Chapter 9 anticipates events still to come. The message has set the stage for the departure of God’s glory. The themes of divine judgment and divine abandonment are the major emphasis of these verses.
In the first part of Ezekiel’s vision, six executioners appeared. These figures may represent angels or symbolize a conquering army sent to carry out divine judgment.
Among them was a man dressed in linen, carrying a writing case. This man is seen as a symbol of God’s mercy, as he was responsible for sparing a remnant of the faithful population.
Then he cried in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, “Draw near, you executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.”
And six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand; among them was a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar (Ezekiel 9.1-2).
During the time of Ezekiel’s prophecy, it was a common practice for conquering nations to alter or desecrate the temples of the gods worshiped by the people they had defeated. A common act was to remove an idol from the temple, symbolizing that the god of the conquered nation had been overpowered by the gods of the victors.
However, in Ezekiel’s vision, God makes it clear that this is not the case as the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem. God is not being defeated by the Babylonian gods; rather, He is the one orchestrating the events as an act of judgment against His own people for their sins.
The destruction of the city and the desecration of the temple are not signs of the triumph of Babylonian gods, but rather the fulfillment of God’s righteous judgment upon a disobedient nation.
The Man Clothed in Linen
In the following verses, two important details stand out.
First, observe the movement of the glory of God. This movement is not happening because God has been defeated by the Babylonian gods. Rather, God is moving of His own will, as a response to the people’s rejection of Him. The departure of His glory is a deliberate act of judgment, not a sign of defeat.
Second, we see a demonstration of God’s mercy through the actions of the man dressed in linen.
Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. The Lord called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his side;
And said to him, “Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of those who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it” (Ezekiel 9.3-4).
The people who sigh and groan over the abominations committed in Jerusalem are the ones who receive the protective mark from the man dressed in linen. These people are set apart because they mourn the sins of the city, and as a result, they are spared from the coming judgment.
If your heart is broken over the state of the world, do not lose hope. It may be that the Holy Spirit, who groans within you, is drawing you closer to the heart of God. This is exactly where you need to be—aligned with God’s concerns for His world.
The Dead and Defiled
The leaders of the nation had served their own interests, participated in idol worship, and defiled God’s temple. As a result, they were the first to face God’s judgment, as He allowed His own temple to be defiled in response to their actions.
To the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and kill; your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity.
Cut down old men, young men and young women, little children and women, but touch no one who has the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the house.
Then he said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So they went out and killed in the city (Ezekiel 9.5-7).
Judgment must always begin with the house of God, because those who are in close relationship with Him are called to reflect His character—righteousness, justice, love, mercy, and more—in the world. When we fail to do so, we become even more deserving of His just judgment than others.
As Jesus said, “To whom much is given, much will be required” (Luke 12:48).
Ezekiel’s Lament and Israel’s Guilt
No human, not even Ezekiel, is more compassionate or loving than God. If God is bringing judgment upon the city, there is a just and good reason for it. In this passage, we see Ezekiel’s lament, alongside the clear reason for God’s judgment.
While they were killing, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face and cried out, “Ah Lord God! will you destroy all who remain of Israel as you pour out your wrath upon Jerusalem?”
He said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’
As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity, but I will bring down their deeds upon their heads.”
Then the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his side, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me” (Ezekiel 9.8-11).
When people believe that God doesn’t see their actions, they feel free to follow their own desires. This can lead to bloodshed, including the severe oppression of the vulnerable, and acts of perversity.
Some claimed, “The Lord has forsaken us.” In a sense, this was a self-fulling prophecy. God had indeed forsaken the city, and as a result, their deeds would come back upon their own heads.
When we live as practical atheists, believing that there will be no eternal accountability for our actions, we feel free to engage in the worst behaviors humans can inflict upon one another.
But God is not mocked—“For whatever a person sows, that will they also reap” (Galatians 6:7). As a result, God brought judgment upon the people then, and He will do the same now when justice demands it.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 