795_The Question Our Lives Answer (Ezekiel 23-24)
Ezekiel 24:15-24 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 “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. 17 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.” 18 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.
19 And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” 20 Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: 21 ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. 23 Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another. 24 Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.’
A man once bought a compass before a long journey. He carefully studied the map, marked his destination, and began walking. But after several hours, he discovered that the compass was slightly off. He had been walking confidently, but in the wrong direction. Despite knowing the direction he wanted to go in, he was misguided by the direction-finder.
In a sense, every life is like that journey. Every day, through our choices, priorities, relationships, ambitions, and loyalties, we are answering a fundamental question: “Who is my Lord?” We may answer with our lips that God is Lord, but our lives reveal what we actually trust, what we pursue, and what we are unwilling to surrender.
That is the disturbing message of Ezekiel 23 and 24. Jerusalem and Samaria had the temple, the Law, the prophets, and the covenant. They knew the name of Jehovah. Yet their lives consistently showed that they sought security, pleasure, identity, and power, rather than seeking God. And God was bringing them to the point where they would know the truth: He alone is Lord.
Ezekiel 23 presents this message through the shocking story of two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, representing Samaria and Jerusalem. The language is deliberately graphic to convey God’s horror and grief at the gross unfaithfulness of his people whom he had taken as his own. Their idolatry and rebellion against him was not a minor departure from true worship. It was a betrayal of their covenant to worship and serve him alone.
Samaria had already gone down this road and had fallen to Assyria more than a century earlier. Jerusalem saw what happened. She witnessed the judgment of her sister. She received the warning. Yet she followed the same path.
This should make us search ourselves for the answer: What do we do with the warnings God gives us?
Sometimes God shows us the consequences of someone else’s evil choices to warn us against following the same path. We see a family fragmented or damaged by bitterness. We see someone destroyed by addiction. We see a person sacrifice his integrity for the sake of gain, losing what matters most. We see people drifting away from God by neglecting to love, serve, and obey him, allowing their heart to grow cold.
The wise person does not merely say, “How terrible.” The proper response is to learn more wisdom and avoid that path. But Jerusalem did not learn from Samaria’s downfall.
The words of Hebrews 2:1 are relevant here: “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” Notice the word “drift.” We don’t always abandon God through a dramatic act of rebellion. More often it is carelessness, allowing other things to steal our hearts until we drift into unfaithfulness.
Ezekiel’s message exposes another problem. The people continued to conduct the rituals of worship, but they actively pursued other means of security. They made alliances with other nations and worshipped their gods. Their behavior showed that for them, worshipping God was just a tradition.
This question still confronts us today.
We may never bow before a carved image, but our hearts can still look elsewhere for what only God can provide.
vAnd so, every day we answer this question with our lives. When we choose integrity over dishonest gain, our lives say, “God is Lord.” So also, by our continued patient faithfulness even when it is never acknowledged. Again, when we give up our hopes and dreams because they conflict with obedience to God. When we trust Him in uncertainty, rather than manipulating circumstances to get our own way, our lives say, “God is Lord.”
But when the opposite happens, our lives show that we do not fear the Lord. We do not know him, for we do not walk as he walked. Money, reputation, the approval of important people, pleasure – these are our true goals. For their sake we compromise our convictions and our faith.
And then, at the climax of chapter 24. God tells Ezekiel to set a cooking pot on the fire and put pieces of meat into it. Jerusalem itself is represented by the pot, and the people are the meat. The imagery reveals that warnings have come to an end, and judgment has arrived.
God even reveals to Ezekiel the exact day when the final siege of Jerusalem begins.
For years God had spoken in warning. Now His word was becoming reality.
And this reminds us that God is patient, but not indifferent. The waiting period before judgment does not mean God does not see or care. He is giving the wicked an opportunity to repent, by underlining his goodness and his love even for them.
Paul says in Romans 2:4, “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.”
This tragic chapter next shows us a glimpse of Ezekiel’s unbounded devotion to God. God warns him that his wife, the desire of his eyes, is about to die. Yet he is not to go into mourning for her.
God’s servants are sometimes called not merely to speak God’s Word but to embody its message. Ezekiel not only predicted immense suffering, but himself carried the pain of the message.
His suppression of sorrow becomes a sign to the people – Jerusalem, the desire of their eyes, will be utterly crushed by Babylon, whose captives they are. Yet they dare not weep for their destroyed city except in secret.
For now they realize for the first time that their sin has met its judgment. They dare not complain to God or mourn before the king of Babylon. All they can do is groan to each other as their grief eats away their hearts.
And this is the key statement in Ezekiel 24:24:
“Thus Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”
There is the recurring theme of Ezekiel: “You shall know that I am the LORD.”
But notice the tragic sequence. God speaks. They refuse to listen. Judgment comes. Then they know – that he is their God.
And this question is deeply personal for us: How do we know that God is Lord? Is it through trusting his word, or by experiencing the dreadful consequences of ignoring it?
Will we obey willingly and joyfully because He has spoken, or will we wait until circumstances force us to acknowledge his right to command us?
Because knowing that God is Lord is more than knowing facts about Him. Israel had the Law. They knew His name. They had the temple. They had prophets. But with all this information, they failed to live in the light of what they knew.
James says, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).
And this is why Jesus Christ came, not merely to tell us that God is Lord, but, as John says of Christ, “He has made him known” (John 1:18).
God does not ignore our terrible sin, but in Christ He provides a way for sinners to be reconciled to Him in holiness and mercy – through the cross.
Let us therefore examine the direction of our lives.
What does my use of money say about who is Lord?
What do my ambitions say?
What does my treatment of people say?
What do my private choices say?
What does my response to God’s Word say?
Because our lives are answering the question every day.
And the invitation of Ezekiel 23 and 24 is not merely, “Be afraid of judgment.” It is, “Believe God while there is time.”
We don’t have to wait for consequences to teach us what God’s Word has already told us.
So let us listen now, repent now, trust now, and obey now. Let the answer be written in our lives, through our choices and our priorities: He is the Lord. God bless.
Take a few moments to reflect on these questions
What do your present priorities, choices, and use of time reveal about who or what has the greatest authority in your life, and why?
What warnings or lessons from the experiences of others has God used to speak to you, and how can you respond to those warnings before you experience the same consequences?
In what specific areas of your life can you more clearly demonstrate through your actions that God—not success, money, reputation, comfort, or personal desire—is truly Lord?
Let us pray
Heavenly Father, thank You that our lives can proclaim that you are God. Thank you for giving us your word so that we may hear and obey in faith. Guide us in your way so that we may heed your warnings, repent quickly, trust you completely, and obey you willingly. Let us gladly confess that you are the Lord God, through our words, choices, relationships, and priorities. For you have revealed yourself in the love and mercy of your Son, Jesus Christ. In his name we pray. Amen