Ezekiel 23:4–44

Their symbolic names here are Aholah the elder, and Aholibah, her sister. The first means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her." The reader will not fail to notice how fitting these names are. The worship of Samaria was of self-will, at best an imitation, but really independence of the LORD. But in Jerusalem the divine service was ordered by the LORD as His own appointment.

Chapter 23 calls Samaria and Jerusalem two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah, in their ungodly relation with Assyria and Chaldea… The second name marks a fact: the true sanctuary was in Judah.

Verse 4 gives the names of the sisters… So the two sisters (daughters) are Samaria (the ten tribes) and Jerusalem (standing for the two tribes). Clearly the "mother," then, is Israel (the twelve tribes) out of whom the two kingdoms came.

Yet not one only but both were His. "They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters." Jeroboam's seizing of power did not destroy the LORD's claim. Instead it drew out the special ministry of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, and of others in God's grace, in case they might be warned.

Oholibah's history now follows. In it we see once more the power of example. We see also how one evil develops out of another, and the progress made in a downward path. Once more Oholibah chooses the human school instead of the school of God. She learns nothing from His rod on her sister.

In fact Judah became more offensive than Israel, Jerusalem more guilty than Samaria… yet we have the testimony of the prophets that Aholibah was worse than Aholah.

If we ask, as we look at their history, How could God take up people like these? Another question answers it: Where could He find any better? As we see their common origin, so the chapter takes us back to Egypt, to see them from the very beginning of their course as a nation. And this unrestrained self-will marks them from the start… Egypt was the land of independence, a picture of the world in that way… Clearly, Oholah ("her own tent") took this as her motto and lived by it.

Yet all this severity is on God's part not mere judgment. The effect, as He puts it here, is to make Oholibah's lewdness stop. The things that once attracted her she now turns from with loathing. A person must come to his senses before he can come to God, and this is the process through which God was now bringing Israel.

The holy city is compared here with Samaria. They are two sisters of one parent, the Jewish people, and sisters also in their idolatrous wickedness. The idols that lured them in Egypt exposed them at last to Assyria and to Babylon. Their symbolic names are given here as Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. The first means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her." The worship of Samaria was self-will, at best an imitation, but really independence of the Lord. In Jerusalem the Lord arranged the divine service as His own appointment. Yet not one only but both were His. "They were mine, and they bore sons and daughters."

Here we have first the history of Oholah. Under the strong figure of adultery we see how the world outside attracted her at once. Assyria was her main attraction. In a worldly course the world does outdo the people of God: the moment they seek the world, their own things fail them at the start. In the outside world there is full room for all the energy, ambition, luxury and self-enjoyment that the words here describe. They speak of youth and vigour, and of the keen pursuit of what man counts riches — what makes him all he can hope to be. How much these things attract, sadly, even the people of God!

God had appointed them a school in Egypt that should have done them good. No land could display the folly and degradation of heathen idolatry more fully. God also made them feel the schoolmaster's rod in what they suffered at Egypt's hands. On one side was God's meaning in all this; on the other, the natural perverseness of the human heart. Israel had little reason to take up with Egypt. They themselves had the revelation of the true God, and promises of blessing that might well have won their hearts to obedience. Yet they clearly took Egypt as their school in a completely different way from what God meant. Egypt was the land of independence, the picture of the world in that way… At the very start of their life as a separate kingdom, the calves that Jeroboam set up remind us of Egyptian worship. In fact he had been in Egypt, and he clearly brought them from there.

Cut off from the Name they speak of, there is really no purpose of God left. Asshur's god was Asshur. Man serves only himself — himself, sadly, the miserable object of his worship!

The elder Oholah, or Samaria, soon showed the old evil was not removed. The worship of the calves led to worse and brought judgment at last, through those who were the last to lure her away from the Lord; and the Assyrian carried out judgment on Samaria.

In Ezekiel 23 the Lord shows why He is right to judge Jerusalem: her walk was wicked and unfaithful. Her unfaithfulness with the nations brought her early days to mind. The same conduct showed the same nature. She has ended as she began, because at heart she was the same. Samaria's lot would be hers.

God has brought us, as believers, into such close and intimate relations with Himself. So if we play Him false and enter a guilty alliance with the world, only one sin among mankind compares with it: the very terrible sin of adultery. Let us never forget it.

Here the holy city is compared with Samaria, as two sisters born of one parent — the Jewish people. They were sisters in their sinful idol worship too. The evil is traced back to where it first appeared. The idols that charmed them in Egypt left them exposed at last to Assyria and to Babylon... Their meaningful names are given here as Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. The first name means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her." The reader will not miss how well these names fit. The worship of Samaria came out of self-will. At best it was an imitation, but it was really independence from the Lord.

We have first the history of Oholah. Under the strong picture of adultery, we see how the world outside attracted her at once. Assyria was her main attraction... On a worldly path, the world does outdo the people of God. The moment they go after the world, their own things fail them at the very start. Out in the world there is full room for all the energy, ambition, luxury and self-enjoyment that the words here speak of: youth, strength, and the eager chase after what man counts as riches, which makes him everything he can hope to be. Sadly, these things attract even the people of God themselves, and attract them greatly.

The family trait they show goes back further than that. Lust, however it shows itself, is the beggar's badge that marks out fallen man everywhere... The idols of the nations put these lusts on display, and they exist to gratify them. The idols stand for an imagined freedom. Souls have got away from God and try to satisfy themselves apart from His way and will, with things that cannot do it.

Cut off from the Name they speak of, no purpose of God is left. What should have been God's own footsteps becomes instead a mirror of man himself and of his lusts. Asshur's god shows this in a striking way. Asshur's god was Asshur. Man serves only himself — and himself, sadly, is the wretched object of his worship!

Yet in the end, as we see in her history here, men's vices hatch the very crowds that prey on them... God would wake man up by this constant link between sin and its judgment. Man's pleasant vices are the whips that beat him.

The apostle wrote to the Corinthians, "I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ." Here each person is more in view, but the principle is the same, and the picture of leaving Him is easy to understand. The world draws many away from simple devotion to Christ who would refuse an immoral life at once. For it looks fair enough, and it offers all sorts of attractions that suit our nature. And people often ask: What is the harm in this? Is there anything wrong with that?

Their symbolic names are Oholah, the elder, and Oholibah, her sister. The first means "her own tent." The second means "my tent is in her." The reader will not fail to notice how fitting these names are. Samaria's worship came from self-will. At best it was an imitation; really it was independence of the LORD. But in Jerusalem the LORD Himself arranged the service as His own appointment. Still, not one only but both were His. "They were mine, and they bore sons and daughters."

We have first the history of Oholah; and, under the strong figure of adultery, we find how the world outside at once attracted her. Assyria was her main attraction… On a worldly path the world does outdo the people of God. The moment they go after the world, their own things fail them at the start. In the outside world there is full room for all the energy, ambition, luxury and self-enjoyment that the words here speak of: youth, vigour, the keen pursuit of what man counts riches, and what makes him all he can hope to be. Sadly, how much these things attract even the people of God themselves!

Assyria's god shows plainly what he is. Assyria's god was Assyria. Man serves only himself — himself, sadly, the miserable object of his worship!

In Ezekiel 23 the LORD shows that He is right to judge Jerusalem. He points to the wickedness and unfaithfulness of her walk. Her unfaithfulness with the nations brought her early course to mind. The same conduct showed the same nature. She has ended as she began, because at heart she was the same.

Yet in the end, as her history here shows, men's vices hatch the very hordes that prey on them… God would wake man up by this constant link between sin and its judgment. Man's pleasant vices are the whips that scourge him.

Satan is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4), and those who worshipped idols really worshipped demons (1 Corinthians 10:20). So an alliance with the world has the same character as marriage with the daughter of a foreign god. The apostle Paul raises his voice against this besetting sin. He cries, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?"

The evil is traced back to its first appearance. The idols that lured them in Egypt exposed them in the end to Assyria and to Babylon. In Egypt they showed their lewdness, and their old age matched the sins of their youth.

Idolatry was their constant sin right up to the Babylonian captivity. Some of it was learnt in Jacob's family: his beloved Rachel had her images. It was learnt better in Egypt. The Israelites never stopped being idolaters until they were removed from the land... They had brought idols from Egypt and had kept them up to that time.

"Each of you, cast away the abominations of your eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God. But they rebelled against Me and would not listen to Me. Not one of them cast away the abominations of his eyes, and they did not forsake the idols of Egypt."

After Assyria, then, Oholah goes with her whole heart. She still carries her Egyptian idolatries with her, for evil, as we know, is tolerant of evil, while what is good is not.

In Ezekiel 23 Jehovah shows why He is right to judge Jerusalem: her whole way of life was wicked and unfaithful. Her unfaithfulness with the nations brought her early days to mind. The same conduct showed the same nature. She has ended as she began, because at heart she was the same. Samaria's lot was to be hers too.

The family likeness they show goes back further than that. Lust, in whatever form it appears, is the beggar's badge that marks out fallen man everywhere... The idols of the nations put these lusts on show, and are meant to gratify them. They stand for an imagined freedom: souls that have got away from God, trying to satisfy themselves apart from His way and His will, with things that cannot do it. All the children of Adam, in every generation, are like these women. And if we ask how God could take up people like these, the answer lies in another question: where could He find any better?

In a worldly course, the world outdoes the people of God. The moment they seek the world, their own things fail them from the start. Out in the world there is plenty of room for all the energy, ambition, luxury and self-enjoyment that these words describe. They speak of youth, vigour, the keen pursuit of what people count as riches, and of what makes a man all he can hope to be. These things attract — and how much they attract the people of God themselves!

