Title: Spiritual Fornication (Ezekiel 23:1-49)
Content Introduction: Fornication of Two Women 1-4 The idolatry of the chosen people and alliance with the Gentiles are spiritual adultery in the sight of God. "Two women" compares Oholah (Samaria) and Ohlibah (Jerusalem). Samaria represents the ten tribes of Israel, and Jerusalem represents the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin. They are descendants of one mother. They worshiped Egyptian idols when they were in Egypt. It was fornication when they were young. Oholah means 'her tent'. It is a curtain that you made yourself comfortable with.
1. Oholai Fornication and Punishment 5-10 Oholah, the northern nation of Israel, preferred to live in Assyria rather than God (2 Kings 15:19, 16:7-9, 17:3, Hos 8:9). Israel is the result of being deceived and led by the splendor and power of Assyria. "Wearing colored clothes," "handsome," and "smooth" etc. refer to the splendor and mighty power of Assyria. If you are deceived here, it is spiritual fornication. If a person desires the glory and power of the world, this is spiritual fornication (James 4:4). They forsook God and imported foreign idols to serve them, but they fell in love with Assyria and then Egypt. They bought Assyria's wrath and were destroyed by the Assyrian invasion in 721 B.C.
And even after the Assyrians migrated to Samaria, they intermarried and became a hybrid.
2. Oholibah's fornication and punishment 11-35 Oholibah is Jerusalem (Southern Judah). Oholah fell in love with Babylon and Egypt, but Jerusalem should see this and serve as the main God.
They are so promiscuous in the frequency and degree of fornication that they are out of control.
It was not only related to one nation.1) It was with Assyria, 12-13 2) It was with Babylon, 14-18 3) It was with Egypt. 19-21 Verses 22-35 say that God punished them for this fornication, and they chose Babylon and Assyria as their love affair, and they said that they would be judged worse than Samaria. Rebelling against God and importing foreign countries and their idols to serve as alliances is the same attitude as prostitution. They were not only rejected by God, but rather were destroyed by a country they had a relationship with. These are the words of a fool's vain dream.
3. Sentences of Judgment 36-49 The sins of these two women are listed as follows: 1) They plundered and plundered, 2) They became lewd through sensuality, 3) They worshiped idols, and even their children. 4) defiled the sanctuary, 5) broke the Sabbath, 6) formed communion with foreign nations, 7) betrayed Almighty God
In order to judge these sins, Oholah was fundamentally destroyed by the Assyrian army in 721 B.C., and Oholibah was destroyed by the Assyrian army in 721 B.C. It was wretchedly defeated by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in 596.
Conclusion: Babylon is not actually a righteous person, but it is reasonable to say that they are agents of God's righteous judgment that God has established here.