Ezekiel 23 Is Uncomfortably Relevant - What Two Ancient Sisters Reveal About the Spiritual Condition of Our World Today

Opening

There are some chapters of Scripture I can read comfortably.

Then there are chapters I have to read slowly.

Ezekiel 23 is one of them.

It is disturbing. It is graphic. It is emotionally intense. It speaks about two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, whose spiritual unfaithfulness becomes so extreme that HaShem describes their corruption with language designed to shock the conscience.

And if I am honest, my first instinct can be to distance myself from the chapter.

Surely this is about ancient Israel.

Surely this belongs to another civilization.

Surely our world is different.

But the longer I sit with Ezekiel 23, the harder that escape becomes.

Because underneath the shocking imagery is a question that reaches directly into the twenty-first century:

What happens when God's people become so fascinated with the values of the surrounding culture that they slowly stop recognizing how far they have wandered from HaShem?

That question frightens me.

Not because I believe every modern problem can be mapped neatly onto Ezekiel 23, but because I recognize something in the chapter that is painfully familiar: the human tendency to desire what looks attractive, powerful, sophisticated, pleasurable, or secure—even when pursuing it takes us away from covenant faithfulness.

Ezekiel 23 is not merely an ancient story about sexual immorality.

It is a warning about spiritual adultery, misplaced desire, cultural compromise, idolatry, and the terrible consequences of forgetting whom we belong to.

And when I look around at the state of affairs in our world today, I believe this chapter deserves our attention.

Not so that we can point fingers.

So that we can examine our own hearts.

Introduction: Why Would HaShem Give Us a Chapter Like Ezekiel 23?

When I first encounter difficult passages of Scripture, I sometimes want to rush past them and get to something more comforting.

Give me Psalm 23.

Give me Isaiah's promises.

Give me the words of Yeshua about mercy and forgiveness.

But Scripture does not only comfort me.

Sometimes it confronts me.

Ezekiel 23 is one of those confrontations.

The chapter presents two sisters, symbolically representing Samaria and Jerusalem. Their unfaithfulness is described through the imagery of prostitution and adultery.

The purpose isn't to entertain us with scandal.

The purpose is to expose something spiritually devastating.

HaShem's covenant relationship with His people was never supposed to be a casual arrangement. Israel was called to belong to Him, to walk in His ways, to reject idolatry, and to live as a distinct people among the nations.

Yet again and again, the prophets described Israel's idolatry as unfaithfulness to a covenant relationship.

The Torah had already warned about this danger.

In Deuteronomy 6:14-15, Israel was commanded:

“Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you).”

The issue was not merely religious preference.

It was loyalty.

Whom would Israel trust?

Whom would Israel worship?

Whose values would Israel embrace?

Whose voice would Israel obey?

Those questions haven't disappeared.

They have simply taken different forms.

The Story of Two Sisters

Ezekiel 23 begins with HaShem telling Ezekiel about two sisters.

Oholah represents Samaria.

Oholibah represents Jerusalem.

Both had known HaShem.

Both had received tremendous spiritual privilege.

And yet both became entangled with the nations surrounding them.

Ezekiel 23:2-4 introduces the imagery:

“Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: And they committed whoredoms in Egypt...”

The symbolism is intentionally severe.

The sisters had become captivated by foreign powers and foreign gods.

Instead of trusting HaShem, they sought security through political alliances, cultural imitation, and idolatrous relationships.

And eventually, what began as attraction became bondage.

That pattern is worth noticing.

First comes fascination.

Then imitation.

Then participation.

Then dependence.

Then bondage.

That pattern can happen spiritually long before we realize we are trapped.

The Most Dangerous Part of Spiritual Compromise

One of the things that strikes me most about Ezekiel 23 is that the sisters did not suddenly wake up one morning and decide, “Today we will completely abandon HaShem.”

Spiritual compromise rarely works that way.

It usually begins much more quietly.

A little fascination.

A little rationalization.

A little compromise.

A little entertainment that reshapes our desires.

A little ambition that replaces dependence upon Elohim.

A little resentment that becomes bitterness.

A little obsession with what everyone else thinks.

A little hunger for approval.

A little love of money.

A little tolerance for what we once knew was destructive.

Eventually, the thing we once resisted can become the thing we defend.

That is why Proverbs 4:23 gives such penetrating wisdom:

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

The battle begins in the heart.

Before behavior becomes visible, desire has usually been cultivated privately.

