Ezekiel 9:1-11

Ezekiel: ‘They shall know that I am God’

The *Sin of Judah and the Judgement of God

Ezekiel Chapter s 1 to 24

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 9

The man with a writer’s case – Ezekiel 9:1-4

v1 Then I heard God. He called out with a loud voice. ‘You men who must punish the city: come near with your *weapons in your hands.’ v2 Then 6 men came from the direction of the upper gate, which is toward the north. Each of them had in his hand a *weapon with which to kill people. Among them was a man who wore good clothes. At his side, he held a writer’s case. The men went into the *temple and they stood by the *bronze *altar.

v3 Then the *glory of the God of *Israel went up. It rose from above the *cherub on which it had been. It went to the entrance of the *temple. Then the *LORD spoke to the man in good clothes who had the writer’s case. v4 The *LORD said to the man, ‘Go through Jerusalem. Some of the people sigh and cry. They hate all the evil things that they see in the city. Put a mark on their heads.’

Verses 1-2 God ordered 6 men to come. These men were *angels and not ordinary men. The Bible often speaks of *angels as men. They came through the same gate as Ezekiel had done. They came from the upper gate, which is at the north of the *temple. Each of these men had *weapons in his hands. The task of these men was to kill the people in the city. They were the agents of the *Lord, who would punish the people.

Another man came with the 6 men. He was different from the other men. He wore good clothes. He did not have any *weapons. But he had a writer’s case.

These men went and they stood by the *bronze *altar. This is the *altar where the priests burned *sacrifices to God.

Verses 3-4 In the *temple, there was the most holy place. In this room, there was the box of the agreement. Above this box were the *cherubim. Over the *cherubim was the place where the *glory of God stayed. It was here that the high priest brought the blood of the special *sacrifice for *sin (Hebrews 9:7). Here he asked God to forgive the people. Now the *glory of God left that room. God would not forgive the people. God went to the entrance ready to leave the *temple. As he left, the punishment would begin.

God spoke to the 7th man. God told him to go through Jerusalem. He must find all the people who hate the evil deeds of the city. He must mark the head of each of these with his pen and ink. This mark was the last letter of the *Hebrew alphabet. This was the letter ‘t’ (called ‘taw’). It was in the shape of a cross. The mark on the head would protect those people. The 6 men would not kill them.

6 *angels would kill the people. One *angel would mark those who would not die. The *Lord would save only a few of the people.

Punishment of the people – Ezekiel 9:5-11

v5 I heard God as he spoke to the other men. He said, ‘Follow the man with the good clothes through the city. Kill and do not pity anyone. Show no sympathy. v6 Kill and *destroy old men, young men and women, little children, and older women. But do not touch any person who has the mark. Start at my *temple.’ So, they began. First they killed the older men who were in front of the *temple.

v7 Then God said to the men, ‘Make the *temple *unclean. Fill the *temple areas with dead bodies. Go and do it.’ The men went out and they began to kill the people in the city. v8 While the men killed the people, I was alone. I fell to the ground and I cried to the *Lord. ‘Oh, *LORD my King, you are so angry with the people in Jerusalem. Will you kill all who remain alive in *Israel?’

v9 Then he said to me, ‘The *sin of the *Israelites and Judah is very great. The country is full of evil deeds. There are many murders and other crimes. They say, “The *LORD has gone away. The *LORD does not see what we do.” v10 And so, I will not pity them or forgive them. I will do to them what they have done to other people.’

v11 Then the man with fine clothes and the writer’s case returned. He spoke to the *Lord. ‘I have done what you ordered.’

Verses 5-7 The *Lord then told the 6 men to kill the people. He told them to kill the old people, the young people, men, women and children. But they must not touch those who had the mark. They started at the *temple first. The 25 men who *worshipped the sun (8:16-18) would be among the first to die. The 70 leaders who *worshipped false gods in the inner area (8:11) would die.

The punishment of God starts at his house. The people should have *worshipped and obeyed him there. But they had used the *temple for the *worship of false gods. They had refused to obey God.

Verse 8 Ezekiel was alone in the inner area of the *temple. He saw the events in the *temple. He knew what was happening in the city. And it was terrible. It upset him so much that he cried out to God. He knew that the cause of the *disaster was the *sin of the people. God was so angry that he sent the men to kill them. Ezekiel’s cry was in fact a prayer for God to stop. God must save some of those who were still alive. Ezekiel’s prayers had no effect because the *sin of the people was too great.

Verses 9-10 God answered Ezekiel that it was too late. The *Lord had warned the people in *Israel and Judah. They had refused to hear God. They would not listen to him. They had *turned away from him and they *worshipped false gods. They would not *repent of their *sin.

The people did such bad and cruel things. Their whole way of life was wicked. It was not just in their *worship but in their politics as well. They said that God could not see them. They did not believe that God would punish them. But God does see. God will do as he has said. There comes a time when God has to punish *sin. That time had come.

Verse 11 The man with the pen and ink came back. He reported to the *Lord that he had completed his task. All those who hated evil deeds had received the mark. That mark had saved them from death. (Compare Exodus 12:13.)

Even in the worst situation, God saves those who trust in him.

sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
weapon ~ a tool of war. People use weapons for attack or defence when they fight. For example, swords, spears or (today) guns.
spears ~ long sticks with sharp ends that soldiers used as weapons of war.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
bronze ~ A brown metal. It glows when in a fire. It polishes well and it reflects the light. It is very strong.
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
glory ~ great honour and beauty.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
cherub ~ a special angel who was in the most holy place in the temple.
angel ~ God’s special servants in heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
angel ~ God’s special servants in heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
sacrifice ~ The priests killed a special animal and they burned it on an altar. That animal was called a sacrifice. They offered a sacrifice when they asked God to forgive sins. When Jesus died, he was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Animals or people whom God or other people kill for a purpose are also sacrifices (see Ezekiel 39:17). And people also made sacrifices to false gods.
altar ~ the special table where people burn animals or offer other gifts to God or to false gods.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
cherubim ~ the group of cherubs.
cherub ~ a special angel who was in the most holy place in the temple.
angel ~ God’s special servants in heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
Hebrew ~ the language of Israel.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
destroy ~ to carry out the most severe punishment possible; to cause someone to suffer; to kill everyone in a nation.
unclean ~ unfit for sacred purposes. Unclean food is food that the Jews should not eat because of their religion. When the temple was unclean, it was not right for the worship of God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
worship ~ an act to give honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
disaster ~ when something very bad happens.
turn ~ to change your behaviour, your friends, or your God; or, to carry out actions in order to oppose someone.
repent ~ to change the mind; to turn away from sin and turn to God.
turn ~ to change your behaviour, your friends, or your God; or, to carry out actions in order to oppose someone.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.