Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 24:15
Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 24:15-27
So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
Sin the worst sorrow
I. Other sorrows may have no evil, but even good in them; this is essentially and eternally evil. In a bereavement, in a national calamity, as also in bodily sufferings and many social griefs, it is manifest there may be no moral wrong. There may, indeed, be the highest moral good. But sin is, in its essence, in its indulgence, in its outcome, utterly evil, an object of nothing else than commiseration, loathing, and hatred.
II. Other sorrows are remediable; this leads to destruction.
III. Other sorrows may come direct from God; this is ever in direct antagonism to Him.
IV. Other sorrows have to do with men in their relation to others; this with his own inner being and his relation to God. Conclusion–
1. Rightly weigh your own sorrows.
2. Rightly deal with the worlds sorrows. Pity their poverty, heal their sickness, but most of all grieve for and contend with their sin.
3. Rightly value the Saviours mission. (Urijah R. Thomas.)
Unwept bereavement: or, a great soul in a great sorrow
Individual characteristics are as marked and distinctive in the new life of the soul as they are in the old life of sin. While the graft draws its sap from the parent stock, it yields its own kind of fruit. Thus in the Christian life–it is the same spirit working variously in and through the mental trend, temperament, and educational attainments of the agent. Ezekiel is manifestly the spiritual dramatist of the prophetic order. He speaks in action, and voices by signs the stern purposes of his God. He is a seer in symbols, The touching incidents recorded in the chapter before us is marked by dramatic representation of Divine truth. First the pot, from which parable he utters the terrible Woe to the bloody city. Here, in his suppressed and even crushed grief over his deceased wife, the desire of his eyes taken away from him with a stroke, is the picture in miniature of the unwept desolation of Jerusalem. In the painful experience of the prophet we have a great soul under a great trial.
I. The woman–the wife. At eve my wife died. To the pure and noble and thoughtful, no sorrow can be greater. Where the wife is what God intended she should be, the helpmeet of man, the loss here stated is without a parallel. At eve my wife died: not my crops were blasted, or my cattle killed or taken away, but my wife, the best part of myself, the light of lifes darkest hour; the one that buoys up the man when all others throw on heavier burdens to press him down. My wife! What dreadful significance! What fulness of meaning! Many a man has been lifted to the highest places, and has been transported into fullest conditions, by the wisdom, piety, and thoughtfulness of a good wife. Young men sinking into debt, danger, and degradation have lifted up their heads above every flood when they have taken the float of a good wife–thus proving that scanty fare for one will often make a royal feast for two. There are thousands in the Church today, or in heaven, who would certainly have made shipwreck of faith but for the firmer trust and steadier piety of a devoted wife–when the strong man has been weakened by the hard struggle of life, the weak woman, strong by devotion and radiant hope, has held him up in her heaven-derived might, till the man has regained his strength. The prophet is here called to pass through a most painful experience, and the terms used are touching. His wife is spoken of as the desire of his eyes, and the taking away is to be done with a stroke. Not a gradual fading away of the life and love, with all the touching farewells and hopes of future meeting which characterise a death bed, but by one fell stroke the desire of the eye, the joy of the heart, the flower of the garden, the sun of the home, the star of earths hope, shall be taken from him. The Lord frequently brings judgment near the heart, that He may plant His mercy in the heart. He kills for the purpose of making alive. The desire of the heart is often taken, that the heart may desire a Diviner portion. Note the time. At eve, not in the morning ere work began, nor at night when the weaknesses of old age had rendered life a burden and death a release. But at eve, after the toil but before the rest. Work accomplished, but not enjoyed. How like this now. Many a good wife who has toiled and struggled and denied her own needy appetite for the sake of husband and family, has lived just long enough to drag the household to the top of the hill; and when an easy plain way appeared in view, and a season of rest gilded the sky, she has fallen dead–not with the weight of years, so much as with the burden of hard work and heavy care.
II. The man–the husband. The sublime self-possession, the equanimity of the prophet, the forgetfulness of a loss so great and a sorrow so deep, seem altogether beyond the range of common men, and can only be viewed in the light of a purpose as mysterious as it is beneficent. The Lord apprised him of his loss, but forbade the assumption of those signs of grief which characterise the obsequies of oriental countries. Forbear to cry. Revised Version renders it–Sigh, but not loud. The margin reads–Be silent. Grief in the heart cannot be wholly quenched; it would be against nature to expect such a thing; but those extravagant signs of it were what the Lord corn, rounds the prophet against. This wonderful state of soul under an affliction so bitter may seem to some both unnatural and sinful. It win be a sufficient reply, perhaps, to say that exceptional circumstances defy ordinary modes of interpretation. We act wisely as we suspend judgment upon individual actions in the abstract, and consider them in the fight of surrounding circumstances and Divine purposes. We are now in the presence of a great soul whose vast proportions defy all the narrow measurements of popular conventionalism, and is a standing reproof to those mere appearances of grief and simulations of sorrow, and those extravagant habiliments of mourning, which are too often deeper than the grief they are supposed to represent. The full beauty and the whole worth of the Ezekiel conduct expresses itself in one word, Obedience. To blame the prophet for what he did is to blame the Almighty who commanded it. It was at the bidding of the great God that he bare with such magnanimity so tremendous a loss. He that ruleth his own spirit is better than he that taketh a city (Pro 16:32). The man who can hold in check, and keep in obedience to the high behests of heaven, all the powers, passions, and tender susceptibilities of the soul, has reached an altitude far beyond the level of common mortals. Look at this grand old prophet whose wild eye flings off the tear, and decks itself with the full blaze of the day of God. There he stands in the attitude of strength, dressed for action, and not muffled for lamentation. If, then, you can attribute the prophets spirit and conduct to weakness or inhumanity, it must be because we view the same things from different standpoints. I confess that, personally, I am awed into littleness in presence of a soul so great. To my mind, the whole thing is explained, and, the mystery cleared up, in the doctrine of a future life. Deny this, and death is an unmitigated sorrow and an irretrievable loss, without a ray to relieve the darkness or a prospect to cheer the soul. (M. Brokenshire.)
Ezekiels wife not merely symbolic
Reuss is hardly right in regarding Ezekiels wife and her death as fictions: the language used implies that she was a real person, and that her death occurred as stated, though, as usual, the prophet employed the incident for didactic purposes, and some of the details may be creations of idealism; for it is characteristic of him that real events float before his eve in a moral atmosphere which magnifies them and gives them an outline which is ideal only. (A. B. Davidson, D. D.)
Loneliness through bereavement relieved by service
John Bright sat mourning in his sitting room; life was cold and drear to him, the body of his young wife lay dead in the room above. Richard Cobden, clear-sighted, enthusiastic, and withal practical, came to his friend, and said: You have your sorrow; there are more sorrows in the world than yours; your opportunity has come; people are hungering in this England of ours. Come with me, and we will never rest until the Corn Laws are repealed. I am not making a political application of that utterance, but we do know that England was wretched and hungry, and that the lot of the poor was sadder than it is even today. That lion-hearted pair went out and fought in the midst of obloquy, misunderstanding, contempt, and persecution, until victory crowned their efforts, and in 1846 the tribune of the people and his friend rejoiced over their victory. (R. J. Campbell, M. A.)
The prophets discipline of sorrow
Sorrow is here set before us not as personal chastisement, but as part of the prophets training for his work. Duty is often incompatible with the indulgence of personal sorrow. Business arrangements, public obligations, engagements that must be fulfilled, often summon men from the house of death; sorrow must give way to necessity.
1. The prophets insight necessitates a discipline of peculiar sorrow. In some states of the body mens sensitiveness is acute even to suffering. They see too much, their hearing and sense of smell are too keen. In other states of the body the perception is too intense; the feeling of time and space and weight is enlarged till minutes prolong themselves, and vast abysses open out, and there is a sense of overwhelming pressure. Poets, philosophers, who see in all around them the moving of an eternal life, are not, light-hearted men. To the prophet, who sees not only life everywhere, but God; who recognises not order only, but moral purpose; who sees the infinite holiness and the unerring judgment: there is oppressiveness even in his joy. But he must see the largeness of Gods designs and the certainty of His operation before he can proclaim them; the word of the Lord is to him a burden before it is a word. The prophet sees, moreover, not only God, but man; he has insight into the human heart, its self-will and wickedness.
2. The prophets relation to men involves a peculiar discipline of sorrow. He utters his message, and it is disregarded. He is treated as a vain dreamer, a raver; then as an actor, whose skill brings together affecting images which may relieve the tedium of an idle hour. There is no distress so great as to have earnestness thus trifled with; to feel for men an apprehension which they will not share. Moreover, it exposes the prophet to severe strokes from God. God will arouse men; if the prophets words cannot make them thoughtful, He seeks to touch them by the prophets sufferings. The common saying that a mans life is more efficacious than his teaching, is of wide application.
