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.