Aholah and Aholibah
In Ezek 23:1-49, Ezekiel prophesied of the whoredom of two women, Aholah and Aholibah.
In v.2, the two women are Samaria and Jerusalem. Samaria refers to the ten northern tribes of Israel, because Samaria was the city of the kings, beginning with Omri, 1 Ki 16:23-24. Jerusalem refers to the two southern tribes of Judah, because Jerusalem was the city of the kings, beginning with David.
These tribes were all originally part of Israel, their one mother. When they went into idolatry, they committed spiritual adultery against the Lord, Jer 3:6-11.
Women in the Bible can represent cities: Mystery Babylon, Rev 17:1-5, 18: New Jerusalem, Rev 21:9-10.
Aholah is Samaria; Aholibah is Jerusalem
Aholah stands for Samaria, and means his tent or tabernacle. Shiloh, in Ephraim, was where the tabernacle of the Lord first was when the Jews came into Canaan. Jud 18:1, 31. Ps 78:60, 67-68.
Aholibah stands for Jerusalem, and means my tabernacle in her. Aholibah is the younger because when the Lord abandoned Shiloh, David moved the tabernacle moved to Jerusalem, 2 Sam 6. The Lord ends up doing the same thing to Jerusalem that he did to Shiloh, Jer 7:12-14.
They both went after the Assyrians
In v.6, Aholah doted on the Assyrians. She defiled herself with their idols, v.7. She continued with them the whoredoms brought from Egypt, v.8, 3, 19-21. Obviously, they became involved with the Egyptian idols when they had moved there, Jos 24:14, Ezek 20:7-8. That’s why they went into bondage in Egypt.
You can see Israel doting upon the Assyrians, v.9, in 2 Ki 15:19-20. Afterwards the Lord sent the Assyrians who first took the tribes on the east of Jordan captive, 2 Ki 15:29. Then they came back in 2 Ki 17:3-6, 23 and took the other tribes captive. And then the Babylonians came into Samaria, 2 Ki 17:24, 30, and brought their gods.
In v.11 Aholibah was more corrupt in her inordinate love than Aholah, though she should have feared the Lord and left off her idolatry. In v. 12 She doted upon the Assyrians. For example, Ahaz sent to the Assyrians to help Judah against the Syrians, 2 Ki 16:7-10, 18.
In v.13, both Aholah and Aholibah went the same way.
Aholibah also went after the Chaldeans
In v.14-17 after doting upon the Assyrians, Aholibah went after the Chaldeans. You see this in 2 Ki 20:12-18 when Hezekiah was impressed with the visit of the Chaldeans. Nevertheless, beginning in 2 Ki 24:1, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came up against them. It is interesting in Is 23:13 that the Assyrian founded Babylon.
In v.17 Judah was alienated from her lovers. She hated them, v.28. She loved them for a while and then no longer loved them. For example, Jehoiakim was Nebuchadnezzars servant three years and then rebelled against him, 2 Ki 24:1. Zedekiah, likewise, rebelled against the king of Babylon, 2 Ki 24:20.
In v.18 because Judah had gone after her lovers, the Lord’s mind was alienated from her.
In v.22 The Lord said that he will raise up thy lovers against thee Aholibah. Notice that when Nebuchadnezzar attacked he was the servant of the Lord, Jer 25:9.
In v.23-24 the Lord brought a confederacy of nations against them, 2 Ki 24:2, with plenty of men and equipment to beat them.
In v.25-26 the Lord set his jealousy against them, Deut 32:15-16, 21. The enemies kill and spoil the inhabitants of Jerusalem, v.28-29.
Their whoredom began in Egypt
In v.27 the Lord’s objective was that Judah would not remember Egypt anymore. Israel had first turned to Egypt in 2 Ki 17:4. And evidently Judah turned to them before the destruction of Jerusalem, which Rabshakeh implied in 2 Ki 18:21. Then in 2 Chr 36:3-4, Egypt took Jehoahaz captive and replaced him with Jehoiakim. Then, following the destruction of Jerusalem, those remaining in Jerusalem eventually went down to Egypt for protection, 2 Ki 25:26.
Thus, the Lord poured out his fury upon them
In v.30 you see the reason for the Lord’s anger against the ten northern tribes and the two southern tribes.
In v.31-34 “her cup” is the cup of the Lord’s fury of which all actions will drink at some point, Jer 25:15-29.
In v.35 Israel got into this trouble because they had forgotten the Lord, Deut 32:18.
In v.36-37 the Lord repeats the sins that they had been committing. We have discussed these sins thoroughly in the prior lessons on Ch 22.
In v.38-39 they defiled the sanctuary and profaned the sabbaths. On the same day they had sacrificed their children to their false gods, they came into the sanctuary. And in v.40-42 they tainted their eyes and decked themselves with ornaments for their lovers before whom they placed the Lord’s incense and oil.
In v.42 the Sabeans are a people far off, Joel 3:8, who come in for destruction and spoil, Job 1:14-15. In v.42-45 Aholah and Aholibah committed adultery with them because they are harlots. These adulteresses committed spiritual adultery against the Lord and broke the bond between the Lord and Israel.
In v.46, the Lord brought the Chaldeans upon Jerusalem to destroy them by the means described in v.47.
In v.48-49 by recompensing their lewdness upon them, the Lord taught their women not to do after the lewdness of these adulteress women.