EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 23:1-49
Ezekiel: ‘They shall know that I am God’
The *Sin of Judah and the Judgement of God
Ezekiel Chapter s 1 to 24
Ian Mackervoy
Chapter 23
The *Lord had made special promises to *Israel. Those promises were like the marriage promises that a man makes to his wife. When *Israel divided into two *kingdoms, both parts had that special relationship with the *Lord. But neither part stayed loyal to the *Lord. So the *Lord said that they were like *prostitutes. Their *sins had continued for a long time. And they could not avoid punishment.
The two *prostitutes – Ezekiel 23:1-49
(1) Two sisters – Ezekiel 23:1-4
v1 The *LORD spoke to me again. v2 ‘*Son of man, there were two women. They were daughters of the same mother. v3 While they were young, they became *prostitutes in Egypt. They let men touch and hold their breasts. v4 The older girl was called Oholah, and her sister was called Oholibah. They were mine and they had sons and daughters. Oholah means Samaria, and Oholibah means Jerusalem.’
Verses 1-4 This is the story of two sisters. They had the same mother. The mother means the one nation called *Israel. This nation divided into two. 10 of the 12 *tribes became *Israel, with Samaria as their chief city. The other two *tribes became Judah, with Jerusalem as their chief city. They were one nation in Egypt and until the time of King Solomon.
Even in Egypt, they were not loyal to the *Lord. It was as if they had sex with the gods of Egypt. This story is a picture in words of the relations that they had with nations and false gods. Sex in this story refers to political relations with the nations. But this was the same as a relationship with the gods of those nations. Each nation had its own gods. The gods were very important in the politics of the nations. So, *Israel’s *sins began at the start of the one nation. These *sins increased through the history of the two parts.
The names of the sisters are Oholah and Oholibah. It was quite common to give similar names to sisters or brothers. The meaning of Oholah is ‘her tent.’ The meaning of Oholibah is ‘her tent is mine.’ We do not know why the *Lord gave these names to them. Oholah meant *Israel and Samaria. Oholibah meant Judah and Jerusalem. Oholah was the older girl. This is so in the story because she became a *prostitute first. And God punished her first.
Both of the sisters had children. The sisters and their children belonged to the *Lord. These children meant the people from the two nations called *Israel and Judah.
(2) The *prostitute Samaria – Ezekiel 23:5-10
v5 ‘Although she was mine, Oholah continued to have sex with other men. She desired to have sex with her lovers, that is, the *Assyrians. v6 They were captains and rulers. They wore blue uniforms. They were all handsome young men who rode on horses. v7 She had sex with all the important men in Assyria. She gave herself to all the false gods of her lovers. v8 She did not give up the *prostitution that she began in Egypt. When she was young, men had slept with her. They touched her breasts and they had sex with her.
v9 So, I handed her over to her lovers. They were the *Assyrians, whom she desired. v10 They stripped her naked and they took away her sons and daughters. Then they killed her with a sword. This is how the *Assyrians punished Oholah. Among women, she became well-known because of the punishment that they carried out against her.’
Verses 5-10 Samaria (northern *Israel) was the first of the sisters (that is, the two nations) to *turn from the *Lord. She (Samaria) did not depend on the *Lord for her security. But she made agreements with the strong nations. She contacted the leaders of Assyria. She asked the officials of Assyria to help her (2 Kings 15:13-20). Menahem and the *Israelites paid a lot of money to King Pul of Assyria.
Assyria attracted Samaria because it (Assyria) was strong. A union with Assyria seemed to offer so much. Assyria was the most powerful nation in the world at that time. But the union meant that Samaria had to serve the gods of Assyria. She (Samaria) belonged to the *Lord but she served other gods. So, this *sin was like *prostitution. She had been guilty of this *sin since she was in Egypt.
