Daily Devotions
An Unheralded Hero of Faith
Reading for August 31st: Ezekiel 23-24
The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men." So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.
Ezekiel 24:15-18
Ezekiel was asked to do many strange things.
- In 3:24-27, he was kept from speaking.
- He then was told to inscribe Jerusalem on a brick and pretend to lay siege to it with an iron plate (4:1-3).
- He was told to lay 390 days on his left side and then lie on his right side for 40 days (4:4-8).
- While on his side, he had to cook his own bread using waste as fuel (4:9-17).
- He was to cut his hair off and divide it into thirds, destroying his hair three ways (to show how God would destroy Israel, 5:1-12).
All of these odd actions had a purpose. They were symbolic of Israel. Ezekiel made extraordinary sacrifices (including being the object of much ridicule) in order to be a living symbol for the people to see.
But of all the difficult things God told Ezekiel to do, it is what God told Ezekiel NOT to do which stands alone as the most extraordinary. God took his wife and then told him to NOT weep for her! AND HE OBEYED! That has to rank up with Job and Abraham as one of the greatest demonstrations of faith and character in all the Bible. (And it's surprising that Ezekiel's act of obedience is not discussed more.)
Could you do the same?
Father, we marvel at your servant, Ezekiel. Give us the faith and courage he had to be willing to obey you, no matter how costly or difficult obedience might be.
