Ezekiel
24 reminds me of a conversation I had recently with a woman that has
been married for over 50 years. Her beloved husband has Alzheimer’s
disease and is slowly slipping away from her. He is no longer able
to do the things he used to do for her. Instead, she cares for him
and loves him and still speaks of him with a twinkle in her eye. I
believe she simply recalls the man that she married. Yet, she mourns
silently as he drifts further away. In today’s chapter, the
prophet is given an allegory and a burden. First Ezekiel is told to
“record this date“.
It was a date marking the beginning of the end for Jerusalem, “the
king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day“.
It would not get better, it would not go away; it would just
progressively get worse. The people did not seem to understand the
significance, so God instructed him to “Tell
this rebellious people a parable“.
He continues, “Put on the
cooking pot; put it on and pour water into it.
Put into it the pieces of meat,
all the choice pieces… take the pick of the flock… bring it to a
boil and cook the bones in it“.
God declares, “Woe to the city
of bloodshed, to the pot now encrusted“.
Are you in hot water?
After
the meat is cooked, the pot is left stained and unclean. God
explains that He “will pile the
wood high“. The best way to
get rid of the impurities is to “set
the empty pot on the coals till it becomes hot and its copper glows,
so that its impurities… and its deposit burned away“.
He says to the city, “your
impurity is lewdness… The time has come for Me to act… I will not
hold back; I will not have pity, nor will I relent. You will be
judged according to your conduct and your actions“.
The city and nation had slowly slipped away from the righteous
standard until now they were dangerous to themselves. They no longer
represented God.
Next Ezekiel is given a burden to carry.
“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“.
He writes, “I spoke to the
people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died“.
This was so powerful, the people asked, “Tell
us what these things have to do with us? Why are you acting like
this?” Ezekiel explained that
the beautiful Temple of the Lord, “the
stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the
object of your affection” will
be destroyed. They would not have time to mourn, but he says, “When
this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord“.
Today, there is no temple in Jerusalem. The Jewish nation has
perhaps forgotten the purpose of the Temple was for the atonement of
sin. Jesus told the people when they asked Him for a sign of His
authority, “Destroy this
temple, and I will raise it again in three days”
(John 2:19). It also explains, “But
the temple He had spoken of was His body“.
I believe God still speaks of the Jewish people today with a smile,
knowing one day they will recognize the Once and for All atonement
has come. Jesus the Messiah will return for His people and every
word of scripture will make sense. Our mortal bodies will decay, but
God renews the Spirit. The apostle Paul expresses our frustration
and our solution, “Who will
rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God,
who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
(Romans 8:24-25). Friend, has your spiritual life been left
neglected and unwashed? Don’t mourn in silence. Please remember,
you are God’s beloved and He calls you by name.