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Commentary on Ezekiel 16 verses 15–34
In these verses we have an account of the great wickedness of the people of Israel, especially in worshipping idols, notwithstanding the great favours that God had conferred upon them, by which, one would think, they should have been for ever engaged to him. This wickedness of theirs is here represented by the lewd and scandalous conversation of that beautiful maid which was rescued from ruin, brought up and well provided for by a kind friend and benefactor, that had been in all respects as a father and a husband to her. Their idolatry was the great provoking sin that they were guilty of; it began in the latter end of Solomon's time (for from Samuel's till then I do not remember that we read any thing of it), and thenceforward continued more or less the crying sin of that nation till the captivity; and, though it now and then met with some check from the reforming kings, yet it was never totally suppressed, and for the most part appeared to a high degree impudent and barefaced. They not only worshipped the true God by images, as the ten tribes by the calves at Dan and Bethel, but they worshipped false gods, Baal and Moloch, and all the senseless rabble of the pagan deities.
This is that which is here all along represented (as often elsewhere) under the similitude of whoredom and adultery, 1. Because it is the violation of a marriage-covenant with God, forsaking him and embracing the bosom of a stranger; it is giving that affection and that service to his rivals which are due to him alone. 2. Because it is the corrupting and defiling of the mind, and the enslaving of the spiritual part of the man, and subjecting it to the power and dominion of sense, as whoredom is. 3. Because it debauches the conscience, sears and hardens it; and those who by their idolatries dishonour the divine nature, and change the truth of God into a lie and his glory into shame, God justly punishes by giving them over to a reprobate mind, to dishonour the human nature with vile affections, Rom 1:23, etc. It is a besotting bewitching sin; and, when men are given up to it, they seldom recover themselves out of the snare. 4. Because it is a shameful scandalous sin for those that have joined themselves to the Lord to join themselves to an idol. Now observe here,
I. What were the causes of this sin. How came the people of God to be drawn away to the service of idols? How came a virgin so well taught, so well educated, to be debauched? Who would have thought it? But, 1. They grew proud (Eze 16:15): "Thou trustedst to thy beauty, and didst expect that that should make thee an interest, and didst play the harlot because of thy renown." They thought, because they were so complimented and admired by their neighbours, that, further to ingratiate themselves with them and return their compliments, they must join with them in their worship and conform to their usages. Solomon admitted idolatry, to gratify his wives and their relations. Note, Abundance of young people are ruined by pride and particularly pride in their beauty. Rara est concordia formae atque pudicitiae - Beauty and chastity are seldom associated 2. They forgot their beginning (Eze 16:22) "Thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, how poor, and mean, and despicable thou wast, and what great things God did for thee and what lasting obligations he laid upon thee thereby." Note, It should be an effectual check to our pride and sensuality to consider what we are and how much we are beholden to the free grace of God. 3. They were weak in understanding and in resolution (Eze 16:30): How weak is thy heart, seeing thou dost all these things. Note, The strength of men's lusts is an evidence of the weakness of their hearts; they have no acquaintance with themselves, nor government of themselves. She is weak, and yet an imperious whorish woman. Note, Those that are most foolish are commonly most imperious, and think themselves fit to manage others when they are far from being able to manage themselves.
II. What were the particulars of it. 1. They worshipped all the idols that came in their way, all that they were ever courted to the worship of; they were at the beck of all their neighbours (Eze 16:15): Thou pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was. They were ready to close with every temptation of this kind, though ever so absurd. No foreign idol could be imported, no new god invented, but they were ready to catch at it, as a common trumpet that prostitutes herself to all comers and multiplies her whoredoms, Eze 16:25. Thus some common drunkards will be company for every one that puts up the finger to them; how weak are the hearts of such! 2. They adorned their idol-temples, and groves, and high places, with the fine rich clothing that God had given them (Eze 16:16, Eze 16:18): Thou deckedst thy high places with divers colours, with the coats of divers colours, like Joseph's, which God had given them as particular marks of his favour, and hast played the harlot (that is, worshipped idols) thereupon. Of this he saith, "The like things shall not come, neither shall it be so; that is, this is a thing by no means to be suffered; I will never endure such practices as these without showing my resentments." 3. They made images for worship of the jewels which God had given them (Eze 16:17): The jewels of my gold and my silver which I had given thee. Note, It is God that gives us our gold and silver; the products of trade, of art and industry, are the gifts of God's providence to us, as well as the fruits of the earth. And what God gives us the use of he still retains a property in. "It is my silver and my gold, though I have given it to thee." It is his still, so that we ought to serve and honour him with it, and are accountable to him for the disposal of it. Every penny has God's image upon it as well as Caesar's. Should we make our silver and gold, our plate, money, and jewels, the matter of our pride and contention, our covetousness and prodigality, if we duly considered that they were God's silver and his gold? The Israelites began betimes to turn their jewels into idols, when Aaron made the golden calf of their earrings. 4. They served their idols with the good things which God gave them for their own use and to serve him with (Eze 16:18): "Thou hast set my oil and my incense before the, upon their altars, as perfumes to these dunghill-deities; my meat, and fine flour, and oil, and that honey which Canaan flowed with, and wherewith I fed thee, thou hast regaled them and their hungry priests with, hast made an offering of it to them for a sweet savour, to purify them, and procure acceptance with them: and thus it was, saith the Lord God; it is too plain to be denied, too bad to be excused. These things thou hast done. He that knows all things knows it." See how fond they were of their idols, that they would part with that which was given them for the necessary subsistence of themselves and their families to honour them with, which may shame our niggardliness and strait-handedness in the service of the true and living God. 5. They had sacrificed their children to their idols. This is insisted upon here, and often elsewhere, as one of the worst instances of their idolatry, as indeed there was none in which the devil triumphed so much over the children of men, both their natural reason and their natural affection, as in this (see Jer 7:31; Jer 19:5; Jer 32:35): Thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, and not only made them to pass through the fire, or between two fires, in token of their being dedicated to Moloch, but thou hast sacrificed them to be devoured, Eze 16:20. Never was there such an instance of the degenerating of the paternal authority into the most barbarous tyranny as this was. Yet that was not the worst of it: it was an irreparable wrong to God himself, who challenged a special property in their children more than in their gold and silver and their meat: They are my children (Eze 16:21), the sons and daughters which thou hast borne unto me, Eze 16:20. He is the Father of spirits, and rational souls are in a particular manner his; and therefore the taking away of life, human life, unjustly, is a high affront to the God of life. But the children of Israelites were his by a further right; they were the children of the covenant, born in God's house. He had said to Abraham, I will be a God to thee and to thy seed; they had the seal of the covenant in their flesh from eight days old; they were to bear God's name, and keep up his church; to murder them was in the highest degree inhuman, but to murder them in honour of an idol was in the highest degree impious. One cannot think of it without the utmost indignation: to see the pitiless hands of the parents shedding the guiltless blood of their own children, and by offering those pieces of themselves to the devil for buying sacrifices openly avowing the offering up of themselves to him for living sacrifices! How absurd was this, that the children which were born to God should be sacrificed to devils! Note, The children of parents that are members of the visible church are to be looked upon as born unto God, and his children,; as such, and under that character, we are to love them, and pray for them, bring them up for him, and, if he calls for them, cheerfully part with them to him; for may he not do what he will with his own? Upon this instance of their idolatry, which indeed ought not to pass without a particular brand, this remark is made (Eze 16:20), Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter? which intimates that there were those who made a small matter of it, and turned it into a jest. Note, There is no sin so heinous, so apparently heinous, which men of profligate consciences will not make a mock at. But is whoredom, is spiritual whoredom, a small matter? Is it a small matter for men to make their children brutes and the devil their god? It will be a great matter shortly. 6. They built temples in honour of their idols, that others might be invited to resort thither and join with them in the worship of their idols: "After all thy wickedness of this kind committed in private, for which, woe, woe, unto thee" (that comes in in a sad parenthesis, denoting those to be in a woeful condition who are going on in sin, and giving them warning in time, if they would but take it), "thou hast at length arrived at such a pitch of impudence as to proclaim it; thou hast long had a whore's heart, but now thou hast come to have a whore's forehead, and canst not blush," Eze 16:23-35. Thou hast built there an eminent place, a brothel-house (so the margin reads it), and such their idol temples were. Thou hast made for thyself a high place, for one idol or other, in every street, and at every head of the way; and again Eze 16:31. They did all they could to seduce and debauch others, and to spread the contagion, by making the temptations to idolatry as strong as possibly they could; and hereby the ringleaders in idolatry did but make themselves vile, and even those that had courted them to it, finding themselves outdone by them, began to be surfeited with the abundance and violence of their idolatries: Thou hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, even by those that had admired it. The Jewish nation, by leaving their own God, and doting on the gods of the nations round about them, had made themselves mean and despicable in the eyes even of their heathen neighbours; much more was their beauty abhorred by all that were wise and good, and had any concern for the honour of God and religion. Note, Those shame themselves that bring a reproach on their profession. And justly will that beauty, that excellency, at length be made the object of the loathing of others which men have made the matter of their own pride.
