to do, except to destroy them, as God had once destroyed all mankind in the Great Deluge, and to begin over again with that “righteous remnant” which would result from the terrible discipline of the captivity.

Ezekiel 23:1-2

Ezekiel 23:1-2. This entire chapter is on the subject of spiritual adultery which always means Idolatry in the Old Testament. The figures and other terms will be directly those pertaining to the unfaithfulness of women in the marriage relation, but. I am anxious that the reader always bear in mind that the real subject is idolatry. After all, the comparison is wholly fitting. When a woman becomes the wife of a certain man she cannot share her affections, either mentally or bodily, with any other man without being guilty of adultery against her husband.

Likewise, when a man or group of men profess to have become united with God in their religious life, they have no right to patronize any other god or participate in any strange religious activities. If they do so they are guilty of spiritual adultery. So let me once more caution the reader not to get lost to the real subject as he sees the detailed picture of immoral conduct presented in this chapter. The women are the kingdom of Israel and Judah.

Ezekiel 23:3

Ezekiel 23:3. Committed whoredoms in Egypt, The two separate kingdoms had not come into existence when the children of Israel were living in Egypt and did not tor a number of years. But these people were infected with the disease while there and participated in the unrighteous conduct. Its effect upon them was indicated by their making the golden calf in less than three months after leaving the land. The expressions In this verse refer to the unlawful intimacies permitted by an unfaithful wife preparatory to the act of adultery.

Ezekiel 23:4

Ezekiel 23:4. We are given the names of the two women involved in the unholy case at hand. Samaria and Jerusalem are named because they were the capitals of the two kingdoms. Aholah is called the eider because the 10-tribe kingdom was formed first, it being the one that revolted from the lawful standard in. Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 23:5

Ezekiel 23:5. When she teas mine. Immorality is wrong in any woman, but it is worse when she commits it against, a man to whom she has been united in the lawful relationship. The Assyrians are named because at the time the 10-tribe kingdom was practicing her unfaithfulness (idolatry) the territory under consideration was under the control of that empire.

Ezekiel 23:6

Ezekiel 23:6. Aholah was attracted by the fine appearance of the men in the strangers’ camp. Many a wife has been lured away from her husband by the showy appearance of another man.

Ezekiel 23:7

Ezekiel 23:7. The prophet combines the spiritual with the literal corruption in this verse. He accuses Aholah of whoredom with the Assyrians, and immediately says it was with all their idols she defiled herself. (See the comments at verses 1, 2.)

Ezekiel 23:8

Ezekiel 23:8. Neither left she means she had never left off the abominable practices she had learned in Egypt. Thus this unfaithful wife did not stop at the unlawful intimacies with one man, but took in others and so multiplied her pollutions.

Ezekiel 23:9

Ezekiel 23:9. This verse refers to the captivity of the 10-tribe kingdom by the Assyrian Empire. The account of this is in 2 Kings 17 tb chapter.

Ezekiel 23:10

Ezekiel 23:10. Aholah had doted on the Assyrians which means she had encouraged them to make ‘ ‘advances” toward her. Following the encouragement they discovered her nakedness which means they “ went all the way” and had unlawful intimacies with her. After satisfying their lust on her they took her children from her and also slew her with the sword. Literally tills means the Assyrians slew the leading men in the 10-tribe kingdom and took the other citizens into exile. She became famous means she became a conspicuous person by reason of her notorious conduct In the language of the world on such a subject she became known and was familiarly referred to as a “ character” and was mentioned with a shrugging of the shoulders.

Ezekiel 23:11

Ezekiel 23:11. This verse does not mean that Aholibah (Judah) actually committed more idolatry than did her sister, for such was not the case. Every king of the 10-tribe kingdom without exception was an idolater and encour-aged it among his subjects. But Judah bad a number of faithful kings who tried to stem the tide of corruption. The contrast Is made on the basis of the superior advantages that Judah had over Israel. With increased advantages or opportunities come greater responsibilities.

Judah had the bad exampie of Israel and its results before her eyes and should have profited by it Besides, she had possession of the temple and the lawful priesthood to strengthen her and that should have bound her closer to the Liord in a faithful life. But she seemed to overlook all these factors and committed the abomination of false worship. That is why it is said that she became more corrupt.

Ezekiel 23:12

Ezekiel 23:12. No doubt the people of Judah were interested in the gods of the Assyrians, but it was the Babylonians (or Chaldeans) that had to do with the chastisement of the unfaithful nation. However, at the time of which Ezekiel was writing the country called Babylon was under the control of Assyria and that is why it is said she doted upon the Assyrians. The attractions described are the same as were explained in verse 6.

