Ezekiel 23:16

And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea. SENT MESSENGERS UNTO THEM INTO CHALDEA - (). It was she that solicited the Chaldeans, not they her. Probably the occasion was when Judah sought to strengthen herself by a Chaldean alliance against a menaced attack by Egypt (cf. ; 2 Kings 24:1). God made the object of their sinful desire the instrument of their punishment. Jehoiakim probably by a stipulation of tribute, enlisted Nebuchadnezzar against Pharaoh, whose tributary he previously had been: failing to keep his stipulation, he brought on himself Nebuchadnezzar's vengeance....

The sending of “messengers” refers to the act of Ahaz 2 Kings 16:7....

EXPOSITION After another pause, the prophet enters on another elaborate parallel, after the pattern of Ezekiel 16:1; but with a marked variation. There we have the history of one harlot, _s.c. _of Israel in its collective unity. There we have two sister harlots, the daughters of one mother, and they are Samaria and Jerusalem, as both belonging to Israel. For the purpose of the parable, they are represented as having had a separate existence, even during the period of the sojourn in Egypt. This was probably historically true, the line of cleavage caused by the claims of Ephraim to supremacy appearing again and again long before the revolt of the tea tribes under Jeroboam (Judges 8:1; Judges 12:1;...

AND AS SOON AS SHE SAW THEM WITH HER EYES, SHE DOTED UPON THEM,.... As lustful women, on the sight of the pictures of men, fall in love with them, and are mad after them; such a vehement desire after the idols of the Chaldeans prevailed, upon seeing their images: AND SENT MESSENGERS UNTO THEM IN CHALDEA; to make alliances with the Chaldeans, and to have their idols, and worship them....

In Ezekiel 23:1 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....

EZEKIEL 23. FATAL ALLIANCE WITH FOREIGNERS. This is the third and last of the three great indictments (Ezekiel 16, 20) which draw their material from the past rather than (as Ezekiel 22) from the present. Its underlying imagery is the same as that of ch. 16, but it differs from that chapter in dealing with the northern and southern kingdoms separately (_cf. Ezekiel 16:46_) and in emphasizing political rather than religious entanglements, though of course foreign alliances did as a matter of fact involve the recognition of foreign gods, i_.e._ idolatry (Ezekiel 22:7). Samaria and Jerusalem, the capitals of Israel and Judah respectively, are described as sisters married to Yahweh (_cf._ Jacob with his two sister wives). Their names, Oholah and Oholibah, are significantly connected with t

Read: AND SHE DOTED UPON THEM AFTER THE SIGHT OF HER EYES i.e. with delight and desire (Isaiah 11:3)....

C. Jerusalem's Prostitution 23:11-21 TRANSLATION (11) And her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became corrupt in her doting more than she, and in harlotries more than the harlotries of her sister. (12) She threw herself upon the Assyrians, governors and rulers, warriors, clothed handsomely, horsemen riding horses, all of them handsome young men. (13) And I saw that she was defiled; they both went the same way. (14) And she added to her harlotries; for she saw men depicted upon the wall, the images of Chaldeans depicted in red color, (15) girded with girdles upon their loins, with flowing turbans upon their heads, all of them with the appearance of captains, the likeness of the sons of Babylon, the Chaldeans, the land of their captivity. (16) And when she saw them she threw herself upon them, and sent messengers to them to Chaldea. (17) And the Babylonians came to her to the bed of love...

THE UNCHASTE SISTERS, OHOLAH AND OHOLIBAH The 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), and then the Egyptians (Ezekiel 23:8), and was at length slain by the former ...

EZEKIEL: ‘THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM GOD’ THE *SIN OF JUDAH AND THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD EZEKIEL CHAPTER S 1 TO 24 _IAN MACKERVOY_ CHAPTER 23 * The *Lord had made special promises to *Israel. Those promises were like the marriage promises that a man makes to his wife. When *Israel divided into two *kingdoms, both parts had that special relationship with the *Lord. But neither part stayed loyal to the *Lord. So the *Lord said that they were like *prostitutes. Their *sins had continued for a long time. And they could not avoid punishment. THE TWO *PROSTITUTES – EZEKIEL 23:1-49 (1) TWO SISTERS – EZEKIEL 23:1-4...