Ezekiel 23-25

“... the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day” (24:2). Ezekiel prophesied throughout the time in which Babylon invaded Judah, and he used dramatic metaphors to explain how God saw the disaster (587 BC). God compared Israel (the northern kingdom) and Judah to adulterous, promiscuous women whose admiration for foreign empires and armies led them to their deaths. God had promised to love, protect, and provide for His people, but they had chased other sources of power and satisfaction. In the end, God gave them up to what they desired.

The world’s promises of happiness on our own terms lead to emptiness, and eventually ruin. But God, our “stronghold, joy and glory”, calls us to seek His kingdom and find life (24:25).