Ezekiel 23:13

Ezekiel 23:13. Took both one way means Aholibah followed in the same way that was practiced by her sister Aholah,

Ezekiel 23:14

Ezekiel 23:14, Increased her whoredoms is explained at verse 11 in the light of the degree of responsibility. Chaldeans (or Babylonians) are mentioned because at tbe time Judah reached her crisis that empire was actually in power.

Ezekiel 23:15

Ezekiel 23:15, The attractiveness of men lured her away from devotion to her husband, in the same way that her sister had been enticed as per verse 6.

Ezekiel 23:16

Ezekiel 23:16. Doted upon them means she gave improper encouragement to them as her sister had done according to verse 5. She even became the aggressor and sent messengers to them with “suggestions.”

Ezekiel 23:17

Ezekiel 23:17. Such an attitude would be sure to interest men already disposed toward such indulgencies. They accepted the invitation and came to her and committed adultery with her. In actual practice it means the heathen nations would be glad t.o ,ioin with the people of Palestine in idolatrous practices.

Ezekiel 23:18

Ezekiel 23:18. Discovered her nakedness means she voluntarily assumed the position necessary for the act of adultery. Mind was alienated has the same meaning that is contained in cases where a husband charges a man with “alienating the affections of his wife.” Idols had alienated the mind of Judah away from the true love for God.

Ezekiel 23:19

Ezekiel 23:19. Some women will recall with shame their “youthful follies” and will try to make amends by a virtuous life in later years. But this wife recalled with pleasure those disgraceful years and sought to repeat them.

Ezekiel 23:20

Ezekiel 23:20. A paramour is an unlawful lover which is here applied to the false gods of heathendom. The terms about flesh and issue are used to picture a woman who is so lustful that the more beastlike a man la the more she would crave his advances.

Ezekiel 23:21

Ezekiel 23:21. This verse repeats the thoughts of earlier verses, referring to the unlawful intimacies permitted by a young wife to strange men.

Ezekiel 23:22

Ezekiel 23:22. Sometimes a corrupt woman will tire of her paramours and will “break” with them (from whom thy mind, is alienated). But they cannot always be east off so easily and will come back to cause trouble for the woman. Likewise, there came a time when Judah would fain have remained distinct from Babylon, But the Lord determined that she must continue her idolatrous practices with that heathen group, even doing so after being taken into their land for a period of exile.

Ezekiel 23:23

Ezekiel 23:23. This verse gives a list of the heathen peoples with whom Judah had committed idolatry (spiritual adultery) at one time or another. Most of them had been swallowed op by the great Babylonian Empire at the time of Judah’ s captivity.

Ezekiel 23:24

Ezekiel 23:24. This is a literal prediction of the siege that the Babylonians planted about Jerusalem. Chariots and wagons are vehicles used for conveyances of men and materials in military operations. Wheels is from a word that indicates something very impressive because of its size, and somewhat like a whirlwind in its encircling formation. The other articles named are those used by soldiers in a siege or other war activities.

Ezekiel 23:25

Ezekiel 23:25. When God’ B jealousy is mentioned we are reminded of Exo 20:5 where the subject is idolatry. That is the subject of this present chapter, described and condemned in the form of adultery, This verse predicts the severe treatment that Jeru-salem is to receive from the Babylonians in the last stage of the 70-year captivity, including a bitter siege of more than two years.

Ezekiel 23:26

Ezekiel 23:26. In line with an unfaithful wife that plays the part of a harlot, she is represented as having attired herself with gaudy and attractive garments as a lure for men. This verse shows that she will be stripped of those garments by these men.

Ezekiel 23:27

Ezekiel 23:27. Make thy lewdness to cease. Since idolatry is the real subject of all these comparisons, this expression is a prediction of the cure from idolatry that will result by cast-ing his wife (Judah) into the hands of her evil associates. This prediction was fulfilled according to the historical quotation given in connection with Isaiah 1:25 in volume 3 of this Commentary.

Ezekiel 23:28

Ezekiel 23:28. Whom thou hatest is to be understood in the same sense as mind is alienated, that was explained at verse 22.

Ezekiel 23:29

Ezekiel 23:29. Men will sometimes tire of the very woman who has catered to their lusts, then they will “ turn on her” and mistreat, her with a vengeance. Likewise, the very heathen with whom Judah had played the harlot (idolatry) were to be given possession of her and they were to hold her as a captive for 70 years.

Ezekiel 23:30

Ezekiel 23:30. All these calamites were to come upon Judah as a punishment for her unfaithfulness to her husband who was the Lord.

Ezekiel 23:31

Ezekiel 23:31. Give her cup means that Judah was to receive the same cup or punishment as Israel and that was to be captivity. This was just, since she had taken up the same walk of life as that followed by her sister Israel.