3. His discipline of sorrow fits the prophet for speaking to men in another way: God had a remnant in Israel, a remnant who should be won. If you are to comfort mourners, you must have seen affliction; you must know the smart of the wounds you seek to heal You desire to strengthen the faith of the doubting; one way of doing this is to fight your own doubts and gather strength. You would appeal to the tempted; you must know what temptation means, must vanquish the lying spirit, the worldly spirit, the spirit of unrighteousness; in manic a battle, hard pressed and sorely won, must come the skill you seek. (A. Mackennal, D. D.)
The departure of friends
I. The departure of dear friends by death is under the direction of the great God. Death is not the result of accident, necessity, or any chemical or mechanical force, but of the will of God. This doctrine teaches three practical lessons.
1. The grand aim of life should be to please God.
2. The grand aim in bereavement should be to acquiesce in the will of God.
3. Our grand impression at every deathbed should be that the Lord is at hand.
II. The departure of dear friends by death is the source of great sorrow. Sorrow for the dead indicates–
1. Something good in human nature. It always springs out of love, and love is Divine.
2. Something wrong in human nature. As by one man sin entered into the world, etc. Man loves because he is human; mans love turns into agony because he is sinful.
3. Something wanted for human nature.
(1) An assurance of a happy future life.
(2) A hope of a happy future reunion. Whence comes this assurance? Not from human speculation, philosophy, or religion, but from the Gospel.
III. The departure of dear friends by death should not interfere with moral duty.
1. Because indulgence in sorrow confers no benefit on others; the fulfilment of duty does.
2. Because indulgence in sorrow injures self, and the fulfilment of duty does good to self.
3. Because indulgence in sorrow does not suspend the claims of duty. (Homilist.)
Death of a wife
The union of two hearts in wedded love is close, beautiful, and strong. But the tie, however strong, sooner or later is broken by a stroke, and death parts whom God had joined together.
I. The primary cause of death is God. The secondary causes may be any of the thousand ills that flesh is heir to, but God says, I take away the desire of thine eyes with a stroke. The Lord is at hand in every death scene.
II. The death of a wife is the cause of great sorrow. This world is called a vale of tears, and rightly so; and if there is one place where tears flow faster than any other, it is where a loving wife and precious mother lies cold in death. Where there is most love there is keenest sorrow.
III. The death of a wife should not interfere with the husbands duty. Though we may feel our hearts breaking, though all sunshine seems shut out, and the world can never be the same to us again, yet the full discharge of lifes duties should be the most pressing thought. A sorrow that unmans us is evil. Duty-doing is grief-assuaging and God-honouring. (Homiletic Review.)
The desire of the eyes taken away
I. What is the desire of thine eyes?
1. Some loved object of human relationship whom with the body you worship.
2. Some dazzling dream of ambition that with the mind you grasp at; or,
3. Some ideal condition of spirituality that with the soul you aspire after.
II. Why is the desire of thine eyes thus taken away at a stroke by a wise and just God?
1. To wean you from setting your affections too much upon perishable, disappointing earthly objects.
2. To develop in you the passive virtues of patience, fortitude, etc., which men are so prone to sacrifice to the active virtues, such as courage, etc., which they are compelled to display in the battle of life.
3. To make you look to eternal love, to eternal grandeur, and to eternal happiness to be realised hereafter in the presence of God, as alone calculated to satisfy the aspirations of your own immortal spirits.
III. In what spirit should you bear the loss when thus the desire of the eyes is taken away?
1. Not in a spirit of passionate anger against the Creator for taking away what was His own to give or take away.
2. Not in a spirit of repining, tearful melancholy, weeping fruitlessly for the things that might have been.
3. Not in a spirit of sullen and voiceless despair, sorrowing as one without hope.
4. Not in a spirit of affected stoical indifference, gnawed as to the inward heart by the bitterest disappointment, and careful only to hide from the eyes of men all outward signs of sorrow or chagrin.
5. But in a spirit of gentle resignation to, and of full trust in, the providence of God, exclaiming with the patriarch of old, The Lord, etc. (R. Young, M. A.)
The stroke of death
I. The force of the words.
1. The conjugal relation is a very tender and sensible one. It is natural, it is right, it is commendable in a gracious husband to consider and regard his wife as the desire of his eyes; as the most valuable of earthly objects.
2. The stroke of death will assuredly part them. Whatever situation we are placed in, however prosperous our circumstances, however successful our pursuits, however harmonious and agreeable our tempers and dispositions, however weighty and numerous our cares, however advantageous our mutual counsels and assistances, and however reluctant we may be to a separation, the stroke will come, and will break in pieces this tenderest of all connections known on earth.
3. Such a stroke is peculiarly painful and calamitous to the surviving husband. It closes forever those dear eyes which have always been observant of what might contribute to his welfare; it gives a fatal dash to those capacities which have been united and exerted in a manner and to a degree scarcely possible in any other, to alleviate her partners distresses, and advance his joys, as if those joys and distresses of her husband had been her own; it disconcerts their most pleasing schemes, though formed with the most perfect harmony of which mortals are capable, and though pursued with the most glowing ardour. It ought to silence all our murmurings, and excite a holy, humble resignation, to hear our merciful God and Father say, The stroke is from Me. Is it not lawful for Him to do what He will with His own? What He does, and why He does it, we are frequently ignorant now; but, so far as it will contribute to our happiness, or be necessary to justify His proceedings, we shall know hereafter. It will probably constitute one part of the happiness of saints in heaven to review and admire the dispensations of a wise and gracious God towards them while upon earth.
II. A few observations on the stroke of death, as it respects mankind in general and believers in particular.
1. Respecting mankind in general.
(1) The stroke of death separates the soul and body from each other, and lays the latter in the dust.
(2) This stroke is the consequence of sin.
(3) It is a stroke that makes no distinctions among men. Grandeur, power, and dignity have, in this case, no respect paid them.
(4) The stroke of death removes those on whom it falls from all the pleasures gad enjoyments of time.
(5) By this stroke we are deprived of all opportunities to prepare for heaven.
(6) The stroke of death is a certain stroke, that calls us to the judgment seat of Christ; in consequence of which our eternal state is irrevocably determined.
(7) The time of this stroke is very uncertain. God only knows when it will fall on me, or on any of you. It is sometimes very sudden; and it may be so to any of us. Happy, happy the man who is always prepared for it.
2. Let us consider this stroke as it respects the true believer in particular.
(1) The stroke of death translates them from a world of darkness, ignorance, and confusion, to a world of light.
(2) By the stroke of death the saints are removed from a world of perplexing controversy and contention, to a world of harmony and peace.
(3) This world is continually a state of temptations and defilements; but the true believer is, at death, delivered from it and translated to a state of purity and holiness.
(4) The stroke of death delivers the saints from a state of fear and anxiety, and removes them to a world where these shall be known no more.
(5) In the present state the children of God are frequently beheld with scorn and contempt by vain, unthinking men of the world, as their Saviour also was in the days of His flesh, and as His most eminent followers and servants have been in all ages. But the stroke of death takes them away from the scorn and derision of men, and they are translated to a world where they shall be advanced to real honour and dignity.
(6) This is a state of toil and labour, But when the stroke comes of which we are now speaking, the saints shall be called to eternal rest.
(7) While the saints are at home in the body, they are absent from the Lord; and consequently deprived of much felicity which is reserved for them; for in His presence is fulness of joy, etc. And when they are delivered from this corrupt and degenerate world, this joy and these pleasures shall be theirs.
III. What practical instructions are deducible?
1. Hence we learn what is the one thing needful, and the folly and danger of neglecting it. Nothing will answer every purpose in life, death, and eternity but the knowledge and enjoyment of Jesus Christ, and salvation by Him.
2. Let me assist your inquiries respecting the way to enjoy this great blessing, and so to be prepared for the stroke of death.
3. From this view of death I call you to praise a merciful God, who has given His dear Son to deliver us from the fear of it, and recommend the blessed Jesus to you all, as your only, all-sufficient support and deliverer in your last trying moments.
4. The pitiable state of those who are practically preferring anything else to an immediate preparation for death.
5. Let all true believers, from hence, lift up an eye of faith, and take a pleasing view of that blessed world where the stroke of death shall be known no more.
6. Be diligent in improving the present moments for God. Employ all the members of your bodies, exert all the capacities of your mind, and all the superfluities of your earthly possessions, to support and advance your Redeemers interest. Adorn it by a holy conversation; and recommend it to others by every prudent method.
7. Act as in continual expectation of death.
8. Is anything of equal consequence with dying safe? (D. Taylor.)
The stroke of death under the direction of God
I. Social connections are desirable enjoyments.
1. They are various; being derived from different sources.
(1) Consanguinity, or oneness of blood (Act 7:26).
(2) Affinity, or matrimonial alliance; such are the most endearing and indissoluble connections of Life (Mat 19:5).
(3) Friendship, or union of hearts, formed by mutual benevolence (1Sa 18:1).
(4) Piety, or an affectionate concern to promote each others salvation (Php 2:20).
2. They are justly desirable. They are so, because our present state is a state of–
(1) Ignorance, and society is favourable to the attainment of useful knowledge (Pro 11:14; Pro 15:22).