Men's vices hatch the hordes that prey on them... God would wake man up by this constant connection of sin with its judgment. Man's pleasant vices are the whips that scourge him.

The prophet continues to expose Israel's sin, especially Jerusalem's. He compares the holy city here with Samaria. They are two sisters of one parent, the Jewish people — sisters too in their idolatrous wickedness... The idols that seduced them in Egypt exposed them at last to Assyria and to Babylon... Here their symbolic names are Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister. The first means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her." The worship of Samaria was of self-will, at best an imitation, but really independence of Jehovah. But in Jerusalem, Jehovah Himself ordered the divine service as His own appointment. And yet not one only but both were His... The worship of the calves led to worse, and in the end brought judgment. It came through the very people who had last of all lured her away from Jehovah, and the Assyrian executed judgment on Samaria.

So Oholah goes after Assyria with her whole heart. She still carries her Egyptian idolatries with her, for evil, as we know, tolerates evil, while good does not. Yet at last, as we find in her history here, men's vices hatch the hordes that prey on them... God would wake man up by this constant connection of sin with its judgment. Man's pleasant vices are the whips that scourge him.

Hoshea, the murderer of Pekah, reigned nine years in Samaria while doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord... He did not take into account the judgments of God. Through all the prophets God had foretold that Assyria would subdue Israel... The Word does not give us these political motives. But a word in Chronicles shows us the divine motive: "So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, the spirit of Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile."

There the Assyrian comes, but he comes now as an avenger; he comes as a scourge. He sweeps the land and carries the ten tribes away, never to return till Jesus returns. From that day the ten tribes disappeared from the land of Israel. Who took their place? A mere mass of pagans formed the kingdom of Samaria, and they took up the forms of Israel left behind them.

Was Jerusalem warned? Did the sight of Aholah do Aholibah any good? On the contrary, "she became more corrupt than her sister in her lust." The younger and more favoured sister followed the elder and was even grosser in her idolatry.

Suppose there is failure. Suppose we fall into idolatry. Suppose we commit fornication with the world by giving in to its lures. If in any way at all we make friends with the world in the desert, we make wars for ourselves... God has to make a total change in our relations with the world. If we had not formed such friendships, we would not have had that trouble. But since our friends deceive us, we must become enemies. Having no relations at all with them is our proper and peaceful position.

The holy city is here compared with Samaria, as two sisters of a common parent — the Jewish people; sisters too in their idolatrous iniquity. The prophet traces the evil back to its earliest showing. The idols that misled them in Egypt exposed them at last to Assyria and to Babylon... The symbolic names given here are Aholah the elder, and Aholibah, her sister. The first means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her." The reader will notice how well these names fit. The worship of Samaria was of self-will, at best an imitation, but really independence of Jehovah. But in Jerusalem Jehovah Himself arranged the divine service as His own appointment. Still, not one only but both were His. "They were mine, and they had sons and daughters."

Was Jerusalem warned? Did the sight of Aholah do her sister Aholibah any good? On the contrary, she was more corrupt in her excessive desire than her sister was. The younger and more favoured sister followed the elder, and was even coarser in indulging her idolatry.

They took no notice of the judgment that fell on the sister kingdom. The many mercies they received from God did not humble them. He lingered long over the place where His name was recorded, even while declaring that the sin of Judah went beyond the sin of Israel.

"And you, Capernaum, you are lifted up to heaven, but you will be brought down to hell. If the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you." In other words, the measure of privilege is always the measure of responsibility.

Our moral corruption is very deep. It is complete. But at times it shows itself in very ugly shapes. We know all about it, and yet we still shrink back from those shapes, shocked at the thought that they belong to us. Privileges given by God's own hand may only serve to develop this corruption instead of curing it.

In Ezekiel 23 the sins of Samaria (Israel) and Jerusalem (Judah) are very solemnly described. In each case their dealings with the nations, which He had forbidden, are the ground of Jehovah's judgment. They were sisters in sin, and would be judged alike... They were to reap what they had sown.

The nearer a man is to God outwardly, if his soul has no living fellowship with Him, the worse he is. Judas is worse than the Pharisees; the Pharisees worse than the Samaritans. So an outward Christian profession without living power is the very place to expect the most terrible evil.

Ezekiel uses this name, meaning 'her own tent or tabernacle,' for a symbolic prostitute who stands for Samaria. He charges her with gross immorality. Only Aholibah, her even more guilty sister Jerusalem, goes beyond it.

In chapter 23 Samaria and Jerusalem appear as two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah, in their ungodly relationship with Assyria and Chaldea. Aholah means "her tent." Aholibah means "my tent is in her." The second name shows that the true sanctuary was in Judah.

On a worldly course, the world outdoes the people of God. The moment they seek the world, their own things fail them from the start. The outside world has full room for all the energy, ambition, luxury and self-enjoyment that the terms here speak of. They speak of youth and vigour. They speak of the keen pursuit of what man counts as riches, and of what makes him all he can hope to be. These things attract the people of God themselves — how much, alas!

The Lord grieved over the idolatry of His people. He had brought them out of Egypt and blessed them so richly in a land flowing with milk and honey. He met all their needs and protected them from their enemies. Yet poor Israel and Judah turned to the idols of the surrounding nations, and to the false worship of the nations used to discipline them.

Here we see once more the power of example. We also see how one evil grows out of another, and the progress that follows down a downward path. Once more Oholibah chooses the human school instead of the school of God, and learns nothing from His rod on her sister. She too goes after the attractive Assyrians, but she adds the Chaldeans to them, and their images quickly carry her away… these Chaldeans bring with them a power of evil more intense, less human, more supernatural.

If I keep on in my father's sin, I am more guilty than he is, because his sin was a warning to me. My sin is double. Everything his sin should have done to hold me back now adds to my guilt… and here my father's sin has hardened my heart — a sin I have seen, or ought to have seen, in the light of God given to me.

The younger and more favoured sister followed the elder and was even grosser in her idolatry… And the sons of Babylon defiled her; but though they defiled her, her mind turned away from them. So it always is where the favour and the will of God are absent. Closeness in evil quickly turns to mutual disgust.

When her day of lawless self-will is past, the day of the Lord finds all her former lovers gathered against her. The mustering has come now: the sons of Babylon head the list with all the Chaldeans, and Asshur too, with Babylon — Assyria follows under the power of Nebuchadnezzar.

Their symbolic names here are Aholah the elder, and Aholibah, her sister. The first means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her." The reader will not fail to notice how fitting these names are. Samaria's worship was self-willed. At best it was an imitation, but really independence from Jehovah. In Jerusalem, though, Jehovah Himself ordered the divine service as His own appointment. And yet not one only but both were His. "They were mine, and they begat sons and daughters."

Was Jerusalem warned? Did the sight of Aholah work for good on Aholibah? On the contrary — the younger and more favoured sister followed the elder, and was even coarser in her idolatry.

Here we see once more the power of example. We see too how one evil develops out of another, and the progress made on a downward path. Once more Oholibah chooses the human school instead of the school of God, and learns nothing from His rod on her sister. She too goes after the attractive Assyrians, but she adds the Chaldeans to them, whose images promptly carried her off.

In Judah, morally worse than Israel, God raised up some righteous kings, to keep His visible connection with them, until He was forced to judge, and Judah went into captivity, as Israel had. They took no notice of the judgment that fell on the sister kingdom. The many mercies they received from God did not subdue them. He lingered long over the place where His name was recorded, even while declaring that the sin of Judah exceeded that of Israel.

Ezekiel 23 describes the sins of Samaria (Israel) and Jerusalem (Judah) very solemnly. In each case their dealings with the nations, which He had forbidden, are the ground of Jehovah's judgment. They were sisters in sin, and God would judge them alike. They were to reap what they had sown.

Yet at last, as we find in her history here, out of men's vices hatch the hordes that prey on them... God would wake man up by this constant link between sin and its judgment. Man's pleasant vices are the whips that scourge him.

Their symbolic names are given here: Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister. The first means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her."... The worship of Samaria was self-will — at best an imitation, but really independence from the LORD. In Jerusalem, the LORD Himself ordered the worship as His own appointment. Yet both were His... Was Jerusalem warned? Did the sight of Oholah do Oholibah any good? On the contrary, "she was more corrupt in her lust than she." The younger and more favoured sister followed the elder. She was even worse in the way she indulged her idolatry. She lusted after the sons of Assyria: "Then I saw that she was defiled, that they both took one way." Assyria was not enough. She wanted the Chaldeans and their idolatrous worship as well. And the sons of Babylon defiled her; but though they defiled her, her mind turned away from them. So it always is where the favour and the will of God are absent. Close contact with evil soon breeds disgust on both sides.

In ancient Egypt the nearest thing to what we now call a picture is the coloured painting on the walls of temples and tombs. In Babylon, pictures on enamelled bricks decorated the walls. Ezekiel 23:14 seems to point to these.

Once more Oholibah chooses the human school instead of the school of God. She learns nothing from His rod on her sister. She too goes after the attractive Assyrians. But she adds the Chaldeans to them, and their images soon carried her off. And these Chaldeans bring with them a power of evil that is more intense, less human, more supernatural. We learn this from more than the meaning of their name, which seems to be "demon-like"... Yet their mere images attract Oholibah, and they attract her at once: "As soon as she saw them she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea."

