Commentary - Ezekiel 23:5-10

Bird's-eye view

In this section of Ezekiel's prophecy, the Lord lays out a formal covenant lawsuit against the northern kingdom of Israel, here personified as a woman named Oholah, which means "Her Own Tent." This is a raw and graphic allegory, and the explicit sexual imagery is meant to shock us. God is detailing the spiritual adultery of His covenant people. Having been married to Yahweh, Israel went chasing after other lovers, which in this case were the political and military powers of the day, specifically Assyria. The central charge is that of harlotry, which in the Old Testament is the premier metaphor for idolatry and covenant unfaithfulness.

The passage meticulously describes Israel's infatuation with the pomp and circumstance of the Assyrians, their desirable young men, their horses, and their finery. This lust was not just a political miscalculation; it was a profound spiritual betrayal. She gave herself over to them, and in doing so, defiled herself with their idols. God makes it clear that this is not a new problem; it is a pattern of behavior that began way back in Egypt. The climax of the passage is the pronouncement of judgment. In a display of perfect and terrifying justice, God hands Oholah over to the very lovers she lusted after. The Assyrians, once the object of her desire, become the instruments of her destruction. They strip her, kill her, and make her a public disgrace. This is what happens when God's people seek their security and identity in the world rather than in Him. The judgment is a mirror image of the sin.

Outline

Context In Ezekiel

Ezekiel 23 is a parallel prophecy to Ezekiel 16. In both chapters, God uses the extended metaphor of unfaithful wives to describe the sin of Israel and Judah. Chapter 16 focuses more on the whole history of Jerusalem, from her foundling state to her glorious marriage to Yahweh and subsequent fall into harlotry. Chapter 23 focuses on the specific political adulteries of the two kingdoms, Samaria (Oholah) and Jerusalem (Oholibah), portraying them as two sisters who both follow the same path of spiritual prostitution. This prophecy is delivered by Ezekiel to the exiles in Babylon, after the fall of the northern kingdom (Samaria) but before the final destruction of the southern kingdom (Jerusalem). The story of Oholah's sin and subsequent judgment serves as a stark and immediate warning to Judah. The message is clear: "You are doing the same thing your sister did, and you are about to suffer the same fate." It is a final, graphic plea for repentance and a justification for the coming judgment on Jerusalem.

Key Issues

The Harlot's Wages

When God entered into covenant with Israel at Sinai, it was a marriage ceremony. Yahweh was the husband, and Israel was His bride. He pledged His faithfulness to her, and she pledged her exclusive loyalty to Him. This is the essential backdrop to all the prophets, and especially here in Ezekiel. When we read the word "harlotry," we must not sanitize it. It is a gritty, ugly word for a gritty, ugly sin. Israel's sin was not simply a matter of breaking some abstract rules. It was the intimate betrayal of a marriage vow. It was adultery.

And what drives this adultery? A lust for what the world has to offer. Israel looked at the Assyrians and was captivated. She saw their military might, their political organization, their cultural splendor, their fine clothes and strong horses, and she wanted in. She thought that by getting into bed with Assyria, she could secure her own safety and prosperity. But you cannot serve two masters, and you cannot be married to two husbands. To seek security in the strength of man is to declare that God is not enough. To be infatuated with the glory of a pagan empire is to commit adultery against the King of Heaven. The central lesson here is that all idolatry is spiritual prostitution. It is trading the infinite glory and faithfulness of God for the cheap thrill and false promises of a worldly lover. And the wages of this sin, as the passage makes brutally clear, is death.

Verse by Verse Commentary

5 “Oholah played the harlot while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the Assyrians, her neighbors,

The charge is laid out with stark clarity. The sin was committed "while she was Mine." This is the aggravating factor. This was not the sin of some pagan nation that knew no better. This was the sin of God's own bride, chosen and cherished by Him. The verb "played the harlot" denotes a settled course of action, a lifestyle of infidelity. And the object of her lust was "her lovers, after the Assyrians." The word for lust here is a strong one; it is a burning, passionate desire. Samaria, the northern kingdom, looked over the border at the rising power of Assyria and was smitten. She saw their power and prestige as something to be desired and pursued, forgetting that her glory and security were to be found in her divine Husband alone.

6 who were clothed in purple, governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.