(2) Weakness and danger, and society affords help–in bearing burdens–performing duties–and resisting enemies (Ecc 4:9-12).
(3) Affliction, and society is productive of mutual comfort (1Th 5:11; Psa 133:1-3 :l).
(4) Probation, and society promotes our eternal interests. This it does by rendering us capable of extensive usefulness (Gal 6:10); by preserving us from apostasy (Heb 3:12-13), and by exciting us to holy diligence (Heb 10:25). Hence we should recollect our obligations to God for relative comforts. Our subject also teaches us the wisdom of employing our social influence for pious purposes.
II. These enjoyments are subject to the stroke of death.
1. The stroke of death should be expected by us all. However useful to society, beloved by mankind, dear to God–all must die (2Sa 14:14; Ecc 3:21; Heb 9:27).
2. We should seriously prepare for the stroke of death; because death is awfully important in its effects.
3. Our preparation for this stroke should be habitual. We should immediately seek this preparation, and very carefully retain it, because the time when this stroke will be laid on us is to us unknown (Mat 24:44).
4. The saints recovery from this stroke should be anticipated, by faith in Gods promises (Hos 13:14; Php 3:21), and hope of renewed communion with saints in heavenly glory (1Th 5:8-10; 1Th 4:16-17; Rev 1:18). This reminds us–
III. The stroke of death is under the direction of God.
1. The death of our pious friends is only a removal; it is not annihilation–they still live with God (1Th 5:10), and to Him (Luk 20:38). They are taken away from toil, sorrow, and danger (Rev 7:16), to complete rest, happiness, and security (Rev 14:13).
2. They are taken away by God; by God heir proprietor, who had a right to dispose of them (Mat 20:15); by God their rewarder, who has taken them to crown them (2Ti 4:7-8); by God our benefactor, who kindly indulged us with their society (1Ti 6:7) Hence His hand in their removal should be piously acknowledged, both with resignation and gratitude (Job 1:21). (Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)
Funeral sermon
I. Our near relatives, when they are what they ought to be, are deservedly the desire of our eyes. The ties of nature are strong and tender. Those who are related by blood are led by instinct to love one another fervently. But of all relations the conjugal is the nearest, and is the foundation of the strongest affection and delight. Where that relation is properly formed, and the parties unite on proper principles, the bond is the firmest, and the reciprocal affection the strongest; insomuch that it is mentioned as the emblem of the relation between Christ and His Church.
II. A dissolution must take place, and we are to expect even the nearest and dearest friends soon to be taken from us. All the mutual offices of love and friendship must cease. All the pleasures and benefits arising from their society must be suspended. No longer can we take sweet counsel together, and go to the house of God in company; no longer unite in our prayers and praises at the family altar.
III. The stroke which separates between friends and kindred is sometimes sudden and unexpected. Not a few even in early life, and to all appearance in the full possession of health and vigour, are in a moment struck by the arrows of death, though they themselves and their friends had presumed that they had years to come. It would be our wisdom and happiness often to think of this, not only to quicken us in preparing for our own dissolution, but to prepare us for the loss of our friends and kindred, and engage us to improve the opportunities we have for our mutual benefit while they are continued; and to prevent that immoderate attachment to them which would be the source of excessive grief and surprise on their sudden removal.
IV. It is God who takes them away. Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke. In which words the Lord calls his attent on not only to the event, but to Himself as the agent. And He is equally the agent in the events which befall us and our friends, whatever be the instruments or second causes. That it is God who takes away our comforts as well as gives them is what none can doubt who have any just acquaintance with His holy word and believe what it teaches. We are there told, in general, that all things are of God, that a sparrow does not fall to the ground, and much less any human being, without our heavenly Father. Behold, says Job, He takes away, and none can hinder Him. Such a stroke ought to be felt, and it may be lamented as a heavy affliction. But when you consider the hand from whence it comes, you will see reason not only to submit, but to adore; and duty to Him requires that you should.
V. Guard against immoderate grief. Were it not for the hope of the Gospel–the hope of a blessed immortality beyond the grave–death would indeed be a most formidable object. When our friends leave the world, if we believed that there was an utter end of them, and they sunk into an eternal sleep, the thought of parting with them would be terrible. But if, when our dear friends die, we are fully persuaded that they live to God–if, when they are taken from us, we are well assured that they are gone to be with Christ, which is far better–we can have no just cause to mourn on their account; and if we have a Gospel foundation of hope that we are following them to glory, and shall ere long meet them there, whatever reason we have to mourn our own present loss, our sorrows ought to be mingled with joy.
Conclusion–
1. Let us bless God for those dear friends and relatives who are deservedly the desire of our eyes.
2. Let us remember how precarious the continuance of them is, as well as of all earthly enjoyments, and be prepared for the loss of them.
3. Nor let us forget that this change is as likely to be effected by our removal as by that of our friends.
4. Under all the afflictions of this mortal life, and especially amidst our sorrows for our departed friends, let us bless God for the comforts of the Gospel; and let us never cast them from us, but by faith make application of them to ourselves. (S. Palmer.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
15. Second part of the vision;announcement of the death of Ezekiel’s wife, and prohibition of theusual signs of mourning.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Next follows the other sign, by which the Lord shows the destruction of the temple.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Sign of Silent Sorrow Concerning the Destruction of Jerusalem
Eze 24:14. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Eze 24:16. Son of man, behold, I take from thee thine eyes’ delight by a stroke, and thou shalt not mourn nor weep, and no tear shall come from thee. Eze 24:17. Sigh in silence; lamentation for the dead thou shalt not make; bind thy head-attire upon thee, and put thy shoes upon thy feet, and do not cover thy beard, and eat not the bread of men. Eze 24:18. And I spake to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died, and I did in the morning as I was commanded. Eze 24:19. Then the people said to me, Wilt thou not show us what this signifies to us that thou doest so? Eze 24:20. And I said to them, The word of Jehovah has come to me, saying, Eze 24:21. Say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your soul; and your sons and your daughters, whom ye have left, will fall by the sword. Eze 24:22. Then will ye do as I have done, ye will not cover the beard, nor eat the bread of men; Eze 24:23. And ye will have your head-attired upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet; ye will not mourn nor weep, but will pine away in your iniquity, and sigh one towards another. Eze 24:24. Thus will Ezekiel be a sign to you; as he hath done will ye do; when it cometh, ye will know that I the Lord am Jehovah. – From the statements in Eze 24:18, to the effect that the prophet spoke to the people in the morning, and then in the evening his wife died, and then again in the (following) morning, according to the command of God, he manifested no grief, and in answer to the inquiry of the people explained to them the meaning of what he did, it is evident that the word of God contained in this section came to him on the same day as the preceding one, namely, on the day of the blockade of Jerusalem; for what he said to the people on the morning of this day (Eze 24:18) is the prophecy contained in Eze 24:3-14. Immediately after He had made this revelation to him, God also announced to him the approaching death of his wife, together with the significance which this event would have to the people generally. The delight of the eyes (Eze 24:16) is his wife (Eze 24:18) by a stroke, i.e., by a sudden death inflicted by God (vid., Num 14:37; Num 17:13). On the occurrence of her death, he is neither to allow of any loud lamentings, nor to manifest any sign of grief, but simply to sigh in silence. does not stand for , but the words are both accusatives. The literal rendering would be: the dead shalt thou not make an object of mourning, i.e., thou shalt not have any mourning for the dead, as Storr ( observv. p. 19) has correctly explained the words. On occasions of mourning it was customary to uncover the head and strew ashes upon it (Isa 61:3), to go barefoot (2Sa 15:30; Isa 20:2), and to cover the beard, that is to say, the lower part of the face as far as the nose (Mic 3:7). Ezekiel is not to do any of these things, but to arrange his head-attire ( , the head-attire generally, or turban, vid., Eze 24:23 and Isa 61:3, and not specially that of the priests, which is called in Exo 39:28), and to put on his shoes, and also to eat no mourning bread. does not mean panis miseroroum, cibus lugentium , in which case would be equivalent to , but bread of men, i.e., of the people, that is to say, according to the context, bread which the people were accustomed to send to the house of mourning in cases of death, to manifest their sympathy and to console and refresh the mourners – a custom which gave rise in the course of time to that of formal funeral meals. These are not mentioned in the Old Testament; but the sending of bread or food to the house of mourning is clearly referred to in Deu 26:14; Hos 9:4, and Jer 16:7 (see also 2Sa 3:35). – When Ezekiel thus abstained from all lamentation and outward sign of mourning on the death of his dearest one, the people conjectured that such striking conduct must have some significance, and asked him what it was that he intended to show thereby. He then announced to them the word of God (Eze 24:20-24). As his dearest one, his wife, had been taken from him, so should it dearest object, the holy temple, be taken from the nation by destruction, and their children by the sword. When this occurred, then would they act as he was doing now; they would not mourn and weep, but simply in their gloomy sorrow sigh in silence on account of their sins, and groan one toward another.