III. What were the aggravations of this sin.
1.They were fond of the idols of those nations which had been their oppressors and persecutors. As, (1.) The Egyptians. They were a people notorious for idolatry, and for the most sottish senseless idolatries; they had of old abused Israel by their barbarous dealings, and of late by their treacherous dealings - were always either cruel or false to them; and yet so infatuated were they that they committed fornication with the Egyptians their neighbours, not only by joining with them in their idolatries, but by entering into leagues and alliances with them, and depending upon them for help in their straits, which was an adulterous departure from God. (2.) The Assyrians. They had also been vexatious to Israel: "And yet thou hast played the whore with them (Eze 16:28); though they lived at a greater distance, yet thou hast entertained their idols and their superstitious usages, and so hast multiplied thy fornications unto Chaldea, hast borrowed images of gods, patterns of altars, rites of sacrificing, and one foolery or other of that kind, from that remote country, that enemy's country, and hast imported them into the land of Canaan, enfranchised and established them there." Thus Mr. George Herbert long since foretold, or feared at least,
That Seine shall swallow Tiber, and the Thames
By letting in them both pollute her streams.
2.They had been under the rebukes of Providence for their sins, and yet they persisted in them (Eze 16:27): I have stretched out my hand over thee, to threaten and frighten thee. So God did before he laid his hand upon them to ruin and destroy them; and that is his usual method, to try to bring men to repentance first by less judgments. He did so here. Before he brought such a famine upon them as broke the staff of bread he diminished their ordinary food, but them short before he cut them off. When the overplus is abused, it is just with God to diminish that which is for necessity. Before he delivered them to the Chaldeans to be destroyed he delivered them to the daughters of the Philistines to be ridiculed for their idolatries; for they hated them, and, though they were idolaters themselves, yet were ashamed of the lewd way of the Israelites, who had grown more profane in their idolatries than any of their neighbours, who changed their gods, whereas other nations did not change theirs, Jer 2:10, Jer 2:11. For this they were justly chastised by the Philistines. Or it may refer to the inroads which the Philistines made upon the south of Judah in the reign of Ahaz, by which it was weakened and impoverished, and which was the beginning of sorrows to them (Ch2 28:18); but they did not take warning by those judgments, and therefore were justly abandoned to ruin at last. Note, In the account which impenitent sinners shall be called to they will be told not only of the mercies for which they have been ungrateful, but of the afflictions under which they have been incorrigible, Amo 4:11.
3.They were insatiable in their spiritual whoredom: Thou couldst not be satisfied, Eze 16:28 and again Eze 16:29. When they had multiplied their idols and superstitious usages beyond measure, yet still they were enquiring after new gods and new fashions in worship. Those that in sincerity join themselves to the true God find enough in him for their satisfaction; and, though they still desire more of God, yet they never desire more than God. But those that forsake this living fountain for broken cisterns will find themselves soon surfeited, but never satisfied; they have soon enough of the gods they have, and are still enquiring after more.
