Ezekiel 9:5-11 – Be truly God’s set apart people.

Still in the vision, when the scribe began marking those who had opposed the practice of the wicked abomination, Ezekiel 9:5-6 said the six executioners were told to go into action.  The instruction to them was, “Pass through the city after him and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children, and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark….”    

As God had stated in the previous chapter, He was not going to show any mercy. He was not going to hear their cry. So, the order was to show no pity. Old men, young men maidens, little children, and women, every unmarked person would not be spared. The order was for the slaughter to begin with the sanctuary. The massacre would start from the temple with religious leaders and elders who had led the people astray. So, the temple was defiled and full of the bodies of the slain.

Next, the executioners were ordered to go out to the city, out of the temple precinct to execute the judgment on the people.  At this point, Ezekiel probably could not stomach the massacre and was moved to intercede. His opening words, “Ah, Lord God” showed how emotional he must have been at what he saw.  Aware that the Lord had said He would show no pity, Ezekiel petitioned rhetorically. He asked, “Will you destroy all the remnants of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?” He was essentially pleading with God to spare Jerusalem.

Responding to the prophet’s petition God explained to him what provoked His wrath and made the execution necessary. In verse 9 He said, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city is full of injustice. For they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.” Besides, what they had grossly mistaken was their mistaken notion that “The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.”

What they were doing was denying that God could see what they were doing and blaming the Lord for ditching them. Thus, God had made up His mind to deal with them harshly. He was determined to see through the judgment without showing any mercy or pity. Verse 11 indicates that the scribe had completed his mission of marking those who opposed the abomination of the people. It was a signal that judgment was about to start. Notice that God did not directly answer Ezekiel's question because the answer was self-evident. If he would not preserve the remnant, Ezekiel would not be standing there.

A people called and set apart by God to honor Him had chosen to dishonor Him. What was terrible was that they even dishonored Him in the temple and in Jerusalem, the city that He had marked out for Himself. Hence it would be there that the judgment would begin. In judgment, God will show no favoritism young and old, male and female, all who have chosen to walk in opposition to His goodwill have to face His wrath. Remember Judgment will begin in the household of God. It must be because He wants a truly consecrated people.    

 

 

 

 

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49Ezekiel Brandon Lim, Annie Tan and 47 others