The profanation ( ) of the sanctuary is effected through its destruction (cf. Eze 7:24). To show the magnitude of the loss, the worth of the temple in the eyes of the nation is dwelt upon in the following clauses. is taken from Lev 26:19. The temple is called the pride of your strength, because Israel based its might and strength upon it as the scene of the gracious presence of God, living in the hope that the Lord would not give up His sanctuary to the heathen to be destroyed, but would defend the temple, and therewith Jerusalem and its inhabitants also (cf. Jer 7:4). , the desire or longing of the soul (from , in Arabic, desiderio ferri ad aliquam rem ). The sons and daughters of the people are the relatives and countrymen whom the exiles had been obliged to leave behind in Canaan. – The explanation of this lamentation and mourning on account of the destruction of the sanctuary and death of their relations, is to be found in the antithesis: ‘ , ye will pine or languish away in your iniquities (compare Eze 4:17 and Lev 26:39). Consequently we have not to imagine either “stolid indifference” (Eichhorn and Hitzig), or “stolid impenitence” (Ewald), but overwhelming grief, for which there were no tears, no lamentation, but only deep inward sighing on account of the sins which had occasioned so terrible a calamity. , lit., to utter a deep growl, like the bears (Isa 59:11); here to sigh or utter a deep groan. “One toward another,” i.e., manifesting the grief to one another by deep sighs; not “full of murmuring and seeking the sin which occasioned the calamity in others rather than in themselves,” as Hitzig supposes. The latter exposition is entirely at variance with the context. This grief, which consumes the bodily strength, leads to a clear perception of the sin, and also to true repentance, and through penitence and atonement to regeneration and newness of life. And thus will they attain to a knowledge of the Lord through the catastrophe which bursts upon them (cf. Lev 26:40.). For , a sign, see the comm. on Exo 4:21.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Death of the Prophet’s Wife; A Sign of Jerusalem’s Ruin. | B. C. 590. |
15 Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. 17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. 18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. 19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? 20 Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword. 22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. 23 And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another. 24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. 25 Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters, 26 That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? 27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
These verses conclude what we have been upon all along from the beginning of this book, to wit, Ezekiel’s prophecies of the destruction of Jerusalem; for after this, though he prophesied much concerning other nations, he said no more concerning Jerusalem, till he heard of the destruction of it, almost three years after, ch. xxxiii. 21. He had assured them, in the former part of this chapter, that there was no hope at all of the preventing of the trouble; here he assures them that they should not have the ease of weeping for it. Observe here,
I. The sign by which this was represented to them, and it was a sign that cost the prophet very dear; the more shame for them that when he, by a divine appointment, was at such an expense to affect them with what he had to deliver, yet they were not affected by it.
1. He must lose a good wife, that should suddenly be taken from him by death. God gave him notice of it before, that it might be the less surprise to him (v. 16): Behold, I take away from thee the desire of thy eyes with a stroke. Note, (1.) A married state may very well agree with the prophetical office; it is honourable in all, and therefore not sinful in ministers. (2.) Much of the comfort of human life lies in agreeable relations. No doubt Ezekiel found a prudent tender yoke-fellow, that shared with him in his griefs and cares, to be a happy companion in his captivity. (3.) Those in the conjugal relation must be to each other not only a covering of the eyes (Gen. xx. 16), to restrain wandering looks after others; but a desire of the eyes, to engage pleasing looks on one another. A beloved wife is the desire of the eyes, which find not any object more grateful. (4.) That is least safe which is most dear; we know not how soon the desire of our eyes may be removed from us and may become the sorrow of our hearts, which is a good reason why those that have wives should be as though they had none, and those who rejoice in them as though they rejoiced not,1Co 7:29; 1Co 7:30. Death is a stroke which the most pious, the most useful, the most amiable, are not exempted from. (5.) When the desire of our eyes is taken away with a stroke we must see and own the hand of God in it: I take away the desire of thy eyes. He takes our creature-comforts from us when and how he pleases; he gave them to us, but reserved to himself a property in them; and may he not do what he will with his own? (6.) Under afflictions of this kind it is good for us to remember that we are sons of men; for so God calls the prophet here. If thou art a son of Adam, thy wife is a daughter of Eve, and therefore a dying creature. It is an affliction which the children of men are liable to; and shall the earth be forsaken for us? According to this prediction, he tells us (v. 18), I spoke unto the people in the morning; for God sent his prophets, rising up early and sending them; then he thought, if ever, they would be disposed to hearken to him. Observe, [1.] Though God had given Ezekiel a certain prospect of this affliction coming upon him, yet it did not take him off from his work, but he resolved to go on in that. [2.] We may the more easily bear an affliction if it find us in the way of our duty; for nothing can hurt us, nothing come amiss to us, while we keep ourselves in the love of God.
2. He must deny himself the satisfaction of mourning for his wife, which would have been both an honour to her and an ease to the oppression of his own spirit. He must not use the natural expressions of sorrow, v. 16. He must not give vent to his passion by weeping, or letting his tears run down, though tears are a tribute due to the dead, and, when the body is sown, it is fit that it should thus be watered. But Ezekiel is not allowed to do this, though he thought he had as much reason to do it as any man and would perhaps be ill thought of by the people if he did it not. Much less might he use the customary formalities of mourners. He must dress himself in his usual attire, must bind his turban on him, here called the tire of his head, must put on his shoes, and not go barefoot, as was usual in such cases; he must not cover his lips, not throw a veil over his face (as mourners were wont to do, Lev. xiii. 45), must not be of a sorrowful countenance, appearing unto men to fast, Matt. vi. 18. He must not eat the bread of men, nor expect that his neighbours and friends should send him in provisions, as usually they did in such cases, presuming the mourners had no heart to provide meat for themselves; but, if it were sent, he must not eat of it, but go on in his business as at other times. It could not but be greatly against the grain to flesh and blood not to lament the death of one he loved so dearly, but so God commands; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. He appeared in public, in his usual habit, and looked as he used to do, without any signs of mourning. (1.) Here there was something peculiar, and Ezekiel, to make himself a sign to the people, must put a force upon himself and exercise an extraordinary piece of self-denial. Note, Our dispositions must always submit to God’s directions, and his command must be obeyed even in that which is most difficult and displeasing to us. (2.) Though mourning for the dead be a duty, yet it must always be kept under the government of religion and right reason, and we must not sorrow as those that have no hope, nor lament the loss of any creature, even the most valuable, and that which we could worst spare, as if we had lost our God, or as if all our happiness were gone with it; and, of this moderation in mourning, ministers, when it is their case, ought to be examples. We must at such a time study to improve the affliction, to accommodate ourselves to it, and to get our acquaintance with the other world increased, by the removal of our dear relations, and learn with holy Job to bless the name of the Lord even when he takes as well as when he gives.
II. The explication and application of this sign. The people enquired the meaning of it (v. 19): Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us that thou doest so? They knew that Ezekiel was an affectionate husband, that the death of his wife was a great affliction to him, and that he would not appear so unconcerned at it but for some good reason and for instruction to them; and perhaps they were in hopes that it had a favourable signification, and gave them an intimation that God would now comfort them again according to the time he had afflicted them, and make them look pleasant again. Note, When we are enquiring concerning the things of God our enquiry must be, “What are those thing to us? What are we concerned in them? What conviction, what counsel, what comfort, do they speak to us? Wherein do they reach our case?” Ezekiel gives them an answer verbatim–word for word as he had received it from the Lord, who had told him what he must speak to the house of Israel.
1. Let them know that as Ezekiel’s wife was taken from him by a stroke so would God take from them all that which was dearest to them, v. 21. If this was done to the green tree, what shall be done to the dry? If a faithful servant of God was thus afflicted only for his trial, shall such a generation of rebels against God go unpunished? By this awakening providence God showed that he was in earnest in his threatenings, and inexorable. We may suppose that Ezekiel prayed that, if it were the will of God, his wife might be spared to him, but God would not hear him; and should he be heard then in his intercessions for this provoking people? No, it is determined: God will take away the desire of your eyes. Note, The removal of the comforts of others should awaken us to think of parting with ours too; for are we better than they? We know not how soon the same cup, or a more bitter one, may be put into our hands, and should therefore weep with those that weep, as being ourselves also in the body. God will take away that which their soul pities, that is, of which they say, What a pity is it that it should be cut off and destroyed! That for which your souls are afraid (so some read it); you shall lose that which you most dread the loss of. And what is that? (1.) That which was their public pride, the temple: “I will profane my sanctuary, by giving that into the enemy’s hand, to be plundered and burnt.” This was signified by the death of a wife, a dear wife, to teach us that God’s sanctuary should be dearer to us, and more the desire of our eyes, than any creature-comfort whatsoever. Christ’s church, that is his spouse, should be ours too. Though this people were very corrupt, and had themselves profaned the sanctuary, yet it is called the desire of their eyes. Note, Many that are destitute of the power of godliness are yet very fond of the form of it; and it is just with God to punish them for their hypocrisy by depriving them of that too. The sanctuary is here called the excellency of their strength; they had many strong-holds and places of defence, but the temple excelled them all. It was the pride of their strength; they prided in it as their strength that they were the temple of the Lord, Jer. vii. 4. Note, The church-privileges that men are proud of are profaned by their sins, and it is just with God to profane them by his judgments. And with these God will take away, (2.) That which was their family-pleasure, which they looked upon with delight: “Your sons and your daughters (which are the dearer to you because they are but few left of many, the rest having perished by famine and pestilence) shall fall by the sword of the Chaldeans.” What a dreadful spectacle would it be to see their own children, pieces, pictures, of themselves, whom they had taken such care and pains to bring up, and whom they loved as their own souls, sacrificed to the rage of the merciless conquerors! This, this, was the punishment of sin.