What Ezekiel 23 Says About the World We Live In

I don't believe Ezekiel 23 gives us permission to stand above modern society and announce, “Those people are Oholah and Oholibah.”

That would miss the warning.

The prophets repeatedly called God's own people to repentance.

So when I read Ezekiel 23 today, my first question should not be:

“Who is the wicked world?”

My first question should be:

“Where have I allowed the world to reshape me?”

That question is much harder.

And much more necessary.

1. We Live in a Culture of Endless Appetite

One of the defining characteristics of modern life is that almost everything is designed to make me want more.

More possessions.

More attention.

More pleasure.

More followers.

More experiences.

More recognition.

More entertainment.

More comfort.

More money.

More success.

The message is everywhere:

You deserve more.

But the Torah asks a different question.

Deuteronomy 8:11 warns:

“Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes...”

Notice what HaShem connects with material prosperity.

Forgetting Him.

The danger isn't necessarily having possessions.

The danger is allowing possessions to possess the heart.

I can have a house without worshiping the house.

I can have a career without worshiping the career.

I can enjoy technology without becoming enslaved to it.

I can appreciate beauty without making beauty my god.

The question is not simply, “Do I have this?”

The deeper question is:

“What has this thing done to my heart?”

2. We Live in an Age of Sexualized Everything

Ezekiel 23 uses sexual imagery because HaShem is communicating the seriousness of covenant betrayal.

Our generation knows something about sexualization.

Advertising uses it.

Entertainment uses it.

Social media uses it.

Music uses it.

Fashion uses it.

Algorithms can continually place provocative material in front of our eyes.

And something that once would have shocked us can eventually become normal.

That should concern me.

Because repeated exposure can slowly reshape what I consider acceptable.

Yet Yeshua brings the issue directly into the heart.

In Matthew 5:27-28, He says:

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

Yeshua does not merely address outward behavior.

He addresses the inner life.

That means holiness cannot be reduced to appearances.

I can look respectable while secretly feeding desires that are destroying me.

And Yeshua asks me to go deeper.

3. We Live in an Age of Idolatry Without Statues

This may be one of the most important lessons I take from Ezekiel 23.

Most modern people don't bow before golden statues.

But that does not mean we have eliminated idolatry.

We have simply become more sophisticated at creating gods.

Sometimes the idol is money.

Sometimes it is political power.

Sometimes it is celebrity.

Sometimes it is romantic love.

Sometimes it is our children.

Sometimes it is career success.

Sometimes it is our reputation.

Sometimes it is comfort.

Sometimes it is even our own image.

Isaiah 44 gives us a powerful picture of the foolishness of idolatry. A person takes wood, uses part of it for practical purposes, and then turns another part into an object of worship.

Isaiah 44:20 concludes:

“He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

That sentence haunts me.

A deceived heart.

That is one of the terrifying things about idolatry.

The idol does not announce itself as an idol.

It usually presents itself as something desirable.

4. We Live in an Age Obsessed With Being Seen

Social media has created a world where people can spend enormous amounts of energy constructing an image of themselves.

I understand the temptation.

I want people to see the best version of me.

I want to appear successful.

I want to appear happy.

I want to appear spiritually strong.

I want people to admire me.

But Scripture repeatedly reminds me that HaShem sees deeper than appearances.

1 Samuel 16:7 says:

“For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”

That changes everything.

The question is no longer:

“How do I appear?”

It becomes:

“Who am I when nobody is watching?”

Who am I in my thoughts?

Who am I with my money?

Who am I when I am angry?

Who am I when I am disappointed?

Who am I when I am sexually tempted?

Who am I when nobody applauds?

Who am I when my plans fail?

That is where spiritual authenticity begins.

The Connection Between Ezekiel and Yeshua

One of the things I love about reading the Tanakh alongside the Gospels is seeing how deeply Yeshua's teachings resonate with the prophetic call to return to HaShem.

Yeshua did not teach people to abandon the Scriptures.

He called them back to the heart of faithful obedience.

In Matthew 22:37-40, when asked about the greatest commandment, Yeshua answered:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

And He continued by connecting love for God with love for one's neighbor.

This is profoundly relevant to Ezekiel 23.

The opposite of spiritual adultery isn't merely avoiding certain sins.

It is wholehearted love for HaShem.

Holiness isn't simply a list of things I refuse to do.

Holiness is a life reordered around the One I love.

The Problem Isn't That We Live in Babylon

Sometimes believers speak about modern culture as though the solution is simply to escape society.

