Audio Download

Ezekiel 23:1-25  Aholah and Aholibah, Part 1

[Study Aired July 8, 2024]

Introduction

Today’s study talks about the two women who were the daughters of one mother – Aholah and Aholibah. Aholah refers to Samaria, and Aholibah signifies Jerusalem. The study gives details of the sins these two women have committed, thus giving the Lord the occasion that He is seeking to come and judge them with the sword.

Jdg 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. 
Jdg 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. 
Jdg 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

The Two Women from One Mother

Eze 23:1  The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 
Eze 23:2  Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
Eze 23:3  And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. 
Eze 23:4  And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah. 

As shown in verse 4, the two women represent Samaria, which was called Aholah, and Jerusalem is referred to as Aholibah.  Samaria consisted of the ten tribes of the people of Israel who occupied the hilly central part of ancient Palestine who were defeated and taken captives by the Assyrians. Jerusalem, also called Aholibah, consisted of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and served as the capital for the people of Israel, and it is where the temple of the Lord, built by King Solomon, was situated. They were also taken captive by the Babylonians. Both Samaria and Jerusalem were therefore one people – the children of the Lord.

As we are aware, women represent the church. The mother symbolizes the church, and since the two women were of one mother, with one being older than the other, they spiritually signify the church of the Lord in different dispensations.  That is, the church before Christ came and the church after Christ came. 

Eph 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 
Eph 5:24  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 

Mar 3:33  And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
Mar 3:34  And he looked round about on them which sat about him (the disciples or the church), and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

As shown in verse 3, before we started our walk with Christ, we all committed whoredom in Egypt and were no different from the people of the world.

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Even when Christ came to us to start the process of becoming His people, that is, during our youth days, we were still of the world as we played whoredom. In verse 3, we are given a graphic view of what happened to us. We had our breasts pressed and our virginity defiled. As a church, represented by a woman, we must feed our children with our breast milk. That is, the milk of the word of the Lord. It is in feeding the young with milk that the church has favor in the eyes of the Lord as shown in Songs of Solomon 8:10.

Isa 66:11  That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.

Son 8:10  I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour. 

Unfortunately, even in our youth as a church, we had our breasts pressed. In other words, instead of feeding the children in Christ with milk, we rather focused on the pleasures of this world. 

Luk 8:14  And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

Being defiled as virgins means that we did not care about being espoused to Christ as our husband. We went in and played the harlot with another Jesus instead of Christ our husband.

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 
2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 
2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

The Sins of Aholah

Eze 23:5  And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours, 
Eze 23:6  Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. 
Eze 23:7  Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself.
Eze 23:8  Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.

As we learned in the previous study, our neighbors are those who have received the mercy of the Lord. This means that the Assyrians, qualified as our neighbors in verse 5, are those who were fellowshiping with us and were part of the church of Christ. David said that it was not an enemy that reproached me, but my guide, whom we took counsel together and walked into the house of the Lord in company.

Luk 10:29  But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 
Luk 10:36  Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 
Luk 10:37  And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Psa 55:12  For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: 
Psa 55:13  But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. 
Psa 55:14  We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. 

These brethren or the Assyrians are described in verse 6 as being clothed in blue and are the captains and rulers. It is instructive to note that the priests in the Old Testament were required to wear an ephod of the color blue. Thus, the Assyrian captains and rulers being clothed in blue affirms that these Assyrian armies represent those who have received the mercy of the Lord and were part of us as leaders (priests) of the church of the Lord. 

Exo 39:22  And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.  

Num 4:11  And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:  

In verse 6, these leaders are described as desirable young men. This implies that outwardly, these leaders are attractive in terms of how they present themselves to us and have the energy to work in the church. However, inwardly, they are like wolves in sheep’s clothing who are actually merchants of the souls of men. In the negative sense, these men clothed in blue relates to their status as merchants as shown in the following verse:

Eze 27:24  These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.    

Rev 18:11  And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her (Babylon); for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: 
Rev 18:12  The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 
Rev 18:13  And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

These men from Assyria described as horsemen riding on horses in verse 6 are those angels who are loosed from the river Euphrates by the sounding of the trumpet by the sixth angel to destroy the people of the Lord through false doctrines which is represented by the great river Euphrates.

Rev 9:13  And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 
Rev 9:14  Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 
Rev 9:15  And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. 
Rev 9:16  And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. 
Rev 9:17  And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
Rev 9:18  By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. 
Rev 9:19  For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. 

These false doctrines we imbibe cause us to commit whoredom as we leave the simplicity that is in Christ in favor of another Jesus as shown in verse 7. As a result, we defile ourselves with idols of the heart and therefore cannot hear from the Lord. As described in verse 8, our situation in the churches was no different from our lifestyles when we were in the world or Egypt.

Eze 23:9  Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. 
Eze 23:10  These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her. 

To the Lord’s elect, being delivered into the hands of the Assyrians is the same as being delivered to Satan since these Assyrians are the agents of the devil. As we have learned earlier, the purpose of handing us over to the Assyrians is for the destruction of our flesh.  Discovering her nakedness or stripping her naked means that as the Lord’s elect, we realize our sins or nakedness through the judgment of the Lord, which in this case is meted out by the Assyrians. The sword being an instrument of the Lord’s judgement by the Assyrians in verse 10 means the lying words or the false doctrines of the adversary spoken to destroy us. 