2. Let them know that as Ezekiel wept not for his affliction so neither should they weep for theirs. He must say, You shall do as I have done, v. 22. You shall not mourn nor weep, v. 23. Jeremiah had told them the same, that men shall not lament for the dead nor cut themselves (Jer. xvi. 6); not that there shall be any such merciful circumstance without, or any such degrees of wisdom and grace within, as shall mitigate and moderate the sorrow; but they shall not mourn, for, (1.) Their grief shall be so great that they shall be quite overwhelmed with it; their passions shall stifle them, and they shall have no power to ease themselves by giving vent to it. (2.) Their calamities shall come so fast upon them, one upon the neck of another, that by long custom they shall be hardened in their sorrows (Job vi. 10) and perfectly stupefied, and moped (as we say), with them. (3.) They shall not dare to express their grief, for fear of being deemed disaffected to the conquerors, who would take their lamentations as an affront and disturbance to their triumphs. (4.) They shall not have hearts, nor time, nor money, wherewith to put themselves in mourning, and accommodate themselves with the ceremonies of grief: “You will be so entirely taken up with solid substantial grief that you will have no room for the shadow of it.” (5.) Particular mourners shall not need to distinguish themselves by covering their lips, and laying aside their ornaments, and going barefoot; for it is well known that every body is a mourner. (6.) There shall be none of that sense of their affliction and sorrow for it which would help to bring them to repentance, but that only which shall drive them to despair; so it follows: “You shall pine away for your iniquities, with seared consciences and reprobate minds, and you shall mourn, not to God in prayer and confession of sin, but one towards another,” murmuring, and fretting, and complaining of God, thus making their burden heavier and their wound more grievous, as impatient people do under their afflictions by mingling their own passions with them.
III. An appeal to the event, for the confirmation of all this (v. 24): “When this comes, as it is foretold, when Jerusalem, which is this day besieged, is quite destroyed and laid waste, which now you cannot believe will ever be, then you shall know that I am the Lord God, who have given you this fair warning of it. Then you will remember that Ezekiel was to you a sign.” Note, Those who regard not the threatenings of the word when they are preached will be made to remember them when they are executed. Observe,
1. The great desolation which the siege of Jerusalem should end in (v. 25): In that day, that terrible day, when the city shall be broken up, I will take from them, (1.) That which they depended on–their strength, their walls, their treasures, their fortifications, their men of war; none shall stand them in stead. (2.) That which they boasted of–the joy of their glory, that which they looked upon as most their glory, and which they most rejoiced in, the temple of their God and the palaces of their princes. (3.) That which they delighted in, which was the desire of their eyes, and on which they set their minds. Note, Carnal people set their minds upon that on which they can set their eyes; they look at, and dote upon, the things that are seen; and it is their folly to set their minds upon that which they have no assurance of and which may be taken from them in a moment, Prov. xxiii. 5. Their sons and their daughters were all this–their strength, and joy, and glory; and these shall go into captivity.
2. The notice that should be brought to the prophet, not be revelation, as the notice of the siege was brought to him (v. 2), but in an ordinary way (v. 26): “He that escapes in that day shall, by a special direction of Providence, come to thee, to bring thee intelligence of it,” which we find was done, ch. xxxiii. 21. The ill-news came slowly, and yet to Ezekiel and his fellow-captives it came too soon.
3. The divine impression which he should be under upon receiving that notice, v. 27. Whereas, from this time to that, Ezekiel was thus far dumb that he prophesied no more against the land of Israel, but against the neighbouring nations, as we shall find in the following chapters, then he shall have orders given him to speak again to the children of his people (Eze 33:2; Eze 33:22); then his mouth shall be opened. He was suspended from prophesying against them in the mean time, because, Jerusalem being besieged, his prophecies could not be sent into the city,–because, when God was speaking so loudly by the rod, there was the less need of speaking by the word,–and because then the accomplishment of his prophecies would be the full confirmation of his mission, and would the more effectually clear the way for him to begin again. It being referred to that issue, that issue must be waited for. Thus Christ forbade his disciples to preach openly that he was Christ till after his resurrection, because that was to be the full proof of it. “But then thou shalt speak with the greater assurance, and the more effectually, either to their conviction or to their confusion.” Note, God’s prophets are never silenced but for wise and holy ends. And when God gives them the opening of the mouth again (as he will in due time, for even the witnesses that are slain shall arise) it shall appear to have been for his glory that they were for a while silent, that people may the more certainly and fully know that God is the Lord.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
DEATH OF EZEKIEL’S WIFE A TYPE OF JERUSALEM’S
DESTRUCTION
Verses 15-27:
Verses 15, 16 announces to Ezekiel that the Lord is to take away from him the “desire of his eyes with a stroke,” meaning that He would take the life of Ezekiel’s wife suddenly, as with a plague, in a sudden and shocking manner as illustrated Num 14:37; Num 17:13; 2Sa 24:21; 2Sa 24:25. Yet he was told not to mourn, or weep, or let his tears run down, to manifest any token of grief on the occasion.
Verse 17 calls him to forbear (refrain from) crying, to make no mourning for his beloved who was dead, Num 20:20; Jer 16:5. He was to be solemnly resigned to the will of God, with silence, Lev 10:7; Lev 21:10; Lev 21:12; Psa 39:9. He was not to lay aside his turban, but to wear it and put his shoes on his feet, cover not his lips, and eat not the bread of men, Lev 13:45; 2Sa 15:30; Mic 3:7. Though men brought bread he was to decline to eat it, Deu 26:14; Hos 9:4; Jer 16:7; 2Sa 15:30.
Verses 18, 19 recount that Ezekiel spoke or prophesied in the morning and that evening his wife died. He did, the next morning, as the Lord commanded, neither weeping, mourning, nor letting his eyes shed tears before the people. When the people saw his resigned acceptance of the death of his wife, without normal emotional weeping and mourning, they were confused and asked why, or would you tell us what this means? Eze 12:9; Eze 37:18.
Verses 20, 21 recount his further response to them, as directed of the Lord, 2Pe 1:20-21. He was directed to advise the people that he would profane his sanctuary, the excellency of their strength and desire of their eyes, and “that which their soul pitieth,” Amo 6:8; Jer 7:4; Jer 7:10; Jer 7:14. They had vainly trusted that because of the Holy Temple God would not permit either it or them to be destroyed. They trusted in the temple and its worship forms and ceremonies, rather than in the Lord of the temple, Jer 7:4. Those of their sons and daughters left, not killed by the sword, should fall by or before it, becoming abject slaves or captives to the cruel, idolatrous Chaldeans, Psa 27:4.
Verses 22, 23 recount Ezekiel’s directing the people of Judah to avoid covering their lips and eating the food that would be brought to them when their death judgments struck their families, even as he had done at the death of his wife, verses 15-18; Deu 26:14; Jer 16:7. They were to pine away because of their iniquities that had
brought their judgment. Though before their enemies they were not to weep or mourn, they could, one with and before another in privacy, as a release and expression of their grief, Eze 33:10; Lev 26:39; Lam 3:39.
Verse 24 explains that Ezekiel’s behavior, upon the death of his wife, was designed to be a sign to all the people of Israel and Judah, to show what was to take place in the experience of his countrymen, Eze 4:3; Eze 12:6; Eze 12:11; Isa 20:3; Jer 17:15. The Lord called upon Ezekiel to be this sign. He did not simply presume to be a sign; Even as Moses and other writers used their names in recounting their experiences, Exo 2:11; Num 12:3; Isa 12:3; Dan 8:27. See also Joh 13:19; Joh 14:29.
Verse 25 affirms that they should be resigned, silently acknowledge remorse among the people of Jerusalem when He, in judgment took away their strength or stronghold, the temple in which they trusted, forgetting God, their true fortress, Isa 17:10.
Verse 26 prophesied that those who escaped from Jerusalem, when it was sacked by the Chaldean army, and the temple was destroyed, would bring the reports to those captives already in Babylon, to whom Jeremiah prophesied more directly.
Verse 27 asserts that when those fugitives who fled Jerusalem and the temple destruction should arrive in Babylon, at Chebar with their melancholy news, the people would talk with them and recognize the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy. Ezekiel was then to speak out again and point out that, what had happened in Jerusalem verified his message of prophecy as of Divine origin, and his conduct a sign to them, v. 24; Eze 29:21; Eze 33:22.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(Eze. 24:15-27.)