God gave Samaria to the *Assyrians. They took all the wealth of Samaria. They killed many of the *Israelites. They took the 10 *tribes into *exile in other countries. God used the king of Assyria to remove them from his sight. Then the *Assyrians brought foreigners to live in the country. In 722 *BC, King Shalmaneser of Assyria destroyed Samaria (see 2 Kings chapter 17).
(3) The *prostitute Jerusalem – Ezekiel 23:11-35
v11 ‘Her sister Oholibah saw what happened. But she became a worse *prostitute than her sister was. She chased after more men to have sex with them. v12 She too desired to have sex with the officers and rulers of Assyria. They all wore beautiful clothes. They were handsome young men who rode on horses. v13 I saw that both girls were alike. They were both *prostitutes.
v14 But Oholibah went much further into *sin than did her sister. She saw pictures on the wall of men from Babylon. They were wearing red clothes. v15 They wore belts. And on their heads, they had beautiful hats. All of them were like officers. They were from Babylon in Chaldea, the country of their birth. v16 When she saw them, Oholibah wanted to have sex with them. So, she sent messages to them in Babylon. v17 Then these *Babylonian men came to her. They had sex with her. In their evil desires, they were cruel to her. After that, she *turned away from them in disgust. v18 But she did not stop her behaviour as a *prostitute. She made no secret of it and everyone knew about it. I *turned away from her in disgust, even as I had *turned away from her sister. v19 But she remembered how she was a young *prostitute in Egypt. And she became even more wicked in *sins of sex. v20 She wanted men who would be as powerful during sex as male horses. v21 Oholibah, you desired to do again the wicked things that you had done in your youth. There, in Egypt, men had squeezed and held your young breasts.
v22 Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the *LORD your King says. I will *turn your lovers against you. I will bring those that you *turned away from in disgust. I will make them angry with you and I will cause them to attack you from all sides. v23 Men from Babylon and all Chaldea will attack you. Men from Pekod, Shoa and Koa will attack you. All the *Assyrians will attack you. Those handsome young men, all of them officers and rulers, will come on horseback to fight against you. v24 They will come with large armies, with their arms, horses and wagons. They will dress themselves ready for battle. They will surround you and I will let them punish you. And they will punish by their own standards. v25 I will show the strength of my anger against you when I send them to punish you. They too will be very angry with you. They will cut off your nose and your ears. They will kill your people who are still alive. They will take away your sons and daughters. And they will burn whatever remains. v26 They will strip your clothes from you, and they will take away your beautiful things. v27 So, I will put a stop to the life of *sin and *prostitution that you began in Egypt. Then you will not desire that life or remember Egypt.
v28 This is what the *LORD your King says. I am handing you over to those men that you hate. I am handing you over to those men that you *turned away from in disgust. v29 They will be cruel to you because they hate you. They will take away everything for which you worked. They will leave you naked and bare. Everyone will know the *sins that you have done. They will know that you are a *prostitute. This is the result of your *sin and your *prostitution. v30 You will suffer like this because you had sex with the nations. And you served their false gods. v31 You did the same things that your sister did. So, I will put her cup (which means her punishment) into your hand.
v32 This is what the *LORD your King says. “You will drink the same cup that your sister drank. That cup is deep and wide. Everyone will laugh at you, because the cup is full. v33 You will be very *drunk and very miserable. That cup will cause fear and it will ruin you. It is the cup of your sister Samaria. v34 You will drink all that is in the cup. You will break it in pieces and you will tear off your breasts. I have spoken, declares the *LORD your King.
v35 Therefore, this is what the *LORD your King says. You have forgotten me and you have *turned your back on me. You must suffer the punishment of all your sex acts.’
Verses 11-13 The people in Jerusalem and Judah saw what happened to Samaria. But they did not learn from that experience. Instead, Jerusalem became much worse than Samaria was. The kings of Aram and *Israel attacked Judah. King Ahaz of Judah sent messages to Assyria to ask for help. Then he served the gods of Assyria. He even replaced the *altar of the *Lord with an *altar to a false god (see 2 Kings chapter 16). Just as Oholah had loved the *Assyrians, so did Oholibah. To God they were both *prostitutes.
