Ezekiel 24:16

24:15-27 Though mourning for the dead is a duty, yet it must be kept under by religion and right reason: we must not sorrow as men that have no hope. Believers must not copy the language and expressions of those who know not God. The people asked the meaning of the sign. God takes from them all that was dearest to them. And as Ezekiel wept not for his affliction, so neither should they weep for theirs. Blessed be God, we need not pine away under our afflictions; for should all comforts fail, and all sorrows be united, yet the broken heart and the mourner's prayer are always acceptable before God.

Son of man, behold,.... This is said to raise the attention of the prophet, something strange and unusual, interesting and affecting, being about to be delivered: I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke; meaning his wife; who very probably was of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to; however, of an amiable disposition, and in her conjugal relation very agreeable to the prophet; and, no doubt, a truly religious woman, and upon all account's desirable to him. This lovely object of his affection the Lord, who is the sovereign disposer of all persons, signifies he would take away from him by death unto himself; that is, suddenly and at once; and so the Syriac and Arabic versions render it, "with a sudden stroke"; as sometimes persons are struck with death at once with an apoplexy or palsy.

The Targum renders it, with the pestilence; it was what the Jews call death by the hand of heaven, by the immediate hand of God; and, it may be, without any intervening disease; or, however, without any train of disorders which lead on to death: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep; on account of the dead; neither privately nor publicly, inwardly or outwardly, though so near and dear a relation; and though it would seem strange, and be charged with want of natural affection, and with a brutish insensibility: neither shall thy tears run down; his cheeks, by which vent would be given to his grief, and his mind somewhat eased; but all care was to be taken to prevent any gushing of them out of his eyes, and especially that they did not run down in any quantity on his cheeks, and to be seen; though they might seem to be but a proper tribute to the dead.

Ezekiel 24:16-18 . Behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke — Behold, I take away from thee thy wife, the object of thy love and thy affection, by a sudden stroke from my own immediate hand, that is, by a sudden death. Observe, reader, we know not how soon the desire of our eyes may be removed from us. Death is a stroke from which the most pious, the most useful, the most amiable, are not exempted. Yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep — Thou shall not show any signs of grief. This command was given to the prophet, to signify that the public calamity should be so great, that private ones would not appear worthy of notice, nor would they be at leisure to lament them, so much would those of a public nature distract and oppress them. Bind the tire of thy head upon thee — Use thy ordinary dress upon thy head; for in the time of mourning it was customary sometimes to shave the head, sometimes to cast dust upon it. Put on thy shoes upon thy feet — Going barefoot was usual in great sorrow and affliction; and therefore the prophet, who was to show no sign of sorrow, was commanded to put on his shoes. Cover not thy lips — Covering the lips, or face, was another token of mourning. And eat not the bread of men — Partake not of the mourning-feast, that relations used to prepare for the funerals of their friends: see note on Jeremiah 16:7 .

So I spake to the people, &c., and at even my wife died — My wife accordingly died very suddenly in the evening of a day, on the morning of which I had been speaking to the people, concerning the intimations I had of her death; and the next morning I declared what commands God had laid upon me, not to make any outward show, or sign of mourning upon that occasion.

15–27 . The prophet’s abstention from mourning on the death of his wife—a symbol of the stupefaction of the people at the news of the fall of the city 16 . with a stroke ] The word need not be pressed to mean a sudden unexpected death, apart from all previous sickness. thy tears run down ] wanting in LXX. Ezekiel 24:16

The death of Ezekiel's wife took place in the evening of the same day that he delivered the foregoing prophecy. This event was to signify to the people that the Lord would take from them all that was most dear to them; and - owing to the extraordinary nature of the times - quiet lamentation for the dead, according to the usual forms of mourning, would be impossible.

Behold; consider what I tell, and will do. I take away from thee; by death I take from thee, but it is I the Lord, and I take her to myself, though from thee. The desire of thine eyes: whether it refer to the beauty of her person or no, it certainly refers to the amiableness of her disposition, and the agreeableness of her to the prophet. With a stroke; a sudden stroke, whether pestilence or what else is not so much as hinted at; I think it was God’s own immediate hand. Neither shalt thou mourn; make no solemn mourning for her, though it will look only in the sight of thy people. Nor weep; let no lamenting voice be heard from thee, cry not out in bewailing thy loss. Neither shall thy tears run down; neither let thy eyes pay any tribute to her, forbear even tears also, at least, let them not run down; if one chance to drop, check the rest.

16. desire of … eyes—his wife: representing the sanctuary (Eze 24:21) in which the Jews so much gloried. The energy and subordination of Ezekiel's whole life to his prophetic office is strikingly displayed in this narrative of his wife's death. It is the only memorable event of his personal history which he records, and this only in reference to his soul-absorbing work. His natural tenderness is shown by that graphic touch, "the desire of thine eyes." What amazing subjection, then, of his individual feeling to his prophetic duty is manifested in the simple statement (Eze 24:18), "So I spake … in the morning; and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded." stroke—a sudden visitation. The suddenness of it enhances the self-control of Ezekiel in so entirely merging individual feeling, which must have been especially acute under such trying circumstances, in the higher claims of duty to God.

The Sign of Silent Sorrow Concerning the Destruction of Jerusalem Ezekiel 24:14. And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Ezekiel 24:16. Son of man, behold, I take from thee thine eyes' delight by a stroke, and thou shalt not mourn nor weep, and no tear shall come from thee. Ezekiel 24:17. Sigh in silence; lamentation for the dead thou shalt not make; bind thy head-attire upon thee, and put thy shoes upon thy feet, and do not cover thy beard, and eat not the bread of men. Ezekiel 24:18. And I spake to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died, and I did in the morning as I was commanded. Ezekiel 24:19. Then the people said to me, Wilt thou not show us what this signifies to us that thou doest so? Ezekiel 24:20. And I said to them, The word of Jehovah has come to me, saying, Ezekiel 24:21. Say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your soul; and your sons and your daughters, whom ye have left, will fall by the sword. Ezekiel 24:22. Then will ye do as I have done, ye will not cover the beard, nor eat the bread of men; Ezekiel 24:23. And ye will have your head-attired upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet; ye will not mourn nor weep, but will pine away in your iniquity, and sigh one towards another. Ezekiel 24:24.

Thus will Ezekiel be a sign to you; as he hath done will ye do; when it cometh, ye will know that I the Lord am Jehovah. - From the statements in Ezekiel 24:18, to the effect that the prophet spoke to the people in the morning, and then in the evening his wife died, and then again in the (following) morning, according to the command of God, he manifested no grief, and in answer to the inquiry of the people explained to them the meaning of what he did, it is evident that the word of God contained in this section came to him on the same day as the preceding one, namely, on the day of the blockade of Jerusalem; for what he said to the people on the morning of this day (Ezekiel 24:18) is the prophecy contained in Ezekiel 24:3-14. Immediately after He had made this revelation to him, God also announced to him the approaching death of his wife, together with the significance which this event would have to the people generally. The delight of the eyes (Ezekiel 24:16) is his wife (Ezekiel 24:18) בּמגּפה by a stroke, i.e., by a sudden death inflicted by God (vid., Numbers 14:37; Numbers 17:13). On the occurrence of her death, he is neither to allow of any loud lamentings, nor to manifest any sign of grief, but simply to sigh in silence. מתים אבל does not stand for אבל מתים, but the words are both accusatives.