Single lesson
Ezekiel's Bereavement and Its Sign
Ezekiel 24:15–27
In this lesson, students follow a painful sign in Ezekiel’s life and hear the message God gave through it. They will put the passage in order, identify responses and outcomes, and discuss what the sign was meant to show.
Before you teach
Yahweh speaks to Ezekiel, tells him what will happen, and gives commands about how he is to act. When the people ask what this means, Ezekiel explains that his actions are a sign for the house of Israel. The passage ends by looking ahead to a report from one who escapes and to Ezekiel speaking again.
Students will be able to sequence Ezekiel 24:15–27, identify Ezekiel’s response and the people’s response, and explain that Ezekiel became a sign so they would know that Yahweh is the Lord.
Welcome: what is a sign?
6 minWrite the word sign where everyone can see it. Ask students for examples of signs that communicate a message. Then explain that in this passage Ezekiel himself becomes a sign. The people notice his actions and ask what they mean to them, which gives the lesson a clear focus from the text itself.
Ezekiel 24:19, Ezekiel 24:24
Read and explain: God’s command and Ezekiel’s response
10 minRead Ezekiel 24:15–18 slowly. Yahweh says he will take away from Ezekiel the desire of your eyes, and verse 18 shows that his wife died. Ezekiel is told, neither mourn nor weep and make no mourning for the dead. Students then trace what he was commanded to do and what he did: he spoke to the people, his wife died, and he did as he was commanded.
Ezekiel 24:15, Ezekiel 24:16, Ezekiel 24:17, Ezekiel 24:18
Discuss: the people ask and the sign is explained
9 minRead verses 19–24. Make the people’s response clear: they ask, Won’t you tell us what these things mean to us? Ezekiel then explains Yahweh’s message about the sanctuary, sons, and daughters. Students trace the outcome named in the passage: Ezekiel will be a sign, and when this comes, they will know that the Lord Yahweh is the Lord.
Ezekiel 24:19, Ezekiel 24:20, Ezekiel 24:21, Ezekiel 24:22, Ezekiel 24:23, Ezekiel 24:24
Make and respond: sequence and sign cards
9 minIn pairs, students make six cards for the passage: God speaks, commands are given, Ezekiel obeys, the people ask, the sign is explained, Ezekiel’s mouth is opened. Under each card, they copy a short phrase from the verses. After ordering the cards, they explain how the sequence shows Ezekiel was a sign and points to knowing that Yahweh is the Lord.
Ezekiel 24:15, Ezekiel 24:17, Ezekiel 24:18, Ezekiel 24:19, Ezekiel 24:24, Ezekiel 24:27
Closing: the future report and the stated outcome
6 minRead verses 25–27. Explain that the passage ends by looking ahead to the day when one who escapes brings news and Ezekiel’s mouth is opened. Ask students to summarise three parts: what Yahweh said, how Ezekiel responded, and what the people were meant to know. Finish with the repeated outcome from the text: then they will know that Yahweh is the Lord.
Ezekiel 24:25, Ezekiel 24:26, Ezekiel 24:27
Questions to explore
Why did the people ask Ezekiel what his actions meant to them?
Look closely at the commands in Ezekiel 24:17, at what Ezekiel did in Ezekiel 24:18, and then at the people’s question in Ezekiel 24:19.
Ezekiel 24:17, Ezekiel 24:18, Ezekiel 24:19
What losses are named in Yahweh’s message to the house of Israel?
List the phrases in the message itself, including what is said about the sanctuary and what is said about sons and daughters.
Ezekiel 24:21, Ezekiel 24:25
What outcomes are stated after Ezekiel’s sign is explained and after his mouth is opened?
Notice what the text says Ezekiel will be and the repeated line about what the people will know.
Ezekiel 24:24, Ezekiel 24:27
Make, think or respond
Sequence and Sign Cards
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pens or pencils
- Bible text
- scissors
Try it together
- Divide students into pairs and give each pair six blank cards.
- Ask pairs to write one event or message on each card from Ezekiel 24:15–27 and add a short phrase from the passage.
- Students place the cards in order and check their sequence against the reading.
- Each pair explains which card best shows how Ezekiel became a sign and how the passage points to knowing that Yahweh is the Lord.
This activity helps students follow the order of Ezekiel 24:15–27 and connect the sequence to the passage’s stated purpose: Ezekiel is a sign, and then they will know that Yahweh is the Lord.
Adapt for your group
- For younger or less confident readers, write the six event titles on the board for students to copy onto their cards before ordering them.
- For older or more confident students, ask them to add a second line under each card naming the response or outcome in that verse, such as Ezekiel obeyed, the people asked, or they will know that Yahweh is the Lord.
An optional closing prayer
Lord Yahweh, help us listen carefully to your word, understand what you showed through Ezekiel, and respond truthfully to what we have read. Amen.
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Ezekiel 24
15 Also Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
16 “Son of man, behold, I will take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears run down.
17 Sigh, but not aloud. Make no mourning for the dead. Bind your headdress on you, and put your sandals on your feet. Don’t cover your lips, and don’t eat mourner’s bread.”
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. So I did in the morning as I was commanded.
19 The people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things mean to us, that you act like this?”
20 Then I said to them, “Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
21 ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “The Lord Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pities; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.
22 You will do as I have done. You won’t cover your lips or eat mourner’s bread.
23 Your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You won’t mourn or weep; but you will pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another.
24 Thus Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.’ ” ’ ”
25 “You, son of man, shouldn’t it be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their heart—their sons and their daughters—
26 that in that day he who escapes will come to you, to cause you to hear it with your ears?
27 In that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped, and you will speak and be no more mute. So you will be a sign to them. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.