Tuesday 17 August 2010

Background

You may well find this passage shocking. How can one not mournthe death of a partner? How can it be an act of God? We have tothink ourselves back into the attitudes of the time. A prophetoften got the message across by his own personal conduct, in thiscase by not putting on a public show of mourning for his wife'sdeath. His grief is real but is to be kept hidden (see verse 17 -"Sigh, but not aloud").

Ezekiel is among forced exiles, deportees, in Babylon (modernIraq), grieving for their homeland, and above all for Jerusalem andits Temple, the focus of their faith. His message is that worse isto come: city and Temple will be destroyed. But they are not totreat it as disaster. They have brought it upon themselves because,as a people, they have not lived up to the religious and moralobligations of being God's chosen people.

Historically there were political and military factors involved inthe defeat of Israel and the destruction of Jerusalem and itsTemple, just as there were no doubt medical reasons for Ezekiel'swife's death, but everything is seen in terms of God's sovereignactivity. Today we might wish to say that God was working throughevents that had other causes, rather than directly causingthem.

When we take this passage in the context of other readings thisweek we can begin to see the underlying point. Until the people canrecognise their own failings that have contributed to theirdownfall there is no possibility of renewal. Renewal does not meansimply returning to the ways of the past, but a new beginning.

To Ponder

To what extent is it right to see something thathappens to us as an act of God?

In some cultures public demonstrations of griefare taken for granted, in others mourners are expected to grieve inprivate. What are the pros and cons of these customs?

Is it true that renewal can only come when weacknowledge our past mistakes? Why?