A Husband's Grief

A Husband’s Grief
Read Ezekiel 24
 
Ezekiel 24:15-19 Then this message came to me from the LORD: 16 “Son of man, with one blow I will take away your dearest treasure. Yet you must not show any sorrow at her death. Do not weep; let there be no tears. 17 Groan silently, but let there be no wailing at her grave. Do not uncover your head or take off your sandals. Do not perform the usual rituals of mourning or accept any food brought to you by consoling friends.” 18 So I proclaimed this to the people the next morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did everything I had been told to do. 19 Then the people asked, “What does all this mean? What are you trying to tell us?”
 
WITH one very difficult illustration upon another, Ezekiel obediently shows to the exiles in Babylon the picture of God’s judgment to still come to those who remain in Jerusalem. Here is the saddest and hardest of all for the prophet. God will take Ezekiel’s wife from him. But Ezekiel is not to mourn her death in the customary ways of removing his turban or his shoes nor separating himself from others. He is to continue to associate in conversation and meals, living life as if nothing so tragic had happened. The Jews asked, “What are you trying to tell us?” because they had come to expect Ezekiel’s various behaviors were God’s messages to them.
   Ezekiel’s wife’s death is the image of Jerusalem’s death. Ezekiel’s task is to mirror God’s response to his city’s death. Even as God grieves, he must do so as the means to fulfill his righteousness and continue his work to save the repentant. The Jews in Babylon are to know God’s grief as they deeply mourn the deaths and suffering of family and friends still in Jerusalem. Still, they must know God’s promises. They will need to put aside their grief, so they will understand God has kept them for his own. They must know God’s good plans and focus on their return to Jerusalem in faith.
   Many years later, the Son spoke the Triune God’s grief over Jerusalem’s sins: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD!’” (Luke 14:34-35)
   Grief is needed for your salvation. God grieved sin so deeply he established a plan to save you. In turn, your faithful relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit begins when you grieve your sins. James 4:9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Mourn your sins. Then celebrate God’s forgiveness through the confession of your sins. Be resolved to live in his joy. How wonderful to know his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. (Psalms 30:5)