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Day 26 Ezekiel 24:15 Ezekiel 24:15 Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. 17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. 18 So I spoke unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded. 19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou do so? 20 Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword. 22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. 23 And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another. 24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this comes, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. 25 Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters, 26 That he that escapes in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? 27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD. Death is part of life, and when someone you love dies, you mourn for that person. However, not everyone mourns for their own reasons. God told Ezekiel his wife, whom he loved, was going to die, and he wasn’t to mourn her. Instead, he would be a sign to his people of how he, God, is dealing with them because of their sin and disobedience. Israel’s greatest desire, love, was Solomon’s Temple. God told Ezekiel, he was taking it away from the people, their desire, their strength, and only those who escaped God’s fury would come to Ezekiel and hear and understand what God is doing. Where is your strength? What do you rely on? Have you turned that object into a form of worship, an idol? Israel looked at Solomon’s Temple, not as a place to worship God, but as a place of beauty, which it was, but it was for God’s glory, not as an object of idolatry, which it had become. Because the people looked at the temple as a replacement for God, God took it away from them. He alone wanted the people’s worship and obedience. As Christians, you are no better than the children of Israel. Often you replace your worship of God for the things of this world. There are television shows with obvious titles – American Idol, and shows with not so obvious ones, that we still will tune in to, and nothing will stand in the way of your viewing pleasure. Television isn’t the only thing you idolize, but you also idolize people, and status. God will take your desire from you, so you too will worship only him. Jesus told the people to seek God first. Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (KJV) God isn’t denying you your desires, however, he wants your desire to be towards him first, and then he will reward you. Genesis 35:1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fled from the face of Esau thy brother. 2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: 3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. 4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. 5 And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. When you get rid of the idols in your life, even your enemies won’t come against you, but will live in fear of what your God will do. What are your idols? Get rid of them, as Jacob told his family, and God kept them safe. Get rid of them as Jesus told the people, and God will give you your desires. Psalm 37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. (KJV) You need to trust, delight in, and commit your ways to God and he will give you your desires. If you don’t, God will take away what you love most, and you will feel your strength gone out of you, just as Israel did when God destroyed the temple. Let’s pray: Father, help me trust in you, delight in you, and commit my life to you, worshiping only you, so you will not take my strength from me, but will give me the desire of my heart, because you are first in my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 15 January 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay