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Then this message came to me from the LORD: "Son of man, with one blow I will take away your dearest treasure. Yet you must not show any sorrow at her death. Do not weep; let there be no tears. Groan silently, but let there be no wailing at her grave. Do not uncover your head or take off your sandals. Do not perform the usual rituals of mourning or accept any food brought to you by consoling friends." So I proclaimed this to the people the next morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did everything I had been told to do. Ezekiel 24:15-18 NLT
Some absolute shockers dot the pages of scripture. Today’s passage is one: as a sign to His sinful people, God took the prophet Ezekiel’s “dearest treasure”—his wife.
How could God be so cruel? We may ask ourselves.
But consider that this unnamed woman was spared the horrific Babylonian invasion. “What sorrow awaits Jerusalem,” God said (Ezekiel 24:6). If she served Him like Ezekiel did, she would avoid that trauma and receive her reward sooner. Consider too that God was giving sinful people another opportunity to turn and be saved. He would even use dramatic incidents like the death of an innocent woman to get people’s attention.
And God has every right to do as He pleases. We may hope that His plans don’t fall as heavily on us, but losses of all shapes and sizes can draw us and others closer to Him. Remember: That is what this life is ultimately about.
Prayer: Lord, help me to hold very loosely to the things of this earth and very tightly to You.
Some absolute shockers dot the pages of scripture. Today’s passage is one: as a sign to His sinful people, God took the prophet Ezekiel’s “dearest treasure”—his wife.
How could God be so cruel? We may ask ourselves.
But consider that this unnamed woman was spared the horrific Babylonian invasion. “What sorrow awaits Jerusalem,” God said (Ezekiel 24:6). If she served Him like Ezekiel did, she would avoid that trauma and receive her reward sooner. Consider too that God was giving sinful people another opportunity to turn and be saved. He would even use dramatic incidents like the death of an innocent woman to get people’s attention.
And God has every right to do as He pleases. We may hope that His plans don’t fall as heavily on us, but losses of all shapes and sizes can draw us and others closer to Him. Remember: That is what this life is ultimately about.
Prayer: Lord, help me to hold very loosely to the things of this earth and very tightly to You.
