Ezekiel

Ezekiel Chapter 9

Ezekiel 9:1 He 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.

I can just picture a servant or an angel of the Lord crying out in anguish because of the need to bring judgment to stop sin before it spreads and pollutes people further. We see this type of scene many times in the book of Revelation when we see God's final dealings with mankind in trying to get them to repent of sin and stop their abominations. I believe the heart of God wants to save not destroy. Destruction and judgment is His last resort.

Ezekiel 9:2 And, 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 brazen altar.

It it the brazen altar that is the place where the sacrifice for sin occurs. It typifies the cross that Jesus died for sins as a final sacrifice. Here God is showing mercy to those that mourn over sin and are not in agreement with those that are into idolatry and the worship of Tammuz.

Ezekiel 9:3 And 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;
4 And 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.

For those that cry out and mourn over the abominations and sins of the nation, God sets them apart and places a mark upon them protecting them from judgments to come.

This same thing is done in Revelation chapter 7 when 144000 redeemed from the tribes of Israel are sealed to protect them from the judgment that occurs at that time.

The beast or antichrist mimics this in what we call the latter day mark of the beast. When one is marked like this, they are sealed with the name of God upon them. The antichrist will put his name, number or his sign upon those that pledge their allegiance to him. People will not be able to buy or sell without the mark of the beast or antichrist.

We will easily know the difference. Here angels make the mark or messengers from God.

God seems to always have a small remnant of those who stand by His word and will cry out against sin.

We have those today that cry out against abortion, against denying the existence of a holy God, crying out against fornication, idolatry, and being lukewarm in their love for Christ. They cry out against hatred, ignoring God's word and many other things but it mostly falls on deaf ears. When our sins begin to be sanctioned by the government especially when it involves innocent children, God may say, it is enough like He did here. All who did these abominations are slain.

Here they are slain for idolatry and the worship of Tammuz. Lest we think God is unfair, remember idolatry is the first step that will lead to all the other sins that destroy the body and soul. I repeat, innocent children are harmed when a nation turns against God.

Ezekiel 9:5 And 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:
6 Slay 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.

When God allows the slaying of children, we may think it is cruel but by this time the sins are inbred in the children also. They will grow up to continue in the same sins. In the days that the children of Israel took over Canaanite cities, some times they were allowed to save children alive and some women but other times they were not allowed to let them live. Israel could not touch the Canaanites until their iniquity was full or to the point of no return.

It is because like in the days of Noah, sin had gotten so deep inbred within the people that to stop the pollution from spreading they had to destroy all.

If we fault God in this, we have no right. He is the God of the universe and we are under His mercy and grace. Right now is the time to repent of sin and be saved from coming judgment. The bible speaks of that day drawing very close. We are to preach His grace and mercy through faith in Jesus Christ.

The church is never to physically enforce anyone to stop sinning but preach the gospel which changes the heart of the inner man to where sin is cleansed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit abides within the person cleansed so that the "want to sin" is removed from the heart. We still are capable of sin but the Holy Spirit is there to help us overcome temptation and abide in Christ. The church is to preach this good news and not try to use force. No one can be born again by the Holy Spirit by the use of force.

Governments have to enforce law and order in order to keep peace but believers and followers of Christ are not to enforce any laws of the land unless they happen to have law enforcement as their occupation but when it comes to spreading the gospel they are to be harmless and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

When it comes to wiping out whole cities, that kind of judgment comes from the creator and we have not been given that authority except in a time of war when we are attacked by foreign powers.

Ezekiel 9:7 And 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.
8 And 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?

Precious Ezekiel, like Moses and Abraham before him cries out for mercy. This is a heart of a true prophet of God. No true prophet will desire to see a city destroyed and people killed.

Many times we can see this trait in a pastor or preacher and see it lacking in others. Some cry for vengeance and enjoy seeing bad happen to their enemies. The martyr Stephen is a good example of one who asks God not to lay the sin of killing him (Stephen) upon his killers.

Ezekiel 9:9 Then 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.

Their idol worship hardened their hearts so that violence and bloodshed was everywhere. This is what went on before the flood of Noah's generation. Perverseness means to turn away from what is moral and right and do things contrary to nature or to how God created mankind to live. Unnatural sexual immorality, bestiality, child molestation, incest, and other sexual sins fall under this category. They will destroy the soul and whole nations.

Ezekiel 9:10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.
11 And, 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.

Let us take heed not to criticize God for if a time did not come when He says, "It is enough", sin would continue for eternity. If one reads history there is always times when nations are destroyed. Usually if one could discover why, all these things precede it.

Yet is doesn't have to be that way, if we would only repent and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ who came to take away the sin that is separating us from God and destroying our souls. DC

Ezekiel chapter 10

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