Christian Devotional – March 9, 2017

Ezekiel chapter 24 is a very difficult chapter to read, and even more difficult to understand. Especially as we look at the second half of the chapter, where God explains that Ezekiel’s wife is going to die. God tells Ezekiel this and then commands him not to mourn for his wife. As we read through this section, it can be very difficult for us to understand why God would do something like this or allow something like this to happen to someone who loves him and serves him. The people also would have recognized that this was situation was unusual.

Ezekiel does exactly as he’s commanded, and his wife does die. Ezekiel does not mourn, or follow any of the typical practices of a morning husband. Obviously, this was very unusual for the people to see. They asked Ezekiel about it and Ezekiel had the opportunity to explain to them the Holiness of God and the sin that this represented for them. Throughout this entire story, the thing that struck me was the fact that God is much more concerned about our Holiness then he is about our happiness. Even if we have all of the wonderful comforts that this world can offer, if we are not focused on the Holiness of God we will not be pleasing to God. God gave Ezekiel the strength to go through what he took him through. There is no other explanation for how Ezekiel was able to do what was asked of him. Are we willing to trust God with the situations that happen in our lives knowing that he can bring us through them? Will we seek after the Holiness of God first and foremost in our lives?