2 Sisters, prostitutes and drinking from the cup

Okay, if you ever thought that the Bible only contained "nice" stories and was edited to keep it clean, then you will be surprised by Ezekiel 23. It is lewd, sexual and deeply disturbing. However, it paints a vivid picture of what happened to God's people. The reason Ezekiel shares this as a prophecy is to get peoples attention. Sometimes we need to hear a story that is so shocking in order to get our attention - almost like Nathan had to share with King David after his adultery with Bathsheba.

So, Ezekiel tells a story of two adulterous sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, who turn to prostitution. As we see in verse 3 they represent Samaria and Jerusalem - "Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem." Their story is one of adultery, of turning away from God and of bearing the consequence of their actions.  

And as a result of all of this, they will drink the cup of their actions.


 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“You will drink your sister’s cup,
    a cup large and deep;
it will bring scorn and derision,
    for it holds so much.
³³ You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow,
    the cup of ruin and desolation,
    the cup of your sister Samaria.
³⁴ You will drink it and drain it dry

Sorry to be a little blunt today, but this chapter tells us the honest truth. We will all drink the cup of our own actions. If we pour it, we must drink it!

Of course, the Good News of Lent is, even though we come face to face with our betrayal, we are still offered the cup of Redemption, through Jesus Christ.

Living in Grace

D3LM3