Verses 14-21 The next major powerful nation to appear was Babylon. It seems that trade developed between Judah and Babylon. When King Hezekiah was ill, he received visitors from Babylon. He showed them all the wealth in Judah (2 Kings chapter 20). When Jehoiakim ruled in Jerusalem he had to pay money to Egypt. To avoid this he promised to serve the king of Babylon (2 Kings 23:35-24). He *turned again to Egypt to help against Babylon.
God *turned in disgust from Judah as he had from Samaria. Judah had not been loyal to God since her (Judah’s) young days in Egypt. With each of her partners, she had served their foreign gods.
Verses 22-27 The *Lord tells how he will punish Jerusalem and Judah. He will cause all her (Jerusalem’s) partners to *turn against her. They had been loyal to their own gods. But Jerusalem had not been loyal to them or to her God. For these reasons, they *turn from her in disgust. In their anger, they will attack Jerusalem and Judah.
The main enemy will be Babylon. With Babylon will be those *tribes and nations over which she rules. These include the *tribes of Pekod, Shoa and Koa. The *Chaldeans were the major *tribe in Babylon. The army of Assyria will be with that of Babylon. Large and strong armies will attack Jerusalem.
The armies will surround Jerusalem. And God will allow them to defeat the city. He will allow them to punish the people by their own cruel standards.
They will cut off noses and ears. This was an awful and cruel punishment for a wife who had sex with another man.
The *Babylonians will send many of the people into *exile. They will kill the rest of the people. They will take all the valuable things. Then they will destroy and burn the city called Jerusalem.
Judah would then forget Egypt. In other words, the people from Judah would never again look to Egypt for help. They would never again serve foreign gods.
Verses 28-31 The *Lord repeats the same message. Judah had *turned away in disgust from her (Judah’s) partners. Now they hated Judah. The *Lord will hand Judah to them. They will take away all that has value. They will destroy Jerusalem.
All the nations will know the *sins of Judah. Jerusalem and Judah did not trust their God. Instead, they *turned for help to other nations. They were not loyal to God. But they served the gods of the nations. These are the reasons why they will suffer.
Samaria had done the same things. The *Lord had punished Samaria. So now, Jerusalem must suffer the same punishment.
Verse 32-35 Here is a poem about the cup of Samaria. The cup refers to the anger of the *Lord. Samaria had to drink from it. That is, Samaria suffered the anger of the *Lord. Jerusalem must drink from the same cup. So, Jerusalem will suffer the anger of the *Lord also.
The nations will see the shame of Jerusalem. Fear and despair will fill the city. The anger of God will ruin the city. The inhabitants will feel great terror when they see these events. They will be greatly ashamed. They will feel like a *prostitute who tears her own body because of her shame.
The chief reason for this *disaster is that Judah and Jerusalem neglected God. The people had *turned from the real God and they served false gods.
(4) The punishment of the *prostitutes – Ezekiel 23:36-49
v36 The *LORD said to me, ‘*Son of man, you will be the judge of Oholah and Oholibah. Accuse them of the disgusting things that they have done. v37 They are guilty of wicked sex acts and murder. They have had sex with their false gods. They have taken my children that were born to them. And they have given those children as food for their false gods. v38 Also they have done this to me. At the same time, they ruined my *temple. And they did things on my *Sabbath days that they should not have done. v39 They killed their children for their false gods. That same day they went into my *temple to ruin it. That is what they did in my house.
v40 They even sent a message for men to come from a distant country. When the men arrived, the two sisters bathed for them. The sisters painted their eyes and they put on their beautiful things. v41 The sisters sat on a fine bed. They had arranged a table in front of the bed. On the table, they put my *incense and my oil.