But ancient Israel could not solve its spiritual problem merely by changing geography.

The deeper problem was the heart.

I can move to a quiet place and still bring my idols with me.

I can delete every social media application and still crave human approval.

I can live simply and still worship money.

I can dress modestly and still possess a proud heart.

I can know Hebrew vocabulary and still resist obedience.

I can study Torah extensively and still refuse to forgive.

The problem isn't merely where I live.

The problem is what lives inside me.

Jeremiah 17:9 warns:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

And then comes the answer in the following verse:

“I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins...”

HaShem sees what I cannot always see in myself.

That should humble me.

But it should also comfort me.

Because the One who sees my heart is also the One who calls me back.

When God's Patience Is Mistaken for God's Approval

Another difficult lesson from Ezekiel is that judgment does not always arrive immediately.

Sometimes people continue in destructive patterns for years.

They prosper.

They succeed.

They gain influence.

They seem untouched by consequences.

And we may begin to wonder:

Does HaShem even care?

But Scripture repeatedly warns against confusing patience with approval.

Ecclesiastes 8:11 says:

“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”

That is frighteningly relevant.

Delayed consequences can create false security.

A person can think:

Nothing happened.

Therefore:

God must not care.

But Scripture tells me otherwise.

HaShem's patience should lead me toward repentance, not deeper rebellion.

Ezekiel 23 and the Collapse of Discernment

One of the most dangerous things about spiritual compromise is that it eventually damages our ability to recognize compromise.

What once bothered us doesn't bother us anymore.

What once convicted us becomes ordinary.

What once seemed dangerous becomes entertainment.

What once seemed worldly becomes fashionable.

What once seemed spiritually empty becomes desirable.

That is why I cannot trust my feelings alone.

I need Scripture.

Psalm 119:105 says:

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

A lamp doesn't merely tell me where I am.

It shows me where to walk.

When culture becomes confusing, I need the light of the Word.

How Do I Know If I Am Drifting?

This is where Ezekiel 23 becomes personal.

I can ask myself several uncomfortable questions.

What am I becoming fascinated with?

What occupies my imagination?

What do I think about when I have nothing else to think about?

What am I defending that I once questioned?

Have I changed my convictions because Scripture changed my understanding—or because I desperately wanted permission?

What do I secretly envy?

Sometimes envy reveals the idol I have not yet named.

Whose approval controls me?

If everyone's approval disappeared tomorrow, would I still obey HaShem?

What am I unwilling to surrender?

That may be where my deepest attachment lies.

What has become more important than faithfulness?

This may be the most revealing question of all.

A Practical Way to Respond to Ezekiel 23

I don't want to read a frightening chapter of Scripture, feel emotional for five minutes, and then return to exactly the same patterns.

So I need a response.

Here are several practices that can help me turn conviction into transformation.

1. I Need to Examine My Attachments

I can make a simple list:

What do I fear losing most?
What do I spend most of my time pursuing?
What do I think would finally make me happy?
What do I constantly compare myself to?
What do I become angry about losing?
What do I protect from God's examination?

Then I can bring those things honestly before HaShem.

Not defensively.

Honestly.

2. I Need to Rebuild My Relationship With Scripture

I don't want Scripture to be something I quote only when I need encouragement.

I want it to challenge me.

I want the Torah to teach me.

I want the Prophets to awaken me.

I want the Writings to give me wisdom.

I want the words of Yeshua to search my motives.

Psalm 1:2 describes the blessed person as one whose:

“delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

The goal isn't merely reading more.

The goal is allowing the Word to read me.

3. I Need to Guard What Enters My Heart

Not everything deserves access to my mind.

This doesn't mean living in fear.

It means practicing discernment.

I can ask:

After consuming this content, am I more hungry for HaShem—or less?

Does this strengthen my character—or inflame my flesh?

Does this make me more grateful—or more dissatisfied?

Does this produce compassion—or contempt?

Does this make holiness attractive—or make sin seem harmless?

Those questions can transform the way I consume entertainment, news, social media, and even conversations.

4. I Need to Stop Using "Everyone Does It" as a Moral Standard

One of the most dangerous phrases in any generation is:

“Everybody does it.”

Everybody may do it.

That doesn't make it righteous.

Exodus 23:2 gives a principle that remains remarkably relevant:

“Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil.”

The majority is not automatically the measure of truth.

Popularity is not righteousness.

Virality is not wisdom.

Cultural acceptance is not divine approval.

And unpopularity is not necessarily proof that something is wrong.

