Losing the delight
This week's study is on Ezekiel 24:15-24:
These verses describe a tragic part of Jewish history and also a tragic part of the prophet Ezekiel's life. Israel had been invaded by foreigners and a lot of their people were captured into slavery and taken out of the country. The temple was destroyed and a lot of innocent people were killed. And as this was happening, Ezekiel's beloved wife died and her death was used to show the Israelites what their loss would look like.
Ezekiel was a righteous man. He was obedient to even the strangest commands God gave to him. He sacrificed his comfort and his reputation in order to try to deliver God's message to his people, and then one day his wife dies. Imagine that. You've done everything right, and then probably your favourite person just dies. And you're supposed to just carry on with life?!
Adding to the torment was the fact that gender differences were more apparent in Ezekiel's day. Men and women had different roles in the household because there was simply too much work for one of them to do on their own. You still see bits of that dynamic today when elderly people lose a spouse. The woman maybe doesn't know how to drive or pay her phone bill, and the man doesn't know how to sew on a lost button or how to cook anything, let alone the special foods only his wife knew how to cook properly. Ezekiel suffered a huge loss, and God asks him to pretend as though nothing happened.
When pressed by people in his community, he explains what happened, and what God is trying to use his experience to teach. Israel is about to lose their temple, and they're going to carry on as though nothing bad happened, while inside they'll be suffering. In their case, they are probably not conscious of the connection. If they were aware of God's presence in their midst, they'd have been absolutely gutted when they found out that he had left. Instead they suffer without knowing.
Imagine being married for decades and then losing your wife and at the same time forgetting that you'd ever known her. You're sad and you don't know why. You're hungry and messy and can't figure out why you suddenly have to work so much harder. You do your best to keep up appearances, but deep down you're wasting away and you know something has changed for the worse. That's the situation Israel was in when they lost God's favour and his temple was destroyed by foreigners.
As Christians, these verses may be difficult to relate to, because we don't have a physical temple. Some of our churches are really nice ornate places, but ultimately they're just buildings. God inhabits our being now, not some curtained-off room in a stone palace. But what if he withdrew his favour or stopped being as present in our lives? Would we notice? Is there enough evidence of his presence in our lives that we could figure out what was wrong if he left? If not, we're just as bad off as the Israelites were.
One of the things I like to do is to stop and be thankful when God evidences himself in my life. Maybe it's a realisation that I've done the wrong thing that comes out of nowhere, or circumstances that line up in such a way as to be more than coincidence. I don't believe that God would ever leave us or withdraw his favour from us as Christians, but unless you notice that he's there, it's easy to forget what we have and not delight in it.
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, with one blow 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. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.”
So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.
Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things have to do with us? Why are you acting like this?”
So I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: Say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary—the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword. And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners. You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep but will waste away because of your sins and groan among yourselves. Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.’
These verses describe a tragic part of Jewish history and also a tragic part of the prophet Ezekiel's life. Israel had been invaded by foreigners and a lot of their people were captured into slavery and taken out of the country. The temple was destroyed and a lot of innocent people were killed. And as this was happening, Ezekiel's beloved wife died and her death was used to show the Israelites what their loss would look like.
Ezekiel was a righteous man. He was obedient to even the strangest commands God gave to him. He sacrificed his comfort and his reputation in order to try to deliver God's message to his people, and then one day his wife dies. Imagine that. You've done everything right, and then probably your favourite person just dies. And you're supposed to just carry on with life?!
Adding to the torment was the fact that gender differences were more apparent in Ezekiel's day. Men and women had different roles in the household because there was simply too much work for one of them to do on their own. You still see bits of that dynamic today when elderly people lose a spouse. The woman maybe doesn't know how to drive or pay her phone bill, and the man doesn't know how to sew on a lost button or how to cook anything, let alone the special foods only his wife knew how to cook properly. Ezekiel suffered a huge loss, and God asks him to pretend as though nothing happened.
When pressed by people in his community, he explains what happened, and what God is trying to use his experience to teach. Israel is about to lose their temple, and they're going to carry on as though nothing bad happened, while inside they'll be suffering. In their case, they are probably not conscious of the connection. If they were aware of God's presence in their midst, they'd have been absolutely gutted when they found out that he had left. Instead they suffer without knowing.
Imagine being married for decades and then losing your wife and at the same time forgetting that you'd ever known her. You're sad and you don't know why. You're hungry and messy and can't figure out why you suddenly have to work so much harder. You do your best to keep up appearances, but deep down you're wasting away and you know something has changed for the worse. That's the situation Israel was in when they lost God's favour and his temple was destroyed by foreigners.
As Christians, these verses may be difficult to relate to, because we don't have a physical temple. Some of our churches are really nice ornate places, but ultimately they're just buildings. God inhabits our being now, not some curtained-off room in a stone palace. But what if he withdrew his favour or stopped being as present in our lives? Would we notice? Is there enough evidence of his presence in our lives that we could figure out what was wrong if he left? If not, we're just as bad off as the Israelites were.
One of the things I like to do is to stop and be thankful when God evidences himself in my life. Maybe it's a realisation that I've done the wrong thing that comes out of nowhere, or circumstances that line up in such a way as to be more than coincidence. I don't believe that God would ever leave us or withdraw his favour from us as Christians, but unless you notice that he's there, it's easy to forget what we have and not delight in it.
Comments
Post a Comment