Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold,
I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet
neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.
Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of
thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover
not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. So I spake unto the
people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the
morning as I was commanded (verses 15-18).
The second message which is given to Ezekiel in this chapter concerns
himself. He is to lose the desire of his eyes, his wife, with a stroke.
And the Lord tells him that he is not to mourn or weep, nor is he to
shed tears on account of the bereavement. All the customary signs of
grief are forbidden him. These were the taking off of the headdress, the
turban, and putting ashes on the head; taking off the shoes, walking
barefooted (2 Sam. xv:30); the covering of the lips, the beard (Micah
iii:7; see also Lev. xiii:45), and the eating of certain food,
mourning-food. All this he was not to do. And while he faithfully
delivered the Word of the Lord in the morning, at even his wife was
taken from him and faithfully he obeyed the commandment of the Lord.
Death had dissolved the marriage union and taken from the prophet the
beloved wife. Even so the relationship between Jehovah and Jerusalem was
now to be completely severed. And instead of a wild lamentation, a
wailing cry, there should be a solemn silence. A similar message was
also given to Jeremiah, "They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall
not be lamented.... For thus saith the Lord, Enter not in the house of
mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them" (Jer. xvi:4-9).