With the eye you can look at what is good or at what is evil. What you look at affects the heart. So avoid looking at improper sights. The psalmist prayed, "Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things." He feared the effect. If the evil enters through the eye-gate, it has a clear passage to the heart. Eve, having looked at the forbidden tree, first desired it in her heart, and then took and ate the fruit. Scripture warns the young men in the family of God against the lust of the eyes (1 John 2:16). A large part of the pleasures of the world today consists of attractive pictures for the delight of the eye.

These are days when our young people feel a strong pull to wear strange, foreign clothing. But they will do well, and their parents will do well, to remember this. That strange clothing was part of the cause of the awful downfall of the kingdom of Judah... We understand these references better if we turn to Ezekiel 23:14-15.

A Babylonian garment spoiled the beginning of Israel's history in their own land (Joshua 7:21). How very strange that a Babylonian garment again brings that history to a close. Babylon speaks to us of the world... And the clothes our children wear are the badge and mark and proof of where their hearts belong. Do they belong to heaven, which should be their native air? Or to the world with its fashions and ways?

When her day of lawless self-will is past, the day of the Lord finds all her former lovers gathered against her. The mustering has come now, the sons of Babylon heading the list with all the Chaldeans.

Here the holy city is compared with Samaria: two sisters born to one parent — the Jewish people; sisters in their idolatry too. The evil traces back to its first appearance. The idols that lured them in Egypt exposed them at last to Assyria and to Babylon… Their symbolic names are given here as Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister; the first means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her."

The walls in Babylon were decorated with pictures on glazed bricks. This seems to be what Ezekiel 23:14 points to.

The word translated "dyed attire" in Ezekiel 23:15 means head-bands, tiaras and turbans of different colours.

She too goes after the attractive Assyrians, but she adds the Chaldeans as well, and their images sweep her away at once. These Chaldeans… bring with them a power of evil that is more intense, less human, more supernatural… They had their own language and learning. They practised occult arts, and "wore a strange dress like the one seen on the gods and on deified men in Assyrian sculptures." On top of that, they were not descendants of Shem but of Cush, and belonged wholly to the darkness of that origin. Yet Oholibah is drawn at once; their mere images pull her in.

With the eye you can look either at what is good or at what is evil, and the heart is affected in line with what it sees. So avoid looking at sights you should not see… If evil gets in through the gate of the eye, it has a clear road to the heart… A large part of the world's pleasures today is made up of attractive pictures for the eye to enjoy.

We saw that a Babylonian garment spoiled the start of Israel's history in their own land (Joshua 7:21). How very strange that a Babylonian garment also brings that history to a close. Babylon speaks to us of the world. It is the same place as Babel, meaning Confusion. If we bring the things of this world into the things of God, nothing can follow but confusion… The clothes our children wear are the badge and mark and proof of where their hearts belong — either to Heaven, which should be their native air, or to the world with its fashions and ways.

Not content with Assyria, she longed for the Chaldeans and their idol worship. The sons of Babylon defiled her; but once they had defiled her, she turned away from them in her mind. It is always so where the favour and the will of God are missing. Closeness in evil soon turns into disgust on both sides.

When her day of lawless self-will is over, the day of the Lord finds all her former lovers gathered against her.

Their symbolic names are given here as Oholah the elder and Oholibah, her sister. Oholah means "her own tent"; Oholibah means "my tent is in her." Notice how well these names fit. Samaria's worship came from self-will. At best it was an imitation, but it was really independence from Jehovah. In Jerusalem, Jehovah Himself ordered the worship as His own appointment. Still, both sisters were His, not one only.

Once more Oholibah chooses man's school instead of God's school. She learns nothing from the way He punished her sister. She too goes after the attractive Assyrians, and she adds the Chaldeans to them. Their images carried her off at once. And these Chaldeans bring with them a power of evil that is more intense, less human, more supernatural. We learn this from more than their name, which seems to mean "demon-like." As James teaches us, this is how the wisdom that does not come from above grows. It is "earthly, unspiritual, demonic." These Chaldeans had their own language and learning. They practised occult arts, and "wore a distinctive dress like the one seen on the gods and on men treated as gods in Assyrian sculptures."

The eyes are how the accursed thing takes possession of the heart and stirs it to lust: "I coveted them." "Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin": "I took them." The fine Babylonian garment could adorn the pride of life. The silver and gold could satisfy every lust. They became Achan's prey — or rather, these things make him their prey!

The idols of the nations put these lusts on display, and they exist to satisfy them. The idols stand for an imagined freedom. Souls who have got away from God try to satisfy themselves apart from His way and will, with things that cannot do it.

They had not simply been the victims of others. Others had not merely tempted them. They themselves were the tempters. They worked to bring from far away the very people who could only pollute them with their abominations. They dressed themselves in the ornaments God had given them, so as to receive their corrupters!

When her day of lawless self-will is past, the day of the Lord finds all her former lovers gathered against her. They are gathered for battle now. The sons of Babylon head the list with all the Chaldeans. Asshur is there too, with Babylon — Assyria now following under the power of Nebuchadnezzar.

So they disobeyed on purpose when they made these shameful alliances with the world. That is what these marriages picture — the sin that God's people keep falling into in every age. The apostle James says, "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." ... So for the Jew or for the Christian, joining himself to the world is both unfaithfulness and sin.

In chapter 23, Samaria and Jerusalem appear as two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah, in their godless dealings with Assyria and Chaldea. Aholah means "her tent." Aholibah means "my tent is in her." The second name shows that the true sanctuary was in Judah. This long chapter sets out the sins and the foulness of both, and the punishment they deserved.

Once more Oholibah chooses the human school instead of the school of God, and learns nothing from His rod on her sister. She too goes after the attractive Assyrians, but she adds the Chaldeans to them, and their images carry her away at once... These Chaldeans had their own language and learning, and practised occult arts... Yet Oholibah is drawn to them straight away. Mere images of them attract her, and as soon as she sees them she sends messengers to Chaldea. This passion, as their history shows, did not last long — except in its consequences.

The younger and more favoured sister followed the elder, and went even further in her idolatry. Not content with Assyria, she longed for the Chaldeans and their idol worship. The sons of Babylon defiled her; but once they had defiled her, her mind turned from them. It is always so where God's favour and God's will are missing. Closeness in evil soon breeds disgust on both sides. But sadly there is worse. The Lord says that His own mind turned from her, just as it turned from her sister.

All that was brilliant and attractive in the land is now gathered, along with the desirable sons of Assyria, against Jerusalem. The qualities that once spoke of the energy and skill that stole the hearts of the Israelites are listed again in the same words, but they now serve the opposite cause. How a man's old attractions come back to face him on the day of reckoning that comes for each one!

Yet on God's part all this severity is not mere judgment. Its effect, as He puts it here, is to make Oholibah's lewdness stop, and to make her turn with loathing from the things she once found attractive. A person must come to himself before he can come to God, and this is the process God was now bringing Israel through.

We will need to speak of these garments again as we come to the end of Israel's life in the land of Canaan. Strange as it seems, we will find that Babylonian fashions brought the first downfall, and Babylonian fashions also had a hand in the last terrible collapse of the kingdom at the end.

Their symbolic names are given here: Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister. The first means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her." The reader cannot miss how fitting these names are. Samaria's worship came from her own will. At best it was an imitation; in truth it was independence from Jehovah. But in Jerusalem, Jehovah Himself ordered the worship as His own appointment. Yet both sisters were His, not one only. "They were mine, and they bore sons and daughters."

God has taken up the closest relationships of human life to show us two things: how full His love is towards men, and the nearness to Himself that His heart delights to bring us into. So the sin that breaks through a love shown so plainly is all the greater. No wonder the foulest of human sins becomes a shadow of what it stands for here. We shrink from these descriptions. Yet see how deeply God would teach us by this to hate what is far worse in His sight! The human picture is only a shadow of the greater sin.

Oholibah's history now follows. In it we see the power of example again. We also see how one evil grows out of another, and how she moves further down that path. Once more Oholibah picks the human school instead of God's school. She learns nothing from His rod on her sister.

The sons of Babylon defiled her. Yet if they defiled her, her mind was alienated from them. So it always is where God's favour and God's will are absent. Nearness in evil soon ends in mutual disgust. But there is worse. "My mind," says Jehovah, "was alienated from her, as my mind was alienated from her sister." God gave Jerusalem over to a depraved mind.

Israel stopped keeping themselves separate to Jehovah. The idols and false gods of the nations came to overshadow the true God, until those idols drew their heart away. In fact they abandoned the God of Israel — kings as well as people and priests. All discipline had failed to recover them, and there was no remedy. So nothing could be more righteous than that God should sentence to public exile from Himself those who had already left Him in heart. This is always God's way. He never sentences anyone to a distance from Himself who has not already gone away in heart. So His hand of judgment only seals them in the place their own unbelief had chosen.

The prophet traces the evil back to its earliest display. The idols that lured them in Egypt exposed them at last to Assyria and to Babylon. In Egypt they showed their lewdness, and their old age matched the sins of their youth. The chapter gives them symbolic names: Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister. Oholah means "her own tent"; Oholibah means "my tent is in her."

God had appointed them a school in Egypt, and it should have done them good. No land could show more fully the folly and degradation of idol worship. God also made them feel the schoolmaster's rod in what they suffered at Egyptian hands... Yet it is plain that they took Egypt as their school in a completely different way from the one God meant.

In Oholibah's history we see the power of example, and how one evil grows out of another, and how far she went down that path... This passion, as we know from their history, did not last long, except in its consequences. It was, as is so often the case, as short-lived as it was sudden. Oholibah returned to her old passion for Egypt, and this brought on her doom.

Her whoredom with the Gentiles brought her early course to mind. The same conduct showed the same nature. She has ended as she began, because at heart she was the same.

