EZEKIEL 23

1 The word of Yahweh came again unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:

3 And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.

The climax of condemnation

The two lewd women: Aholah (Israel) and Aholibah (Judah). "Aholah" means Her Own Tabernacle. That was the ten-tribed Israel and their manmade worship. "Aholibah" means My Tabernacle Is in Her: Judah, supposed seat of true divine worship.

The whole chapter is the presentation of their relationships with the world under the vivid and striking figure of sexual corruption and abomination. This is how God views any mixture of His holy separated people with the dead and corrupt world that knows Him not. It is the same vital lesson that James emphasizes in the same bold figure-

"Ye adulterers and adulteresses: know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?" (4:4).

Friendship with the world is so easy and so seemingly pleasant and harmless, but let us never forget that it is not so to God. In His sight,

"The whole world lieth in wickedness" (1 Jn. 5:19),

and any relationship with it and its institutions that is not necessary and in the service of God is utter abomination in His sight.

Let us ever bear Ezekiel 23 in mind. We, if we really are God's people, are the only living (it is a very high calling), and all the rest of the world are dead - all outside the covenant -relationship, no matter how close to us in the flesh. And contact is defiling, unless it be contact whose motive, like Christ, is to give the leper cleansing (Matt. 8:3) and the dead life (Lk. 7:14).

Bro Growcott - Prophecies in the captivity

42 And a voice of a [carefree] multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort [anashim of the common rabble ] were brought Sabeans from the wilderness [midbar], which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns [ateret tiferet] upon their heads.

Ezekiel, ... describes the head-dress of the Sabean and Keturite Arabs by atereth, rendered in Greek by stephanon, as "Sabeans from the wilderness, who put beautiful stephans or wreaths upon their heads" -- that is, turbans. It was a usual saying among them that Allah had bestowed four peculiar things upon the Arabs; and that one of them was, that their turbans should be to them instead of diadems. "Make a point," said their prophet, "of wearing turbans, because it is the way of angels."

Eureka 9.1.8