And by the facility of her fornication she defiled the land, and played the harlot with stones and with stocks.
וְהָיָה֙ מִקֹּ֣ל זְנוּתָ֔הּ וַתֶּחֱנַ֖ף אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַתִּנְאַ֥ף אֶת־הָאֶ֖בֶן וְאֶת־הָעֵֽץ׃
5 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Her acts of unfaithfulness were in vain. She believed she was engaging in no wrongdoing, yet refers to idolatry as infidelity. By abandoning God, whom they recognized as their bridegroom, they devoted themselves to idols and filled the land with bloodshed, offering their children as sacrifices to malevolent spirits. They chose to partake in worship with lifeless stone and wood, making a clear proclamation against treachery.
The affliction of some serves as a means of healing for others. When a murderer faces capital punishment, he pays for his crimes, while society finds a measure of relief from the offense committed. Similarly, when the ten tribes known as Israel were taken into exile by the Assyrians and relocated to Media, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who ought to have turned wholeheartedly to God in fear, exceeded the transgressions of the ten tribes. They surrendered to idolatry, to the point of erecting a statue of Baal in the very temple of God, which Ezekiel denounced as an idol provoking the Lord's jealousy. He employs the metaphor of two sisters, illustrating their shared lineage from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, labeling one as completely apostate and the other as treacherous.
The former utterly renounced God and immediately began worshiping golden calves in Dan and Bethel, whereas the latter, who possessed the temple and reverence for the true God, gradually strayed from the Lord, becoming treacherous in imitation of her sister. This serves as a veiled prophecy concerning heretics, who, with misguided reasoning, pursue false knowledge and ascend the mountain of pride. Seduced by sensual desires, they engage in immoral acts beneath every leafy and attractive tree. In surrendering to the enemy for the ruin of the flesh, it often becomes evident that the house of Judah—symbolizing genuine belief and confession—is undeterred by their conduct. Instead, it is further corrupted, as their ease in immorality taints the church's foundation and aligns with doctrines that oppose God. Yet, if a faithful believer attempts to guide the wayward back to righteousness, seeking to prune the corrupted aspects of the body and urge those who have been led astray into repentance, and they continue to pursue their earlier offenses while masquerading as bearers of truth, it can be said of them, "In all these things, her sister Judah, the guilty one, has not returned to Me with her whole heart, but in deceit." This prophecy was given during the reign of Josiah, the righteous king, under whom Jeremiah commenced his prophetic ministry.
Her acts of unfaithfulness were of no consequence to her, for she believed she was not committing any wrongdoing. The Prophet refers to idolatry as 'fornication'; by abandoning God, her true bridegroom, she began to worship false idols. She also 'defiled the earth' through acts of murder, offering her children as sacrifices to demons, and engaged in fornication with materials like stone and wood. In this way, the Prophet clarified his accusation of unfaithfulness. He elaborated on her lack of revulsion towards her sister's vile actions, even when faced with her ultimate demise, noting that the ten tribes had more excuses than the tribe of Judah, as they persisted in the very deeds that led to their destruction, despite witnessing their own affliction. Consequently, the Prophet was directed to announce to them; as it is written, 'Go, and read those words to the north: and say, Turn unto me, O house of Israel.'
The Lord designates any soul that is faithless and defies His commandments as a harlot, as evidenced in various passages of Scripture. For instance, it is written that she has engaged in infidelity with stone and wood, and it is also stated that an evil generation and an unfaithful person seeks a sign (Mt. 12:39).
O my brethren, how far will this dark idolatry spread over the earth? How long will the earth stink from the adulteries of men with idols of stone and wood, silver and gold, flesh and blood? Has not Christ, the Almighty, shattered all idols into dust and ashes? Why do some bow down to this dust nowadays and fashion new idols for themselves from it?
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS