Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother.  Ezekiel 23:2  (NKJV)

If you’re wanting to read a disheartening chapter, it would be hard to beat Ezekiel 23.

When the people came out of Egypt and into Canaan, they were one country. Everyone was connected to one of the 12 tribes corresponding to the 12 sons of Jacob (whose name was later changed to Israel): Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Zebulun, Issachar, Gad, Ephraim, Dan, Benjamin, Reuben, Judah, and Simeon.

David set up Jerusalem among the southern tribes as a place of Most Holy Worship and it became the capital of the country. Unfortunately, those who lived in the northern part of the country became tired of traveling all the way to Jerusalem to worship God – so they became their own country of Israel. The southern tribes then became Judea.

Israel, being far from the seat of the Jewish religion, developed its own belief system. They tended to worship the gods of the country in which they lived. Judea, being the seat of the Jewish religion, maintained the religious hierarchy, which unfortunately, created their own rules and regulations that didn’t necessarily follow what God had intended. Both countries became embroiled in political negotiations with stronger, more powerful nations and in so doing, turned their backs on God. Israel aligned itself with Assyria for protection and ended up being destroyed by them. Judea tried to become aligned with Babylon but were unable to get all the privileges they wanted so they turned to Egypt for protection – and ended up being overrun and taken to Babylon as slaves.

In Ezekiel 23, God comes to Ezekiel and talks about two women, daughters of the same mother – speaking of Isael and Judea. The oldest daughter portrays Samaria, the capital of Israel. 

God explains how all the political shenanigans she played with Assyria would be her downfall – because she turned her back on God and did what she wanted to do.

The youngest daughter portrays Jerusalem, the capital of Judea. She was even worse than Samaria because she tried to play Babylon and Egypt against each other.

Neither daughter acted with honor in their treatment of the nations with whom they wanted protection. They flirted with other countries, making promises they didn’t keep or changing their minds on a whim. God wasn’t impressed with their behavior, and he decided to do something about it.

Sometimes, when we’re afraid of a possible situation, we try to control it so that we can be sure that it will work the way we want it to. The problem comes when we don’t quite understand the other side. We think we’re in control, but we really aren’t. Unless we have the strength of character (and patience) to avoid quick fixes, we can end up in a bigger mess than we could have ever imagined.  

Sometimes it’s best to wait and let God be in charge. He’s the only one who knows what’s really going on.

Becky Gillette is a former teacher, newspaper reporter, and preacher who seeks to take an original approach to life’s lessons. She is the author of “Jessie’s Corner: Something to Think About,” a collection of articles which she wrote for a weekly newspaper.