Actions speak louder than words
Next we see Jerusalem as a cooking pot. For this is what the siege of Jerusalem is like. A cooking pot with all the best meat and bones inside. A cooking pot with wood piled beneath for a great fire to cook the meat.
Jerusalem is the city of bloodshed. The pot is rusty and encrusted. The wood is piled high. The charred meat will be removed and the cooking pot heating until all the impurities are removed. However long that takes.
I the Lord have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back; I will not have pity, nor will I relent. You will be judged according to your conduct and your actions. Ezekiel 24:14
What happens next is truly tragic. God allows Ezekiel’s wife to die – plans it that way, even. And Ezekiel is not to mourn. Not outwardly anyway.
Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. Ezekiel 24:16
That’s simply awful. Why would God do that? Why would God allow that? Why would God demand that?
The people see that his wife has died and that he is not mourning and they ask Ezekiel these questions too. They need answers.
And the answer?
God is about to destroy their beloved sanctuary – His holy dwelling. The city all the people hold dear. Their sons and daughters will die. And yet they will not grieve. They’ll just keep going. They’ll carry on regardless. They will do exactly what Ezekiel has done.
“And you, son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their heart’s desire, and their sons and daughters as well— on that day a fugitive will come to tell you the news. At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 24:25-27
It’s a bit weird. Ezekiel hasn’t exactly been silent. He has spoken to the people who have come to him. But his influence has not been widespread. He has been limited to his home. Much of what God has conveyed has been through pictures and actions and not words. Ezekiel has been a sign to the people through his life and actions. He has shown his trust in and obedience to the one true God more in how he has acted than in what he has says. Even down to how he’s reacted to the ultimate sacrifice of the one he’s loved dearly.
I was reminded of this quote at housegroup the other night.
It is what we do that matters. How we live our lives. How we live out our values and beliefs. That’s what people see. That’s what people respond. How we get on with our everyday lives and how we respond to struggles and tragedies matter far more than the words we say.
It was true for Ezekiel. It was true for St Francis of Assisi. It is true for us today.
