Two ‘Scandalous’ Biblical Chapters

On the use of strong rhetoric to convey scriptural truths:

The biblical writers tell it like it is. While the Bible can be effusive in praise for those who do right, it can also offer quite strong rebukes with quite strong language for those who do wrong – especially God’s own chosen people. Concerning the latter, anyone familiar with the Old Testament, and especially the prophets, will know that two chapters from the book of Ezekiel especially come to mind.

I refer to chapters 16 and 23. They are hardcore chapters indeed, speaking about the idolatry and unfaithfulness of God’s own people. I will not here share the 63 verses of ch. 16, or the 49 verses of ch. 23. You can read them for yourself. They are especially frank and raw in their condemnation of Israel’s gross sins.

As was often the case, God used the analogy of adultery and marital unfaithfulness when discussing the wayward people of Israel. There was no shyness about using terms like harlotry and whoredom. Various other prophets had made use of such imagery.

Think of the book of Hosea for example. The prophet was even commanded to marry a “wife of whoredom” (Hosea 1:2). I discuss what that entails and how we might understand it here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2021/09/14/bible-study-helps-hosea/

So these two chapters in Ezekiel are not unique, but still, they can rightly be viewed as ‘adults-only’ material. As Derek Thomas comments: “This lengthy chapter is mirrored in chapter 23: both make use of blunt words to convey the imagery of Israel’s prostitution. Indeed, so graphic is the language that C. H. Spurgeon felt that, in Victorian England, ‘A minister could scarcely read it in public’.” (p. 127)

In his commentary on Ezekiel, Old Testament scholar Douglas Stuart says this about ch. 16:

In this chapter is contained the longest single allegory of the entire Bible. Prostitution (harlotry) is the most frequent metaphor in the allegory, and by it Jerusalem’s unfaithfulness to the Lord is compared to a prostitute’s unfaithfulness, which of course occurs repeatedly and over a long term. Another common metaphor in the allegory is that of nakedness, and not just here, but often in the prophetical books. “Naked” and “exile” are basically the same word in Hebrew. Exile means exposing, taking away from protection or covering, and that also is what nakedness is, so the idea of nakedness became for the prophets a common way of talking about the coming exile.

 

Because the chapter speaks of sexual promiscuity and even nymphomania (vv. 28-29) it can be somewhat embarrassing to read through it. However, those who would wish to teach or preach on this chapter (or its even more explicit counterpart in chap. 23) can do so quite successfully and with decorum as long as they take care to concentrate attention on the facts to which the allegory points, namely, the long history of infidelity to the Lord manifested by the holy city—and not on the erotic aspects of the allegory itself. In Jewish Rabbinic tradition, Ezekiel was a book reserved for study by mature students rather than beginners partly because of the delicate nature of Chapters 16 and 23. (p. 141)

And I will stay with Stuart as he introduces us to ch. 23:

This chapter contains the most graphic language in the Bible in reference to sexual imagery. For that reason it requires extreme care in teaching and preaching. Indeed, in Jewish tradition this chapter was among the last to be taught to young men studying for the rabbinate because of its potential to offend.

 

This potential to offend is, of course, its very point. The chapter is an allegory about the offensive disobedience of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah), with regard to their lack of trust in the Lord and their willingness to seek peace, security, and religion from the great international powers of the day, Assyria and Babylon. Behind the allegory is the common metaphorical language of ancient international treaties and of Israelite prophets that likened unfaithfulness to the Lord to adultery and, more commonly, prostitution (Hebrew, zanah, vv. 3,7,8, etc.). Israel—either North or South or both —could be imagined as the wife of the Lord, cheating on Him with other gods and/or nations by her political and religious infidelity. To a considerable extent Chapter 23 follows and complements Chapter 16, although it does not seem to be the case that these two chapters are merely parts of what was once a single long allegory. More likely, at various times and perhaps even for various audiences, two separate but comparable prophecies were delivered about Israel’s history.

 

It is important to appreciate the fact that God expected His people to depend on Him alone for their political security among the nations as well as for their worship. He was their national God as well as the personal God of each Israelite. They were forbidden to try to obtain by diplomacy what He had promised to give them if they would have faith in Him. Thus, just as they were not to depend in any way on other gods, so they were not to depend in any way on other nations. The prophets frequently attacked the tendency in both north and south to try to find stability, prestige, security or strength by alliances with other nations (e.g., Hos. 7:8-12; Is. 30:1-5; Jer. 42:18-22). Unfortunately, the temptations were irresistible to Israel. What others had, she wanted. What others did, she copied. (pp. 220-221)

Daniel Block makes these remarks about ch. 16:

Ezekiel was not the first to describe Israelite apostasy in terms of “whoring after other gods.” His treatment of the metaphor may have been inspired by Hosea, on whom Yahweh called to portray this troubled marriage relationship in his own experience (see esp. Hos. 2:2-25 [Eng. 1-23]). The vividness of the oracle is also reminiscent of Jeremiah’s comparison of Israel to a lustful female camel restlessly running about, and an uncontrollable wild ass in the time of her heat (2:20-25). But the echoes of Jer. 3:1-13 are even stronger. Indeed, Ezekiel’s presentation sounds like an intentional exposition of the oracle proclaimed by his elder contemporary.