4.They were at great expense with their idolatry, and laid out a great deal of wealth in purchasing patterns of images and altars, and hiring priests to attend upon them from other countries. Harlots generally had their hire; but this impudent adulteress, instead of being hired to serve idols, hired idols to protect her and accept her homage. This is much insisted on, Eze 16:31-34. "In this respect the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms: others are courted, but thou makest court to those that do not follow thee, art fond of making leagues and alliances with those heathen nations that despise thee; others have gifts given them, but thou givest thy gifts, the gifts which God had graciously given thee, to thy idols; herein thou art like a wife that commits adultery, not for gain, as harlots do, but entirely for the sin's sake." Note, Spiritual lusts, those of the mind, such as theirs after idols were, are often as strong and impetuous as any carnal lusts are. And it is a great aggravation of sin when men are their own tempters, and, instead of proposing to themselves any worldly advantage by their sin, are at great expense with it; such are transgressors without cause (Psa 25:3), wicked transgressors indeed.
And now is not Jerusalem in all this made to know her abominations? For what greater abominations could she be guilty of than these? Here we may see with wonder and horror what the corrupt nature of men is when God leaves them to themselves, yea, though they have the greatest advantages to be better and do better. And the way of sin is down-hill. Nitimur in vetitum - We incline to what is forbidden.
There is no doubt that the word of the orator provokes the hero to worse things when a heretic builds up his hero in the perversions of heresy by what he says.
If you understand fornication of the flesh and the soul and the spirit, and if you see someone fornicating in them, you will also see Jerusalem fornicating herself three times.
As the law is not made for the just but for the lawless and those who are not subjected to God, so the teaching that warns us away from fornication does not become chaste but is for the lawless and the fornicators and the disobedient.
Those who have not completely gone away from religion but are conquered by sin and who want their sin to be hidden behave exactly like a prostitute who has been insulted.
(Verse 30, 31.) In what shall I cleanse your heart, says the Lord God, when you do all these works of a promiscuous and shameless woman? For you have made your brothel at the head of every street, and your high place you have made in every square; and you have not acted like a prostitute, increasing your price. LXX: What shall I do to your heart, says the Lord God, when you do all these works of a prostitute and shameless woman? ÷ And you have committed adultery three times with your daughters ** when you built your brothel at the beginning of every street, and you made your platform in every square; and you have not been like a prostitute gathering wages. And what the Seventy said: 'And you have prostituted yourself thrice with your daughters, which is not found in the Hebrew, nor has any other Interpreter put it.' But God speaks all of this contentiously towards Jerusalem, that He may find a remedy by which He can heal the sick and the half-dead; according to that which Isaiah writes: 'What more could I have done for my vineyard, that I have not done for it?' (Isaiah 5:4). And Hosea said: What shall I do with you, Ephraim? what shall I do with you, Judah? Your mercy is like the morning clouds, and like the dew in the morning that passes away (Hosea 6:4). For your idolatry is not hidden, but committed with complete freedom, as you set up altars and high places at the beginning of every street and on every corner, and you make your bed in every square. And you have not imitated the cunning of prostitutes, who often increase the price of desire with difficulty, and from this incite lovers to madness. Or according to the Septuagint: You were not like a prostitute gathering wages, but you gave what you should have received, so that you would not be protected by the help of those with whom you fornicated and followed demons, but rather, oppressed by various captivities, you would feel your calamities. And this can indeed be applied to every Christian soul, which, having abandoned the worship of God, has given itself over to vices and luxury, and pursuing a worldly life, did not even thrive in it, but lost the riches of religion and did not receive the riches of the world. And there was no difficulty at all in prostituting yourself to it, but you yourself embraced your lovers. Moreover, there is another spiritual fornication, when we forsake the Church and join the heretics, and build our brothel at the head of every road, as the divine word commands: Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it (Jeremiah 6:16), namely in the books of