My standard must ultimately return to HaShem's Word.

5. I Need to Learn the Difference Between Conviction and Condemnation

Ezekiel contains judgment.

But the prophetic tradition is not simply about destruction.

The prophets repeatedly call people back.

That distinction matters.

Conviction says:

“This is wrong. Come home.”

Condemnation says:

“You are hopeless. Stay away.”

Those are not the same voice.

When HaShem exposes something in me, I don't need to hide.

I can repent.

I can confess.

I can turn.

I can begin again.

Yeshua's ministry repeatedly demonstrated this posture of calling people toward transformation.

In Mark 1:15, Yeshua proclaimed:

“Repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

Repentance means turning.

Not merely feeling bad.

Not merely crying.

Not merely regretting consequences.

Turning.

6. I Need Community That Tells Me the Truth

Isolation makes deception easier.

I need people who love me enough to tell me when I'm drifting.

I need brothers and sisters who aren't impressed by my appearance.

I need people who can ask:

“How is your heart?”

Not merely:

“How are things going?”

There is a difference.

Sometimes we need someone who can lovingly say:

"I think this is hurting you."

"I think you're becoming obsessed with this."

"I think your priorities are changing."

"I think you are rationalizing something Scripture asks you to surrender."

That kind of friendship is a gift.

7. I Need to Remember Who I Belong To

Ultimately, Ezekiel 23 brings me back to identity.

If I belong to HaShem, then I cannot build my identity entirely around the culture surrounding me.

I am not defined by algorithms.

I am not defined by political tribes.

I am not defined by financial status.

I am not defined by popularity.

I am not defined by my failures.

I am not defined by my accomplishments.

My deepest identity must be anchored in relationship with Elohim.

And when I remember whom I belong to, obedience becomes more than obligation.

It becomes love.

What If I Have Already Drifted?

Maybe this article has brought something uncomfortable to the surface.

Maybe you recognize yourself.

Maybe you have compromised.

Maybe you have become spiritually numb.

Maybe you are ashamed of something nobody else knows.

Maybe you have spent years chasing something that promised fulfillment but left you empty.

Maybe you have been trying to satisfy your soul with things that can never satisfy it.

If that is you, I don't want Ezekiel 23 to leave you in despair.

Let it wake you up.

The prophetic warning is a mercy because a warning gives me an opportunity to turn.

Psalm 51:10 gives words I can pray:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

That is a prayer I can pray without pretending.

I don't have to tell HaShem that everything is fine.

He already knows.

I can simply say:

“Adonai, search me. Show me where I have wandered. Give me courage to surrender what I have been protecting. Restore my hunger for You.”

The State of Affairs Today: What Should We Actually Do?

When I look at the world today, I see reasons for concern.

I see moral confusion.

I see increasing hostility.

I see loneliness.

I see families under pressure.

I see addiction.

I see sexual brokenness.

I see greed.

I see political rage.

I see people worshiping personalities.

I see people treating one another as enemies.

I see technology moving faster than wisdom.

I see people drowning in information while starving for truth.

But I also see something else.

I see opportunities.

Every dark cultural moment creates opportunities for faithful people to shine.

Yeshua said in Matthew 5:14:

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.”

He did not tell His disciples to become darkness because the world was dark.

He told them to shine.

That means my response to a morally confused world should not be panic.

It should be faithfulness.

I Don't Want to Merely Criticize the Darkness

This has become one of my deepest reflections from Ezekiel 23.

It is easy to criticize the culture.

It is harder to examine myself.

It is easy to condemn someone else's sin.

It is harder to ask whether pride, greed, lust, bitterness, envy, or idolatry has found a comfortable home inside me.

It is easy to say:

"Look at what the world has become."

But perhaps the better prayer is:

“HaShem, begin with me.”

Psalm 139:23-24 expresses this beautifully:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

That is the prayer of someone who wants truth more than comfort.

What Ezekiel 23 Teaches Me About Holiness

Holiness isn't withdrawal from humanity.

It is belonging to HaShem while living faithfully among humanity.

Holiness means I can enter a broken world without allowing its brokenness to define my character.

I can disagree without hatred.

I can speak truth without cruelty.

I can resist sin without becoming self-righteous.

I can maintain convictions without treating people as enemies.

I can love people without compromising what Scripture teaches.

That balance is difficult.

But it is desperately needed.

The Hope Hidden Inside the Warning

There is something I don't want to miss.

