Ezekiel 24

This morning I read Ezekiel 24. In this passage, God tells Ezekiel that He was about to take from him "the desire of [his] eyes with a blow" (v. 16); in other words, Ezekiel's wife was soon going to die. Why? Well, God also commanded Ezekiel against mourning in any way for the loss of his wife. Why? God wanted the Israelites to have a representation of what he was about to do in the lives of the Israelites: he was going to allow the Temple to be destroyed by heathens (so say my notes in my Ryrie Study Bible).

So how does Ezekiel respond? Verse 18: "So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded." What incredible obedience! Imagine the difficulty he must have had; I really wonder to what extent he struggled when he "did as [he] was commanded." This is really humbling to me, because sometimes I throw a fit about getting cut off in traffic, which is nothing in comparison to what Ezekiel went through.

I am wondering, though, how I will respond to the loss of a loved one in my life. I am blessed enough to still have both sets of my grandparents still living. I have all my uncles, aunts, and cousins (and in my family, there are quite a few of those). I don't think God is asking me not to grieve when people do die, but I often wonder whether I will be able to praise God as Job did. I guess time will tell.