v42 There was a noisy crowd in party mood. There was a group of men from the deserts. These men had drunk too much alcohol. They put rings on the arms of the two sisters and beautiful crowns on their heads. v43 Her way of life had worn out one of the sisters. Then I said about her, “Now let them use her as a *prostitute. That is what she is.” v44 The men went to her as they would go to a *prostitute. So, they had sex with Oholah and with Oholibah. These are two wicked women. v45 But good men will declare that these women are guilty. They will decide that these women deserve punishment. These women are wives that are not loyal to their husband. They are *prostitutes and they are guilty of murder.’
v46 This is what the *LORD your King says. ‘Bring together a crowd against them to frighten them and to rob their possessions. v47 The crowd will throw stones at them to kill them. The crowd will cut them down with their swords. The crowd will kill their sons and daughters. And the crowd will burn their houses down.
v48 So, I will end the *sins of sex in the country. This will warn all women not to imitate you. v49 You will suffer the punishment for your wicked deeds. You will suffer because of your *sinful *worship of false gods. Then you will know that I am the *LORD your King.’
Verses 36-39 God told Ezekiel to declare judgement against both Samaria and Jerusalem. They were both guilty of many crimes. They both went to other nations for help and they did not trust God. They both *turned from God to serve foreign gods. In the awful religion of the false gods, the people even killed their own sons and daughters. This was murder and it was against the law of God (Exodus 20:13). They did many of these evil things in the *temple of the *Lord. They did not obey the rules for the *Sabbaths (Exodus 20:8-11). They even did these wicked things on the *Sabbath day. It was a terrible insult to God to practice these wicked religions in the holy *temple of God.
Verses 40-45 These two cities had attracted foreign nations to come to them. They were like *prostitutes who call out for lovers. They made themselves as attractive as they could. They entertained their guests and they even used the holy things for their wicked purposes.
We do not know who the group from the desert were. They may have been the people called Arabians, Moabites, *Edomites or Sabeans.
The sisters have not been loyal to their God. They were guilty of murder and *sins of sex. This awful way of life had worn out one of the sisters. This means that Samaria had gone. But Jerusalem was still active. Now God would let the nations punish Jerusalem.
Verses 46-49 People might discover a wife as she was having sex with a man other than her husband. Then they would take her in front of an angry crowd. And the whole crowd would throw stones at her to kill her (Exodus 20:10). They might even kill her children by the other man. (However, God’s law did not allow this – Deuteronomy 24:16.) If she had a house, they would burn it. So, God would bring the armies of Babylon and Assyria to punish Jerusalem. They would kill the people and they would destroy the city. They would burn Jerusalem.
The *Israelites had not been loyal to their God. They had *turned to false gods from the time that they were in Egypt. They did not trust in their God, as they should. They went to foreign nations for help.
The *exiles will soon see the punishment of Jerusalem. Then they will know that the *Lord is God.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules.
prostitute ~ a woman who receives payment when she offers her body for sex. There are also male prostitutes.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
tribe ~ The Israelites were divided into the 12 families of the sons of Jacob. These families are the 12 tribes of Israel.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Assyrians ~ a person from the nation called Assyria or anything that has a relationship with Assyria.
prostitution ~ what a prostitute does.
prostitute ~ a woman who receives payment when she offers her body for sex. There are also male prostitutes.
turn ~ to change your behaviour, your friends, or your God; or, to carry out actions in order to oppose someone.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
exile ~ When people have to live in a foreign country they are in exile. Such a person is called an exile.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
Babylonian ~ a person from the nation called Babylon or anything that has a relationship with Babylon.
drunk ~ a description of a person who has drunk too much alcohol.
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
Chaldeans ~ another name for the Babylonians.
Babylonian ~ a person from the nation called Babylon or anything that has a relationship with Babylon.
disaster ~ when something very bad happens.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Sabbath ~ The Sabbath was the 7th day of the week. God told the Israelites to keep it as a special day.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
incense ~ something that gives a sweet smell when it burns. The priests burned it when they praised God in the temple.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Edomite ~ a person from the nation called Edom or anything that has a relationship with Edom.