Ezekiel 23: 11 "Now her sister Oholibah saw
this, yet she was more corrupt in her lust
than she (Oholah)..."
The tale of two sisters! The Word of the
Lord came to Ezekiel, and he described
Israel (northern kingdom) and Judah
(southern kingdom) as two sisters, Oholah
(Israel/Samaria) and Oholibah (Judah).
Oholah means "her own tent" and Oholibah
means "My tent is in her!" Jerusalem was the
place of the tabernacle (tent of the Lord)
and yet the northern kingdom rejected the
God of Israel as revealed by rejecting
worship in Jerusalem. She established her
own religion, thus refusing the "tent" of
the Lord (1 Kings 12: 25-33). As a result,
God's severe judgment would fall on
Samaria--which should have served as a
warning to Judah (Oholibah)
not to transgress because she would come
under God's judgment by following her
sister. Instead, even with the "tent" in
the city, the very center of worship for all
of Israel, she refused to submit to the Lord
and went the way of her sister.
Did she ignore the consequences of her
sister's sin? Or did she think that because
the "tent of the Lord" was in Jerusalem that
God would not allow judgment to fall? God
is not obligated to honor a building or a
structure--because in reality, He dwells in
a temple not made with hands. (Acts 7: 46,
17: 24; 1 Cor. 3: 16). "God is Spirit and
those who worship Him must worship Him in
spirit and in truth" (John 4: 23). He does
not bless a place but a people; he does not
consider any building sacred but rather
those who believe and obey! "For where two
or three are gathered in my Name, I am there
in their midst" (Matthew 18: 20).
Genuine faith is not about a location but a
relationship with God. John (1: 14) reminds
us that, "And the Word became flesh and
dwelt (pitched His tent) among us..." If we
determine our faith based on buildings and
places and not obedience, we will stumble,
struggle, and flounder in our faith! We
would do well to learn from the disobedience
of others, and instead, lean into Him more
devotedly. We must dwell daily in The Word
and Pray and Abide in Him always (John 15:
5)) then our story will end quite
differently from the tale of two sisters!
In
Christ,
Tommy Middleton
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