SCRIPTURE: EZEKIEL 9
IDOLATERS KILLED (vs. 1-11)
Ezekiel saw 6 men coming from the direction of the upper gate with deadly weapon in their hands. Then the glory of God of Israel went up above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. And the Lord called up to the men clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and told him to go through the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it. Then the 6 men slaughter everybody except those who had the mark. While they were killing, Ezekiel was left alone, facedown crying out saying: “Ah Sovereign Lord Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel on this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?” God answered: “The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see.” So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done” (vs. 8-10)
THOUGHTS:
This chapter presents a picture of God’s judgment. Since Jerusalem had become corrupt, God called one man to spare the small minority who were faithful. Then he called 6 men to slaughter the wicked people in the city.
The spiritual leaders of Israel promoted their idolatrous beliefs and the people abandon God and followed them. Spiritual leaders are especially accountable to God because they are entrusted with the task of teaching the truth. When they pervert the truth, they can lead countless people away from God and cause a nation to fall. So when God began to judge the nation, he started at the Temple and worked outward.
The people said that the Lord had forsaken the land but they did not recognize their sins. Many people sin by making excuses such as “Everybody is doing it”, “It doesn’t matter”, “No one will know”. Rationalizing sin by making excuses will not convince God to cancel the punishment.