Ezekiel 24:24–27

It is not that grief is forbidden, but the expression of it. He is to be in this expressionless grief a sign to the people.

The day Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to Jerusalem, the prophet's wife dies. She was the one he loved most, yet Ezekiel was not to mourn. Through the figure of his wife's death, God tells him to hold back his heart before the judgment of Jehovah.

The people learn that God would teach them about a trouble like no other. It would leave no room for tears or ordinary mourning. The destruction begun was so sweeping that nothing would remain for them but pining away in their iniquities and groaning to one another. Jehovah Himself was profaning the sanctuary by judgment, as they had profaned it by their transgressions and abominations. What a picture of despair, when the sorrow lies too deep for tears, and an overwhelming sense of guilt makes men abandon hope!

Notice that the stroke falls not on the people, but on the prophet. And for him it is not a judgment... So the passage hints plainly enough that the prophet's sorrow is the sorrow of God Himself. The affliction is on His part, not on man's side. Yet it is an affliction which can find no expression among a people as stubborn as these are.

God will not let it all end in judgment only. If we have heart for it, He brings us to His side in this matter and shows us how unchanged His heart remains... Nothing can divorce His heart from those He loves. If He has to act in a way that looks like the opposite, faith can still see through the disguise and recognise the love that never changes.

It will be through judgment that all the nations shall know that Jehovah is God... We may see the two means of making Jehovah known in the case of Israel (Ezek. 24:24-27; 28:26; 34:27; 36:11). In the other cases it is by judgment.

God carries these judgments out to make them all know Jehovah. In Israel's case there is something more: the understanding and the special verification of prophecy.

The last act of the judgment now about to fall must wait for the message that announces its full completion. The siege lasted nearly a year and a half, and then came the message that the city had fallen. In that day, when at last all was over and no one could keep up a false hope any longer, God would open the prophet's mouth... not in judgment once more, but announcing blessing to come.

This silence does not mean he said nothing at all, for he prophesied what we read in chapters 25-32. He was to be silent about Israel.

Someone will say that all this was "a sign" to Israel. True; but it proves that in prophetic testimony, and in worship as a priest too, we must rise above all the claims and influences of nature and of earth.

The new sign is explained, and the people are told that God would teach them about their unmatched trouble. It would leave no room for tears or ordinary mourning. The destruction now begun was so sweeping that nothing would remain for them but wasting away in their iniquities and groaning to one another. The Lord Himself was profaning the sanctuary by judgment, as they had profaned it by their sins. What a picture of despair! The sorrow lies too deep for tears, and an overwhelming sense of guilt forces people to abandon hope.

Jerusalem is gone in judgment. The city is gone, and the sanctuary with it. The whole nation needed that sanctuary, for it was the only place where the blood of sacrifice could be offered to God. So the destruction of the sanctuary was the end of all relationship. What could remain between a holy God and a people for whose sins no atonement could be made? For the people, this overwhelming disaster might well make every other one seem small.

No mercy would turn aside His profaning of His sanctuary, which their sins had already profaned. The temple He would make like Shiloh, and the city a curse before all nations. It is an awful state of delusion when people presume on God's favour to His people, despite their indifference to His will and glory.

In such cases people normally wailed loudly, and they even hired mourners. So this behaviour calls for explanation... It is the mourning for the sons and daughters that is to stop, in view of the mourning which can have no adequate expression.

It is to be noted that the stroke falls not upon the people, but upon the prophet himself... So it is hinted plainly enough that the prophet's sorrow is the sorrow of God Himself. The affliction is on His part, not on man's side. Yet it is an affliction which can find no expression among a people as stubborn as these are... He who has inflicted it is the One who feels what He has inflicted. It is the tearing apart of His own relationship with a people whom He had taken up to show His love to them.

In chapter 24:27 Ezekiel was given this promise: when the one who escaped the fall of Jerusalem arrived, the prophet would no longer be silent. This silence does not mean that he never spoke at all, for he prophesied what is written in chapters 25–32. He was to be silent about Israel. The chapters in between, before the messenger came, concern other nations. And now that promised messenger arrived, and his mouth was opened again to prophesy about Israel.

