"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 24:18)
Ezekiel was a priest, one who was carried away captive when Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem. His ministry was to the Jews who had been carried way captive into Babylon. He was a well-respected priest and prophet.
However, tragedy strikes. Ezekiel’s life is completely changed and his home emptied and wrecked within twelve hours. In the morning he is out proclaiming the Word of God which has been laid upon his heart. A terrific message declaring the hour of Jerusalem’s judgment. He had likely gone out with a heavy heart to deliver his message; and his wife, feeling what it meant to him, must have accompanied him to the door and had spoken such words of comfort and encouragement as even a strong prophet needs.
Often in the Lord’s ministry, the strain of which no man knows save he who is in it, the home serves as a shelter from the storm and a harbor from the tempest. Now, the burden of his message delivered, he turns to his home again and to her who is the desire of his eyes, his homemaker, his helpmeet and comrade; and that happens which makes it home no longer. There it is compressed into a single tine, a tragedy of sorrow. "I spake to the people in the morning, and at even my wife died,"
The word of the Lord came to him
perhaps on his way to or from his prophesying: "Son of man, behold I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke." Suddenly his wife is going to be snatched from him. And God did it, the God whom he had faithfully served, to whose truth he had borne constant witness. There was no accident about it; it was an act of God.
It is clear that even in Old Testament times God did not shield His chosen servants from the sorrows and sufferings that were the common lot of mankind. Christianity is not an insurance society against loss, sickness, or death. The promise even of old time was not, "Thou shall be kept from fire and flood," but "when thou passest through the waters I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee."
Here is a man preaching in the morning, and the message of God to him is not, "Because thou hast faithfully delivered My word, sorrow and death shall not come near thee," but, "Behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes."
Notice what tells Ezekiel, Jehovah’s faithful messenger and representative (17). Robbed of his dearest earthly comfort, deprived and stricken, the man is bidden to sigh in silence and to make no open show of sorrow.
Ezekiel does not question God; the people do that he has preached to (19). May I offer to you a explanation of the prophet’s own sorrow and loss. The first is that it might be demonstrated before the eyes of those about him how a man of faith - a representative of God - can bear sorrow. Not how he can escape it, but how, with what fortitude and courage, with what calmness and strength, he can bear it, and also what God Himself can be to such a man in such a time. Ezekiel was a witness (24).
I suggest to you that this may be God’s way of demonstrating the value of faith and religion, not that a man thereby can escape and save his own skin, but that he can endure and triumph over the things that break other men, that make them bitter, cynical, and rebellious.
Anybody can be impatient and rebellious. It requires no genius of any sort to be skeptical. The wonderful thing is when Ezekiel does, “I did in the morning as I was commanded.” His faith could not be conquered even by sorrow.
He was to be a "sign" to the people. That is, for one thing, when their sorrows come upon them they will do as he had done.
I do not doubt that God leads some men into deep experiences for the sake of others. It is a costly process, that of being qualified to be a comforter of the broken-hearted and an encourager to others.
I have dealt so far with only the purposes of trouble. Now let us observe how this man behaved in the midst of his trial. Notice what happens the very morning after the shock had fallen. "I did ........as I was commanded." That is, he went on with his prophetic ministry. He did not sit hopelessly brooding. He obeyed the imperative call of duty. The blow had fallen, life could never be the same. again, but life had to go on; there was work to he done and, there were people to live for and to minister to. So he hid his broken heart, and with such courage as he could muster went to work amid the sorrows.
Our tendency is to brood over our sorrows and our hurts and to withdraw from the work of the Lord. There are going to be times when God is going to allow you to be hurt, but He is not going to excuse you from being obedient to His commands just because you are hurt.
You have to keep on keeping on when you are hurting. You may sorrow but not as those which have no hope.
We must not allow our hurts to keep us forsaking God’s will.
I am to keep on coming to church even when I am hurt. I am to keep on praying and keep on witnessing even when I feel like nursing my own wounds. There are people everywhere, genuine children of God, born or the Spirit, washed in the blood, heaven bound, but they are no longer serving They have been wounded in the battle and now they sit on the sidelines or they sit in a pew and have become critical and cynical because somewhere they got hurt and they refused to do as they were commanded when they were hurt.
I. We are to do as we are commanded when our crutches are gone
It is so easy for us to become dependent upon people. Friends can become crutches for us to lean on. However, when they die or move on, what am I to do. DO AS I WAS COMMANDED.
God gives us friends, but don’t allow them to take the place of God.
When human crutches are gone, I must do as I was commanded.
II. We are to do as we are commanded when our companions are gone.
The “desire of his eyes” was taken. Ezekiel loved her dearly. When people misunderstood him, she was there.
When people talked about hm, she was there for him. Now, she is gone. There was a time when he lived apart from her, but now it is hard to conceive life without her. No one now to share his thoughts with. No one to serve God with. What will the mornings be like? Who will be there to meet him when he comes home?
When human companions are gone, I must do as I was commanded.
III. We are to do as we are commanded when our cheer is gone.
It is a wonderful thing to serve God when the blessings are trolling in, and you are filled with joy. It is easy to serve God when things are great and everybody loves you. However, it is a different story when things are not so good.
However, I must still serve God even when my joy is gone. There will some times when you feel like it just not worth it. Disappointments have set in, and the burden is overwhelming What am I to do......do as I was commanded.
Ronnie Lott while playing for the San Francisco 49ers made a tackle in a 1985 game against the visiting Dallas Cowboys. On the play, Lott got his left little finger stuck between a helmet and a shoulder pad, slicing open the finger.
It was split down the middle,’ said Lott’s college teammate Dennis Thurman, who played for the Cowboys at the time.
What Lott did after mangling his finger is amazing. Lott missed the remainder of the game, the final one of the regular season. He then had the finger temporarily repaired so he would be able to play in the NFC Wild Card game against the New York Giants the following week. Eventually, doctors amputated the tip of the finger.
"The doctors thought it would be better for me to do that since I was going to continue to play," said Lott, who would play nine more years.
He says losing the finger was not that big of a deal. This is a tremendous story about courage, determination, grit and how important football was to Ronnie.
Lott also ignored a hairline fracture of his right shin to stay in a 1986 game at Green Bay, leading the 49ers to a victory with two interceptions. And in a 1990 ’Monday Night Football’ game he played on two severely strained knees to help save a 7-3 win over the Giants.
Lott said of playing hurt. ’It is the ultimate compliment to pay to your teammates, to play hurt. On the other hand, looking back, was that a good decision? All in all, yes. I don’t have any regrets."
Some times I think this is what the Christian life is all about. We are often called to preach, pray, teach, and all with wounded hearts.
IV. We are to do as we are commanded when our commendations are gone.
If you serve God long enough, the accolades will not come as often. Instead of being commended you will be criticized.
If you serve God long enough, somebody is going to disappoint you. Somebody is going to do something that will knock you feet out from under you.
People quit serving God not because of what somebody else does to them, but because of they way they handled what somebody else did to them.
Thank God for those who have gone through unbelievable hurts, horrible disappointments but are still serving God.
What am I to do when I am treated unfairly, just do as I was commanded.
Don’t resign (give up) or become resigned (give in), but rather re-sign (get on). Our love for Christ is not seen when we are leading people to Christ, but it is seen when the “desire of our eyes” is dream of a lifetime, our hopes are dashed to pieces, and yet we serve God while we are hurt.
Conclusion:
When thing go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road your are trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won, had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.
AUTHOR UNKNOWN
"In the evening my wife died and in the morning, I did as I was commanded.”