Ezekiel 23:32

Ezekiel 23:32. Deep and large and it con- taineth much is used by way of emphasizing the statements of the preceding verse. The emphasis is certainly appropriate, for the subjugation of an established kingdom and the transferring of its population into a foreign iand would be a very great humiliation and cause much comment.

Ezekiel 23:33

Ezekiel 23:33. Drunkenness is figurative and means they would be overwhelmed with humiliation and sorrow, even as the sister (Israel) had been a century before.

Ezekiel 23:34

Ezekiel 23:34. The language is still figurative, using a cup as the basis of the figure. With that form of imagery in view, the emphasis is expressed by representing them as being so greedy that they crush the cup by their action. Pluck off breasts indicates a gesture of despair by snatching at their breasts. Such a movement was an ancient custom used in times of great sorrow or astonishment. (See Luke 18:13; Luke 23:48.)

Ezekiel 23:35

Ezekiel 23:35. When God’ s servants turn to other persons or objects with their devotions it is because they have forgotten Him. Jesus taught this truth in Matthew 6:24. Bear thy lewdness has a twofold bearing. One is that they would have to bear the punishment due their sins, and the other is they would have Lo continue their lewdness which was idolatry, for they actually did have to continue that in the captivity.

Ezekiel 23:36

Ezekiel 23:36. Wilt thou judge is in the form of a question, but it really is an order from the Lord to judge the two women. The prophet was to charge them with the abominations they had committed against Him,

Ezekiel 23:37

Ezekiel 23:37. This verse combines the figurative with the literal terms for the same abomination. It explains the adultery of these women (Aholah and Ahohbah; Samaria and Jerusalem) to be the practice of idolatry. They carried the service to the extent of offering their own children in sacrifice to the idols.

Ezekiel 23:38

Ezekiel 23:38. These wicked women went so far as to bring their immoral practice into the house provided by their husband, which is the meaning of the phrase defiled my sanctuary, for that was the house provided to shelter the sacred furniture.

Ezekiel 23:39

Ezekiel 23:39, These women are still being regarded as unfaithful wives, though this verse drops the figures and states the literal facts. The people of God actually made sacrifices of their children, and also set up idols in the temple.

Ezekiel 23:40

Ezekiel 23:40, These unfaithful wives were worse than the usual cases, for they even sent messengers to strange men to solicit their intimacies. This item is commented upon more fully at verse 16. When the men answered the invitation with their presence they found (he women adorned with the “ make-up” of impure characters.

Ezekiel 23:41

Ezekiel 23:41, After decorating their bodies in a suggestive manner, the men found them occupying a stately bed, one that belonged properly to the use of persons of special honor, there to receive the embraces of these strange men. Near the bed was a table on which were the materials with which they could refresh themselves at intervals with their unlawful intimacies with these wives of another person.

Ezekiel 23:42

Ezekiel 23:42. So inordinate were Aholah and Akolibah that they accepted men of both high and low rank. In order to give themselves an appearance of dignity, these men adorned themselves with hand decorations, and for the appearance of royal standing they wore crowns on their heads.

Ezekiel 23:43

Ezekiel 23:43. Men who are intent on full gratification of their lusts do not generally care for a worn out and old woman. These wives of the Lord were old at that business, hence He asks if these men will be satisfied with them.

Ezekiel 23:44

Ezekiel 23:44. A woman that playeth the harlot is usually one who is attractive from the standpoint of youth and who has plenty of sex appeal. These women had so adorned themselves that they made so great and favorable an appearance as to lure the men on. Consequently they went in unto them and committed adultery.

Ezekiel 23:45

Ezekiel 23:45. These women were guilty of spiritual adultery (idolatry) and of literal bloodshed. Hence righteous men were to judge them according to their just deserts. This does not mean the men would be righteous as to their personal character, but in executing God’ s judgment against the women they would be doing right.

Ezekiel 23:46

Ezekiel 23:46. This verse is an explanation of the preceding one. God was to use a foreign group to bring the unfaithful kingdoms into judgment and take them Into exile.

Ezekiel 23:47

Ezekiel 23:47. The things predicted here actually came to pass according to the historical account, given in 2 Kings 25 th chapter.

Ezekiel 23:48

Ezekiel 23:48. Cause lewdness to reuse is a prediction in figurative form that God’s people would be cured of idolatry by the captivity. See the historical fulfillment of it at Isaiah 1:25. volume 3 of this Commentary.

Ezekiel 23:49

Ezekiel 23:49. The figurative and literal terms for the same thing are again used in this verse. Lewdness means the same as idols and the unfaithful people of the Lord were to bear the sins, which means they were to bear the punishment due their sins.