Ezekiel's Sign

November 16, 2025 Background Scripture: Ezekiel 1:1 - 3; 2:1 - 3:27; 8:1 - 4; 11:22 - 25; 24:15 - 24; 33:30 - 33 Lesson Passage: Ezekiel 3: 10, 11; 24:15 - 24, 27 King Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army attacked Judah in 597 B.C. and carried many Jews into captivity. Ezekiel was one of the captives taken to Babylon. Judah's capitol city, Jerusalem, was left intact for approximately eleven years after that. King Nebuchadnezzar set up a vassal leader in Jerusalem and left a remnant of the Jews in Judah. Ezekiel was a priest; however, God began to show him visions and called him to be a prophet to the children of Israel while he was a captive in Babylon. God assured him that the people would know that he is a prophet whether they listen to him or not. Ezekiel was told to receive from God what God gives him and not to rebel like the other children of Israel. He was shown a scroll with lamentations and woes written on it. He was told to eat the scroll and then go speak to Israel. God told Ezekiel to not be afraid of their faces. He was told the people would not listen to him because they didn't listen to God. God told him that He had made him a watchman for Israel. He was warned that if he did not obey God and warn the people according to God's word, the unrighteous would die in their sins but God would require their blood at Ezekiel' s hand. God also told Ezekiel that the children of his people were talking about him. They were treating his prophecies as entertainment. They gladly listened to the word of God and responded verbally. However, their hearts were not aligned with their mouths. Despite the prophecies, they refused to heed what the word of God said to them. Of the many signs God showed Ezekiel, the one in today's lesson was perhaps the most personal for him. God acknowledged that He knew that Ezekiel' s wife was the desire of his eyes; however, God told him that He was going to take her from him. God commanded Ezekiel to not show any visible signs of grieving, such as mourning or crying. Ezekiel was told that he could only grieve her death silently. Ezekiel prophesied as God instructed him to do in the morning, and that evening his wife died. Ezekiel obeyed God's instructions as to how he was allowed to respond emotionally. His behavior confused the children of Israel. They understood that Ezekiel should have been mourning the sudden loss of his wife; his behavior was far from normal. Finally, God gave Ezekiel the prophecy to explain his behavior. The children of Israel who were left as a remnant in Judah would be killed by the sword of their enemy. This would occur because the temple of the Lord had been desecrated. One of the Jews who was part of the remnant in Judah would escape to bring the sad news to the captives. After receiving the news of death of the remnant, the children of Israel in captivity would be required to behave just as Ezekiel had acted. In the past, God had established the manner of sacrifices He required of Israel. They were to be offered at the tabernacle. God permitted King Solomon to build a temple to replace the tabernacle. Rather than focus on the sacrifices as prescribed by God, Israel focused on the temple and polluted it by setting up idol gods in it. Over the course of time, God became one of many gods that Israel associated with the temple that was dedicated to Him. It was an absolute abomination to consider the only living God to be on the level with idols. Giving honor that should only be given to God to idols by bowing down to them provoked God. Israel thought the presence of the temple was their protection, God had left the temple long ago because of its desecration, and now He was preparing for its destruction. Ezekiel's behavior after the death of his wife, was the sign God chose because Israel could not see His emotional response, but they would feel the deep grief He experienced because of their idolatry. Robert C. Hudson November 5, 2025