2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 
2Ti 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

Psa 64:2  Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: 
Psa 64:3  Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

The Sins of Aholibah

Eze 23:11  And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms. 
Eze 23:12  She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. 

As indicated earlier, these sisters represent the church in different dispensations. The people of Israel represent the church until the coming of Christ and therefore symbolize the elder sister, Aholah. Aholibah, the younger sister, signifies the church that Jesus Christ paid with His blood. Even before the Apostles died, the church has started its whoredom with Assyrians, her neighbors. What happened to the church, signified by the people of Israel both in the wilderness and in Canaan, are all written for our admonition. However, in spite of the Lord’s judgment of the people of Israel, the church of Christ, signified by Aholibah, did not pay attention. In fact, we became worse off in terms of our whoredom than our sister (Aholah) representing the people of Israel.

1Co 10:1  Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 
1Co 10:2  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 
1Co 10:3  And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 
1Co 10:5  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 
1Co 10:6  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 
1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 

We were led astray by the Assyrians, our neighbor as shown in verse 12. As indicated earlier, the Assyrians represent the leaders in the churches of this world who have led us astray through false doctrines to worship another Jesus. Joel chapter 2 gives us a vivid description of these leaders, typified by the Assyrians, who are empowered with all the resources by the Lord as they parade in the churches of this world as apostles while in reality, they are false apostles. These strong people in Joel chapter 2 are the same as the army of the two hundred million horsemen in Revelation 9:16-19.

Joe 2:1  Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 
Joe 2:2  A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. 
Joe 2:3  A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. 
Joe 2:4  The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
Joe 2:5  Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 
Joe 2:6  Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. 
Joe 2:7  They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march everyone on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: 
Joe 2:8  Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk everyone in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. 
Joe 2:9  They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. 
Joe 2:10  The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

This is how Peter described these Assyrians with whom we were enchanted during our time in Babylon even though they were causing us to commit whoredom:

2Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 
2Pe 2:2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
2Pe 2:3  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 

Eze 23:13  Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way, 
Eze 23:14  And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, 
Eze 23:15  Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity: 
Eze 23:16  And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea. 
Eze 23:17  And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them. 
Eze 23:18  So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.

As indicated in verse 13, both Aholah and Aholibah have taken one path, which is playing the harlot. In other words, worshiping another Jesus is the trade mark of the churches of this world irrespective of the dispensation. 

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 
Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. 

The pull of the harlot woman is irresistible unless we are given to know her in the spirit. Aholibah, the younger sister, defiled herself with the Babylonians while her elder sister, Aholah did that with the Assyrians. Spiritually, the Assyrians are the same as the Babylonians. The role of both Assyrians and the Babylonians was to increase our whoredom. This is what Paul has to say about the Assyrians and the Babylonians:

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 
2Co 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Eze 23:18  So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister. 
Eze 23:19  Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. 
Eze 23:20  For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. 
Eze 23:21  Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth. 

These verses continue the narration of the sins of the church of the Lord. In verse 18, we are told that she carried out her whoring openly and flaunted her nakedness. The sins of the physical churches of this world of which we were part of are open secrets to the public – how they have separated completely from the Lordship of Christ. As stated in verse 19, the churches have increased their whoring as they remember the days of their youth when they played the harlot in Egypt. This is to let us know that the current state of the churches of this world is no different from the people of the world (Egypt). In other words, the churches have conformed to the standards of this world of which the Lord has admonished us not to. This is because when we were in the churches of this world (Babylon), we were dominated by the lust of the flesh which is equated to how donkeys lust for a partner when they are on heat as shown in verse 20. Verse 21 shows us that our walk in the churches of this world was not different from how we lived in the world before Christ came.

Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

2Ti 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 
2Ti 3:6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 
2Ti 3:7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 

The Need for the Judgment of the Lord

Eze 23:22  Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side; 
Eze 23:23  The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses. 
Eze 23:24  And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments. 
Eze 23:25  And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire. 

In view of the fact that we had not changed but continued to live the lifestyles we were used to in the world, Egypt, even though we claimed to be the Lord’s people, the Lord saw it as the occasion that He was seeking to come and judge us. As we are aware, it is through the Lord’s judgement that we learn righteousness.  

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 

The judgment in this case means the Lord bringing the Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa mentioned in verse 23, against the Lord’s people who represent us, His elect, using the sword as His tool to judge us. This is affirmed in verse 25 where the remnant of the Lord shall fall by the sword together with our offspring (sons and daughters) who represents our false doctrines in our heavens. In verse 25, we are told that our residue shall be devoured by the fire. This implies that it is through the fire of the Lord’s words that our false doctrines shall be devoured. 

Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. 
Jer 5:15  Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. 
Jer 5:16  Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. 
Jer 5:17  And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. 

In Jeremiah 5:17, the nation that comes from far which represents the Babylonians, Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa in verse 23 shall eat our harvest and all the food for our sons and daughters, sheep, etc. The food here refers to our false doctrines which shall be destroyed through judgement. 

As indicated earlier, the negative aspect of sword refers to words that are spoken aimed to destroy us (our old man). These negative words spoken is one of the tools that the Lord uses to cause people to speak bitter words to us, His elect. 

Psa 64:2  Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: 
Psa 64:3  Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: 

Eze 38:21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.

Jdg 7:22 And the three hundred [men with Gideon] blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host [of the Midianites]: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

May the Lord continue to uphold us through His judgment of our old man so that after having done all, we shall stand!! Amen!!