Ezekiel 24:24

Ezekiel 24:24 says, Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord God. God said that Ezekiel was to do everything as He had told him to do, and this would be a sign so that people would know that He was God.  The people of Jerusalem thought that they would never fall, but when they did, they would look back on how Ezekiel had reacted after his wife died as a sign of what was to happen to them, and when they did, they would know that God was indeed God.  We aren’t given many signs today, but because of what Jesus did on the cross when He died for all our sins, we can know that God is indeed God.  

Verse twenty=five adds, Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters,  God said that there was coming a day soon when everything that they valued would be taken away from the people in Jerusalem.  Everything they had looked at for strength and joy, the things they lusted for and set their minds to attain, and even their children would be taken from them.  It is my understanding that God also told Ezekiel that this would not be true for him, since his eye and heart was set on worshipping God.  All those who have valued the things of the world more than they valued having a covenant relationship with God will one day lose everything they have, but if we are in a covenant relationship with God by having put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, this will not be true for us.   

Verse twenty-six continues, That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?  God said that there would come a day when Ezekiel would once again prophesy to the people of Jerusalem.  From now until the time those who escaped returned, Ezekiel would be prophesying against the neighboring nations, but in chapter thirty-three he would once again prophesy to the people of Israel.  We should be more concerned with proclaiming the gospel to the lost world than to Christians, but if Christians turn away from God’s truth, then we need to call them back to obedience to Him. 

Verse twenty-seven concludes, In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.  God said when those who returned from captivity came to Ezekiel, he would once again be free to prophesy to them.  When they did return, they would then know without a doubt that God is God.  If we have been around Christians all our life and have never accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, then we will be captive to sin.  If we one day return to Him by accepting His gift of salvation, we will then know that He alone is God. 

Ezekiel 24:20

Ezekiel 24:20 says, Then I answered them, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  Ezekiel answered the question of why he wasn’t mourning the death of his wife as people expected him to do by saying that he was being obedient to God’s word that had come to Him.  If we as follower of Christ are doing what God instructs us to do and people wonder why we are doing whatever it is, our answer should always be that we are being obedient to God.   

Verse twenty-one adds, Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.  God said His sanctuary would be profaned and the strength of the nation which came from Him would be gone because the house of Israel had followed the desires of their eyes instead of following His commandments.  This was signified by the death of Ezekiel’s wife, a beloved wife, not because she or he was disobedient to God, but to show the people of Israel that if God did not keep her from death when Ezekiel and she were faithful to Him, that He was not going to keep the nation of Israel from dying as a nation since they were not obedient to Him.  They were also going to see their sons and daughters be killed.  I don't believe that God caused Ezekiel’s wife to die just to use her as an example to the people, but that He did not intervene even when Ezekiel prayed for her to be healed.  Some things that seem terrible to us today may be used by God to make Himself known better through whatever the tragedy may be.  

Verse twenty-two continues, And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.  Ezekiel said that when the defeat of Israel came, they would do as he had done and not cover their lips and not eat the bread of men.  Matthew Henry says that they would be afraid to mourn for their dead because their conquerors might see this as disloyalty to them.  If we die without accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, even if people mourn our death, it will not save us. 

Verse twenty-three concludes, And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.  God said that life would go on for those who were spared by their enemies, and even though they would mourn the loss of loved ones, this still would not cause them to repent and turn to Him.  Though lost people may mourn the loss of a loved one today, it seldom causes them to turn to God in repentance, but they often murmur against God. 

Ezekiel 24:15

Ezekiel 24:15 says, Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  

Verse sixteen adds, Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.  God said that Ezekiel's wife was going to die, but he was not to mourn for her.  This seems like strange advice, but even though a spouse is a great comfort when both are living in accordance with God’s word and under His leadership, if one of the two passes away, we shouldn’t allow that to stop us from worshipping God and doing what He has called us to do.  

Verse seventeen continues, Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.  God said Ezekiel was to continue to live his life as he had before. I believe that not eating the bread of men refers to not relying on his neighbors to now provide for him but continuing to put his faith in God to provide for his needs.  There is nothing wrong with people bringing food to a person or even a family when they have a loved one die, but this is not something that a person or family should start to expect.  As Christians, we should still continue to put our faith in God and continue do what He has called us to do.  We should never question or blame God if a spouse dies, since this is what God was talking about with Ezekiel, but it applies to family members as well I believe.  

Verse eighteen states, So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. Ezekiel said he spoke to the people in the morning and that evening his wife died.  God had given him warning that this was going to happen, and we may not always have such a warning, but it doesn‘t change how we should react toward God.  Ezekiel said he then did as God had commanded him to do, and if we lose a spouse, we must still do whatever God has called us to do.  

Verse nineteen adds, And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?  The people around Ezekiel questioned why he was doing what he was doing.  They expected him to be in mourning for a certain period of time, and he wasn’t.  Since he wasn’t, they were very curious about why he was not.  If we are following God’s commands to us, there may be time when people will question our actions, but we can never allow that to stop us from doing what He has commanded us to do.

Ezekiel 24:9

Ezekiel 24:9 says, Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.  God once again was to have Ezekiel pronounce woe on the people of Jerusalem and said He would make them a pile for a great fire.  This was based on their disobedience and refusal to repent and return to obeying God. There is a great fire prepared for those who refuse to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, and God will allow them to go there forever if they do not accept His gift of salvation, but it will always be their choice.  Matthew Henry says this judgment was for both Israel and Judah, but it only specifies Jerusalem.  I do know that they both met the same fate of being completely destroyed.

Verse ten adds, Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.  God told Ezekiel that he was to heap wood on the fire to make it hot enough to even consume the bones.  Of course, even if the body is completely consumed, the spirit will live on forever, and those sent away to everlasting punishment because of their refusal to accept God's gift of salvation will wish they could just burn away to nothing.  What happens to the body is unimportant, but what happens to the soul is the important thing.  

Verse eleven continues, Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.  God said that the apostasy of Judah was going to lead them to be completely destroyed as a nation, just as Israel had before them.  Even though the two tribes of Judah remained faithful to God longer than the ten tribes of Israel, both ultimately became totally corrupt, and God was going to burn away all this corruption.  We cannot justify ourselves based on whether or not we are better than some other group of people if we are not living in obedience to God’s word.    

Verse twelve states, She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.  God said that since the people of Judah had believed the lies of the world and had started worshipping idols instead of worshipping Him, that He was going to burn away their scum.  The scum that God spoke of was the people of Judah putting their faith in Assyria and worshipping their gods instead of remaining true to Him.  The burning away of this scum would come too late for those who had turned away from God.  One day all the scum of the lies and sinful actions of people will be burned away, and the soul of those who have not accepted God’s gift of salvation will suffer everlasting punishment in the fires of hell.  

Verse thirteen adds, In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.  God said that since they had not been purged by His judgment when they could have, that they could no longer be purged.  If we do not accept the purging of our sins when God calls us to salvation, there may come a time when it is too late to do so.  It could happen in this lifetime if a person continues to reject God, but if it doesn't it will defiantly be too late after a person dies.  

Verse fourteen continues, I the Lord have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God.  God said that He had pronounced this judgment on the people of Judah because they refused to repent and return to following Him in obedience to His word.  If a person is sent away to everlasting punishment, it will be because of their choice to not put their faith in Jesus Christ, and when God’s judgment comes, it will be too late to do so.  God also said that when this judgment came, it could not be changed.  When God's ultimate judgment comes, it will last forever with no hope of it ever being changed.