Ezekiel 23:45

Ezekiel 23:45 says, And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.  God said that the righteous men would judge the people of Judah because they had committed spiritual adultery against God and had been spiritually unclean in their lives.  As followers of Christ, we are not called on the be the judge of people, but we are called on to be a judge of their actions as they relate to God's word.  If they are doing things that make them spiritually unclean, we are to point this out to them, but it is God Who will ultimately judge each individual, and it is only our responsibility to share the gospel with them.  Even if they are a Christian and are guilty of sinning once more, we are to point this out to them under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and out of an attitude of love.

Verse forty-six adds, For thus saith the Lord God; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.  God said that He was going to bring an army against the people of Judah so that they could be removed from Jerusalem and become as the spoils of war to the nation that defeated them.  I would say that God removed His protection from Judah and His holy city, Jerusalem, because of their sins and therefore they were to be defeated.  I don’t believe that God causes all the bad things in life that may happen to us, but if we are not following Him by faith, He may allow them to happen.  

Verse forty-seven continues, And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.  God said that complete destruction was coming to the people of Jerusalem.  They were to be stoned, and their sons and daughters would be killed by the sword.  Their houses would also be destroyed.  This was all going to happen because of their refusal to obey God, and if we refuse to obey God, first by accepting His only begotten Son Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and then by failing to always be obedient to His commandments, then one day we will face His judgment.  If we haven't accepted His gift of salvation, then we will be sent away to everlasting punishment, and if we have, then those works that we did that weren’t in accordance with God’s word will be burned up.  

Verse forty-eight states, Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.  God said that He was going to do this so that all the lewdness would cease in the land.  God was not going to allow those who would not live by their covenant relationship with Him but began to worship false gods instead to continue to live in His holy land.  When they were doing this, they were bringing dishonor to God, and since they wouldn’t confess their sins and become obedient to Him once more, He was going to allow them to be removed from the land.   If we profess to be followers of Christ while following the ways of the world, we will bring dishonor to God, and He will one day remove all who do so from His holy land.  

Verse forty-nine adds, And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.  God said that they were going to receive the just reward for their idolatry, which was to be taken away captive. He then said that when they were destroyed or taken away captive that they would know that He was God.  Of course, it would be too late to save them from being defeated.  One day, all those who put their faith in idols will be sent away to everlasting punishment and they will know that there is but one God, but it will be too late to save them from their everlasting punishment. 

Ezekiel 23:40

Ezekiel 23:40 says, And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,  God now said that the people of Judah had sent for people to come from afar and they adorned themselves to meet them.  They had sent for the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians at various times to come and protect them and had tried to make everything look beautiful for them when they came instead of looking to God for their protection.  Sometimes, we as followers of Christ think our protection in the world is going to come from somewhere other than God.  Whatever we look to other than God will always let us down, just as they let the people of Judah down every time they tried to find security outside of obedience to God.  

Verse forty-one adds, And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.  God said they sat on their stately bed, which Matthew Henry says refers to the throne, and pouring His incense and oil on a table in front of the throne   They were trying to show that God had endorsed their actions when He had not.  We may sometimes try to show that God has endorsed our actions by dressing them up with things that represent God, but if they are not in accordance with His will, they will simply profane His name.  

Verse forty-two continues, And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.  God said that not only the leaders had put their faith in these other powers but that the common people had joined them in doing so as well.  They were at ease because they thought they were safe.  Matthew Henry says the Sabeans refers to the drunkards who were in the wilderness around Jerusalem who would drink toasts to the health of these ambassadors from these other countries, while trying to make themselves look their best.  As Christians, we can never allow ourselves to look to anyone or anything other than God for our protection, and we certainly cannot try to make ourselves look our best for them.  

Verse forty-three states, Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them?  God said He asked the people of Judah, who as a part of God’s people who had often committed spiritual adultery against Him if they would do so now.  It was still their choice whether to do so or not, and it was determined by each individual and not with what the leaders may have said or done.  Even if those who are in power turn their back on God as has often happened in the past, it is still up to each individual Christian whether they will do so or not.  

Verse forty-four adds, Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.  God said that the people of Israel and Judah had gone willing to commit spiritual adultery against Him. They were never forced to do so but willingly chose to do so.  No matter what the people in power may do today that is against God and what His word teaches, it is up to each individual Christian whether we will follow them or remain true to God.

Ezekiel 23:36

Ezekiel 23:36 says, The Lord said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;  Some of the people of Samaria, or Israel, had returned to Jerusalem, or Judah, after Isreal had been defeated, but the people of Judah were no longer living by faith in God and obeying His commandments.  God asked Ezekiel if He would judge them both at this time.  If we find ourselves suffering defeat in the world today, we may look to Christians for help, but if the Christians that we are looking to for help are Christians in name only, then we both will be judged by God one day.  

Verse thirty-seven adds, That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.  God said both Israel and Judah, all of His chosen people had been unfaithful to Him by putting their faith in false gods.  This also affected their sons, who were supposed to be dedicated to God, but who were led to follow false gods and to suffer defeat as well.  If we don’t teach our children about God, they may never accept God’s gift of salvation.  Of course, the decision is ultimately up to each individual, but if we are a Christian in fact instead of only in name, we can make it easier for our children and other people to know about God.  

Verse thirty-eight continues, Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.  God then said that the people of Judah had defiled his sanctuary, or the temple that was seen as His sanctuary, and had also defiled His sabbath.  As Christians, we believe that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, or a sanctuary for God, and how often do we defile it.  Though the church building may be defiled, it is really not God’s sanctuary unless we are gathered there, but we often are more concerned with keeping the church building clean than we are with keeping ourselves from being spiritually defiled.  

Verse thirty continues, For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.  God said that when they had slain their children in sacrifice to idols that the same day, they came into His sanctuary to defile it.  We cannot practice sinful actions in our lives and at the same time profess to worship God.  This is never going to be pleasing to God.  We especially cannot gather as the church after committing sins against God without repenting and asking His forgiveness and expect Him to be pleased.