Ezekiel 24.15-17
[15] The word of the Lord came to me: [16] ‘Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. [17] Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your moustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.’
Of all the pictures Ezekiel was to act out before his fellow Israelites, this was surely the most painful. His wife would die, yet he was not to mourn. Today people are dying, but we are denied the opportunity to mourn. It was a picture of something even worse, the destruction which was about to befall Jerusalem, and the exile of so many – God’s terrible judgement on their idolatry and rebellion. If what we are experiencing in our day seems awful, let us see it in perspective – there is far worse to come, when it is time for the final reckoning, as depicted in Revelation. Let us rejoice that God delays that reckoning, to give us the chance to repent and find his mercy.
2 Peter 3.9 He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Father, thank you that your judgement is not against us, but against our brokenness and sin. Thank you that Jesus was broken so that we might be healed, that he took on our sin that we might be made clean. Help us to embrace and share this good news.
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