Here the prophet uses an allegory of two sisters to describe the corruption of both Israel and Judah. Both have been unfaithful and fallen into the worst sort of depravity and corruption. The point of the allegory is that Judah, seeing what happened to her sister Israel should have absorbed the lesson and changed her ways. Since she did not, she was going to suffer the same consequences.

Knowing what is true is both important and very difficult. Everyone claims to be telling the truth yet each tells a different story. How does one determine truth from lies? If the Bible is to be trusted, it claims to be of help in this, but Scripture itself is under attack. How do we know that the Bible is true and a reliable guide to sorting out conflicting information?

God starts with the false prophets in Jerusalem who lead the nation astray by saying what people want to hear instead of what God wants said. He then moves on to the priests who do not correctly teach God's word. The loss of a religious anchor allows the government to become corrupt. Finally the people figure out that the way to get along is to become corrupt themselves.

Just like Passover Succot predates Moses. When human civilizations get too big and challenge God, He breaks them up and sends people to live in tents for a while. The concept is that we are sojourners in this world and it is not our permanent home. It appears right now as if God is shaking the world and preparing to send us into tents for a time. The nations sense this and are scrambling to prevent it.

In chapter 20 God promises to gather all Israel into the wilderness where he will meet them face to face. The sobering part of this text is that, just as in the 40 years wilderness journey, not everyone will make it into the land. In 21 he describes the arrival of the Babylonians who will destroy Jerusalem.

Following a lamentation over Israel in Chapter 19, Chapter 20 finds the elders of Israel in exile coming to Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord. God tells them that they have not been faithful to the covenant and that He has no intention of giving them anything beyond the message to repent. Even in exile Israel still desires to be like all the other nations, a thing God says will never happen.

The Parable of the Minas in Lu 19 and the Parable of the Talents in Mt 25 have the same surface level point. Christ is going to be gone for a long time and He expects His servants to invest His resources rather than hoarding them out of fear. At a deeper level the parables are very different and serve two different purposes. As an example the Luke parable is for the general public where the Matthew parable is for His disciples.

In Scripture there are two sorts of hard heart. In Pharaoh's case his hard heart led him to defy God. This was also the case with the wilderness generation who refused to enter the Land because of the spy's bad report. The disciple's hard hearts were if a different character. When faced with a storm on the sea, their life experiences and fear prevented them from realizing the power that Y'shua had given them. They tried to solve their problem by worldly means and failed.

After the parable of eagles, cedar trees and vines in chapter 17, God goes on to correct a misunderstanding among the exiles. They had a proverb to the effect that their current sad situation was a result of the sins of their fathers. God assures them that He is just and sets consequences appropriate to the behavior of each one. He says that the wicked shall perish for their own sins and that those who repent will be spared.

Over the decades we have been assured that the US was pursuing noble goals abroad and that our societal 'experts' had things well in hand both locally and globally. The mess in Afghanistan has exposed our prideful incompetence to the entire world. Our civic and government elites are far from being expert at anything. Our only option is personal and national repentance. We must dump our pride and call upon God's mercy if we are to have any hope.