Discipleship Evaluation.
Ezekiel 24:15-27
15 Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
16 "Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down.
17 Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man's bread of sorrow."
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.
19 And the people said to me, "Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?"
20 Then I answered them, "The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
21 'Speak to the house of Israel, "Thus says the Lord God: 'Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.
22 And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips nor eat man's bread of sorrow.
23 Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another.
24 Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord God.' "
25 'And you, son of man--will it not be in the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters:
26 on that day one who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears;
27 on that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.' "
In this passage in Ezekiel, we see God taking Ezekiel’s wife in death and God tells him not to mourn or weep as one would normally do.
It is as though God is using Ezekiel and his experience to show His own feelings towards Israel.
This is what God did with Hosea, when He tells Hosea to take a wife of harlotry.
It is as though the prophets are working out the feelings of God as a sign to Israel.
16 "Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke;
Ezekiel must have been very close to his wife. We are not told any more about her but she must have been special to Ezekiel to be called the desire of his eyes.
What a shock this must have been, and compounded by the words not to mourn.
16b yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down.
17 Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man's bread of sorrow."
This must have taken a lot of strength of character, not only to bear the grief but not to argue or barter with God.
It was not as if God took his wife and then explained it but to inform him before the event must have been shocking.
It appears that Ezekiel was an obedient prophet, never questioning but accepting the Lord’s authority in whatever happened.
This is indeed a challenge to every Christian.
Do we accept God’s will in all situations or do we challenge God and ask why is he allowing what is happening to us.
We say that we believe in the Sovereignty of God and that we will submit to His will and yet, when trials come we grumble and blame God for our circumstances.
Either God is in complete control and is working all things together for good to those that love Him.
Or He is allowing us to suffer for no reason.
Romans 8:28 - And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Eze24:18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.
The people must have been shocked at Ezekiel’s reaction to his wife’s death.
This experience had the desired effect. The people were in a quandary as to what it meant.
19 And the people said to me, "Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?"
Ezekiel, why are you not sad and why do you not mourn the loss of your wife?
Ezekiel preaches to them, what has happened to me is going to happen to you.
This is not fate or an accident, it is the work of the Lord, to show you what your actions have brought upon you.
Eze 24:20 Then I answered them, "The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
21 'Speak to the house of Israel, "Thus says the Lord God: 'Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.
All that you have confidence in is false.
The temple in Jerusalem, they thought could never be destroyed. They had a dangerous, misguided confidence in the mere existence of the temple.
Your arrogant boast, thought they had guaranteed security.
The desire of your eyes, The temple was more precious to them.
The delight of your soul, It was that which delighted them most.
Because of this, your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.
They would be in the same place as Ezekiel, they would not be able to weep and mourn properly.
Eze 24:22 And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips nor eat man's bread of sorrow.
23 Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another.
24 Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord God.' "
There are times in our lives, when we are going through a terrible situation, whether death or sickness or some other ordeal, that our reaction to it can speak in a greater way to those that look on.
The way in which we handle loss and calamity can be a great witness to the mercy of God.
It is a testimony to how God can uphold and strengthen His people and this can be much more than a sermon.
Psalm 23 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Eze 24:25 'And you, son of man--will it not be in the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters:
Eze 24:26 on that day one who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears;
27 on that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.' "
The beginning of Ezekiel 24 marked the start of Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem. It would become known to those in captivity that all they held dear had been destroyed,
This actually came to pass.
Eze 24:26 on that day one who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears;
Eze 33:21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth [month], on the fifth [day] of the month, [that] one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, "The city has been captured!"
From this point, Ezekiel’s ministry would change, for after the destruction of the city, the fulfilment of God’s judgement, Ezekiel could preach a brighter future.
We can look at this experience of Ezekiel and it can help us to evaluate our commitment to the Lord.
How will we react if something special were taken away from us.
Do we buckle or do we put our trust in the Lord.
Do the people around us see us trying to depend on ourselves, unable to cope, having no hope, or do they see a great witness to the keeping, strengthening power of God in the midst of adversity and loss.
Psalm 31:24 “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!”
Psalm 138:3 “On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.”
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”
Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
