Thus says the Lord GOD: “You shall drink your sister's cup that is deep and large; you shall be laughed at and held in derision, for it contains much;
Ezekiel 23 tells of two unfaithful sisters — Samaria, capital of the northern kingdom, and Jerusalem, capital of the southern. Here Jerusalem must drink the cup her sister has already drained, and the question is why privilege did not spare her.
The cup as a figure of judgment
One commentator marks where the picture takes over the prophecy:
William KellyVerse 32 takes up the cup named in verse 31. This figure, in all its fullness, expresses Jehovah's judicial dealings with Jerusalem.
The same figure runs through Scripture. Writing on Psalm 75, one commentator describes what it holds:
Hamilton SmithIn 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.
Sisters in sin, sisters in sentence
The reason Jerusalem drinks her sister's cup is that she copied her sister's sin.
W. T. P. WolstonEzekiel 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.
One commentator draws the difference out of the sisters' symbolic names:
William KellyTheir 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."
A warning watched and ignored
Jerusalem watched the northern kingdom fall, and learned nothing from it:
The Bible TreasuryThey 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.
Why the cup is deep and large
The cup is not just equal to Samaria's. It holds more, because Jerusalem's sin was worse:
William KellySo 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.
Another writer puts the rule in a line: "Favour divinely granted but despised brings heavy judgment from God." He backs it with the Lord's words, "everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required" (W. W. Fereday).
Severity with an aim
Jerusalem, called Oholibah here, is the one addressed. One writer insists that God's hand on her is not bare punishment:
F. W. GrantYet 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.
The cup is not hers forever. One commentator points on to Isaiah, where God says, "Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more" (William Kelly).
The cup no sinner can drain
The last word on this cup is that Another drank it:
W. T. P. WolstonHe 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.
Summary
- Cup. Verse 32 takes up the cup of verse 31 and makes it the picture of God's judicial dealings with Jerusalem.
- Copied. She drinks her sister's cup because she copied her sister's sin: sisters in sin, sisters in judgment.
- Deeper. Jerusalem watched Samaria fall, held the greater privilege, and sinned worse anyway. So her cup is deeper.
- Drained. God empties her so that her sin will cease and her old loves become loathsome. She must come to herself before she comes to God.
- Drunk. Christ drained to the dregs the cup no sinner could ever empty. He holds out the cup of salvation instead.