 

More than any other prophet, however, Ezekiel’s radical development of the theme was driven by theodicy. The total destruction of “the last remnant of Israel” that he has been incessantly preaching could be justified only as a response to some enormous evil. The purpose of this oracle is to describe that sin in the most graphic terms, so that when the judgment falls, all who witness it will recognize the justice of God.

 

No one presses the margins of literary propriety as severely as Ezekiel. He had earlier softened potentially offensive ideas with euphemisms (e.g., 7:17). In this chapter, however, through the priestly prophet Yahweh throws caution to the wind. . . . Such expressions … present serious problems for the commentator, who must clarify the author’s intention, and even more so for the modern translator, who feels constrained to tone down the language in respect for sensitivities of the target readership. But the semipornographic style is a deliberate rhetorical device designed to produce a strong emotional response. For the translator whose aim is equivalent impact, the line between appropriate shock and offensive lack of taste is extremely fine. I have tried to respect this distinction by rendering these expressions euphemistically in the translation, and leaving the literal interpretation for the commentary. (pp. 466-467)

Block then offers a four-page excursus on “The offense of Ezekiel’s gospel.” In it he presents seven points for us to consider. Here is one of them:

Fifth, the genre of prophetic preaching is determined by rhetorical considerations; prophets resort to hyperbole and graphic images for effect. Indeed, the effectiveness of this figure depends precisely on the dissonance between image and reality. If Yahweh’s supposedly abusive behavior does reflect and thereby reinforce prevailing conduct of men (a problem that may be more serious in our “enlightened” culture than it was then), the rhetorical value of this oracle is diminished. For all his aloofness, the book of Ezekiel portrays a prophet with a keen understanding of and in vital contact with his audience. Driven by a passion for the glory of God, he challenges his contemporaries with symbols designed to shock their stony hearts. (pp. 469-470)

And finally, some comments by John Taylor. Concerning ch. 16 he says this:

It has great pathos in its conception, but only a tragic crudity in its telling. The Christian reader may, not surprisingly, feel nauseated at the indelicate realism of Ezekiel’s language, but Ezekiel meant it that way. He was telling of ugly sins and he made the parable fit the facts.

 

Instead of dealing with a particular objection, voiced or implied, against his message of judgment on Jerusalem, Ezekiel in this chapter gives a survey of Israel’s spiritual history from her earliest origins up to his own day. This in itself should be enough to justify the Lord in His decisive action against Jerusalem. At the same time, Ezekiel sees beyond the immediate catastrophe of judgment to God’s ultimate purpose of restoration and forgiveness (53-63), but this may have been incorporated by him after the destruction of Jerusalem had taken place. (p. 133)

And on ch. 23 he remarks:

The allegory of Israel’s history which occupied chapter 16 is continued in this chapter in a slightly different form and in even more repulsive detail. It tells of two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, who represent Samaria and Jerusalem. While not described specifically as brides of Yahweh, some such relationship is clearly implied in verse 4, ‘They became mine’, and in verse 5, ‘Oholah played the harlot while she was mine’. The chapter deals with their intrigues with foreign powers, described in the crudest of terms, and with their subsequent downfall. Despite the distasteful theme and the indelicate language, the reader of these verses must appreciate that this is the language of unspeakable disgust and must try to recognize Ezekiel’s passion for God’s honor and his fury at the adulterous conduct of His covenant people. The feeling of nausea which a chapter like this arouses must be blamed not on the writer of the chapter nor even on its contents, but on the conduct which had to be described in such revolting terms. At the same time it is possible to see that Ezekiel’s language shows considerable awareness of the fundamental characteristics of apostasy. (pp. 170-171)

Also, note that whole books have been penned on this biblical theme. As I wrote in an earlier piece:

For much more detail on this, see the important 200-page treatment of this topic: Whoredom: God’s Unfaithful Wife in Biblical Theology by Raymond Ortlund (Apollos, 1996, later released as God’s Unfaithful Wife: A Biblical Theology of Spiritual Adultery, IVP, 2003). https://billmuehlenberg.com/2019/09/06/difficult-bible-passages-ezekiel-23/

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