Jerusalem would bear the Lord’s punishment for her lewd and immoral behavior because she had abandoned Him. This short message identifies the root problem in Israel’s apostasy: she had forsaken Yahweh."When a nation (or an individual) discards God, there is no other road to follow but that which leads to perversion and utter degradation." [Note: Alexander, "Ezekiel," p. 855.] read more
The Unchaste Sisters, Oholah and OholibahThe idolatries and foreign alliances of Jerusalem and Samaria are here described under the same strong figure which is used in Ezekiel 16. Oholah (Samaria) and Oholibah (Jerusalem) were two sisters, both seduced in Egypt in their youth (Ezekiel 23:3), both espoused by God (Ezekiel 23:4), and both unfaithful to Him. Samaria took as her lovers first the Assyrians (Ezekiel 23:5-7), and then the Egyptians (Ezekiel 23:8), and was at length slain by the former... read more
OHOLA AND OHOLIBAHEzekiel 23:1-49THE allegory of chapter 23 adds hardly any new thought to those which have already, been expounded in connection with chapter 16 and chapter 20. The ideas which enter into it are all such as we are now familiar with. They are: the idolatry of Israel, learned in Egypt and persisted in to the end of her history; her fondness for alliances with the great Oriental empires, which was the occasion of new developments of idolatry; the corruption of religion by the... read more
In Ezekiel 23:1-49 Samaria and Jerusalem are called two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah, in their ungodly relation with Assyria and Chaldea. Aholah means “her tent.” Aholibah, “my tent is in her.” The latter denotes the fact that the true sanctuary was in Judah. The sins and vileness of both are portrayed throughout this long chapter, as well as the deserved punishment. read more
CLOSE OF PART ONE Lack of space makes it necessary to crowd the remainder of Part 1 into a single lesson, but nothing vital to its general understanding will be lost, as the chapters are, to a certain extent, repetitions of the foregoing. LAMENTATIONS FOR THE PRINCES (Ezekiel 19:0 ) The theme of this chapter is found in the first and last verses. The “princes” are the kings of Judah Jehoahaz, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah, whose histories were made familiar in the closing chapters of 2 Kings ,... read more
The Reader will enter into the beauties of this Chapter, and the design of it also, if he takes with him the consideration all the way along as he reads it, that the whole scope of the Chapter is to set forth the wonderful baseness and stupidity of the Lord's Israel in committing fornication against the Lord. The Reader will not, I should hope, need to be put in mind, that the Lord all along, and in every part of his blessed scripture, is continually expressing his attachment to Israel, under... read more
The Lord's Punishment upon the two Kingdoms v. 22. Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord God, the sovereign Ruler of the universe, Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, the very allies upon whose constancy Jerusalem thought she could depend, from whom thy mind is alienated, as she turned from Assyria to Egypt, and I will bring them against thee on every side, in manifest enmity, with a desire to wreak their vengeance upon the fickle wanton: v. 23. the Babylonians and all... read more
(b) Judah and Israel’s Ripeness for Judgment (Ezekiel 23:0.)1And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, 2Son of man, there were 3two women, the daughters of one mother; And in Egypt they played the wanton; in their youth they wantoned, there were their breasts pressed, and 4there were the teats of their virginity bruised. And their names were “Oholah,” the great [greater], and “Oholibah” her sister; and they were mine, and bare sons and daughters; and their names were Samaria—Oholah, 5and... read more
The next prophecy dealt with the sins of Samaria and Jerusalem under the figures of two women, Oholah and Oholibah. The prophet first described their sins. Samaria was charged with unfaithfulness in her confederacy with the Assyrians in that she allowed herself to be seduced by their wealth and their strength, from her loyalty to Jehovah. He also reminded her of her former confederacy with Judah. In consequence of this double sin she was handed over to the Assyrians who overcame and oppressed... read more
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Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Ezekiel 23:22-35
Jerusalem’s judgment for prostitution 23:22-35Four messages announce God’s judgment on Jerusalem for her unfaithfulness (Ezekiel 23:22-35). read more