Ezekiel 24

“Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘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. 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.’ 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.” Ezekiel 24:15-18 (NKJV)

Covenant-breakers can expect the curses of the covenant upon them. That is what happened to God’s people in Ezekiel’s day. In a day of compromise by false ecumenism, secularism, and ritual formality, it is a lesson that today’s Church-at-large needs to hear. It is not a popular message and anyone who proclaims it will be as despised as any of the ancient prophets were. But we need to be as faithful as Ezekiel was. His testimony, his willingness to subject his most sensitive feelings in submission to the Lord’s overall purpose, is a singular mark of his discipleship.  

During the time of today’s chapter is an incident that is undoubtedly one of the saddest in Scripture. Ezekiel’s wife dies, and the Lord commands the prophet to use her death (by his response) as an illustration to the exiles of how they are to respond to what is going to take place in Jerusalem. Ezekiel was to hide his grief and show no mourning.

Many readers have considered Ezekiel weak or inhumane for not mourning. But on the contrary, Ezekiel’s strength allowed him to willingly comply with the Lord’s request. At no point does Ezekiel give way to his feelings, as Jeremiah does time and again. We can identify with Jeremiah’s sense of frustration, but because our present generation dislikes authority and absolutes, Ezekiel comes off as aloof and bland. Yet, the greatness of Ezekiel’s testimony lies in the fact that, for God’s Word to be magnified, Ezekiel himself must hide behind it entirely.

Our generation seems preoccupied with not offending people. In many Christian circles, the self-imposed prerequisite that we are sensitive to the feelings of others and “politically correct” completely neutralizes the restorative message of God’s Word. Ezekiel was commanded to divorce himself from emotions, even toward his beloved wife. And therein lies the real gravity of Chapter 24: God’s holiness is paramount, and His empathy toward His “bride” is completely in accordance with that holiness.

When we attach the 1st half of chapter 24 with the 2nd, we clearly see that God’s “burning-away” of the “dross” within His people must be accomplished without His personal or emotional attachment. Otherwise, judgment will be compromised, and what comes forth from the fire will be less than perfect gold.

Have you ever wondered why God allows difficult times to fall upon “good” people, even His own children? Perhaps it is because we only judge one another as “good” from a human perspective, while God, in His Mercy, shows us the “dross” in our lives by turning up the heat.