They say nothing about the lash of the taskmaster, or the hard work at the brick-kilns. About these things there is total silence. They remember nothing now except the things in Egypt that fed the appetites of nature. How often this is true of us! ... the eye wanders back toward the world, the heart follows the eye, and the feet follow the heart.

So it always is where the favour and the will of God are absent. Evil closeness quickly ends in mutual disgust. But there is worse. "My mind," says Jehovah, "was alienated from her, as My mind was alienated from her sister." Jerusalem was given up to a mind God had rejected. (Verses 19, 20)

Yet all this severity is not, on God's part, mere judgment. As He puts it here, the effect is to stop Oholibah's lewdness and to leave her loathing the things she once found attractive. A person must come to his senses to come to God, and this was the process God was now bringing Israel through.

The holy city is compared here with Samaria. They are two sisters from one parent — the Jewish people — and sisters too in their idol-worship. The evil is traced back to where it first appeared. The idols which beguiled them in Egypt exposed them at last to Assyria and to Babylon. In Egypt they showed their lewdness, and their old age matched the sins of their youth.

The children of Adam in every generation are just like these women. And if we ask, as we look at their history, How could God take up people like these? the answer is found in another question: Where could He find any better? … lust, in whatever form it shows itself, is the mark that identifies fallen man everywhere.

God had appointed them in Egypt a school that should have been profitable for them. No land could show more clearly how foolish and degrading idol-worship is. God also let them feel the teacher's rod through what the Egyptians made them suffer. … Yet they took Egypt as their school in a way God never meant. Egypt was the land of independence from God, and in that way it pictures the world.

"Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong … The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit."

This reliance on Egypt was an offence to God. He had rescued them from that very people by His judgments at the start of their national history. It offends Him just as much when a Christian goes back to the world-system. God has rescued him from it, and from the judgment coming on it. Yet he leans on its power or its wisdom, instead of turning to God as needs arise.

Did the sight of Oholah do Oholibah any good? On the contrary, "she became more corrupt than her sister in her lust." The younger and more favoured sister followed the elder and went further still in her idolatry. … But they defiled her, and then her mind turned away from them. That is always the way where God's favour and will are absent. Closeness in evil soon turns to disgust on both sides.

Men's own vices hatch the crowds that prey on them. … God would wake man up by this constant connection of sin with its judgment. Man's pleasant vices are the whips that scourge him.

Yet all this severity is not, on God's part, mere judgment. The effect, as He puts it here, is to stop Oholibah's lewdness, and to make her loathe the things she once found attractive. A person must come to his senses before he can come to God. That is the process God was bringing Israel through.

The prophet traces the evil back to its earliest appearance. The idols that lured them in Egypt exposed them at last to Assyria and to Babylon. In Egypt they showed their lewdness, and their old age matched the sins of their youth. Their symbolic names here are Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. The first means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her."

God had set up a school for them in Egypt, and it should have done them good. No land could show the folly and degradation of idol worship more clearly or more fully. God also made them feel the teacher's rod in what they suffered at Egyptian hands... Israel had little reason to take up with Egypt. They had the revelation of the true God, and promises of blessing that might well have won their hearts to obedience. Yet they clearly took Egypt as their school in a completely different way from the one God meant. Egypt was the land of independence, the picture of the world in that way. Its river flooded the land year after year, so it needed no rain from heaven — though rain was in fact the source of the plenty all around them.

In Ezekiel 23 Jehovah shows that He is right to judge Jerusalem. The sin and unfaithfulness of her ways prove it. Her adultery with the nations brought her early course to mind. The same conduct showed the same nature. She has ended as she began, because at heart she was the same. Samaria's fate would be hers.

This passion, as we know from their history, did not last long, except in its consequences. It was, as is so often the case, as short-lived as it was sudden. Oholibah returned to her old passion for Egypt, and this brought on her doom.

Yet on God's part all this severity is not mere judgment. As He puts it here, the effect is to make Oholibah's lewdness stop, and to turn the things she once found attractive into things she turns from in disgust. A person must come to himself before he can come to God. This is the process God was now bringing Israel through.

For a believer, longing after the food of Egypt means going after the same pleasures, amusements, and sources of enjoyment as the man of the world... Suppose the Christian looks with longing at the world's amusements and social life. Suppose he delights in the things the world is proud of — painting, sculpture, architecture, national greatness. Suppose he chases worldly society, the world's fashions, distinctions, luxuries, and ways. Then he is in fact longing after the meat pots of Egypt.

In Ezekiel 23 the Lord justifies His judgment on Jerusalem. He points to the wickedness and unfaithfulness of her walk. Her unfaithfulness with the nations brought her early course to mind. The same conduct showed the same nature. She has ended as she began, because at heart she was the same. Samaria's fate would be hers.

Ezekiel 23 describes the sins of Samaria (Israel) and Jerusalem (Judah) in the most solemn terms. In each case forbidden dealings with the nations are the ground of the Lord's judgment. They were sisters in sin, and God would judge them alike. He defends His judgment: "Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, therefore you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring." They were to reap what they had sown.

When her day of lawless self-will is past, the day of the Lord finds all her former lovers gathered against her. The gathering has come now. The sons of Babylon head the list with all the Chaldeans. Assyria too follows with Babylon, under the power of Nebuchadnezzar.

These qualities once spoke of the energy and ability that carried away the hearts of the Israelites. The same terms describe them here, but now they work in an opposite interest. How a person's old attractions face them in the day of reckoning that comes for each one! They work their will without mercy, though they are only the instruments of God's judgment, as He declares.

Not content with Assyria, she longed for the Chaldeans and their idol worship. The sons of Babylon defiled her; but even as they defiled her, her mind turned away from them. So it always is where the favour and the will of God are absent. Closeness in evil soon turns to mutual disgust. But there is worse. "My mind," says the Lord, "was turned away from her, as my mind was turned away from her sister." Jerusalem was given over to a corrupted mind.

Ephraim's history here is plain to read: "I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria, on whom she doted. These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters, and they killed her with the sword, and she became a byword among women, and they executed judgment upon her."

Judah was morally worse than Israel. Yet God raised up some righteous kings there, to keep His visible connection with them. In the end He had to judge, and the kingdom of Judah was carried away captive, as Israel had been. They took no notice of the judgment that fell on the sister kingdom. The many mercies they received from God did not humble them. He waited long over the place where His name was recorded, even while He declared the sin of Judah to be greater than the sin of Israel. Their cup of wrongdoing was not yet full, but it was filling fast. At last the king of Babylon carries out the decree of God.

Yet on God's part all this severity is not mere judgment. As He puts it here, the effect is to make the lewdness of Oholibah stop, and to make her turn away in disgust from the things that once attracted her. A person must come to himself before he can come to God, and this is the process through which God was now bringing Israel.

This name occurs in connection with Babylon, and is thought to be a symbolic name, meaning "visitation" or "punishment." It is linked with the name Merathaim, meaning "of the rebels," or "double rebellion." That is, God would visit Babylon "because of its rebellion." In Ezekiel 23:23 Pekod appears more as a proper name; but it is again linked with Babylon, and the three names Pekod, Shoa, and Koa are all judged to be symbolic names.

Oholibah once again chooses the human school instead of the school of God, and learns nothing from His rod on her sister. She too goes after the attractive Assyrians, but she adds to these the Chaldeans, whose images quickly carried her off. And these Chaldeans bring with them a power of evil that is more intense, less human, more supernatural. We learn this from more than the derivation of their name, which seems to mean "demon-like." … Yet Oholibah, as we see, is drawn at once; their mere images attract her.

When her day of lawless self-will is past, the day of the Lord finds all her former lovers gathered against her. The muster has come now, the sons of Babylon heading the list with all the Chaldeans; and Asshur too, with Babylon, Assyria following under the power of Nebuchadnezzar. … Shoa means "wealth," "generous"; Koa, probably "prince." Maps of Chaldea show no such places, and the words remain an unsolved problem. From the connection they might seem to form part of the list of all that was brilliant and attractive in the land, now gathered with the desirable sons of Asshur against Jerusalem. Before, these qualities spoke of the energy and ability that carried away the hearts of the Israelites. The verse lists them again in the same terms, but now they serve an opposite interest. How a man's old attractions face him in the day of visitation that comes for each one! They work their will without mercy, though they are only the instruments of God's judgment, as He declares.

The sons of Babylon defiled her; but though they defiled her, her mind turned away from them. It is always so where God's favour and will are absent. Closeness in evil quickly turns into mutual disgust.

Yet all this severity is not, on God's part, mere judgment. As He puts it here, the effect is to make the immorality of Oholibah stop. The things once attractive to her become things she turns from with loathing. One must come to oneself to come to God, and this is the process through which God was now bringing Israel.

So it is always. Under God's righteous government our sin soon becomes our chastening and the world's grief. What our blindness built on as rock turns out to be quicksand, tossed about by waves and winds in the day of visitation that comes swiftly.

In Ezekiel 23 Jehovah justifies Himself for judging Jerusalem. The reason is the sin and unfaithfulness of the way she lived. Her unfaithfulness with the other nations brought her early history to mind. The same conduct showed the same nature. She has ended as she began, because at heart she was the same. Samaria's lot should be hers.

They took no notice of the judgment that fell on the sister kingdom. The many mercies they received from God did not humble them either. He lingered long over the place where He had recorded His name, even while He declared the sin of Judah to be greater than that of Israel. (Ezek. 23) Their cup of sin was not yet full, but it was filling fast; and at last the king of Babylon carries out the decree of God.

