Reading
SAA Notes
In the midst of doing God’s will in ministry, Ezekiel’s wife suddenly dies. Ezekiel has the Spirit of Christ and gives His reply: Your will be done! May God use our deaths as well as our lives for the supreme good of those we love!
SJA Notes
* God Above, Your word is true and the only truth. Please help us see what is true from it today.
“Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down.”
Here is a very hard word, and an event, from the Lord for Ezekiel, and so for us.
Ezekiel’s wife dies. The rose of his life, his joy and delight.
God told Ezekiel beforehand that it would happen, that this was His doing.
We read through the passage and see this terrible personal event, God says that this is to be a visible sign to the exiles, a sign of God’s will.
How do we understand this?
Is God playing horrible games with humanity, even more, with a faithful servant?
Does God take our loved ones from us as He did Ezekiel?
As we wrestle with this passage, there are bedrock truths we are to keep in mind.
One. God does not play games. He is God, holy and just, faithful and steadfast in His love.
Two. God is sovereign. His will is absolute.
Three. God works good through bad. As He has from the beginning, so HE continues to, working for the good of His people in this broken full-of-evil world.
Four. Death is not the end for the believer, for the Jesus-follower.
Five. We need Jesus to make sense of all and everything that happens in life.
Jesus tells us that to know God the Father we must know him, God the Son.
Do we know Jesus today?
* Father God,
We cry to You for our loved ones, our friends and family, those we meet with and work with and play with, those who are not found in Christ, in You, those who are outside the camp.
Thank You that You went outside the camp to save us.
Please save those around us Lord God, please chase them down and cause repentance and belief to strike in their hearts. And so in ours too.
Please show us Jesus today, all of us.
Amen.