International Sunday School Lesson November 16, 2025
Hello, I’m Donnie Bryson. Welcome to another edition of the International Sunday School Lesson. Today’s lesson is for November 16, 2025. The title of today’s lesson is, “Ezekiel’s Sign”. It’s taken from Ezekiel 3:10-11, Ezekiel 24:15-24 and Ezekiel 24:27. Ezekiel had a very unique ministry and style. One of the oddest things he did was when he showed no grief at the death of his wife. We will see today that was mandated by God to point out the lack of grief of the transplanted Babylonian Jews when Jerusalem completely fell. Ezekiel’s ministry lasted over twenty-three years from 595 BC to 573 BC. He was the contemporary of Daniel, Jeremiah, and Obadiah. Ezekiel was one of the 10,000 Judeans carried away by Nebuchadnezzar when he invaded Jerusalem in 598 B.C. Ezekiel was living at Tel-abib near the Chebar River when he recieved the call from God to be prophet.
Ezekiel 3:10–11 ESV
Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.”
This held true throughout the ministry of Ezekiel. Listen to what God told Ezekiel in Ezekiel 33:30–33 ““As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it. When this comes—and come it will!—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.””
Ezekiel 24:15–17 ESV
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.”
God put Ezekiel in very unusual circumstances so he could give messages to the people. For example, he had to lie on his left side 390 day then Ezekiel had to lay on his right side for 40 days. Another example is that he had to eat his food over dung. Another example is that he had to shave his head and divide his hair. But, the one we are talking about today, in my opinion, is the oddest one. Silence at the death of his beloved wife. This was about 2 years before the destruction of Jerusalem. The point that God was making to the people is that they would not grieve over that destruction. The treated the destruction as a foreign event that did not impact them.
Ezekiel 24:18 ESV
So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.
Poor Ezekiel. It must have been so hard to obey the command of God and not show grief at the death of his wife.
Ezekiel 24:19 ESV
And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?”
Here we see the rationale of why God had Ezekiel act so odd. It made a dynamic impact on the folks around him.
Ezekiel 24:20–21 ESV
Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.
This was before the massive destruction of Jerusalem. The people still did not listen although Ezekiel made the point so graphically. They did exactly what was predicted. They were involved in their new life and surroundings. They were removed from their homeland and former life. There was little impact to them when the Temple was totally destroyed.
Ezekiel 24:22–23 ESV
And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another.
They continue in their backslidden ungodly state. It will not break their heart as it should have brought them to repentance.
Ezekiel 24:24 ESV
Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.’
This is the sign that would last for generations.
Ezekiel 24:27 ESV
On that day your mouth will be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel told the folks the message God gave him.
Concluding Thoughts
A couple of concluding thoughts. Sometimes God gives a message to folks with our actions. We see that Ezekiel made a huge sacrifice to give the proper message of the refugees. We should be willing to give the proper message with our actions. Second, we should not disregard the chastening hand of God when it comes. Well friends, good Lord willing, I’ll be back with you next weekend.
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