The very existence of prophetic warnings demonstrates that HaShem cares.

A God who had abandoned His people would not repeatedly call them back.

The Prophets speak with terrifying seriousness because covenant relationship matters.

And throughout Scripture, HaShem remains the God who calls His people toward repentance and restoration.

Isaiah 55:6-7 says:

“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

That is the note I want ringing in my heart after reading Ezekiel 23.

Return.

Not hide.

Not pretend.

Not give up.

Return.

Key Takeaways

Ezekiel 23 is a warning about covenant unfaithfulness, not merely sexual immorality.
Spiritual compromise often begins with fascination before it becomes bondage.
Modern idolatry can involve money, popularity, pleasure, politics, career, relationships, comfort, or self-image.
Yeshua teaches that holiness begins in the heart, not merely in outward behavior.
Cultural popularity is not the same thing as biblical truth.
We should examine ourselves before condemning the world around us.
Scripture must remain our standard when culture becomes confusing.
Conviction is an invitation to return to HaShem, not a reason to hide from Him.
Faithfulness in a dark world means becoming light, not becoming darkness.
The appropriate response to Ezekiel 23 is repentance, humility, discernment, and renewed covenant faithfulness.

Reflection Questions

I want to leave you with questions that I have found more valuable than easy answers.

1. What currently has the greatest influence on my desires?

Is it Scripture—or culture?

2. What am I afraid to surrender to HaShem?

Why?

3. Have I become comfortable with something that once convicted me?

4. Whose approval do I seek most?

5. What would I continue doing if nobody ever praised me for it?

6. Is there an area where I am using grace as an excuse for disobedience?

7. Have I become more interested in criticizing the world than examining my own heart?

8. What does my use of money reveal about what I value?

9. What does my private entertainment reveal about my desires?

10. If HaShem searched every corner of my heart today, what would I most want Him not to find?

And perhaps the most important question:

Am I willing to let Him search it anyway?

Encouraging Conclusion: The Warning Is Also an Invitation

Ezekiel 23 is not an easy chapter.

I don't think it was supposed to be.

It forces me to confront the ugliness of spiritual compromise.

It reminds me that idolatry is never harmless.

It shows me how desire can become deception, and how deception can become bondage.

But I also believe there is mercy in allowing Scripture to disturb me.

Sometimes being disturbed is the beginning of awakening.

Sometimes the most loving thing HaShem can do is interrupt the direction I am heading.

Sometimes the warning I don't want to hear is the warning that can save me from destruction.

So when I look at the state of affairs in our world today, I don't want to respond with despair.

I don't want to become consumed by outrage.

I don't want to spend my life announcing how wicked everyone else has become.

I want to become more faithful.

I want my home to be different.

I want my relationships to be different.

I want my words to be different.

I want my private life to match my public confession.

I want my children, friends, neighbors, and congregation to see something genuine—not perfection, but faithfulness.

I want to love Torah not merely as information but as a way of life.

I want the words of Yeshua to challenge my heart.

I want the Ruach HaKodesh to lead me toward greater holiness, humility, mercy, and obedience.

And when I discover that I have wandered, I want to remember that the answer is not to run farther away.

It is to turn around.

To return.

To seek HaShem.

To come home.

The world may continue changing.

Values may continue shifting.

Technology may continue accelerating.

Cultures may rise and fall.

But my calling remains remarkably simple:

Love HaShem. Walk faithfully. Guard your heart. Practice righteousness. Love your neighbor. Refuse idolatry. Seek truth. Show mercy. Follow Yeshua.

And when the surrounding culture grows darker, perhaps that is when our faithfulness can shine most brightly.

As Yeshua said in Matthew 5:16:

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

That is how I want to live.

Not merely pointing at the darkness.

Carrying the light.

Closing Prayer

Avinu Malkeinu,

Search my heart.

Show me the places where I have become comfortable with compromise. Reveal the idols I have renamed as necessities, the desires I have excused, and the influences I have allowed to shape me more than Your Word.

Give me courage to repent.

Give me humility to receive correction.

Give me wisdom to recognize deception before it becomes bondage.

Teach me to love Your Torah and walk in Your ways.

Help me receive the words of Yeshua not merely as comforting sayings, but as truth that transforms my heart.

Guard my eyes.

Guard my mind.

Guard my relationships.

Guard my home.

Guard my desires.

Give me discernment without arrogance, conviction without cruelty, courage without hatred, and holiness without self-righteousness.

When the world around me becomes confused, keep me anchored in You.