Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 22; Ezekiel 23; Ezekiel 24; Revelation 9
Scripture: Ezekiel 24:15-19
[Ezekiel's Wife Dies]
15 The word of the LORD came to me: 16 "Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. 17 Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover the lower part of your face or eat the customary food of mourners ."
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.
19 Then the people asked me, "Won't you tell us what these things have to do with us?"
Observation: God's prophet has been trying to get the message to the people. But they haven't been listening. How to get them to pay attention? It has to be something dramatic -- something drastic. And what God decides to do is shocking. He is going to bring about the death of Ezekiel's wife. The Lord first warns Ezekiel, and tells him that he is not to follow the customs of mourning. He is to show no outward grief.
How painful this had to be for Ezekiel. (I believe it was also painful for God as well.) But it works! After he does not mourn his wife's death, he writes, "Then the people asked me, 'Won't you tell us what these things have to do with us?'" This drastic signal got their attention and made them listen.
Application: Ezekiel (and his wife) were called to great sacrifice here, even beyond the immense sacrifice of their life and ministry. The goal was to get the people to listen, to ask, to seek. And it would be tough to do. Ezekiel knew this when he was first called. (Read the early chapters of Ezekiel.)
The application is that those who are called to God are called to give their lives to God. And giving your life to God sometimes means you give your life for God (i.e. you die). If a person is not ready to die, he is not ready to truly serve God. In fact, the call to salvation itself is a call to die. Baptism is a sign but also a foreshadowing. Jesus said "take up your cross daily."
Like Jesus, we must be willing to die that others may live. Ezekiel and his wife were willing to live out this drastic call. I respect and admire them so much. And God has called us who serve Him today to no less dramatic service.
Prayer: Lord, may I be found worthy to live and die for You. May I not shrink back from paying any price that others may live -- that heaven might be full and hell empty. Forgive me for my wimpy ways -- and empower me to take the challenge to step up and give my all.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
2 comments:
Amen. I often wonder what it will take for some people to listen. I know as a parent, I would willingly lay down my life to see my kids serving God. It would be harder to give up your life for the same purpose. And to give it up for people I'm not related to, even more difficult. I want to be at that place though. Ezekiel was amazing to trust God through this, obey and not be bitter or angry toward Him.
Hi Dad!
Well, I'm finally leaving a comment! The kids are all occupied or napping, and I'm just sitting down to do what I've promised I'd eventually do.
Anyway, I always reacted negatively to this passage. For some reason to me it has seemed especially cruel for God to cause someone that I considered a "third party" to die. To me, it would have been more easy to swallow if he had asked Ezekiel to die. This feeling comes from looking at things from my own perspective: I'd much rather God ask me to die than to cause anyone in my family to die!
To me, then, the message here is twofold: first, God is God and He can do whatever the heck he wants. Ya know? I believe that he is good and loving. I also believe that he is sovereign. We have to submit to him even when what he does doesn't seem good or loving, and believe that we must be wrong in our assessment of those acts. Which, of course, we are. And that's my second lesson: I am not God, not omniscient, and it is just plain stupid for me to presume to judge what God does or why he does it. If he deems my death or anyone else's death necessary, that's it! And we should be happy to be a part of His plan even if it comes to that.
It is a bitter pill to swallow sometimes, ya know? But that's life... giving it to God and trusting that whatever He does with it is what's best (and a whole lot better than what I could have done with it!)
Love ya!
Stacy
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