Say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord Jehovah, "Behold, I am profaning my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes and the pity of your soul. And your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword." It is the mourning for these last that must stop, in view of a mourning that can find no full expression.

The loss of their sons and daughters, terrible as it is, does not match the breaking of the marriage tie that Ezekiel suffers. For that, we have to think of the sanctuary itself gone. It was the pledge and seal of that tie. It spoke of the Lord's presence with them, and it gave the people access to Himself. Once that tie was broken, the loss might well swallow up all others.

In the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month, one who had escaped out of Jerusalem came to me and said, "The city is struck down." … The hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening before he came, and He had opened my mouth before he came to me in the morning. My mouth was opened, and I was no longer silent. … It is strange to realize that the man who escaped from the city arrived more than sixteen months after the city was taken. … No doubt the report of the capture had long come before the refugee himself. … Now, with the living witness among them, they could at least doubt no more that the blow had fallen.

He was not to go among the captives, and God made him silent. Yet this silence was not complete or constant. In the end it stopped altogether, after Jerusalem had fallen. The silence was a sign to the nation — the sign of God's displeasure and the coming judgment upon Jerusalem.

This silence did not mean that he never spoke at all. During it he prophesied what we read in chapters 25-32. He was to be silent concerning Israel. The chapters in between, before the messenger came, concern other nations. Then the promised messenger arrived, and God opened his mouth again to prophesy about Israel.

On the day Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to Jerusalem, the wife of the prophet dies. She was the dearest object of his affections, yet Ezekiel was not to mourn. Under the figure of his wife's death he is told to hold back his heart before the judgment of Jehovah. Once the judgment was carried out, the prophet's mouth would be opened, and the word of Jehovah would come openly to the remnant, so that they would know Jehovah.

These judgments are carried out so that all of them will know Jehovah. In Israel's case there is more: they understand, and they see prophecy confirmed in a special way.

Once judgment had been carried out, the prophet's mouth would open. The word of the LORD would then go openly to the remnant, so that they would know the LORD.

The prophetic message to the people closes here for a time. They must wait for the last act of the judgment now about to happen, until the message comes announcing that it is fully accomplished. The siege lasted for nearly a year and a half, and then came the news that the city was taken. On that day, when at last it was all over and no one could keep up a false hope any longer, the prophet's mouth would open. He would speak, and be dumb no longer.

This dumbness was not complete or constant. In the end it stopped altogether. That was after Jerusalem had fallen (33:21-22). The dumbness was a sign to the nation — the sign of God's displeasure and of the coming judgment on Jerusalem (24:27).

Clearly this dumbness does not mean he was silent all the time, never saying a word. He prophesied, after all, what is written in chapters 25-32. He was to be dumb about Israel. The chapters in between, before the messenger came, are about other nations. Then the promised messenger arrived, and his mouth opened again to prophesy about Israel.

On the day that Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to Jerusalem, the prophet's wife dies. Although she was the dearest object of his affections, Ezekiel was not to mourn. Under the figure of his wife's death, he is told to hold back his heart before the judgment of the LORD.

Here, as elsewhere, Ezekiel stands as the representative of God to the people, as the prophet in fact always was. It should be noticed that the blow falls not on the people but on the prophet himself... So it is quietly made clear that the prophet's sorrow is the sorrow of God Himself. The affliction is on His side, not on man's. Yet it is an affliction that can find no outlet among a people as stubborn as these.

So the prophet's mouth is reopened, because there is grace to be announced. Still, God first affirms that His righteous ways have not changed. That is the fitting introduction to the grace. The fall of the city shows the people now fully under judgment. Their false confidences are exposed.

The news of Jerusalem's fall took a long time to reach the prophet. Then he opened his mouth, so long closed, and gave a solemn warning of further judgment. He warned them all the more because they pretended to speak the language of faith while their heart was far from the Lord.

God carries out these prophecies to make them all know the LORD. Only in Israel's case there is something more: the understanding and the special verification of prophecy.