EXEGETICAL NOTESWith a view to affect more deeply the minds of his fellow-captives Ezekiel had announced to him the disseverance of the tenderest of all earthly tiesthe removal of her on whom he had ever been accustomed to look with affection and delight. This removal of his beloved wife was to be effected by a stroke, i.e., in so sudden and striking a manner as to show that it was an immediate visitation of God. Distressing, however, as this event would be, the prophet is commanded to exhibit no tokens of grief on the occasion.(Henderson.)
Eze. 24:16. The desire of thine eyes. Heb. The delight of thine eyes,thus describing the prophets wife. A stroke. A sudden death inflicted by God. The word is the same as that which is rendered plague (Num. 14:37; Num. 17:13; 2Sa. 24:21; 2Sa. 24:25).
Eze. 24:17. Forbear to cry. Heb. Be silent. The prophet was to check the emotions which he would naturally feel. They are to be repressed by a solemn sense of Gods having interposed (Lev. 10:7; Lev. 21:10; Lev. 21:12; Psa. 39:9). Make no mourning for the dead.Though the High Priest was interdicted mourning for any person whatever (Lev. 21:10), the ordinary priests were permitted to mourn for near relatives (Lev. 21:2-3). Ezekiel, therefore, though of priestly descent, would have been under no restriction in this respect. He was, however, on the present occasion, though of the most trying nature, to appear as usual, not laying aside his turban and instead of it casting ashes on his head, nor going barefooted, nor covering the upper lip together with its moustachio (Lev. 13:45; Mic. 3:7). Neither was he to partake of the food which it was customary for friends to bring in token of their sympathy with the mourners. This in the original is called bread of men, i.e., what men usually furnish on such occasions.(Henderson.) By the bread of men is meant that bread which the people were accustomed to send to the house of mourning in cases of death, to manifest their sympathy and to console and refresh the mourners, a custom which gave rise in the course of time to that of formal funeral meals. These are not mentioned in the Old Testament; but the sending of bread or food to the house of mourning is clearly referred to in Deu. 26:14; Hos. 9:4; Jer. 16:7.(Keil.)
Eze. 24:18. I did in the morning as I was commanded. On the morning following the death of his wife.
Eze. 24:21. I will profane My sanctuary. The profanation of the temple would be accomplished by its destruction. The excellency of your strength. Israel based its might and strength upon the temple as the scene of the gracious presence of God, living in the hope that the Lord would not give up his sanctuary to the heathen to be destroyed, but would defend the temple, and therewith Jerusalem and its inhabitants (Jer. 7:4)(Keil). Your sons and your daughters. Many parents might, when they were carried away from Jerusalem, have been under the necessity of leaving their children of tender age behind them. These the Chaldeans should mercilessly put to the sword.Henderson.
Eze. 24:23. Ye shall pine away for your iniquities. The thought of their personal guilt would swallow up all the sorrows of bereavement. They would be made to feel that their own sins had brought all this overwhelming trouble upon them. Mourn one toward another. Though prevented, by the circumstances in which they were placed in the land of their conquerors, from making any public manifestation of their sorrow, they would privately one to another give expression to their feelings of grief.Henderson.
Eze. 24:24. Thus Ezekiel is a sign unto you. It is not an unexampled thing for the sacred writers to introduce their own names into their productions (Exo. 2:11; Num. 12:3; Is. 20:3; Dan. 8:27). Ezekiel was a sign or significant typical representation, foreshadowing what was to take place in the experience of his countrymen. When the thing signified should happen, it would be an indubitable proof that Jehovah had revealed the event beforehand to his servant.(Henderson).
Eze. 24:25. Their strength. The word means rather stronghold or fortress. This was the temple in which they trusted, forgetting their true fortress-rock (Isa. 17:10).
Eze. 24:26. In that day. This, like the expression in the day, in Eze. 24:25, refers to that day in which the temple was destroyed and the fugitive made his escape.
Eze. 24:27. In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped.The day is referred to on which the fugitive arrived at the Chebar with the melancholy news. From the time of the temples actual destruction until this messenger should arrive the prophet ceased from his public labours, meanwhile leaving his predictions to produce their natural effect; but then he was again to stand forth, and pointedly appeal to the issue in proof of his divine commission.(Henderson).
HOMILETICS
JERUSALEMS DESTRUCTION TYPIFIED BY THE DEATH OF EZEKIELS WIFE
Ezekiel himself is now to be a sign unto them by his personal calamities and sorrows. He was a highly gifted man, and called to an honourable office, but corresponding to this height of privilege is a depth of sorrow. The chosen symbol of Jerusalems destruction was to be the occasion of pain and grief to him. But he is taught to set the claims of his duty and of his office higher than those of natural affection. His bereavement is here regarded rather in its bearing on public utility than on his domestic happiness. It is as a man of sorrows that he shall accomplish his prophetic mission. In his deepest afflictions he shall be powerful, as never before, to arouse the people to repentance. His ministry, like that of a greater Prophet, exemplifies the power of the Cross. The death of Ezekiels wife is here regarded as a type of the destruction of the city.
I. It would be a manifest visitation of God. Son of man, behold I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke (Eze. 24:16.) The hand of God was to be specially evident. A stroke, implying an action directed by an intelligent will; a calamity also sudden, like that of the pestilence which walketh in darkness. In the day (Eze. 24:25), the time of judgment was fixed. The destruction of the devoted city would be brought about, not by the accidents of history as men count them, but by the evident working of Gods will. The prophet had long known of the Divine purpose. For five years he had prophesied in dumb show, by parable, and by allegory of the final destruction of Jerusalem. Everything possible had been done to show the hand of God plainly revealed in this solemn work of judgment. Thus all will be forced at length to acknowledge the prophets Divine mission.
II. It would be an overwhelming sorrow. Neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down (Eze. 24:16). The prophet is also forbidden to observe the sad customs of the house of mourning (Eze. 24:17). The sign was to be the most solemn and expressive of all,the sign of a silent sorrow. The grief would prove too deep for tears, too serious for the outward trappings of woe. It is a common saying, that there is no sorrow like a dry sorrow. It is saddest of all when the burden of the heart can find no relief in tears.
II. It would bring home to them the greatness of their sin. The prophets silent sorrow was a type of the fact that his guilty nation would be brought solemnly to acknowledge that God had interposed. When His hand is made bare in judgment, the confession must be, I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because Thou didst it (Psa. 39:9). The inhabitants of the city would be overcome with such a sense of guilt that it would swallow up every thought of bereavement (Eze. 24:23). They would now begin to receive the prophets message seriously, asking the question in solemn earnestness, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us? (Eze. 24:19). They now begin to learn that the prophet is a sign unto them. Not only his words, but the stern realities of his life bear witness for God. The ruin of their city, now plainly seen to be a just judgment of God, would be an all-absorbing topic of conversation. They would be able to talk of nothing else, but mourn one towards another (Eze. 24:23). They would believe a human messenger when he comes to tell them a disastrous piece of news (Eze. 24:26). Thus they are compelled by stern facts to accept the prophets message, though they had long refused to believe him.
IV. It would bring them to the true knowledge of God (Eze. 24:27). The prophet had revealed the mind and will of God, but he was not believed. Now he shall speak with a power of instant conviction, for the messenger of evil tidings has arrived with news of the judgments which he had so long threatened in vain. He had laid before them the principles of righteousness, but now these are wrought out in stern facts to which they must listen. His words are now corroborated by a human messenger (Eze. 24:27). Thus the solemn realities of things, the solemnities of judgment must, sooner or later, be brought home to impenitent sinners, Thou shalt be a sign unto them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
(Eze. 24:19-24.)
1. The resting in holy things, causes God to remove them, how dear soever they be unto us. I will profane My sanctuary. You confide in the outward means, you are taken with the outward splendour of the ceremonies and pomp of the Temple, but the spiritual true worship ye mind not. The temple, city and state are dearer to you than I am. Why is the Temple, and not Myself, the excellency of your strength? Why is that the desire of your eyes, and not Myself, who fill the Temple with My glory? Why are you troubled that it should be laid in the dust, and care not that My honour, My glory, My name are profaned amongst you!
2. Mens sins sometimes bring them into such straits that though they have lost their dearest comforts, yet they dare not outwardly manifest sorrow for them. It was sad to lose their dearest comforts, and more sad that they might not ease their hearts by tears or sighings, and most sad that they must show no respect to their dead friends by any funeral rites. Jeremiah had predicted this sad condition (Jer. 16:6-7).
3. God may put His own faithful servants upon hard and unwonted things, thereby to declare what shall be the condition of the wicked. Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign. He hath not been suffered to mourn or weep; and why so? that he may be a sign unto you. You would not be taught by his doctrine, now you must be taught by his example; according to all that he hath done shall ye do. The things are harsh and unnatural that I (Ezekiel) have done, but it is for your sakes that I am put upon them; and ye shall do as I have done. Thus Isaiah was a sign (Isa. 20:3).
