The call to follow God always comes at a cost, but the hope of the gospel is that suffering as a follower of God is not in vain.
Ezekiel knew all too well the cost of following the God of Israel. At a time when he should have been in the midst of his priestly career, he was heralding hard truths to hard-hearted people who continued to tune him out. However, as we see in our text today, Ezekiel would yet pay an even higher cost of obedience.
He would lose his wife as another symbolic act for the ever-rebellious Israelites. But, even in the midst of his greatest loss, he wasn’t allowed to express that grief to others.
Can you imagine? The person you love most is taken from you, and you are not allowed to grieve? Not allowed to express the all-consuming pain you feel? No funeral. No mourning rights. No outward expression of grief. No meal trains. No days off. No sense of closure. Quiet groans were all Ezekiel was allowed. He had to get up and get dressed as if it were an ordinary day.
What a sleepless and sorrowful night that must’ve been. Even knowing the higher call and greater purpose of it all, the sting was no less painful. The delight of his eyes was gone in an instant (Ezekiel 24:16). Yet, even amid such pain, Ezekiel obeyed.
“So you will be a sign for them, and they will know that I am the LORD.” —Ezekiel 24:27
It was, of course, all pointing to God, so that in the midst of Judah’s loss, they would know and cling to the Lord. Their beloved temple would be destroyed—their source of pride and joy. But the people were putting more weight on the place and practices (and not all of them holy) than on God. Yet, they wouldn’t be free to lament because they would immediately be taken into captivity.
Sadly, we too are just as prone to make idols out of our religion—elevating a certain place, worship style, or tradition over and above God’s presence. We can cherish symbols and circumstances above the Lord our God.
Yet, Ezekiel’s suffering spoke of a much greater story that God was weaving together. He was calling His people back to Himself—and it would cost them everything. But the cost of being far from God will always be greater. God never promised His children a life free from suffering, but He does use it for good. It’s often in the moments of our greatest loss and pain that we are reminded of the hope we need beyond this world—that what we need more than any outward comforts or circumstances is the presence of God. The season of Lent offers us this space to cling fully to God over and above the things of the world.
Even at the destruction of His house, God would use Ezekiel to speak a message of hope that was coming for Israel. It reached far beyond their restoration from exile to their restoration from sin, when God would put on flesh, coming in the form of a man. It would be through this hope—Jesus Christ—that His people would know that He is forever and always—God with us (Matthew 1:21–23).
Jen G. It is hard to understand why people who are obedient to God have to go through difficulties. I don’t think the Bible promises anyone a life w/o difficulties though. God’s love for us & the grace He extends to us are unbelievable b/c not one of us is able to purely love or obey Him. The laws are constantly pointing out that no matter how hard we try to follow them, we cannot- hence our need for Jesus. With Jesus doing ALL of the work for us to be forgiven, our only work is to believe in His sacrifice & resurrection.
I’ve prayed for you to be filled with His love & peace tonight.
I can’t seem to follow the tbread on here – everyone’s comments seem in the wrong order? I’ve never posted before but had to today as my faith has been very wobbly recently and this study is definitely NOT helping. How can someone so obedient to God’s calling get thrown such a lot of hard things? I dunno. It’s hard to keep walking and following when we can’t understand the big picture?
Victoria E. Just read this from Midnight Mom “Tonight we pray for the momma who has a newborn baby. Lord, this is such a precious time for her and her little one. We ask that You would help her and give her peace and most of all much needed rest when she can. Please help this momma each day during this season. We know that You are with her every moment of every day. Please fill her days with joy and her nights with peace. We ask in Jesus’s name, Amen.”
I felt like todays devotional was so good. Reading Ezekiel is hard and there’s still so much I feel like I miss out on, but today something clicked. In Ezekiel 23:37, when the imagery of adultery is used, it painted a picture I could understand. When a spouse cheats on another, it’s so very hurtful and the bride of Christ choosing worldly things over him is the same. The sin of Israel hurt God and I had never really stopped to think about how much their (and our) sins hurt him.
Victoria E. Give yourself some grace. If you can stand still for 1 minute and breathe and just say Thank you Lord you will feel release. You will find a new routine but caring for your little is where you should be right now. It is how God made you. We are so blessed to have shared this desire you now hold. Isn’t it just the most amazing thing? How can people doubt God after seeing the birth of a child? Cherish in peace your time with your baby. As you rock and feed use breath prayers to stay in communion with God. Blessings to you.
Dear Victoria, I mentioned in a previous message I had twins. They nursed every 1-2 hrs at the beginning and I’ll admit there were tears, mine. Once I realized it was ok to let household things go for a bit and use their sleep time to get some rest for myself it helped my mood. God understands that prayer time is different for awhile. Small prayers before a rest might help you or when feeding your son. It’s important to take care of “mom” in order to take care of your child. It takes time to get into a rythm, but it does happen. YOU’Ve GOT THIS.
Victoria, I find much of my time with God as I’m feeding my son. He nurses for quite a long time, so once he drifts off to sleep I open my app and start
Well, I meant to say VICTORIA E, not Angie, I’m sorry, but I am praying. I guess that’s what lack of sleep does for me. Blessings ladies.