That evening my wife died, and the next morning I did as I had been commanded. Then the people asked me, “Will you not tell us what all these things that you are doing mean for us?” I therefore spoke to the people that morning, saying to them: Thus the word of the LORD came to me: Say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: I will now desecrate my sanctuary, the stronghold of your pride, the delight of your eyes, the desire of your soul. The sons and daughters you left behind shall fall by the sword.
Ezekiel shall be a sign for you: all that he did you shall do when it happens. Thus you shall know that I am the LORD. You shall do as I have done, not covering your beards nor eating the customary bread. Your turbans shall remain on your heads, your sandals on your feet. You shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away because of your sins and groan one to another. (Ezekiel 24:15-23)
Ezekiel warned Israel that the LORD had said: “…by a sudden blow I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes…you shall rot away because of your sins and groan one to another.” All of that eventually did happen at the hands of Israel’s enemies.
Who are our enemies? What is our delight, and what are our sins? The former would be our religious freedom. The latter would be our failure to protect and preserve what gives us our freedoms – our Constitution and rights.
Our enemies would be our own mirrored reflections. St. Paul said (Romans 7:19-23): “For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. Now if [I] do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand. For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” We are our own worst enemies.
Yes, sin dwells in us, and we do what we do not want. We are all guilty. Therefore, we had better be extremely carefully else we shall rot away because of our sins, and we will groan one to another.
As Forrest Gump said: “Stupid is as stupid does,” meaning a person should be judged by their actions, not by how they look. Let’s make sure we don’t act stupid by refusing to delight in the law of God; being captive to the law of sin; and willingly surrendering our freedoms. We must do the good we want and refuse to do the evil we do not want.
Deacon David Pierce
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