4. Signs accomplished convince men of the truth and just proceedings of God. By the fulfilling of this sign foretold, ye shall be so convinced as to acknowledge Ezekiel was a true sign, made so by Me, and that I have dealt justly with you for your iniquities, in bringing you into such straits, as not to dare to mourn openly for your miseries. If Ezekiel have nothing to object against Me, from whom, being innocent, I took away the desire of his eyes, and forbade him to mourn for her; what can you object against Me, being so guilty as none more, if I send away your desirable things, and hem you about with my judgments and enemies, that you shall not dare to mourn?Greenhill.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
B. The Death of Ezekiels Wife 24:1524
TRANSLATION
(15) And the word of the LORD came unto me saying, (16) Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke; yet you shall not lament or weep, nor shall your tears come down. (17) Sigh silently; make no mourning for the dead, your headdress bind upon you, and your sandals put upon your feet, and do not cover your lip, and do not eat the bread of men. (18) So I spoke unto the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. (19) And the people said unto me: Will you not declare to us what these things are to us that you are doing? (20) And I said unto them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (21) Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the longing of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword. (22) And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lip, and you shall not eat the bread of men; (23) and your headdress shall be upon your heads, and your sandals upon your feet; you shall not lament nor weep; but you shall waste away in your iniquities, and moan one to another. (24) And Ezekiel shall be to you a sign; according to all which he has done you shall do; when it comes to pass you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
COMMENTS
A shocking announcement was made to the prophet on that day when Jerusalem came under siege. It was an announcement which caused Ezekiel no little grief. The desire of your eyes your wife would die with a stroke, i.e., she would die suddenly without having been previously sick. The prophet was commanded to refrain from any lamentation or mourning rites (Eze. 24:16). He was to sigh in silence, i.e., to internalize his agony, and he was not to resort to the customary loud cries of lamentation. He was not to loosen his headgear to let his hair hang down covering his upper lip. He was not to remove his sandals nor eat the bread of men, i.e., the mourners meal supplied by friends and relatives (Eze. 24:17). What a difficult burden the Lord laid on His prophet. Ezekiels silent grief was to symbolize the stupefying effect which the fall of Jerusalem would have on the Jews at home and abroad. They would be too stunned for customary expressions of grief.
Even though he knew his wife would die at any moment, Ezekiel continued his ministry of preaching. That evening his wife died. The next morning Ezekiel carried out the Lords command to sigh in silence (Eze. 24:18). The people, perplexed by his strange behavior, sensed that the prophet was trying to convey some symbolic meaning to them. Thus they inquired concerning his conduct (Eze. 24:19).
In response to the inquiry of his fellow exiles, Ezekiel first indicated that what he had been doing and what he was about to say came from God (Eze. 24:20). He had just suffered the loss of the desire of his eyes, the one he held most precious. The Jews were about to lose their Temple. The loss thus incurred is indicated in the text by three expressions which underscore the prominent place that sacred structure occupied in the hearts of the Jews. The Temple was (1) the pride of your power, i.e., that which guaranteed, so they thought, the invincibility of Jerusalem and permanence of their national existence; (2) the desire of your eyes, i.e., that which they held to be most precious; and (3) the longing of your soul, i.e., that which they most missed by being exiled to Babylon. That sacred spot was about to be profaned being delivered into the hands of heathen men. Along with the loss of that Temple the exiles would lose their sons and daughters who had been left behind in the doomed city (Eze. 24:21). When the exiles would hear of the destruction of the Temple and the loss of their children, they would be thrown into shock, unable to observe the conventional mourning customs (Eze. 24:22). Added to the news of the unthinkable disaster in Jerusalem would be the pangs of guilty conscience. During that period of grief the once proud exiles would waste away in their iniquities. In almost inaudible expressions they would moan one to another (Eze. 24:23). In this way the Lord had appointed Ezekiel as a sign to the exiles. As the prophet had abstained from outward display of mourning, so also would the exiles. When all this came to pass the news that Jerusalem had fallen and the Temple had been destroyed they would know that the event had been decreed by the Lord (Eze. 24:24).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(15) Also the word.What follows is distinctly separated from the utterance of the foregoing parable and its interpretation, yet Eze. 24:18 shows that it took place upon the same day. Ezekiel is warned of the sudden death of his wife, who is described as deeply beloved, and yet he is forbidden to make any sign of mourning for her.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE DEATH OF EZEKIEL’S WIFE, AND ITS PROPHETIC LESSONS, 15-27.
There is nothing in literature more pathetic than these few brief words of personal history in the midst of this flaming prophecy. They show us the strength, the nobility of the man, and of this unnamed one who proved her right to be the life companion of a prophet when Jehovah himself called her to be not merely a prophetess but a prophecy. She was so dear to him that Jehovah could use her to symbolize Jerusalem: “The pomp of your strength, the desire of your eyes, the longing of your soul (Eze 24:21); the joy of their glory, and that whereunto they lift up their soul” (Eze 24:25).
He loved her, this grave and silent man, with all the intensity of his lonely heart and superb imagination and royal faith. Others were “briers” and “thorns” and “scorpions” to sting; she was the balm of Babylon to heal. She was all he had. He was an exile, without home or country. He was a prophet, blinded at times with visions of glory and again dumb with unutterable anguish because of the revelations of woe against his countrymen and native land. There was only one soul on the Chebar who understood him and sympathized with him in his great task. Men called him “hard of forehead and face,” but his wife knew him. When Jehovah said, “I take away the desire of thine eyes with a stroke,” Ezekiel knew well who that was. It was indeed a “stroke,” as the word says; yet so noble and so brave was he that his lips uttered not one word of complaint, though he in secret moaned and pined away (Eze 24:25). What a revelation of the prophet’s strength and his loyalty to God! (See Introduction, “IV. Ezekiel’s Personality and Work.”)
His lips and jaw
Grand made as Sinai’s law.
They could enunciate and refrain
From vibratory after-pain,
And his brow’s height was sovereign.
Mrs. Browning.
It may be noticed that the death of Ezekiel’s wife marks a distinct change in the character of his prophecies. Previous to this they have been cries of woe against his countrymen, they now become prophecies against the enemies of his country and speak of Israel’s triumph and of a new life for God’s people. This change could not mark simply the influence of this death upon the prophet, it must also mark a change in the temper of his audience. From this time forward every discourse seems addressed, not to scornful and rebellious, but to sympathetic and repentant hearers. The death of the “desire of his eyes” was not in vain!
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife.
‘Also the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, “Son of man, behold I am taking from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke. Yet you will neither mourn, nor weep, nor shall your tears run down. Sigh, but not aloud. Make no mourning for the dead. Bind your turban on you, and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your lips (moustache), and do not eat the bread of men.”
God tells Ezekiel that his wife is about to die and that he is to use it as a sign to Israel of what is coming. It is not necessary to see in this a sudden striking down from total health. She may well have been ill for some time (and it could not have been easy being the prophet’s wife). It is not her death that is the sign but Ezekiel’s reaction to it.
That she is called ‘the desire of your eyes’ brings out his feelings for her, and we here learn that on top of all the other burdens that he had had to bear was his beloved wife’s illness. We should not be surprised when all of life seems to be toppling on to us. God does so work in those He loves, that we may learn more to look to Him.
But her description as ‘the desire of your eyes’ is also given because she is to be compared with God’s sanctuary (Eze 24:21), the place where Yahweh met with His people, the place which men ‘loved’. The desire of their eyes was also about to be destroyed.
So Ezekiel was to abjure all the normal signs of mourning. He was not to wail loudly (Mic 1:8 see also Mar 5:38). He was not to begin a period of official mourning. He was to continue to wear his priestly turban (Eze 44:18; Exo 39:28), although in periods of deep distress that would normally be removed and the head covered in dust and ashes (compare Jos 7:6 ; 1Sa 4:12; Job 2:12). He was not to take off his sandals (compare 2Sa 15:30; Isa 20:2). He was not to cover his lips (veil the lower part of his face – compare Mic 3:7; Lev 13:45 of a leper). He was not to take part in a mourning feast, a wake (Jer 16:7). He was not to show signs of mourning.