When her day of lawless self-will is past, the day of the Lord finds all her former lovers gathered against her. The roll call has come now. The sons of Babylon head the list with all the Chaldeans. Assyria is there too, following Babylon under the power of Nebuchadnezzar.

The qualities that once showed the energy and ability that captured the hearts of the Israelites are listed again in the same terms, but now they serve the opposite side. How a man's old attractions face him on the day of reckoning that comes for each one! They work their will without mercy, though they are only the instruments of God's judgment, as He declares.

This was a tsinnah, a large shield that covered the whole body, with a big knob in the centre rising to a point that could be used as a weapon. Scripture also uses it as a picture of God's protecting care of His people (Ps. 5:12; Ps. 91:4). The same word appears as "buckler" in Ps. 35:2; Ezek. 23:24; Ezek. 26:8.

God had taken up Assyria as the rod of His anger to punish many a nation that was far from Him — and Israel among them. Later God used the Chaldeans in the same way. This is what troubled Habakkuk. He protested that, bad as Israel might be, the Chaldeans, whom God was going to use to discipline them, were worse. We see here what we also see in Habakkuk: God may use an evil nation to punish His faithless people, but only under His strict supervision and control.

God might use Jeroboam to punish Solomon and his house. He might use the kings of Assyria to punish Jeroboam's subjects. He might use Nebuchadnezzar to punish Judah and its kings. But God had to judge each of them in turn, for these rods of His anger (Isa. 10:5) were no more faithful to God than the people He used them against.

Yet all this severity is on God's part not mere judgment. Its effect, as He puts it here, is to end the corruption of Oholibah, and to make the things she once found attractive disgust her. A person must come to his senses to come to God, and this is the process God was now bringing Israel through.

A symbolic harlot representing Jerusalem, sister to Oholah, who symbolises Samaria. Jerusalem is said to exceed Samaria in her immorality. She was warned without success, and her downfall was predicted. The name means "my tent, or tabernacle, is in her."

The prophets dwell at length on Israel's conduct as a wife, and on Jehovah's jealousy on that account... Her unfaithfulness has been made plain. She has broken her vows. She has turned away from her Husband, the Holy One of Israel. He has poured out His burning jealousy on the faithless nation. He is a jealous God, and cannot bear the thought that the heart He claims as His own should be given to another.

Not content with Assyria, she desired the Chaldeans and their idolatrous worship. And the sons of Babylon defiled her; but if she was defiled by them, her mind was turned away from them. So it always is where the favour and the will of God are absent. Closeness in evil is quickly followed by mutual disgust. But sadly, there is worse. "My mind," says Jehovah, "was turned away from her, as my mind was turned away from her sister."... Those with whom she sinned would be the ones to punish her. They would deal in fury, punishing her without mercy and with every mark of shame. In the picture, the adulterous people lose their nose and their ears, and their sons and daughters are taken away. Fire and sword do the work of destruction.

How the things that once attracted men now face them on the day when God comes to deal with each one! They work their will without mercy, though they are only the instruments of God's judgment, as He declares. Cutting off the nose and ears was the punishment of an adulteress. We may remember how God Himself had adorned these very features in an earlier chapter (Ezek. 16). That chapter shows us, as this one does not, the blessing God had poured out on those brought into this special relationship with Himself. Now the ornaments are not only removed; there is no place left for them — only disfigurement instead. And with the jewels the clothes are taken away too.

Yet all this severity is not, on God's part, mere judgment. The effect, as He puts it here, is to make the lewdness of Oholibah stop, and to make what once attracted her something she turns from with loathing. A person must come to himself to come to God. This was the process God was now bringing Israel through. It is a terrible thing to face. You are left stripped and with nothing. Everything is gone that once, while you were wasting it, made you feel and look rich to others.

The heart can be drawn away from Christ and grow dissatisfied with the portion of grace. Then whatever drew it aside soon becomes nothing but a disappointment and a loathing... A common form of chastening is disappointment in the things once coveted, then obtained, and afterwards loathed. Disappointments like this are found among men, but with them it is simply the reaction of nature. With saints God uses these disappointments to wean them from the love of the world and draw them nearer to Himself.

In chapter 23 Samaria and Jerusalem appear as two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah, in their ungodly relationship with Assyria and Chaldea. Aholah means "her tent." Aholibah means "my tent is in her." The second name shows that the true sanctuary was in Judah.

Before, these qualities spoke of the energy and ability that carried away the hearts of the Israelites. The same terms come up again here, but now they serve the opposite interest. How a man's old attractions face him in the day of reckoning that comes for each one! They work their will without mercy, though they are only the instruments of God's judgment, as He declares. Now the ornaments are not just removed; there is no place left for them any longer — only disfigurement instead — and the garments are taken away along with the jewels.

She was a wretched outcast, without the most ordinary care or pity, left out in the field on the day she was born. Then Jehovah passed by and saw her lying polluted in her blood. He said to her in her blood, "Live" — and He said it with great force. Under His care she grew up to womanhood, dressed and decked with the most splendid ornaments. Jehovah entered into covenant with her and took her as His own.

They were not simply the victims of others. Others had not merely made advances to them. They themselves made the advances. They worked to bring in from far away the very people who could only pollute them with their abominations. They had decked themselves with the ornaments God gave them, to welcome the men who corrupted them!

Yet on God's part all this severity is not mere judgment. Its effect, as He puts it here, is to make Oholibah's lewdness stop, and to make her turn with loathing from the things that once attracted her. A person must come to himself before he can come to God, and this is the process God was now bringing Israel through. What a terrible thing to face! You are left naked and with nothing. All that you wasted is gone — and while you were wasting it, it made you feel and look rich to others for a time.

It is only when we are really stripped of all nature's ornaments that God can deal with us. A naked sinner can be clothed; but a sinner decked in ornaments must be stripped. This is always true. We must be stripped of all that belongs to self, before we can be clothed with that which belongs to God.

In Ezekiel 23 Jehovah shows that He is right to judge Jerusalem, and He points to the wickedness and unfaithfulness of her ways. Her unfaithfulness with the Gentiles brought her early course to mind. The same conduct showed the same nature. She has ended as she began, because at heart she was the same. Samaria's lot should be hers.

The idols that seduced them in Egypt exposed them at last to Assyria and to Babylon. In Egypt they showed their lewdness, and their old age matched the sins of their youth.

This passion, as we know from their history, did not last long, except in its consequences. It was, as so often happens, as short-lived as it was sudden. Oholibah returned to her old passion for Egypt, and this brought on her doom.

The same qualities appear again — the energy and ability that once carried away the hearts of the Israelites. But now they work in the opposite interest. How a man's old attractions face him in the day of visitation that comes for each one! They do as they please without mercy, though God declares they are only the instruments of His judgment.

Men's vices hatch the hordes that prey on them... God would wake man up by this constant connection of sin with its judgment. Man's pleasant vices are the whips that scourge him.

Yet all this severity is not, on God's part, mere judgment. The effect, as He puts it here, is to make Oholibah's lewdness cease. She will turn with loathing from the things that once attracted her. One must come to oneself before coming to God, and this is the process God was now bringing Israel through. What a terrible thing to face! One stands stripped bare, with nothing left. Everything is gone that once made one look and feel rich to others, even while one was squandering it. ... The true blessing, if anywhere, lies in this despair at oneself. But the chapter before us does not go on to that; it ends with judgment.

This captivity produced a reformation among them. From that time to this, "the unclean spirit," as the Lord Himself also puts it, has been "out." They have not practised idolatry since then. But though the Jewish house stands empty and swept, no one has furnished it with its true wealth and ornament.

Up to the time of the Babylonian captivity this was Israel's besetting sin. After it, this unclean spirit did go out of them, according to the Lord's words — but it was not cast out, nor was the house occupied by One stronger than he. So the house is ready to be occupied by him afresh. This will happen in the last days, when idolatry is set up again in the very temple of God, among those who have returned to their own land.

Their symbolic names are Oholah the elder, and Oholibah, her sister. The first means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her." You cannot miss how fitting these names are. The worship of Samaria was self-will. At best it was an imitation, but really it was independence of the Lord. In Jerusalem, though, the Lord Himself ordered the worship as His own appointment. Still, both sisters were His, not just one.

Not content with Assyria, she desired the Chaldeans and their idolatrous worship. The sons of Babylon defiled her, yet her mind turned away from them. So it always is where the favour and the will of God are absent. Closeness in evil soon turns into mutual disgust.

Ezekiel 23 gives a very solemn picture of the sins of Samaria (Israel) and Jerusalem (Judah). In each case the ground of the Lord's judgment is their forbidden dealings with the nations. They were sisters in sin, and should be judged alike… They were to reap what they had sown.

Men's own vices hatch the hordes that prey on them… God would wake man up by this constant link between sin and its judgment. Man's pleasant vices are the whips that beat him.

These qualities once spoke of the energy and ability that won the hearts of the Israelites. They are listed here in the same terms, but now they serve the opposite interest. How a man's old attractions face him on the day of reckoning that comes for each one! They work their will without mercy, though they are only the instruments of God's judgment, as He declares.

Yet all this severity is on God's part not mere judgment. The effect, as He puts it here, is to make Oholibah's lewdness stop, and to make her turn away with loathing from the things she once found attractive. A person must come to himself before he can come to God, and this is the process God was now bringing Israel through. What a terrible thing to face! A person is left naked and with nothing. Everything is gone that made him feel and look rich to others for a time, while he was wasting it.

Not content with Assyria, she desired the Chaldeans and their idolatrous worship. And the sons of Babylon defiled her; but though they defiled her, her mind turned away from them. That is always the way where God's favour and God's will are missing. Evil nearness soon breeds mutual disgust.

