Monday, August 15, 2016

THE DAY OF LOSS



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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The word of the Lord came to me: “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. Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.”

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.

Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things have to do with us? Why are you acting like this?”

So I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: Say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to desecrate My sanctuary—the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword. And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners. You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep but will waste away because of your sins and groan among yourselves. Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.’”

“And you, son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their heart’s desire, and their sons and daughters as well—on that day a fugitive will come to tell you the news. At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

Ezekiel 24:15-27

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever lost someone or something dear to you?

I know I have, on more than one occasion, and it’s not something you would wish on anybody. Maybe you can relate.

Well, as we look at the final verses of the 24th chapter, we find this matter of loss take center stage, both personally in the life of Ezekiel and collectively in the lives of the Israelites. Look at these verses again here:

The word of the Lord came to me: “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. Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.”

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.

Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things have to do with us? Why are you acting like this?”

So I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: Say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to desecrate My sanctuary—the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword. And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners. You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep but will waste away because of your sins and groan among yourselves. Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.’”

“And you, son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their heart’s desire, and their sons and daughters as well—on that day a fugitive will come to tell you the news. At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”  Ezekiel 24:15-27

First, Ezekiel suffers his loss as the Lord speaks to him in the morning, telling him his wife would die and by evening, she had. The woman who was the delight of Ezekiel’s eyes was no longer with him.

How would Ezekiel mourn such a loss?

Typically, a person in mourning might uncover their head and place ashes or dust on it. They might cry and be drowned in a mood of sorrow. They might go barefoot and cover the lower part of their face. Or they might accept food from others, food that would customarily be provided to those who were grieving.

But note that God commanded Ezekiel to do none of these things. When he was among the Israelites, he was to show no signs of distress or anguish. Rather, he was to carry on as if nothing had happened, to move forward and get on with life.

Well, his behavior in the midst of loss piqued the interest of the Israelites who wondered why Ezekiel was acting in an unexpected way

In answer to their question, Ezekiel prophesied about the following judgment events that were coming as he shared the words of the Lord:

1. The desecration and destruction of the temple.

God’s temple had been the center of worship for the Israelites, the place where the presence of God Himself abided. But the Israelites had turned their devotion and affection toward pagan gods and idols, and in doing so, away from God. They had even gone as far as worshiping these false gods and idols within the confines of God’s temple. Thus, God didn’t really have to defile His temple because His people had done it already. And so God was going to take it from them, taking away something that was His people’s pride, the delight of their eyes, and the object of their affection.

2. The death of many sons and daughters of the people.

The assault by the Babylonians was not just going to result in the destruction of God’s temple. Many lives would be lost, including sons and daughters of the Israelites. God promised that many would “fall by the sword.”

 So how were the Israelites to respond to such loss?

They were expected to follow the lead of Ezekiel and weren’t to show any indications of mourning even though they had lost their stronghold, joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their heart’s desire, and their sons and daughters taken away from them.

There would be no grieving on the day of loss. Period.

There would be none for Ezekiel. There would be none for the Israelites.

But let’s not think that these losses are the same in any way.

Ezekiel’s actions did not warrant the loss of his wife. She did not die because of his sinfulness, as if her death was some penalty for his actions. Rather, her death came at the will of God who had determined that it was time for her to come to Him. Ezekiel would have manufactured his own response but God’s will for him was to continue carrying out his prophetic duties. We should not be deceived into thinking that this was easy for Ezekiel. Losing someone so very dear to you is never easy. But we should be amazed at the level of faithfulness and obedience Ezekiel shows toward God, showing trust in Him through complying with His will and not his own.   

Conversely, the Israelites had fully deserved the judgment they received. They had turned their backs on God and His righteousness, opting instead to pursue sinfulness which was evident by the many times they disobeyed His commands and worshiped other gods. God had blessed them richly and in return, His people slighted Him in every way possible. And so He would show them what life would be like without Him in it, a life void of any blessing or favor, a life where they would have lost things of great value to them but in the end they only had themselves to blame.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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