Ezekiel now details the specific things that seduced her. It was all about the external trappings of power and worldly success. "Clothed in purple", the color of royalty and wealth. "Governors and officials", men of rank and authority. "All of them desirable young men", the allure of youthful strength and vigor. "Horsemen riding on horses", the symbol of military might and technological superiority in the ancient world. Israel was star-struck. She was like a wife who becomes infatuated with a wealthy, powerful, and handsome neighbor, and begins to despise her own faithful husband. This is a picture of the church being seduced by the world. We see the world's success, its technology, its culture, its confidence, and we begin to think that if we could just be more like them, we would be better off. This is the essence of compromise.

7 She gave her harlotries to them, all of them the choicest men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she defiled herself.

She did not just look; she acted. "She gave her harlotries to them." She entered into political alliances and cultural exchanges. She opened herself up to their influence. And notice the inevitable result: "with all their idols she defiled herself." You cannot get into bed with the world without waking up with the world's filth all over you. Political alliance always bleeds into spiritual compromise. To embrace the Assyrians was to embrace their gods. Defilement is the necessary consequence of spiritual adultery. She sought what she thought was the "choicest" that Assyria had to offer, and in return she received the pollution of their idolatry, staining the purity of her covenant relationship with Yahweh.

8 She did not forsake her harlotries from the time in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her, and they handled her virgin bosom and poured out their harlotry on her.

God now traces this sinful pattern back to its source. This behavior did not start with Assyria. The seeds of this infidelity were present from the very beginning, back in Egypt. Even before the marriage covenant was formally ratified at Sinai, while Israel was still in her "youth," she had a history of spiritual promiscuity with the gods of Egypt. The language is graphic and personal: "men had lain with her...handled her virgin bosom." God is saying that Israel has a long-standing weakness, a deep-seated inclination toward idolatry. This is not a one-time slip-up; it is a chronic condition of the heart. This reminds us that sin has a history and a momentum. Old patterns, unless they are ruthlessly mortified, will always reassert themselves.

9 Therefore, I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted.

Here we move from indictment to sentencing. The word "Therefore" is the hinge. Because of her persistent, lust-driven adultery, God acts. And His action is a perfect exhibition of poetic justice. "I gave her into the hand of her lovers." This is a terrifying expression of God's sovereignty. He does not simply permit the judgment; He orchestrates it. He hands her over. The very ones she ran to for security and satisfaction become the instruments of her ruin. The Assyrians, whom she lusted after, are the ones who will destroy her. This is a profound principle of divine judgment. God often punishes sin by giving the sinner exactly what he thought he wanted. He lets sin run its course, and the consequences become the judgment.

10 They uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they killed her with the sword. Thus she became a despised name among women, and they executed judgments on her.

The judgment is described in three parts, each corresponding to the shame of a publically disgraced adulteress. First, "They uncovered her nakedness." This is the ultimate public humiliation, the stripping away of all honor and dignity. The nation was plundered and its weakness exposed for all to see. Second, "they took her sons and her daughters." Her children, the fruit of her covenant with God, were taken into captivity and exile. The future of the nation was carried away. Third, "they killed her with the sword." This refers to the political death of the northern kingdom in 722 B.C., when the Assyrians conquered Samaria and ended its existence as a nation. The result of all this was that she became a "despised name," a byword, a cautionary tale for other nations. The final phrase, "they executed judgments on her," is key. The Assyrians thought they were just conquering another territory for their empire, but they were, in fact, unwitting bailiffs, carrying out the righteous sentence of the divine Judge.

Application

This passage ought to be a bucket of ice water in the face of the modern church. The temptation to play the harlot with the world is ever-present. The world is constantly parading its "desirable young men" and its "horsemen riding on horses." It offers us political influence, cultural relevance, financial security, and technological sophistication. And the church, so often, looks at these things and lusts. We begin to think that our success depends on adopting the world's methods, speaking the world's language, and forming alliances with the world's powers.

But every time we do this, we are committing spiritual adultery. We are defiling ourselves with idols. We are telling our divine Husband that He is not enough for us. This passage is a stark warning that God is a jealous God. He will not tolerate rivals for His bride's affection. And if we persist in chasing after worldly lovers, He will, in His perfect justice, hand us over to them. The worldly powers we court will eventually turn on us and strip us naked. The cultural relevance we crave will become a source of shame. The political access we seek will become a trap that kills our witness.

The only path to safety and honor is the path of radical, exclusive faithfulness to Jesus Christ. He is our Husband, our King, and our only security. We must learn to see the world's finery for what it is: cheap trinkets compared to the glory of Christ. We must repent of our flirtations with the spirit of the age and return to our first love. For the church that remains a faithful bride, the promise is not a sword of judgment, but the joy of the marriage supper of the Lamb.