Verse 1
ALLEGORY OF OHOLAH AND OHOLIBAH; SAMARIA AND JERUSALEM
Several of the authors whose works we have consulted with reference to this chapter have called the language of it repulsive, erotic, crude, indelicate and disgusting. We do not agree with such an attack. Our society has almost removed the common words for sin from their vocabulary.
The prodigal waster refers to himself as "generous," or "liberal." The stingy miser thinks of himself as "thrifty." The drunkard parades as "sociable," or as an innocent sufferer from "alcoholism." The adulterers like to appear as, "modern," or subscribers to the "new morality." Homosexuals call themselves "gay"; but God's Word indulges no such euphemisms. Sins are described in brutal language that refers to them in terms of what they actually are. "Ezekiel selected the marriage metaphor here (we believe the selection was God's choice, not Ezekiel's) for the purpose of showing in a glaring light the full horror of the people's disloyalty."[1] "It should be remembered that Ezekiel is here using the normal thought forms of his day to convey weighty teachings from God regarding the ways of men."[2]
"The adultery in this chapter symbolizes primarily the foreign alliances with pagan nations (which indeed always involved the acknowledgement of the gods of the allied nations)."[3] Since the worship of those evil pagan gods was depraved and licentious almost beyond imagination, the representation of God's Chosen People here under the figure of two sisters, insatiable in their lewdness, must be accepted as authentic and appropriate.
It is a bit shocking that Samaria is presented here as the older of the two sisters, since historically, this is incorrect. "What seems to be meant is that the Northern kingdom was larger and more powerful than the southern kingdom.[4]
"The word of Jehovah came again unto me, saying, Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: and they played the harlot in Egypt; they played the harlot in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there was handled the bosom of their virginity. And the names of them were Oholah the elder, and Oholibah her sister; And they became mine, and they bare sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah."
"The daughters of one mother .." (Ezekiel 23:2). Both were of the posterity of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
"They played the harlot in Egypt ..." (Ezekiel 23:3). The only proof of this needed is Genesis 32, where is recorded the apostasy of Israel in the matter of the Golden Calf, a development of just a little over a month during Moses' absence. The cooperation of the people in giving their gold for the making of this copy of an Egyptian God, and the wholesale adultery and fornication with which it was "worshipped" dramatically demonstrate that all Israel were without doubt habitual practitioners of such licentious "worship." Where? In Egypt, of course. Also, see Joshua 24:14. "Oholah and Oholibah ..." (Ezekiel 23:4). "The names of these two sisters are not identical in meaning, despite the claims of some to that effect. Oholah signifies `her tent'; and Oholibah signifies `my tent is in her."[5] Thus these names indicate that God never approved or recognized the worship of the Northern Israel which Jeroboam I instituted following the rebellion of the Ten Tribes against the House of David. As Plumptre wrote, "The distinctive element in both of these names is that the worship in Samaria was not authorized by God."[6]
"They became mine ..." (Ezekiel 23:4). This is the formal statement of God that he indeed accepted racial Israel as his wife, or "bride." God knew, of course, about the adulterous tendencies of his people, nevertheless he consented to become their husband.
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