In Ezekiel 23 Jehovah shows that He is right to judge Jerusalem, because her way of life was sinful and unfaithful. Her whoring with the nations brought her early days to mind. The same conduct showed the same nature. She has ended as she began, because at heart she was the same.

The same qualities are listed again. Before, they spoke of the energy and ability that won the hearts of the Israelites. Now those same words serve the opposite interest. How the things that once lured men face them on the day of reckoning that comes to each one! They do as they please without mercy, though they are only the instruments of God's judgment, as He declares.

Yet on God's part all this severity is not mere judgment. As He says here, the effect is to make the lewdness of Oholibah stop, and to make her turn away in disgust from the things that once attracted her. A person must come to their senses to come to God, and this is the process God was now bringing Israel through. What a terrible thing to face! To be left naked and with nothing, everything gone that once made you feel and look rich to others for a time, even while you were throwing it away.

The punishment given to the harlot seems to come in stages. First, hated: her recent allies and supporters now look at her with loathing and disgust. Second, made desolate: robbed of her wealth and completely ruined. Third, naked: they strip off her purple and scarlet robes, and she stands before all in her true character, a shameless and abandoned woman (Ezek. 23:29; Rev. 3:18). Her moral nakedness and shame are plain to everyone.

But if we fail — if we fall into idolatry, if we commit fornication with the world by taking its bait, if in any way at all we make friends with the world in the desert — then we bring wars on ourselves. And this kind of fighting does not even gain us any spiritual ground. God then has to change our relations with the world completely. If we had not formed intimacies with them, we should not have had that trouble; but since they deceive us as our friends, we must become enemies.

Here the holy city is compared with Samaria. They are two sisters of one parent, the Jewish people — sisters too in their idolatrous wickedness. The evil is traced back to its earliest appearance. The idols that seduced them in Egypt exposed them at last to Assyria and to Babylon... Their symbolic names here are Aholah the elder and Aholibah, her sister; the first meaning "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her." The worship of Samaria was self-willed, at best an imitation, but really independence of Jehovah. But in Jerusalem Jehovah Himself arranged the divine service as His own appointment. Still, not one only but both were His.

Was Jerusalem warned? Did the sight of Aholah do Aholibah any good? On the contrary, "she was more corrupt in her lust than her sister." The younger and more favoured sister followed the elder and was even coarser in her idolatry... Not content with Assyria, she longed after the Chaldeans and their idol worship. And the sons of Babylon defiled her; but even though they defiled her, her mind turned away from them. So it always is where the favour and the will of God are absent. Close contact with evil is quickly followed by mutual disgust.

The same qualities that once spoke of the energy and ability that carried away the hearts of the Israelites are listed again here in the same words. But now they serve the opposite interest. How a man's old attractions face him in the day of reckoning that comes for each one!

If the children of Israel would abandon Jehovah to serve idols, they are themselves given up by Jehovah to serve idolaters. It is so with us. If we sin, this sets the measure and shape of our chastisement. And so grace works repentance when we turn and cry to the Lord in our distress.

In a worldly course, the world in fact outdoes the people of God, whose own things fail them at the very start the moment they seek the world. In the outside world there is full room for all the energy, ambition, luxury and self-enjoyment that the words here speak of. They speak of youth, vigour, and the keen pursuit of what man counts as riches — riches that make him all he can hope to be. These things attract — alas, how much — the people of God themselves!

And let us also never forget this. As believers, God has brought us into such close and intimate relations with Him that if we play Him false and enter into guilty alliance with the world, only one sin among mankind can compare with it — the very terrible sin of adultery.

Yet all this severity is not, on God's part, mere judgment. The effect, as He puts it here, is to stop Oholibah's lewdness, and to make her turn away in loathing from the things that once attracted her. A person must come to his senses before he can come to God. This is the process God was now bringing Israel through.

Verse 32 takes up the cup named in verse 31. This figure, in all its fullness, expresses Jehovah's judicial dealings with Jerusalem.

In the hand of the Lord there is a cup of judgment. This cup is full of mixture — a reference to the aromatic herbs mixed with wine to make it more intoxicating. The wicked must drink this cup down to its dregs.

Ezekiel 23 portrays the sins of Samaria (Israel) and Jerusalem (Judah) with great solemnity. In each case Jehovah judges them on one ground: forbidden relations with the nations. They were sisters in sin, and should receive a like judgment… They were to reap what they had sown.

Their symbolic names are given here as Aholah the elder and Aholibah her sister — the first meaning "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her." The worship of Samaria was of self-will, at best an imitation, but really independence of Jehovah. But in Jerusalem Jehovah Himself ordered the worship as His own appointment. Still, not one only but both were His. "They were mine, and they bore sons and daughters."

They took no notice of the judgment that fell upon the sister kingdom. Nor did the many mercies they received from God subdue them. He lingered long over the place where His name was recorded, even while declaring the sin of Judah to exceed that of Israel. Their cup of iniquity was not yet full, but it was filling fast. At last the king of Babylon carries out the decree of God.

So the judgment of favoured Judah should even exceed that of Samaria, as indeed her guilt was greater. They should drain the dregs, grind the broken pieces with their teeth, and tear their guilty breasts.

Yet all this severity on God's part is not mere judgment. As He puts it here, the effect is to make the lewdness of Oholibah cease from her, and to make her turn with loathing from the things that once attracted her. A person must come to himself before he can come to God, and this is the process God was now bringing Israel through… But the cup must now be drained to its bitter dregs. The soul that has lost everything wrings it out in desperation, still not fully awake to its loss.

He looked at the cup, shrank from it, but said, I will drink it. Our eternal salvation hung upon His drinking that cup. If He did not bear that wrath and judgment, we must; and if He did not drink that cup, we must drink it… Could you drain it? Thank God, my Saviour has drained it for me. He has drained it to the very dregs. He has filled another cup — the cup of salvation — to the brim with love. He has put that cup to my lips, and I drink, and receive eternal life.

Here the holy city is compared with Samaria. They are two sisters born of one parent, the Jewish people, and sisters too in their idol worship. Their symbolic names are given as Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. The first name means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her." Samaria's worship came out of her own will. At best it was an imitation, but it was really independence from Jehovah. In Jerusalem, Jehovah Himself arranged the worship, as His own appointment. Yet not one only but both were His: "They were mine, and they bore sons and daughters."

The wine cup, the cup of trembling, the cup of His fury, the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath, are all names for the same cup. That cup is the symbol of God's judgments. The cup of salvation, on the other hand, expresses the joy of the kingdom.

Under the affliction they are described as "drunk," but it adds, "not with wine." One day the Arm of the Lord will wake up on their behalf. Then the hour of their deliverance will strike. The Lord will take the "cup of trembling" out of their hands and put it into the hands of their oppressors.

So the judgment of favoured Judah would even go beyond that of Samaria, since her guilt was greater. They would drain the dregs, grind the broken pieces with their teeth, and tear their own guilty breasts.

We have seen the great principle. It holds true for one person as much as for a whole people, and for the Christian world as much as for Israel: the Lord governs in righteousness, and He governs the more closely the nearer and more privileged you are. There is no point in unbelief complaining. This is what righteousness is and should be. The more favoured you are, the more your responsibility grows.

Yet on God's part all this severity is not mere judgment. Its effect, as He puts it here, is to make Oholibah's lewdness stop, so that she turns from the things she once found attractive with loathing. A person must come to himself to come to God, and this is the process God was now bringing Israel through. But the cup must be drained to its bitter dregs.

He looked at the cup, prayed to be spared it, but said, "I will drink it." Our eternal salvation hung upon His drinking that cup. If He did not bear that wrath and judgment, we must; and if He did not drink that cup, we must drink it. Thank God, my Saviour has drained it for me. He has drained it to the very dregs. Then He filled another cup — the cup of salvation — to the brim with love. He has put that cup to my lips, and I drink, and receive eternal life.

Verse 32 takes up the cup named in verse 31, and applies this picture in full to express the judicial dealings of Jehovah with Jerusalem.

It is often used for what the cup contains, causing either joy or sorrow. For example: "I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD" (Psalm 116:13). "For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine... all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs" (Psalm 75:8)... and especially the cup which the Lord Jesus drank when bearing sin.

In fact Judah became more offensive than Israel, Jerusalem more guilty than Samaria. Israel had entreaty and warning, promise and threat, but never one ray of goodness from the throne. Judah had some good kings and the channels of governmental blessing. Yet we have the testimony of the prophets that Oholibah was worse than Oholah.

The dregs should be drained, the broken pieces should be ground with their teeth, and their guilty breasts torn.

But now the cup must be drained to its bitter dregs. The soul that has lost everything wrings it out in desperation, still not fully awake to what has happened. In madness it gnaws the very broken pieces of the cup, as pictured here, to get what is impossible. And the tearing off of the breasts is the self-despair under which, if anywhere, the true blessing lies.

He looked at the cup, prayed to be spared it, but said, I will drink it. Our eternal salvation hung on His drinking that cup. If He did not bear that wrath and judgment, we must... Could you drain it?... You will drink, and drink, and drink it again as the eternal ages roll on, but you will never drain it. Thank God, my Saviour has drained it for me. He has drained it to the very dregs. He has filled another cup — the cup of salvation — to the brim with love, and has put that cup to my lips.

In chapter 23 Samaria and Jerusalem appear as two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, in their godless relationship with Assyria and Chaldea. Oholah means "her tent." Oholibah means "my tent is in her." The second name shows that the true sanctuary was in Judah. This long chapter sets out the sins and foulness of both, and the punishment they deserved.

