“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26) 
The good news is the Lord affirmed Ezekiel belonged to him, as his disciple.
The bad news is Ezekiel actually experienced the cost1 in a tangible way.
Read Ezekiel 24:15-17.
- The Lord told Ezekiel he would lose his attractive wife, whom he dearly loved.1
- Contrary to human nature, God commanded Ezekiel to not lament, weep, or shed tears.
- He must not show any outward signs of sorrow or observe the customary period of mourning.
- Instead, he must groan and grieve inwardly, silently, in private.
Why did God take Ezekiel’s wife?
Why did God then command Ezekiel not to mourn?
Read Ezekiel 24:18.
- This verse serves as a pivot point, similar to what we might observe in a story today.
- In the morning, Ezekiel spoke to the people.
- That evening, his wife died.
- Ezekiel “obeyed God’s command even though he loved his wife.”1
What do you imagine Ezekiel told the people?
How was Ezekiel able to follow God’s difficult command?
Read Ezekiel 24:19-24.
- The people asked Ezekiel why these things should matter to them. Why, indeed. God had a specific reason.
- They could expect God’s Word to come to pass with certainty.
- As He had taken Ezekiel’s wife, so He would desecrate the sanctuary they loved.
- The Lord accused Israel of taking pride in the temple as a stronghold and fortress.
- They boasted and delighted in it, in their inner being, with all their soul and mind.
- This word for “delight” is used only once in the Old Testament, here in Ezekiel, to “describe the compassion and delight the temple was” to Israel. God compared “Ezekiel’s delight and desire for his wife to Israel’s desire and delight in the temple.”2
- The word soul used here shows their direct opposition to God’s commandment.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38)
- In contrast, they would experience the cost of not following God.
- The children they abandoned would be killed.
- The Lord would force them to follow in Ezekiel’s steps, and they would not be allowed to participate in outward customary signs of mourning, weep, or grieve.
- Throughout this passage, Ezekiel wrote half a dozen different words to describe grief, sorrow, and mourning.
- Instead, they would waste away in their sin, evil, guilt, and/or punishment.
- According to Bible Hub, Brown-Driver-Briggs suggests this wasting away is in and due to punishment.3
- Baker agrees their groaning is that of those forced into exile.4
- Ezekiel would be a sign to them as they followed in his steps.
- This display of God’s plan and His hand at work would have its ordained effect:
- Then they would know I AM is the Lord.
Was it good or bad that Israel considered the Lord’s sanctuary, a sacred holy place, as a stronghold and a fortress? Why?
What things do we delight in, with all our heart, soul, and mind?
What do you think about God comparing Ezekiel’s rightful delight in his wife to Israel’s boastful delight in the temple?
Read Ezekiel 24:25-27.
In these verses, God again addressed Ezekiel directly.
- God would take away what the Israelites loved:
*their stronghold
*their pride and joy
*their heart’s desire
*their children
- On that day one would escape to bring the news to Ezkeiel (who was most likely already in Babylon at this writing).
- Ezekiel would speak with the fugitive and no longer be silent—perhaps at this time God would also allow the prophet to tell his part of the story, including his personal loss.
- Ezekiel would be a sign to them, and then they will know that I AM the Lord.
In what ways might Israel’s punishment “fit their crime?”
Why do you think God would allow Ezekiel to speak with the one who escaped to tell the news?
How would Ezekiel’s sign lead Israel to know I AM is the Lord?
How have you experienced the cost of following (or not following) God in your life?
How does God’s work in our life lead us to acknowledge I AM is the Lord?
For those who are beginning to wonder, at this point we’re halfway through reading Ezekiel. Who knew we would discover such nuggets of relevant truth in this dramatic prophetic book?!
- Warren Baker, D.R.E., The Complete Word Study Old Testament. (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1994), 2025
- Warren Baker, D.R.E., Eugene Carpenter, Ph.D. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament. (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003), 596
- Bible Hub. Interlinear Hebrew Old Testament. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5771.htm
- Baker, The Complete Word Study Dictionary, 662, 713