Ezekiel 24
Scripture
"Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.’......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 24:24, 27 NIV
Observation-What does it say?
With the help of commentary, I would typically give a breakdown of the meaning behind the cooking pot and the deeper meaning behind why God wouldn't allow Ezekiel to mourn for his dead wife, however, what stood out to me from the beginning was the phrase in this chapter, ..."and they will know that I am the LORD" and "they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord."
Understanding-What does it mean?
Why would a good God allow so much suffering on the nation of Israel?
The Lord is doing these things to show Who is in charge and Who is the authority. He is making a point that it is definitely not them....It is NOT the nation of Israel. It is Him, the Sovereign Lord.
Just like when Job was questioning God about His suffering, God turned around and ended up questioning Him saying, "“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.” Job 38:4 NIV
God ended up asking Job more questions from there. God's questioning brought humility and silence to Job, as it would any man.
I believe God really loved the nation of Israel, saw greater potential for them than the path they were choosing, and that's why His discipline over their rebellion seemed harsh. They started seeking their own way and being their own gods, instead of submitting to the One and Only God, the One and Only Authority, creator of the Heavens and the Earth.
Life Application
Is God the final authority of our lives?
The relationship between a parent and a child is a good earthly illustration of the relationship between God the Father and His children. Parents have a role to play to raise their children up in the way they should go. However, for one reason or another, children will refuse to listen to our instructions because they either don't know better, they've chosen to submit to something or someone else or they've decided they want full control and to do their own thing. As parents, we discipline them mainly out of love, but also to remind them who's the authority figure, who's the parent and who knows better.
God's sovereignty (meaning He is in total control of everything...past, present and future events), gives Him the right to tell us what to do and be the final authority over our lives. Have we surrendered all to Him or are we still holding on to what we want to do?