Moses, Joshua, Judges, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets. In the beginnings of all roads, their brothel is constructed, which, to the perversion of doctrine, abuses the testimonies of the Scriptures and says: This is what Isaiah says, this is what Hosea says, this is what Moses said, this is what Daniel said. And he does not place his brothel in the middle of the streets or at the ends of the roads, but at the beginning. For if he comes to knowledge and the depths of divine books, he will not be able to err. He also makes his high place or pedestal in every public square, allowing himself to be corrupted by the depravity and vices of the heathens, even among the heretics when he has been defiled by them, having no grace but exposing himself to contempt, because he easily lost the purity of faith that has passed. But this, which (as we have said above) is not found in Hebrew: Thou art fornicated threefold in thy daughters, or to Jerusalem, according to the letter, that in all kinds in its towns and villages it has fornicated; and there will be no corner or square left, where it has not set up the signs of idolatry: or to the Church and the deceived believers, who have not heard the words of the Apostle: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you in all things, that your whole spirit, and soul, and body may be preserved blameless in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. V, 23); but they have fornicated in every kind, with body, and soul, and spirit. We read in Proverbs: But you write them in three ways, so that you may answer with words of truth that are proposed to you (Prov. XXII, 20, 21). And it is commanded to us that we understand the words of truth, that is, the holy Scriptures, in three ways. First, according to the letter; second, in the middle through tropology; third, in a higher way, so that we may understand mystical things. According to the letter, it is this: Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication, and one and twenty thousand fell in one day (I Cor. X, 8). And: Do not murmur, as some of them murmured and were destroyed by the destroyer (1 Corinthians 10:10). But according to the sense and tropology, when we depart from the literal meaning and ascend a little to higher things, as the Apostle says: It is written: You shall not muzzle the ox when it treads out the grain. And immediately follows: Is God concerned with oxen? Or is He speaking because of us? (1 Corinthians 9:9). But the highest and sublime spiritual understanding, according to the same Apostle: Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife. This is a great mystery. But I speak concerning Christ and the Church (Ephes. 5:31-32). The daughters of the Church are those who fornicate, first of the believers, and afterwards of the deceived in the heresy of the soul, whose fault is attributed to the mother.
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SUMMARY
Ezekiel 16:30 delivers a poignant divine lament and indictment against Jerusalem, personified as an unfaithful bride. It captures the Lord GOD's profound sorrow and astonishment at the city's extreme moral and spiritual depravity, highlighting the audacious and unbridled nature of its idolatry and illicit political alliances. The verse powerfully conveys the depth of Jerusalem's rebellion, portraying its actions not as a result of weakness or circumstance, but as a deliberate, arrogant, and shameless pursuit of spiritual harlotry against its divine Covenant Partner.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Ezekiel 16:30 is rich in literary devices that amplify its message and emotional impact. The primary device is Allegory, where the entire chapter, and this verse within it, uses the extended metaphor of Jerusalem as an unfaithful wife to represent the nation of Judah's spiritual apostasy and covenant breaking. This is closely tied to Personification, as the city of Jerusalem is given human attributes and actions, specifically those of a "whorish woman." The phrase "How weak is thine heart" functions as a powerful Rhetorical Exclamation, conveying God's profound dismay, incredulity, and sorrow rather than seeking an answer. The description of Jerusalem's actions as "the work of an imperious whorish woman" employs a striking Metaphor, equating spiritual idolatry and covenant breaking with sexual infidelity, thereby highlighting the depth of betrayal and the offensive nature of the sin to God. The term "imperious" also adds an element of Hyperbole, emphasizing the extreme, unrestrained, and defiant nature of Jerusalem's moral decay and spiritual rebellion.