Ezekiel 23:36-49

E. Further Indictment of the Two Sisters 23:36-49

TRANSLATION

(36) And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. (37) For they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands, and with their idols they have committed adultery; and also their sons whom they bore to Me they offered up to them to be devoured. (38) This also they have done unto Me: they have defiled My sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned My sabbaths. (39) For when they had slain their sons to their idols, then they came unto My sanctuary the same day to profane it; and, behold, thus they did in the midst of My house. (40) And furthermore you have sent for men that come from afar; to whom a messenger was sent, and behold they came; for whom you washed, painted your eyes, and you decked yourself with ornaments; (41) and you sat upon a stately bed, with a table arranged before it, upon which you set My incense and My oil. (42) And the voice of a multitude at ease was in it; and with men of the common sort were brought drunkards from the wilderness, and they put bracelets upon their hands and beautiful crowns upon their heads. (43) Then I said to her worn out by adulteries: Still they commit harlotries with her, even her. (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. (45) But righteous men, they shall 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. (46) For thus says the Lord GOD: An assembly shall be brought up against them, and they shall be made a horror and a spoil. (47) And the assembly shall stone them with stones, and they shall be cut down by their swords; their sons and their daughters they shall slay, and burn their houses. (48) And I will cause lewdness to cease from the land, that all the women might be taught that they might not do according to your lewdness. (49) And your lewdness shall be placed upon you, and you shall bear the sins of your idols; and you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

COMMENTS

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, bedecked herself with ornaments (Ezekiel 23:40), and then sat on a beautiful bed or couch[362] 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 which God had bestowed on her and used those luxuries to advance the cause of idolatry (Ezekiel 23:41). 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 (Ezekiel 23:42).

[362] The allusion is to the ancient custom of reclining on couches during a meal.

To correctly judge the guilty sisters, Ezekiel must declare to them the abominations which they had committed (Ezekiel 23:36). 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 day (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).

The two nations 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 which made any effort to enter the country. Oholah and Oholibah became like a harlot who is indiscriminate in her immoral conduct (Ezekiel 23:44). 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 and were to be judged accordingly. The blood which stained the hands of the sisters was mainly that of innocent children slain in pagan rites (Ezekiel 23:45).

God was about to bring a great assembly of nations against Jerusalem. The holy city would be treated so mercilessly that it would become an object of horror and spoilation (Ezekiel 23:46). As under the Law of Moses, the adulteress (Jerusalem) would be stoned (cf. Deuteronomy 13:10). The sons and daughters of Jerusalem would be thrust through with swords, and the houses of the city would be burned (Ezekiel 23:47). This drastic action would bring an end to national lewdness (idolatry). Other women (surrounding nations) would take warning from the fate of Oholibah (Ezekiel 23:48) when Jerusalem received the recompense for her idolatrous harlotry (Ezekiel 23:49).