“Their names: Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister; They were Mine, And they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah” (Ezekiel 23:4 NKJV)

The Ezekiel passage today about the two adulterous sisters graphically illustrates how God (as the covenantal husband to Israel) felt about the idolatry of Israel (Samaria) and Judah (Jerusalem). After the death of King Solomon, Israel became a divided kingdom. The Northern kingdom called Israel moved its capital to Samaria. They were later conquered by the Assyrians. The Southern kingdom called Judah continued some years after the fall of Israel. The Babylonians conquered Judah whose capital city was Jerusalem. Ezekiel was among those deported from Jerusalem to Babylon during the second deportation. He prophesied that even though Jerusalem had witnessed Samaria’s sin, it didn’t hinder her idolatry. So, God would judge her as He had Samaria.