Visions of the Kingdom: Week 26

Ezekiel 23:1-49: The Two Sisters

• 23:4 "Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem" - we are not left to argue over the identities.
  "Oholah" - "her own tabernacle"
  "Oholibah" - "my tabernacle is in her"
• 23:5 "lusted after the Assyrians" - with no trust in God and His covenant, they turned to the great Assyrian empire for protection and loans. They also embraced Assyrian idols. The black obelisk of Shalmaneser III depicts Jehu of the house of Omri prostrating himself before Shalmaneser.
  "desirable young men" - there was nothing noble or holy about their attraction to a more technically advanced civilization.
• 23:8 "began in Egypt" - again we are reminded that Israelites were already idol worshippers in Egypt.
• 23:14 "images of the Chaldeans" - "if your eye cause you to sin"
• 23:15 "land of their birth" - Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldeans Genesis 11:31
• 23:20 Scholars agree the translation is polite compared to the Hebrew. Horses were considered especially sexually potent.
• 23:27 After the judgement of Babylon the Jews no longer sought Egyptian style idols, but more subtle ones.
• 23:30 "prostituted yourself with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols" - as we in the West prostituted outselves with Prussia and defiled ourselves with their idols.
• 23:39 "slaughtered their children for their idols and entered My santuary" - we are condemned.