I have been married 32 years this month. As pastor I have stood at the funeral and graveside for people burying a spouse after many more years of marriage than I have known. Those are deeply sad moments, especially for the best of marriages. Bonds that were forged during good and hard times, blanketed by the deepest of human love, are strong, extremely strong. And pain runs deep when they are broken by death.
Ezekiel’s wife dies and the Lord will not allow him to grieve. He is to feel the pain in isolation. Why, why would God do this? Why would God keep him from customary grieving, which includes the community gathered? Why?
Because this is yet another prophetic action. The pain he feels, and the preparedness to keep on living despite his loss, were messages to
Such is the judgment of God about to unfold.
The image of wasting away for their sins played in my mind. What an utterly sad picture. Truly, sin can do that. Left unattended, it is a poison in our system that can eat us from the inside out. Unattended sin is like a fungus or mold that silently eats away the interior while the exterior still looks fine. By the time it is noticeable on the outside, damage is done inside and significant remediation is needed to save the structure.
“Bill, don’t allow sin to go unattended in your life. Deal with it at first sight. Don’t let it grow. It will destroy you…” Such was God’s Word to me this morning.
Lord God, show me my sin, and give me strength to deal with it.
Create in me a clean heart, Oh God, and renew a right spirit within me…
I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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