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Ezekiel 16:30 powerfully articulates the theological concept of spiritual adultery, a recurring motif throughout the Old Testament prophets to describe Israel's unfaithfulness to Yahweh. God, as the faithful covenant partner, had chosen, nurtured, and betrothed Israel to Himself, expecting exclusive devotion. Her turning to idols and foreign alliances was therefore a profound act of betrayal, akin to a wife abandoning her husband for illicit lovers. This verse underscores God's deep emotional response to His people's sin—not just anger, but also profound sorrow and disappointment over the moral collapse of a heart that should have been wholly devoted to Him. It highlights the sanctity of the covenant relationship and the severe consequences of its violation, ultimately pointing to God's righteous judgment as a necessary response to such blatant and unrepentant rebellion.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Ezekiel 16:30 serves as a potent spiritual mirror for believers today, challenging us to examine the true condition of our "heart" before the Lord. The "weakness" described is not a physical ailment but a profound moral and spiritual feebleness that allows for compromise and rebellion against God's covenant. Just as Jerusalem used God's blessings to pursue idolatry, we too can fall into spiritual "harlotry" by allowing worldly desires, material possessions, career ambitions, or even self-reliance to become idols that compete for the primary devotion of our hearts. The "imperious" nature of Jerusalem's sin warns against a defiant, unrepentant attitude towards sin, where we might brazenly pursue our own desires without shame or regard for God's commands. This verse calls us to a radical self-assessment: Is our devotion to God wholehearted, or is our "heart" weak, prone to languish in spiritual apathy or wander into forbidden alliances? It compels us to guard against the subtle creep of idolatry in our lives, to cultivate a strong and undivided heart, and to return to a faithful, shame-filled repentance when we stray, ensuring our covenant relationship with the Lord remains paramount.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What is "spiritual harlotry" in the biblical context?
Answer: In the biblical context, particularly in the Old Testament prophets like Ezekiel, "spiritual harlotry" is a powerful metaphor for idolatry and covenant unfaithfulness. God entered into a covenant relationship with Israel, likening it to a marriage where He was the faithful husband and Israel His bride. Just as a wife's infidelity breaks the marriage bond, Israel's worship of other gods (idolatry) or reliance on foreign nations (unholy alliances) was seen as a betrayal of their exclusive relationship with Yahweh. It was a profound act of spiritual adultery, breaking the sacred vows made at Mount Sinai. This imagery emphasizes the deeply personal and relational nature of God's disappointment and judgment when His people turned away from Him.
Why does God call Jerusalem's heart "weak" and her actions "imperious"?
Answer: God calls Jerusalem's heart "weak" not in the sense of physical frailty, but as a profound moral and spiritual feebleness. It signifies a heart that has lost its integrity, its conviction, and its capacity for faithful devotion to God. This weakness allowed Jerusalem to engage in rampant idolatry and unholy alliances. Her actions are described as "imperious" (from the Hebrew shalleṭeth', meaning "vixen" or "domineering") to highlight the brazen, defiant, and unrestrained nature of her sin. It suggests that her spiritual harlotry was not committed out of necessity or compulsion, but with an arrogant, unbridled desire and a complete lack of shame, flaunting her transgressions rather than hiding them. This combination underscores the depth of her moral depravity and the severity of her rebellion against God's covenant.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Ezekiel 16:30, with its stark depiction of Jerusalem's spiritual harlotry and weak heart, finds its ultimate fulfillment and resolution in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Humanity, like unfaithful Jerusalem, has consistently demonstrated a "weak heart" (Romans 3:23), turning away from God to pursue idols of self, materialism, and worldly systems, engaging in spiritual adultery against our Creator. Yet, unlike Jerusalem, who faced righteous judgment for her imperious unfaithfulness, Christ embodies the perfectly faithful Bridegroom. He did not succumb to a "weak heart" but perfectly fulfilled the covenant of God, even to the point of death on the cross (Philippians 2:8). Through His sacrifice, Jesus takes upon Himself the judgment due to humanity's "whorish" rebellion, offering forgiveness and reconciliation. He establishes a new covenant, not based on human faithfulness that inevitably fails, but on His own perfect obedience and atoning work (Hebrews 8:6-13). The Church, as the Bride of Christ, is called to be pure and faithful, empowered by the Holy Spirit to overcome the "weak heart" of sin and live in true devotion to her Bridegroom (Ephesians 5:25-27). Thus, Ezekiel 16:30, while a lament over unfaithfulness, ultimately points to the greater faithfulness of Christ, who redeems and purifies His people, making them a chaste bride for Himself.