Question 1

Who is Aholibah in this passage and what does she represent?

Accepted Answer

In this passage Aholibah is a picture of Jerusalem, the city where God’s temple stood and where His people lived. God speaks of Jerusalem like an unfaithful wife who has broken her marriage promise. Instead of trusting Him, she has run after other nations, their armies, and their idols, looking to them for help and pleasure. So when you read “Aholibah,” think of God talking to His own people in Jerusalem, confronting them for their spiritual adultery and warning them of the judgment that is coming.

Question 2

Why does God say He will raise up Aholibah’s lovers against her?

Accepted Answer

God says He will bring Aholibah’s lovers, the nations she chased after, against her as a form of judgment. Jerusalem had trusted these nations, like Babylon and Assyria, more than she trusted God. She made alliances with them and copied their idol worship. God turns that choice back on her. The very people she once admired and depended on become her attackers. This shows the emptiness of trusting in human power instead of God, and how sin often comes back on us in painful ways.

Question 3

What is meant by Jerusalem being left naked and bare?

Accepted Answer

When God says they will leave Jerusalem “naked and bare,” it pictures total shame, loss, and exposure. Her enemies will strip away her clothes and jewels, meaning her wealth, safety, and honor will be taken. The “nakedness of her whoredoms” being uncovered means everyone will see how she turned from God to idols. It is not only about physical loss, but about her sin no longer being hidden. God allows this so that her pride is broken and her idol worship is brought to an end.

Question 4

What is the cup of Samaria that Aholibah must drink?

Accepted Answer

The cup of Samaria is a picture of sharing the same judgment that fell on Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom. Samaria had already been punished for its idolatry and unfaithfulness. God says Jerusalem has walked in her sister’s ways, so she will drink the same “cup” of wrath, and even drink it fully. The words about drunkenness, sorrow, astonishment, and desolation show how overwhelming this judgment will be. It means Jerusalem will face conquest, shame, and ruin like Samaria did.

Question 5

Why does this passage talk about drunkenness, sorrow, and a cup?

Accepted Answer

The language of drunkenness and a cup is a picture for how heavy God’s judgment will feel. Just as a person drinks a strong drink and becomes overwhelmed and sick, Jerusalem will “drink” deep suffering, confusion, and grief. The “cup” stands for the measured amount of punishment God will allow because of their sin. It is called a cup of astonishment and desolation to show that the coming events will shock them and leave their city empty and broken.

Question 6

What does this passage teach about God’s jealousy?

Accepted Answer

God’s jealousy here is like the deep hurt and anger of a faithful husband whose wife has betrayed him. He is not jealous in a petty way, but in a covenant way, because His people belong to Him. When they run after idols and foreign powers, it is like adultery. God says He will set His jealousy against Aholibah, which means He will let her enemies act harshly. This shows that God takes loyalty seriously and that turning from Him is not a small matter.

Question 7

Why is God’s judgment in this passage so severe and graphic?

Accepted Answer

The judgment is described in strong, even shocking, images to match the seriousness of the sin. Jerusalem had not only done wrong in small ways; she had left God for idols, trusted violent nations instead of Him, and ignored His warnings. The pictures of disfigurement, stripping, and fire show how fully her pride, safety, and false worship will be torn down. The harshness is meant to wake the people up, to show that sin leads to real loss and that turning from God brings deep pain.

Question 8

How does God use this judgment to end Aholibah’s idolatry?

Accepted Answer

God says that by this judgment He will make her lewdness and whoredom cease, and that she will no longer lift up her eyes to Egypt or remember it. This means the suffering will cut off her desire for those old idols and alliances. When everything she trusted instead of God is taken away, she will see how empty those things were. The judgment is not only punishment but also a hard cleansing, meant to break the power of her idols so she can remember the true God again.

Question 9

What does this passage teach about forgetting God and casting Him behind the back?

Accepted Answer

At the end God says the reason for all this is that Aholibah has forgotten Him and thrown Him behind her back. That picture shows a cold, stubborn turning away, as if God no longer mattered. This passage teaches that forgetting God is not harmless. It leads to chasing other gods, trusting the wrong things, and living in ways that shame Him. In time, He may let the results of those choices fall on us. It warns us to keep God before us, not behind our backs.

Ezekiel 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;

Oholibah to Be Plagued

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Ezekiel 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;

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Oholibah to Be Plagued

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