Ezekiel 24:15, 16 Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying,… Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes, etc. The death of the prophet's wife is introduced here as a type of the calamities which were impending over Jerusalem and its inhabitants. We believe that her death was a fact, and not merely "a vividly drawn figure" designed to set forth the more impressively the overwhelming troubles which were coming upon the Jews. We may notice, in passing, that the fact that Ezekiel had a wife suggests the unscripturalness of the papal dogma of the celibacy of the clergy. Moses was most eminent as a prophet, and he was married (Exodus 2:21, 22). So also was his brother Aaron, the high priest. Samuel the seer and judge was married (1 Samuel 8:1, 2); and St. Peter (Matthew 8:14). St. Paul claimed for himself the "right to lead about a wife that is a believer, even as the rest of the apostles, and the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas" (1 Corinthians 9:5). And he writes of the prohibition of marriage as a "doctrine of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1-3). Regarding the death of the wife of the prophet as a real actual occurrence, we propose to consider it at present apart from its typical significance. We notice - I. THE REMOVAL OF A BELOVED RELATIVE BY DEATH. "Son of man, behold, I take away... the desire of thine eyes." This undoubtedly refers to the wife of Ezekiel; and this mode of speaking of her indicates the high esteem and tender affection in which she was held by her husband. "A good wife," says Jeremy Taylor, "is Heaven's last best gift to man - his angel and minister of graces innumerable - his gem of many virtues - his casket of jewels. Her voice is sweet music; her smile, his brightest day; her kiss, the guardian of his innocence; her arms, the pale of his safety, the balm of his health, the balsam of his life; her industry, his surest wealth; her economy, his safest steward; her lips, his faithful counselors; her bosom, the softest pillow of his cares; and her prayers, the ablest advocates of Heaven's blessing on his head." The sacred Scriptures, especially in the New Testament, represent the love which the husband should bear towards his wife as being of the closest, tenderest, holiest kind (Ephesians 5:25-33). When a man has a good wife, who is to him the desire of his eyes, and she is taken from him by death, great is his loss and sore his sorrow. "The death of a man's wife," says Lamartine, "is like cutting down an ancient oak that has long shaded the family mansion. Henceforth the glare of the world, with its cares and vicissitudes, fails upon the old widower's heart, and there is nothing to break their force or shield him from the full weight of misfortune. It is as if his right hand were withered; as if one wing of his angel was broken, and every movement that he made brought him to the ground. His eyes are dimmed and glassy, and when the film of death falls over him, he misses those accustomed tones which have smoothed his passage to the grave." How frequently are beloved relatives removed by death! At one time it is the true wife and tender mother. At another, it is the faithful husband and the wise and loving father. Again, it is the beloved and beautiful child. II. THE REMOVAL OF A BELOVED RELATIVE BY DEATH SUDDENLY, "I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke." The wife of Ezekiel did not suffer long from any illness, she had no antecedent affliction which tended to prepare him for her removal, but was snatched away as it were in a moment. It is not infrequently the case that our beloved are taken from us without any warning or without any anticipation of their removal. By virulent disease, by public calamity, by private accident, men are taken away with a stroke. This renders the suffering of the survivors more severe. If the life had slowly faded away, they would in a moment have been prepared for its departure. When there is a protracted affliction, the hearts of those who are soon to be bereaved nerve themselves for the last separating stroke when it shall come. The idea of the parting to some extent familiarizes itself to the mind. But in cases of sudden death there is no such preparation for the trial. And the stroke sometimes stuns the bereaved by its unlooked-for force, sometimes overwhelms their hearts with sorrow, and sometimes drives them into half-madness. III. THE REMOVAL OF A BELOVED RELATIVE BY DEATH SUDDENLY BY GOD. "The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke." The agent in the removal of the prophet's wife is here said to be neither disease, nor accident, nor chance, nor fate, but the Lord himself. This is the general teaching of the Bible as to man's decease (cf. Job 1:21; Job 14:5, 20; Psalm 31:15; Psalm 68:20; Psalm 90:3, 5; Psalm 104:29; Revelation 1:18). In the fact which we are considering there is: 1. Deep mystery. Why does God take away our beloved ones with a stroke? Why does he not grant us at least some intimation and preparation for the coming trial? We cannot tell. But he says unto us, "What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt understand hereafter." 2. Divine instruction. The fact should teach us important lessons; e.g.: (1) Not to place too much reliance on creatures, however wise and good and beloved (cf. Psalm 146:3, 4; Isaiah 2:22; 1 Corinthians 7:29). (2) To live in a state of preparedness for death. He who lives a truly Christian life will not be found unprepared whenever death shall come to him (cf. Philippians 1:21). (3) To acknowledge God as the Sovereign of our life. This is manifestly our duty and our interest. 3. Rich comfort. God is all-wise, perfectly righteous, infinitely kind, and graciously interested in us. Therefore his arrangements concerning us, and his actions in relation to us, must be for our good. It is consoling and even inspiring to know that our times are in his hand. IV. THE REMOVAL BY GOD OF A BELOVED RELATIVE, WHO WAS NOT TO BE MOURNED BY THE BEREAVED SURVIVOR. "Yet neither shalt thou mourn or weep, neither shall thy tears run down." God does not prohibit to his servant the feeling of sorrow, but only its outward expression. All the visible signs of mourning in use amongst his countrymen he must abstain from (Ver. 17). He may not weep, and even the relief of silent tears is forbidden him. It has been well said by Albert Smith that tears are "the safety-valves of the heart, when too much pressure is laid on." And Leigh Hunt writes, "Tears enable sorrow to vent itself patiently. Tears hinder sorrow from becoming despair and madness." But in this painful bereavement Ezekiel must neither weep nor shed tears, in order that he may be a more impressive sign unto his fellow-exiles. Exceedingly severe were his trials. But for us in our sorrow there is no such prohibition. Christianity does not forbid tears. "Jesus wept." In the days of his flesh he "offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death." And the solace of tears is allowed unto us. We may relieve the over-laden heart by sighs, and cool the burning brain by our flowing tears. And in the sorrows of bereavement we have richer, diviner consolations than these. We know that to those who are in Christ death is unspeakable gain; that the separations which it causes are more in appearance than in reality; and that in the great hereafter there will be blessed reunions with those who have passed beyond the veil. - W.J. Parallel Verses KJV: Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, |
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