The Unequal Yoke

Series on Ezekiel

I. The Fall of Jerusalem

N. Forbidden Alliances, Text: 23: 1-49

Title: The Unequal Yoke

Introduction

This chapter is rated “R” for restricted. When young men were trained as Rabbis in Israel there were a few Scriptures that were taught last after they were older and more mature. These included the sensuous love song, the Song of Solomon, and Ezekiel 23. But it is the intention of the chapter to shock, embarrass and confront. The avoidance of such Scriptures could be what we call “Puritanical,” although this is a bad rap because the Puritans were not afraid to be open and frank about sexual matters. There is a hypocrisy that infects our society. People tend to be frank when they should be “Puritanical,” and “Puritanical” when they should be frank and open. Israel had prostituted itself. Although it involved sexual matters it was much more and consisted of all kinds of unfaithfulness, especially idolatry and forbidden alliances. This is one of the only places in the Bible where the words love or lover are used in our modern Hollywood vernacular to describe the paramours that Israel ran after. Actually it is fornication and God is thoroughly disgusted with it, and He conveys that disgust in the graphic language of this chapter. They are despicable. Let us look at the similarity and correspondence of our present society with their conduct: the corresponding corruption, the corresponding causes, and the corresponding conclusion.

I The Corresponding Corruption

Verses 1-4 describe the recipients of this judgment with Hebrew names, Oholah and Oholibah. The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. They became prostitutes in Egypt, engaging in prostitution from their youth. In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed. The older was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.” The Hebrew word for tent is “ohel.” Oholah means her tent, and Oholibah means my tent in her. Her tent describes the northern kingdom, Samaria that had rebelled first under Jeroboam and set up its own worship center or tent. The southern kingdom of Judah is called Oholibah because the tent of God, and later the temple, remained in Jerusalem and was still their center of worship. God’s tent was in her. Their corruption is mirrored in the New Testament. In II Corinthians 6: 14-18, Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” The Corinthians lived in a very licentious society and were engaged in the same sinful sexual practices and unholy alliances as Israel and Judah. In our day, as in Paul’s, both the family and the church have been damaged by this. Both are essentially covenants with God. Marriage is a covenant and church membership is a covenant. In both we make promises of faithfulness to God and His Word. There is unfaithfulness in both realms. Our nation, though founded by Christians is not now distinctively Christian, but it still foolishly makes the mistake of establishing treaties with other pagan nations who are anti-God and we do not trust in the living God. Why are we so foolish as to think like Israel that we can escape with impunity.

II The Corresponding Causes

The causes are as follows. First, covetousness, because they wanted above all else to be like the nations around them. There are frequent references in verses 11-27 to wealth, power and beauty. Secondly, cowardice, because they feared the nations around them, and these they feared because they did not fear God. If you do not fear the Lord you will fear what men can do to you. The chapter is full of irony because the very thing they fear, foreign invasion, happens because they trust other nations instead of Yahweh. So also the ironical references to the desirable young men because these magnificent, handsome glorious lovers became the fearful warriors that brought their destruction. The third cause is conniving. They have the mistaken notion that they can outwit God. The one thing they are bold about is trampling and defiling His courts. Note verses 36-39, The LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront them with their detestable practices, for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them. They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my Sabbaths. On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated it. That is what they did in my house.” When Christians fail to worship God in a Scripturally prescribed and God glorifying way, and do what they want because it pleases them they are committing the same sin, worshipping themselves and not God. Clearly we live in a covetous, cowardly, conniving generation. It is prostitution to worship God the way we want, and not the way He wants.

III The Corresponding Conclusion

As we saw earlier, the two parts of the nation are described by “Her tent,” and “My tent in her.” The people of that day lived in tents and they originally worshipped God in a tent. The temple was a copy of the original tabernacle or tent. This has a deep meaning. They were God’s tent and we are God’s tent. We see this image in Psalm 23 where the traveler who walks through the valley of the shadow of death is welcomed, though a stranger, into a tent by the host. Near eastern hospitality dictated that once there his life would be defended to the death by his host. God is the host and in His tent we are protected. But now to carry the image a step further, Israel was in God’s tent but into that tent they brought idols, immorality, and unholy alliances. In verses 29 and 30 we read, They (The Babylonians) will deal with you in hatred and take away everything you have worked for. They will leave you naked and bare, and the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your lewdness and promiscuity have brought this upon you, because you lusted after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. God, having uncovered their sin, will strip them naked and expose all their adulteries because they exposed themselves to pagans, And he says in verses 35, 48 and 49, Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Since you have forgotten me and thrust me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution. So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you. You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD. This is an important lesson for every age including our own. They forgot God to get what they wanted, and in the end they didn’t get what they wanted or God. John the apostle says, Little children keep yourselves from idols. There is such a thing as spiritual adultery.