Ezekiel is unto you a sign

Bible Reading: Ezekiel 24-27

Ezekiel 24:24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord God.

The prophets not only spoke the Word of the Lord to the people, but many times, they were called upon for their lives to be a living parable so the people could see what was happening in their life and relate it to God's people. Hosea was called to marry a "wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms" to show God's great love for Israel and their great sin of following after idols and forsaking him. Isaiah was called upon to prophesy naked and barefoot for three years as a sign to Egypt and Ethiopia that they would be led in that manner by the Assyrians. Ezekiel had to do many things that were signs, but the hardest was the way he was to handle the death of his wife.

Ezekiel 24:16-17 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. 17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.

God told him his wife would die and he was not to mourn for her.

Ezekiel 24:18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.

God told the people that Ezekiel was a sign to them. As he had lost 'the desire of his eyes', his wife, they would loose loved ones. As he had not mourned, neither would they be allowed that luxury. The Babylonian invasion and captivity would be horrible and they would loose many loved ones.

How incredibly difficult it was for Ezekiel to be obedient to God. Yet, he did as he was commanded. He loved God and took his calling seriously. God's warnings are incredibly serious. We should heed God's Word and listen with fear and trembling. The love of Jesus is incredible, and the fires are hell are real. Something must be terrible to warrant the death of God's only begotten Son. Let's listen to God's Word!

In Christ,
Rody