So the judgment of favoured Judah would even go beyond that of Samaria, since her guilt was greater. They must drain the dregs, grind the broken pieces with their teeth, and tear their own guilty breasts.

To Jeroboam He says, "But you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back" (v. 9). Jeroboam had done without God and despised Him as a useless object. And is it any different today? Man treats God as a "negligible quantity." He pushes Him out of his life, casting Him behind his back so that he never has to see Him again. In front of him he keeps his own plans, his ambition and his well-being. He does not think about what he has cast behind. But the moment will come when, like Jeroboam, he must turn round and meet face to face the God he counted as nothing.

Ezekiel 23 sets out the sins of Samaria (Israel) and Jerusalem (Judah) in the most serious terms. In each case the ground of Jehovah's judgment is their unlawful relations with the nations, which He had forbidden... They were to reap what they had sown.

All that came upon them was the fruit of their own doing. "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life" (Gal. 6:7-8). We cannot sow a handful of seed without the crop it produces coming up. If sorrow and trial come, what is it? It is the fruit of some seed we sowed years and years ago, when we were away from the Lord.

Yet on God's part all this severity is not mere judgment. The effect, as He puts it here, is to end Oholibah's lewdness and to make the things that once attracted her disgusting to her. A person must come to himself before he can come to God, and this is the process God was now taking Israel through... But the cup must still be drained to its bitter dregs.

Still he knew that God had cast all his sins behind His back. God does not move in circles. He moves straight forward through the eternal ages. So what He casts behind His back stays there for ever.

The holy city is here compared with Samaria, as two sisters of a common parent — the Jewish people; sisters too in their worship of idols. The evil goes back to where it first appeared. The idols that lured them in Egypt left them open at last to Assyria and Babylon... Their symbolic names are here given as Oholah the elder, and Oholibah, her sister; the former meaning "her own tent," the latter, "my tent is in her."... The worship of Samaria came from self-will. At best it copied the true worship; in truth it was independence from Jehovah. But in Jerusalem the worship was ordered by Jehovah Himself, as He appointed it. Still, not one only but both were His. "They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters."

God now appeals to man himself, in the person of the prophet, against both these corrupt women whom no one had rebuked: "And Jehovah said to me, Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Yes, declare to them their abominations." The story is told again in short, with everything that makes it worse, and with a wickedness so stubborn that it seems it would never end... Adultery and blood are both in the count against them here.

From verse 36 to the end there is a comparison which closes the account of the two sisters. Both were immoral, both were bloody. They took their unfaithfulness to idols so far that they burned their children to Moloch. On the same day they polluted Jehovah's sanctuary and desecrated His sabbaths. "Look! this is what they have done inside My house." They tried every means to lure in outsiders, to Jehovah's dishonour, sinfully using Jehovah's own incense and oil on them.

But in point of fact Judah became more offensive than Israel, Jerusalem more guilty than Samaria. Israel had pleading and warning, promise and threat, but never one ray of goodness from her throne. Judah had some good kings, and blessing flowed to the people through them. Yet the prophets testify that Oholibah was worse than Oholah.

So a divine judgment is carried out, but with the approval of human conscience everywhere. God and man stand together against them. Yet God's aim is still to get rid of the wickedness that would otherwise never end, whatever harsh measures that takes. And at the last it will make them recognize their covenant-God in the holiness that forces Him to afflict them like this. The end for Israel and for the nations alike is ever that they shall know that He is the Lord Jehovah.

This is always God's way. He never glosses over sin, but exposes it before men's eyes, that they may be brought to repentance. The preacher of the Gospel today had better recognize this fact. The deeper the work of repentance in the soul the more solid the conversion-work that follows.

Adultery and blood are both in the count against them here. Their idolatries contained both features: unfaithfulness to God, and causing their sons to pass through the fire to their idols to be devoured. And all the while they shamelessly entered Jehovah's sanctuary, which their presence could only defile. Every one of their actions profaned His sabbaths, the sign of His covenant with them.

They were not simply the victims of others. Others had not merely invited them; they themselves did the inviting. They worked hard to bring in from far away those who could only pollute them with their abominations. They had decked themselves with the ornaments that God had given, to receive those who would corrupt them!

Adultery, or idolatry — "With their idols they have committed adultery" (Ezekiel 23:37) — is the special sin charged against Israel of old. She was the married wife of Jehovah. For this she was divorced. But in the purpose and grace of Jehovah, Israel will be restored to her former blessed relationship. She will never forfeit it again, as long as the sun and moon endure.

And let us never forget this. God has brought us, as believers, into such close and intimate relations with Himself. So if we play Him false and enter into guilty alliance with the world, only one sin among mankind can be compared with it — the very terrible sin of adultery.

Passing their children through the fire might seem to imply that they were dedicated to the idol by being passed quickly through a fire without being burnt. This may have been done. But some passages do not allow this interpretation. Of the Canaanites it is said, "they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods" (Deuteronomy 12:31).

Burning their children was the fullest, though not the only, profanation of the name of Israel's God. Jehovah accepted a sheep or an ox, or even a much smaller sacrifice; Satan under these names demanded their sons.

The secret of all the abominations in idolatry is that Satan is the grand mover of it. To Israel it was said that they were no longer to offer sacrifices to demons (Leviticus 17:7). They "sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons" (Psalm 106:37). They made their children pass through the fire to Molech (2 Kings 23:10; Ezekiel 23:37, 39).

Those two women, Oholah and Oholibah, were utterly corrupt. Not God only, but righteous men should judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and the judgment of those who shed blood, for that is what they truly were.

God and man are united together against them. But God still has His end in view: to get rid, by whatever severe measures, of the wickedness that would otherwise never end. And that wickedness shall at last make them recognise their covenant-God in the holiness that compels Him to afflict them in this way.

From verse 36 to the end there is a comparison which closes the account of the two sisters. Both were sexually immoral, and both shed blood. They carried their idolatrous adultery so far as to burn their children to Molech, and on that same day to pollute Jehovah's sanctuary and desecrate His sabbaths. "See, this is what they have done inside My house."

Adultery and blood are both in the count against them here. Their idolatries contained both features: unfaithfulness to God, and making their sons pass through the fire to their idols to be devoured. All the while they shamelessly entered Jehovah's sanctuary, which their presence could not help but defile. And they profaned His sabbaths, the sign of His covenant with them, by everything they did.

From then on the sabbath was a memorial of the deliverance out of Egypt (Deut. 5:15). So the prophets plainly treat it as a sign of Israel's separation from all other nations to God, and of God's covenant with them (Ezek. 20:12-20; 22:8; 23:38; 44:24; Isa. 56, 58; Jer. 17:21-27). But in the past Israel was a sinful people, and they had the sabbath as a legal ordinance. So the sabbath condemns them, just as everything else does.

Judgment must begin at the house of God. It always begins there. Responsibility matches privilege. Outward nearness to God, with the heart away, only invites judgment more.

So a divine judgment is carried out, and the human conscience everywhere agrees with it. God and man are united together against them. But God's aim is still to be rid of the wickedness, by whatever severe measures, since it would otherwise never end. That wickedness shall at last make them recognise their covenant-God in the holiness that compels Him to afflict them like this. The end for Israel and for the nations alike is always that they shall know that He is the Lord Jehovah.

The sabbath is in no way abolished or changed or turned into a symbol. It must be fulfilled in all its own blessedness for man on earth, and for Israel, God's firstborn among all nations. That will be when idols vanish for ever, and Jehovah's sanctuary is never profaned again.

In chapter 23 Samaria and Jerusalem appear as two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah, in their ungodly dealings with Assyria and Chaldea. Aholah means "her tent." Aholibah means "my tent is in her." The second name shows that the true sanctuary was in Judah.

Passing their children through the fire might seem to mean that the children were dedicated to the idol by being passed quickly through a fire without being burned. This may have been done. But some passages do not allow that reading. Of the Canaanites it says, "they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods."

The secret of all the abominations in idolatry is that Satan is the great power driving it. Israel was told to offer no more sacrifices to demons. They "sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons."

They pushed their idolatrous adultery so far that they burned their children to Molech. On that same day they polluted Jehovah's sanctuary and desecrated His sabbaths.

Adultery and blood are both in the charge against them here. Their idolatries held both: unfaithfulness to God, and sending their sons through the fire to their idols to be devoured. All the while they shamelessly entered Jehovah's sanctuary, which their presence could only defile. And His sabbaths, the sign of His covenant with them, they profaned by everything they did.

When a soul has drifted away from God, the outward forms of godliness often continue, and sometimes with even greater zeal. As inward life decays, attention turns to rites and ceremonies. So the soul deceives itself, and slides into ignorance of its real condition.

What we are during the week we will be while at the Lord's Table. Whatever has filled our heart through the past six days will fill it on the first day of the week at His Table. We cannot keep our hearts in a worldly atmosphere all week and then be free of it when we come to remember Him on the Lord's Day.

God and man are united against them. But God's aim in it is still to get rid of the wickedness that would otherwise never end, by whatever severe measures it takes. And this will at last make them recognise their covenant-God in the holiness that forces Him to afflict them in this way.

The elder sister is named Aholah, and her sister Aholibah. The first name means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her." The reader will not fail to notice how fitting these names are. Samaria's worship came from self-will. At best it was an imitation, but really it was independence from the Lord. In Jerusalem, though, the Lord Himself arranged the worship as His own appointment. Yet both sisters were His, not one only. "They were mine, and they had sons and daughters."