‘The bread of men’, that is ordinary bread such as would normally be eaten at a wake.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife and its Significance
v. 15. Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, v. 16. Son of man, behold, I take from thee the desire of thine eyes, v. 17. Forbear to cry, v. 18. So I spake unto the people in the morning, v. 19. And the people, v. 20. Then I answered them, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, v. 21. Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will profane My Sanctuary, v. 22. And ye shall do as I have done, v. 23. And your tires, v. 24. Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign, v. 25. Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, v. 26. that he that escapeth in that day, v. 27. In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
See how the Lord is pleased to deal with his faithful servants! Here is a Prophet of the Lord bereaved of one that was near and dear to him; yea, the Lord himself calls her the desire of Ezekiel’s eyes: a plain proof of his great affection for her. But yet he is not permitted to drop a tear, or to manifest the least token of grief. And all this that both by preaching and by type he might show forth the Lord’s displeasure for the sins of his people. And what an awful judgment must it have been, when Jerusalem was thus taken and destroyed by the Chaldean army, and when such were the miseries of individuals, that none had power, or privilege, or even opportunity, to weep over one another!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Eze 24:15 Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Ver. 15. Also the word of the Lord. ] See Eze 18:1 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 24:15-24
15And the word of the LORD came to me saying, 16Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the desire of your eyes with a blow; but you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come. 17Groan silently; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your mustache and do not eat the bread of men. 18So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded. 19The people said to me, Will you not tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us? 20Then I said to them, The word of the LORD came to me saying, 21’Speak to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes and the delight of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. 22You will do as I have done; you will not cover your mustache and you will not eat the bread of men. 23Your turbans will be on your heads and your shoes on your feet. You will not mourn and you will not weep, but you will rot away in your iniquities and you will groan to one another. 24Thus Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done you will do; when it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’
Eze 24:16-17 the desire of your eyes This shows the tenderness of Ezekiel toward his wife. This also is the metaphor used in Eze 24:16-24 to describe the unbelievable pain of the people of Judah when Jerusalem fell.
In Ezekiel’s pain he is told to
1. not mourn, BDB 704, KB 763, Qal IMPERFECT, negated
2. not weep, BDB 113, KB 129, Qal IMPERFECT, negated
3. no tears shall run down, BDB 97, KB 112, Qal IMPERFECT, negated (because this phrase [1] is left out of the LXX; [2] does not fit the parallelism; and [3] is redundant with #2, many scholars think it is an addition)
This is similar to YHWH’s message about grieving to Jeremiah (cf. Jer 16:5).
Just a personal note, it is always hard for me, being a modern western person, to not be affected as an interpreter by my culture’s overemphasis on the rights and value of the individual. Most societies in the world are tribal or clan-focused. It bothers me when (1) Job’s children die or (2) David’s child dies or (3) Jeremiah is told not to marry or (4) YHWH takes Ezekiel’s wife. My mind screams to me are not these affected individuals as important to God as the biblical characters? Does not God love and care for them? Do not His promises cover them? Do you hear the twenty-first century American in me?
God has a universal redemptive plan. This world is affected by sin. This life is only the beginning of an eternal relationship! Yes, God loves and cares for individuals, but He has bigger and better plans for all humanity. This is not the world God intended it to be!
Theologically I know that the OT attributes all causality to God as a way of affirming monotheism! He, and only He, is in control. Individuals get hurt, die, both by natural causes and by the hand of evil, manipulative people. Yet God’s promises are still sure! He does care for each, but also for all (cf. 2Co 5:21)! The book by Hannah Whithall Smith, The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, has really helped me in this area.
Eze 24:17 This is a series of Hebrew cultural metaphors describing mourning rites (cf. Jer 16:5-13). Ezekiel was not allowed to mourn (be silent, BDB 198, KB 266, Qal IMPERATIVE) for the death of his own wife. The things he was expected to do, he was told to do the opposite.
1. put on your hat
2. put on your shoes
3. do not cover your mouth
4. do not eat mourner’s bread
Ezekiel’s grief (i.e., Eze 24:22) over the loss of his wife parallels YHWH’s grief over the loss of His wife (i.e., Judah). However, Judah’s judgment was appropriate! Grieving over them would imply that the judgment was not deserved, appropriate, and necessary (cf. Lev 10:1-7 in Nadab and Abihu’s death).
Eze 24:21 Notice the parallel phrases YHWH uses to describe Judah’s feelings toward the temple.
1. the pride of your power
2. the desire of your eyes
3. the delight of your soul
Judah had substituted devotion to a building for their devotion to YHWH (cf. Jeremiah 7). This is always a problem for religiously oriented people! The goal is fellowship with God (cf. Psa 42:1-2; Psa 63:1; Psa 143:6). It is an orientation of the heart, not a physical place to worship, or human performance.
Eze 24:23 you will rot away in your iniquities This VERB (BDB 596, KB 628, Niphal PERFECT) is used several times by Ezekiel (cf. Eze 4:17; Eze 33:10) and may reflect Lev 26:39. Jeremiah’s and Ezekiel’s condemnations of both Israel and Judah reflect the terminology of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 27-29.
Eze 24:24 Notice the direct speech of YHWH where Ezekiel is mentioned by name. The prophet himself is a sign (cf. Eze 24:27; Eze 12:11).
YHWH addresses Ezekiel directly in Eze 24:25-27. We, as later readers of the OT, know more about the man Ezekiel from this chapter than from any other prophet. We sense his love for his wife and his people. We feel his pain over Judean sin and incalcitrance!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Eze 24:15-18
EZEKIEL NOT TO DEMONSTRATE GRIEF
OVER THE DEATH OF HIS WIFE
The second sign presented in this chapter is that following the death of the prophet’s wife, when, acting upon the prior commandment of God, Ezekiel refrained from any demonstration of grief or lamentation.
Eze 24:15-18
“Also the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying. Son of man, Behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet thou shalt neither mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Sigh, but not aloud, make no mourning for the dead; bind thy headtire upon thee, and put thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. So I spake unto the people in the morning; and at even, my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.”
Ezekiel here was told that his wife would die, but that God forbade him to make any visible demonstration of his grief or lamentation. All of the usual things that were normally done to mark the passing of a loved one were to be omitted. He was not to uncover his head, nor go barefoot, nor to sigh aloud, nor to cover his lip, or even to eat “of the bread of men.” All of these funeral customs are frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, and some of them also in the New Testament, as in the case of the loud mourners wailing for the death of Jairus’ daughter.
“Nor eat the bread of men …” (Eze 24:17). This is of special interest to us, because it still in this present day is a characteristic of the New Israel of God, observed by Churches of Christ and other communions throughout the world upon funeral occasions. Cooke described the custom thus: “Friends and relatives of the deceased were accustomed to assemble in the house of mourning for a funeral meal, provided by those assembled. Of course, the bereaved was supposed to participate in the feast. It was that meal, here called, “the bread of men,” that Ezekiel was forbidden to eat.
“Bind thy headtire upon thee …” (Eze 24:17) The meaning of headtire is “turban.”
Eichrodt warned us not to be taken in by the critical nonsense that the warning which God gave Ezekiel regarding his wife’s death was “merely the realization that his wife’s long illness would probably lead to her death in the near future.
Such a canard is no less a denial of God’s Word than Satan’s arrogant falsehood, that, “Ye shall not surely die.”
For Biblical references to the types of actions mentioned here as expressions of sorrow see: Lev 10:6 (leaving off headtire), Isa 20:2 (the bare feet); Lev 13:45 (the covered lip). Deu 26:14; Jer 16:7 (the meal in the house of mourning), etc.
The meaning of Ezekiel’s being commanded not to demonstrate mourning is that:
“The context requires that the great tragedy of the fall of Jerusalem is not to be followed by wholesale demonstrations of lamentation and grief. Ezekiel would not weep (visibly) over the death of his beloved, and neither would the people of Israel weep over the fall of Jerusalem. Why? Because, in both cases the tragedy was too deep and stunning for any expression of grief to prove adequate.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Eze 24:15-16. Here we have a case where the Lord does some acting” in the place of the prophet. Desire of thine eyes means something that he would desire to look upon, which it will be seen means his wife, It was doubtless a severe blow and seems regrettable that such a thing was made necessary by the cruel unfaithfulness of these wicked women. But God made a greater sacrifice when he gave his own Son to die in order to accomplish a universal benefit. And so the death of Ezekiels wife was so necessary in the estimation of God that the prophet was forbidden to make any visible or audible complaint.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2. Signs to the exiles 24:15-27
The preceding parable pictured the siege of Jerusalem itself. The symbolic acts that Ezekiel performed next, perhaps on the same day, represented how the exiles were to respond to the news of Jerusalem’s siege.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The sign of the death of Ezekiel’s wife 24:15-24
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The Lord told Ezekiel that He was about to take the life of his beloved wife. The English word "blow" (Eze 24:16) implies a sudden, unexpected death. The Hebrew word, magephoh, does not demand a sudden death, but it sometimes describes such a death (cf. 1Sa 4:17; 2Sa 17:9; 2Sa 18:7). It could also mean death by plague or disease or anything that strikes a person down (cf. Exo 9:14; Num 14:37; Num 16:44-50; Num 25:8-9). In any case, the prophet was not to mourn, weep, or shed any tears over this personal tragedy (cf. Jer 16:5-13).
Such an announcement raises the question of whether God commits unprovoked acts of cruelty just to illustrate a point. In view of revelations of God’s character here and elsewhere, we should probably interpret this statement as meaning that God allowed Ezekiel’s wife to die at this precise time. He used her death, which He predicted to the prophet, to communicate a message to His people (cf. the unfaithfulness of Hosea’s wife). The text does not say that God put her to death as an object lesson. She could have been ill for some time before she died. Another similar situation involved God allowing the death of His innocent Son to occur at precisely the time God intended as another expression of His love and judgment.