Reflections on Ezekiel 9

Ezekiel 09 (Contemporary English Version)
1. After that, I heard the LORD shout, "Come to Jerusalem, you men chosen to destroy the city. And bring your weapons!"
   
2. I saw six men come through the north gate of the temple, each one holding a deadly weapon. A seventh man dressed in a linen robe was with them, and he was carrying things to write with. The men went into the temple and stood by the bronze altar.
   
3. The brightness of God's glory then left its place above the statues of the winged creatures inside the temple and moved to the entrance. The LORD said to the man in the linen robe,
   
4. "Walk through the city of Jerusalem and mark the forehead of anyone who is truly upset and sad about the disgusting things that are being done here."
   
5. He turned to the other six men and said, "Follow him and put to death everyone who doesn't have a mark on their forehead. Show no mercy or pity! Kill men and women, parents and children. Begin here at my temple and be sure not to harm those who are marked." The men immediately killed the leaders who were standing there.
   
6. (SEE 9:5)
   
7. Then the LORD said, "Pollute the temple by piling the dead bodies in the courtyards. Now get busy!" They left and started killing the people of Jerusalem.
   
8. I was then alone, so I bowed down and cried out to the LORD, "Why are you doing this? Are you so angry at the people of Jerusalem that everyone must die?"
   
9. The LORD answered, "The people of Israel and Judah have done horrible things. Their country is filled with murderers, and Jerusalem itself is filled with violence. They think that I have deserted them, and that I can't see what they are doing.
   
10. And so I will not have pity on them or forgive them. They will be punished for what they have done."
    
11. Just then, the man in the linen robe returned and said, "I have done what you commanded."
    
    

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    The scene described in chapter 8 continues into chapter 9. Ezekiel, a captive in Babylon, is seated in his house with the elders of Judah seated around him discussing the fate of Jerusalem. With the elders gathered around him, God gave Ezekiel a vision which took him back to the temple in Jerusalem where he saw a series of four abominations. Each abomination was worse than the ones before it, and each had to do with worship of other gods in the temple in place of worshipping God.
    
    After showing Ezekiel the abominations in the temple, God told him that He was going to "respond with wrath. I will not show pity or spare them." (8:18) As Ezekiel's vision continues into chapter 9 we see that God's wrath, though without pity, was not without mercy. Ezekiel saw in his vision six men coming through the temple past the four groups who committed the abominations described in the previous chapter, and toward him. One of the six, dressed in linen, was instructed to "Pass throughout the city of Jerusalem . . . and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations committed in it." (9:4) Those who were still faithful to God and who mourned the abominations taking place in the temple and throughout Jerusalem would be given a mark that would spare them from destruction. Unfortunately, this did not spare those with the mark from the loss of friends, loved ones, home, and everything they owned. Neither were they spared exile in Babylon.  Sin and folly does not affect only those who commit the sin. The innocent are also affected.
    
    Scripture tells us that "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) However, when the time for judgment arrives, confession of our sin will not spare us from the judgment. This was the case with Judah at the time of Ezekiel's vision. God said, "Though they cry out in My ears with a loud voice, I will not listen to them." (8:18) Had the people repented prior to this time and turned from their idolatry and wickedness, God would have spared them, but the time for repentance was past and the time for judgment had come. So it is with us all. There is a time for repentance and a time for judgment.