Ezekiel 9

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Dave Burnette's Commentary

Ezekiel Chapter 9

Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Ezekiel
Date Penned: (571 BC)
Overview: To Announce God's Judgement and Salvation (c 1-5)
Theme: Messages of Doom (c 1-24)
Message: The Death of Idolaters (v 1-11)

Ezekiel 9 Commentary

(9:1) A Warning - This chapter presents a vision warning of coming judgment. After Ezekiel had seen how corrupt Jerusalem had become, God called one man to spare the small minority who had been faithful. Then he called six angelic messengers to slaughter the evil people in the city. God himself ordered this judgment (9:5=7).

(9:2) The Inkhorn - The writer's inkhorn was relatively common in Ezekiel's day. It included a long, narrow board with a groove to hold a reed brush, which was used to write on parchment, papyrus, or dried clay. The board had hollowed-out areas for holding cakes of black and red ink that had to be moistened before use.

(9:3-5) Faithful - In this vision, God told the man with the writer's inkhorn to put a mark on those who were faithful to God. Their faithfulness was determined by their sensitivity to and sorrow over their nation's sin. Those with the mark were spared when the six angels began to destroy the wicked people. During the Exodus, the Israelites put a mark of blood on their doorframes to save them from death. In the final days, God will mark the foreheads of those destined for salvation (Revelation 7:3), and Satan will mark his followers (Revelation 13:16-17), who, like him, are destined for destruction. When God punishes sin, he won't forget his promise to preserve his people. He knows those who are marked for destruction. He also knows and protects those who are marked for salvation.

(9:3) God's Glory - What is God's glory? It is the manifestation of God's character--his ultimate power, transcendence, and moral perfection. God is completely above humans and their limitations. Yet he reveals himself to us so that we can worship and follow him.

(9:3) Cherubims - The cherubim (cherub is the singular form) are an order of powerful angelic beings created to glorify God. They are associated with God's absolute holiness and moral perfection. God placed cherubim at the entrance of Eden to keep Adam and Eve out after they sinned (Genesis 3:24). Representations of cherubim were used to decorate the tabernacle and temple. The lid of the ark of the covenant, called the mercy seat, was adorned with two gold cherubim (Exodus 37:6-9). They were a symbol of the very presence of God. The cherubim seen by Ezekiel left the temple along with the glory of God (Ezekiel 10). Ezekiel then recognized them as the living creatures he had seen in his first vision (see Ezekiel 1).

(9:5-11) God's Anger - This vision of the angels killing the people who were unmarked may seem harsh, but it shows God's anger against idolatry in his holy temple. Today, we are God's holy temple, and his Spirit resides in us when we choose to follow him (1 Corinthians 3:16). Because God is holy, our sin separates us from him. Therefore, we must confess our sins to God and allow him to work in our lives such that he makes us holy. In this instance, God's love and compassion had been shown to the people of Judah and Jerusalem for centuries (see Exodus 34:6-7). Time had run out on their opportunity for repentance, and the time for God's judgment had come. We must heed these warnings not to allow sin to corrupt us so much that we reject the opportunity to repent.

(9:6) The Ancient Men - Those who ought to have been the spiritual leaders of Israel ("the ancient men" blatantly promoted their idolatrous beliefs, and the people abandoned God and followed them. Spiritual leaders are especially accountable to God because they are entrusted with the task of teaching the truth (see James 3:1). When they pervert the truth, they can lead many people away from God and even cause nations to fall. It is not surprising, then, that when God began to judge the nation, he started at the temple and worked outward (see 1 Peter 4:17). How sad it is that in the temple, the one place where the spiritual leaders should have been teaching God's truth and leading by example, they were teaching that all truth is not found in God and that you can live any way you want.

(9:9-10) Justifying Our Sin - The people were saying that the Lord had forsaken the earth and wouldn't see their sin. People have many convenient explanations to justify their life choices and thus make it easier for them to sin: It doesn't matter. Everybody's doing it. Nobody will ever know. Do you find yourself making excuses for actions you know are inconsistent with God's Word? That is called sin. Rationalizing sin makes it easier to commit, but it does not change God's mind about what sin is or cancel the eventual consequences that it will bring. Think about that the next time you are tempted to do wrong and are ready to make an excuse for what you are about to do.

David Burnette's Life Application

Sin is Sin

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue the Book of Ezekiel with Chapter 9. In our text today we see the death of idolaters as the people continued in their sin, excusing and rationalizing their sin. Today many do the same even renaming their sin to make them feel better and be socially acceptable. Everything from abortion, homosexuality, lying, cheating, etc. have been given different names from a women's choice, alternative lifestyle, white lies, etc. In making application we see that we need to be honest with ourselves and honest with God when it comes to sin. Sin is sin no matter how we spin it and it is our sin that nailed Jesus to Cross, separating us from God and causing a need for us to be saved. How about you? Do you excuse or rationalize your sin? Let us learn from our text today to remember that sin is sin no matter how we rationalize it, name it, or dress it up and we must come to Jesus, repent of our sin, asking for forgiveness, accepting His grace, to be forgiven, redeemed, and saved.

Ezekiel 9

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Ezekiel 9

¹He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.

²And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.

³And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;

⁴And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

⁵And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:

⁶Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.

⁷And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.

⁸And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?

⁹Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.

¹⁰And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.

¹¹And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.

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