Israelites wanted to know why Ezekiel did not mourn in conformity to Jewish customs. 

Ezekiel 24:19

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

“And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?” Ezekiel 24:19

All through the book of Ezekiel, he uses parables, “show-and tell,” and images of all sorts to speak to the Israelites. Ezekiel had to use other forms of communication because the Israelites closed themselves off to the word of God. Jesus Christ used parables for that reason, “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Matthew 13:13

After several previous “show-and-tells”, the Israelites were accustomed to Ezekiel’s skits, and they were not amused. They were like the Pharisees who heard the parables of Jesus, “Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them…they sought to lay hands on Him…” Matthew 21:45 In a contemptuous attitude, the Israelites asked Ezekiel, “What are you doing now? What do these things mean?”

The Israelites knew the behavior of Ezekiel was out of character because he deviated from Jewish customs about the proper clothes to wear while mourning for his wife. God directed Ezekiel’s uncustomary behavior. The Israelites knew Ezekiel’s wife had died, but instead of wearing clothing of grief, Ezekiel continued to wear his day-to-day clothing and showed no sign of tears, sadness, or mourning at all, but inwardly he was sighing in silence. God said to him, “Sigh in silence.”

Click here for the background on the death of Ezekiel’s wife from Ezekiel 24:15-27

The world we live in today wants to capitalize on every occasion to solicit the followers of Jesus Christ to mourn, show sadness, to speak words of despair, and to lower our spirit. They want Christians to immerse themselves in death not life, in destruction not Salvation, and in darkness not light. Jesus Christ lifts us up above the darkness, sadness, and grief of this world to give us a focus on eternal life, Salvation, and His Light. As we transcend outward shows of depression, grief, and mourning, those of this world approach us as if something is wrong with us. They ask in a contemptuous tone, “Why do you behave so, explain yourself?” We sigh in silence.

Jesus Christ speaks these words to us, “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” Matthew 6:16-18 God says to us, “Sigh in silence.”

As followers of our Lord Jeus Christ, the Man of Sorrows, we can assess that there is mourning within us even though we show hope, compassion, love, and the Spirit of life outwardly. The diagnosis is that those of this atheistic world will criticize our lack of outer evidence of grief, sorrow, and mourning in the presence of death and catastrophe. We plan to live by the inner hope given to us through Jesus Christ and not to dwell on the darkness, death, and destruction of this world. We implement that plan by offering hope, eternal life, and Salvation through Jesus the Christ. We know the plan is successful when through the criticism of not mourning we offer life instead of death, light instead darkness, and Salvation instead of destruction. As Jesus said, “For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” Luke 9:56

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1