“And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?” — Ezekiel 24:19

Today’s text describes an extremely challenging time in Ezekiel’s life. God told him that his wife — the desire of his eyes — would die suddenly. She did so that very night. When Ezekiel, in obedience to God’s instructions, responded in an unusual manner, the people wondered why he was not following the normal mourning customs. They asked the question recorded in our focus verse, and this gave Ezekiel an open door to relay God’s message to the people.

At times, God may allow challenging circumstances in our lives to bring about an opportunity for us to witness for Him. An elderly lady name Sylvia experienced that when she collapsed one day and was taken to the hospital. It was found that she had pneumonia in both lungs, and she spent five days in intensive care. A couple of times during that five days, her husband was told that she might not live. 

However, God undertook. Sylvia improved and was moved to a regular hospital room. There she whispered to the Lord, “I’d love to share my testimony, but I’m not very good at getting started.” God heard that prayer and over the next five days, she had the opportunity to give her testimony to twelve different people. She said, “Being married for seventy years gave me a real opening. And when I told them I had been a Christian for seventy-three years, that was another opening.” 

A woman who shared Sylvia’s room confessed that she had an awful temper and didn’t know what to do about it, although Sylvia had not said a word to this woman about the Lord. In response, Sylvia said, “The only thing that I can think of is that you need God to help you.” Then she shared her testimony and her husband’s also. The woman was discharged the next day, and as she walked by Sylvia’s bed, she said, “I could hug you.” Sylvia’s testimony clearly had made an impact. God had used difficult circumstances to provide an opportunity to witness for Him. 

If you are facing a challenging situation today, perhaps God is giving you an opening to share the Gospel or to encourage someone. We want to keep our hearts open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit so we can use any opportunities that come our way. In verse 24, God said Ezekiel was a sign to the people, and that when the prophesies were fulfilled, the people would “know that I am the Lord GOD.” What a blessing it is when God uses our difficulties to help people learn about Him!

BACKGROUND

Immediately after God gave Ezekiel the parable about Jerusalem’s siege, recorded in the first part of chapter 24, God announced that the prophet’s wife would die suddenly (verses 15-19). Ezekiel was not to mourn or weep for her, indicating how the exiles in Babylon were to bear the news of the city’s fall and Temple’s destruction (verses 20-24). The final verses of the chapter, verses 25-27, are personal instructions to Ezekiel.

“The desire of thine eyes” in verse 16 refers to the prophet’s beloved wife, and “stroke” denotes a sudden death. In order to portray to the exiles that they needed to accept God’s judgment of Judah without dissent, Ezekiel was to control all external appearances of mourning for his wife, though the phrase “forbear to cry” in verse 17 indicates that he would have inner groanings and sighs. Ezekiel was to take actions that were the opposite of all Jewish and ancient Near East mourning rituals. Instead of uncovering his head (“tire” being a turban or headdress), he was to cover it. Instead of going barefoot, he was to keep his shoes on, and instead of covering his face with a mourning veil, the lower part of his face (“lips”) was to remain uncovered. He was to eat none of the food brought by the community to comfort him. 

According to verse 18, the message that his wife would die was given Ezekiel at the same time he received from God the parable that Jerusalem was under siege. He spoke the parable and its explanation in the morning, and his wife died that evening. On the subsequent morning, following God’s command, he showed no grief. 

When the people asked Ezekiel the meaning of his actions, he gave them God’s next message, found in verses 21-24. Israel had placed her confidence for security in the Temple, but just as Ezekiel’s wife had died suddenly, so the sanctuary would be destroyed suddenly. God’s declaration in verse 21, “Behold, I will profane my sanctuary…,” denotes removing honor and making the building ruined or unsuitable. The magnitude of the Temple’s loss in the eyes of the nation is reflected by the clauses “the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes [referring here to the sanctuary], and that which your soul pitieth [or yearned for].” The phrase “your sons and your daughters whom ye have left” refers to the exiles’ relatives left behind in Jerusalem. When the exiles in Babylon received news that the prophecy had been fulfilled — that Jerusalem had fallen and the Temple burned — they were to conduct themselves in the same way that Ezekiel had, with no outburst, mourning, or protestations. This may have been because the Israelites had no right to mourn a divine judgment that was so fully deserved.

God gave additional information that was for Ezekiel only in verses 25-27. The “day” alluded to in verse 25 was not that of Jerusalem’s fall or the Temple’s destruction, but rather the day that the news would arrive in Babylon. On that day, Ezekiel would be liberated from God’s instruction to speak only God-directed messages (see Ezekiel 3:26). “Be no more dumb” most likely denotes becoming unbound to the obligation to speak to the exiles, rather than recovering from an inability to talk. This was fulfilled in Ezekiel 33:21-22. (His next assignment from God would be a series of prophecies against foreign nations.)

AMPLIFIED OUTLINE

II.     The condemnation of Judah and Jerusalem

         E.     The signs of Israel’s judgment (24:15-27)

                  1.     The sign of the death of Ezekiel’s wife (24:15-24)

                          a.     The death of Ezekiel’s wife 24:15-18)

                          b.     The meaning of the sign (24:19-24)

                  2.     The sign of the prophet’s silence (24:25-27)

A CLOSER LOOK

1. How was Ezekiel going to hear of the fall of Jerusalem (verses 25-26)? 
2. What are some ways that God reveals Himself to people today?
3. Why might our testimonies have greater impact when we have difficult situations in our lives?

CONCLUSION

When we face challenging circumstances, we want to remind ourselves to keep our hearts in tune with God. He might be opening a door for us to share the Gospel.