Others have rightly said that this chapter, compared with the earlier one, speaks of political rather than spiritual departure from God. Yet that only shows more clearly how closely the two are tied together. Religion is by nature the strongest bond that unites people... Where the nations ruled, their gods had to rule too. So losing national independence threatened the loss of everything else.

They had not simply been the victims of others. Others had not merely enticed them. They themselves did the enticing. They worked to bring in, from far away, people who could only pollute them with their detestable practices. And they put on the ornaments God had given them, in order to welcome the very men who corrupted them!

Jezebel "painted her eyes," as 2 Kings 9:30 should read. Israel is compared to a lewd woman who painted her eyes. Ezek. 23:40... They painted the eyelids and eyebrows with antimony or some other pigment, and this made the eyes look larger. Small bottles and the short sticks used to apply the moistened powder have been found in the tombs of Egypt.

They left no means untried to entice outsiders, to the dishonour of the Lord, wrongly using on them the Lord's incense and the Lord's oil. Jerusalem had sought strangers from afar. She even stooped to court the most vulgar drunkards from the desert.

God has taken up the closest relationships in human life. He does it to show us how full His love for people is. He also shows how near His heart delights to bring us to Himself. So the sin that breaks through such love is all the greater. No wonder the foulest of human sins becomes a shadow of the sin pictured here. We shrink from these descriptions. See how fully God would teach us by them to loathe what in His sight is so much worse! The human symbol is only a shadow of the greater sin.

Here their symbolic names are Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister. The first name means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her." The reader will not fail to notice how fitting these names are. The worship of Samaria was self-will. At best it was an imitation, but it was really independence of Jehovah. In Jerusalem, though, Jehovah Himself arranged the divine service as His own appointment. Yet not one only but both were His. "They were mine, and they bore sons and daughters."

A few brief touches paint the picture for us. The senseless, wasteful woman sits on a grand bed. A table stands ready in front of it, and on it lie the incense and the oil that belonged to the God she has forsaken.

They carried their idolatrous adultery so far that they burned their children to Moloch, an idol. On that same day they polluted Jehovah's sanctuary and desecrated His sabbaths. "Look, this is what they have done inside My house." They left no means untried to entice outsiders, to the dishonour of Jehovah, misusing on them Jehovah's incense and Jehovah's oil. And just as Jerusalem had sought strangers from far away, so she stooped to court the most common drunkards from the desert.

Others had not simply made victims of them; others had not merely propositioned them. They themselves did the asking. They worked hard to bring in from far away those who could only pollute them with their abominations. They had decked themselves with the ornaments God gave them, to welcome the very people who would corrupt them!

What they inherited goes back further still. Lust, however it shows itself, is the beggar's badge that marks out fallen man everywhere. As the apostle has shown us, that one commandment reaches and judges the full condition of man: "You shall not covet." The idols of the nations put these lusts on display, and exist to gratify them. They stand for an imagined freedom of souls who have got away from God. Such souls try to satisfy themselves apart from His way and His will, with things that cannot do it.

Yet all this severity is not, on God's part, mere judgment. As He puts it here, the effect is to stop the lewdness of Oholibah, and to make her turn in disgust from what once attracted her. A person must come to himself to come to God, and God was now bringing Israel through that process. What a terrible thing to face! You are left stripped and penniless, and everything is gone that once made you look and feel rich to others while you spent it.

Here the holy city is compared with Samaria. They are two sisters of one parent — the Jewish people. They are sisters too in their sinful idol worship. The prophet traces the evil back to where it first appeared. The idols that lured them in Egypt exposed them at last to Assyria and to Babylon... Their symbolic names here are Aholah the elder, and Aholibah, her sister. The first means "her own tent," the second, "my tent is in her."... The worship of Samaria was self-willed, at best an imitation, but really independence from Jehovah. In Jerusalem, though, Jehovah Himself ordered the worship as His own appointment. Still, not one only but both were His.

A few brief touches paint the picture for us. The senseless, reckless woman sits on a grand bed. A table stands ready before it, and on it are the incense and the oil that belonged to her forsaken God. Around her sound the voices of a loose crowd with no restraint left. Even the Sabeans of the wilderness were brought in to join them — men who lived by robbery, as their name here may show. And all this when old age had clearly come upon her, hurried on by her excesses.

They tried every means to entice outsiders into dishonouring Jehovah, sinfully misusing Jehovah's incense and Jehovah's oil on them. Just as Jerusalem had sought strangers from far away, so she stooped to court the most vulgar drunkards from the desert.

They were not simply the victims of others. Others did not merely ask them. They themselves did the asking, working to bring in from far away the very people who could only pollute them with their abominations. They had decked themselves with the ornaments that God had given, ready to receive their corrupters!

Cutting off the nose and ears was the punishment of an adulteress. We may remember how God Himself had adorned these in an earlier chapter (Ezekiel 16). That chapter, unlike this one, shows us the blessing God had poured out on those He brought into this special relationship to Himself. Now God does not only remove the ornaments. There is no place left for them at all — only disfigurement. The jewels go, and the garments with them. Yet this severity is not mere judgment on God's part. Its effect, as He puts it here, is to make her lewdness stop, so that she turns with loathing from what once attracted her. A person must come to himself before he can come to God, and this is the process God was now bringing Israel through.

In Ezekiel 23 Jehovah shows why He is right to judge Jerusalem: her way of life was sinful and unfaithful. Her prostitution with the nations brought her early days to mind. The same conduct showed the same nature. She has ended as she began, because at heart she was the same.

Adultery, or idolatry — "With their idols they have committed adultery" (Ezek. 23:37) — is the special sin charged against Israel long ago, because she was the married wife of Jehovah (Jer. 3:14; Isa. 54:1). For this God divorced her. But in His purpose and grace, Jehovah will restore Israel to the blessed relationship she had before. She will never lose it again, as long as the sun and moon last.

The picture is painted for us in a few brief touches. The senseless, immoral woman sits on a grand bed. In front of it stands a table set with the incense and the oil that belonged to the God she had forsaken. Around her are the voices of a loose crowd, given over completely. Even the Sabeans of the wilderness are brought in to join them — desert men who lived by robbery, as their name here may show. And all this comes when old age has clearly overtaken her, brought on early by her excesses.

The story is told again, briefly, with every detail that makes it worse. The wickedness keeps on, and seems as if it would go on to the end — like the scum of a pot in the next chapter, which nothing will ever clean... They had not simply been the victims of others. They had not merely been enticed by others. They themselves did the enticing. They worked to bring in men from far away who could only pollute them with their detestable practices. They dressed themselves in the ornaments God had given them, to welcome the very men who corrupted them!

Judah was the favoured one, and her judgment should be even greater than Samaria's, because her guilt was greater. Those two women, Oholah and Oholibah, were thoroughly corrupt. Not God only, but righteous men should judge them as adulteresses, and as women who shed blood — because that is what they really were.

Yet all this severity is on God's part not mere judgment. The effect, as He puts it here, is to end Oholibah's lewdness, and to make her turn with loathing from the things she once found attractive. One must come to oneself in order to come to God, and this is the process God was now bringing Israel through.

God and man are united together against them. But God's purpose in it is still to get rid, by whatever severe measures, of the wickedness which would otherwise never end... The end for Israel and for the nations alike is always that they shall know that He is the Lord Jehovah.

The holy city is here compared with Samaria, as two sisters of a common parent — the Jewish people; sisters too in their idolatrous iniquity. The prophet traces the evil back to its earliest appearance. The idols that lured them in Egypt exposed them at last to Assyria and to Babylon. In Egypt they showed their lewdness, and their old age matched the sins of their youth. Here are their symbolic names: Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister. The first means "her own tent." The second means "my tent is in her." The reader will not fail to notice how fitting these names are. Samaria's worship came from self-will. At best it was an imitation, but in truth it was independence from Jehovah. In Jerusalem, Jehovah Himself ordered the divine service as His own appointment. Still, not one only but both were His. "They were mine, and they bore sons and daughters."

Adultery, or idolatry — "they committed adultery with their idols" (Ezek. 23:37) — is the special sin charged against Israel of old, since she was the married wife of Jehovah (Jer. 3:14; Isa. 54:1). For this God divorced her. But in His purpose and grace, Jehovah will restore Israel to her former blessed relationship. She will never forfeit it again, as long as sun and moon endure.

Was Jerusalem warned? Did the sight of Oholah do Oholibah any good? On the contrary, "she was more corrupt in her lust than she was." The younger and more favoured sister followed the elder and was even coarser in indulging her idolatry. Not content with Assyria, she wanted the Chaldeans and their idol worship. The sons of Babylon defiled her; but once they had defiled her, her mind turned away from them. So it always is where God's favour and God's will are absent. Closeness in evil is quickly followed by mutual disgust.

A few brief touches paint the picture. The senseless woman sits on a grand bed. A table stands ready in front of it, and on it are the incense and the oil that belonged to the God she has forsaken. Around her are the voices of a loose crowd in complete abandonment — even the Sabeans of the wilderness, men who lived by plunder... The two sisters are alike in every way, and this charge joins them together. God calls in men of mere human righteousness to pronounce on them the judgment they so well deserve.

Yet all this severity is on God's part not mere judgment. The effect is, as He puts it here, to make the lewdness of Oholibah cease from her, and to turn her with loathing from what once attracted her. A person must come to themselves before coming to God, and this is the process through which God was now bringing Israel.

And let us also never forget this. As believers, we are brought into such close and intimate relations with God that if we play Him false and enter into guilty alliance with the world, only one sin among mankind compares with it — the very terrible sin of adultery.