Ezekiel 9
OUTLINE:
I. \\#Eze 1:1-23:49\\ Before the Siege (c.593-587)
A. \\#Eze 1:1-3:15\\ The First Message
1. \\#1:1-28\\ God
a. \\#1-3\\ The Setting
b. \\#4-28\\ The Glory of the Lord
c. \\#4\\ The Cloud
d. \\#5-14\\ The Four Living Creatures
e. \\#15-21\\ The Four Wheels
f. \\#22-25\\ The Firmament
g. \\#26-28\\ The One Above
h. \\#28\\ Ezekiel's Reaction
2. \\#2:1-3:15\\ The Commission of Ezekiel
a. \\#2:1-2\\ God's Strengthening
b. \\#2:3-3:15\\ God's Calling
(1) \\#2:3-5\\ Go to God's People
(2) \\#2:6-3:3\\ Go with God's Words
(3) \\#3:4-11\\ Go with God's Equipping
(4) \\#3:12-15\\ Go with God's Spirit
B. \\#Eze 3:16-7:27\\ The Second Message
1. \\#3:16-21\\ Go as God's Watchman
2. \\#3:22-3:27\\ Hardships for Ezekiel
a. \\#3:22-24\\ A Shift in Location
b. \\#3:24-27\\ Three Commands Given
3. \\#4:1-5:17\\ Signs of Jerusalem's Siege
a. \\#4:1-3\\ A Besieged City
b. \\#4:4-8\\ A Sinful City
c. \\#4:9-17\\ A Hungry City
d. \\#5:1-17\\ A Defeated City
4. \\#6:1-14\\ Preach to the Mountains and Stomp
a. \\#6:1-7\\ God's Judgment
b. \\#6:8-10\\ God's Mercy
c. \\#6:11-14\\ Ezekiel's Demonstration
5. \\#7:1-27\\ Preach to the Land and Make A Chain
a. \\#1-15\\ The End Is Come
b. \\#7:16-22\\ "But those that escape"
c. \\#7:23-27\\ Ezekiel's Demonstration
C. \\#Eze 8:1-11:25\\ The Third Message
1. \\#8:1-18\\ Secret Sins of Jerusalem
a. \\#1-6\\ The False Worship of the Priests
b. \\#7-13\\ The False Worship of the Sanhedrin
c. \\#14-15\\ The False Worship of the Women
d. \\#16-17\\ The False Worship of the Men
e. \\#17-18\\ The Results of Jerusalem's False Worship
2. \\#9:1-10:7\\ God Destroyed Jerusalem
a. \\#9:1-4\\ Decrees of Judgment and Mercy upon the
People
b. \\#9:5-11\\ The Judgment Executed
\\#Eze 8:1-11:25\\ The Third Message, God Destroyed Jerusalem
I. \\#1-4\\ Decrees of Judgment and Mercy
A. \\#1\\ "He cried"
1. \\#1\\ Who? "He"
a. This is the fiery One who we saw above the firmament
in chapter 1 and who transported Ezekiel in chapter
8.
b. \\#4\\ "And the Lord said unto him" - We are reminded
who He is in \\#Eze 9:4\\. "He" is the Lord.
2. \\#1-3\\ The Cry to Destroy
a. "them that have charge over the city"
(1) The city being dealt with was Jerusalem.
(2) We suppose those who have charge are angels of
God.
(3) "with his destroying weapon in his hand" - While
the angels are normally looking over Jerusalem
for good; on this occasion, they possess the
instruments of its destruction.
b. \\#2\\ "six men" - Jerusalem had six angels watching
over it.
(1) Six is the number of man and might indicate that
these servants normally watched over the people
of Israel for good.
(2) "came from the… higher gate" - The city goes
uphill on the northern side.
(3) "which lieth toward the north" - And so it was
plainly stated.
(4) "and they… stood beside the brazen altar"
(a) The brass altar was the altar where the
sacrifices were made for sin.
(b) Without repentance there could be no
acceptable sacrifice and with no acceptable
sacrifice judgment was to begin.
3. \\#2-4\\ The call to be merciful.
a. \\#2\\ "and one among them was clothed in linen"
(1) We are never told who this man is but he is
mentioned several times in chapters 9 and 10.
\\#Eze 9:2, 31 11, 10:2, 6, 7\\
(2) If we suppose the six with charge over the city
were angels, we should suppose the one clothed
in linen was an angel as well.
(3) "with a writer's inkhorn" - Instead of a sword,
this angel had an inkwell for writing.
(4) "and they… stood beside the brazen altar"
(a) The last location given was for the "about
five and twenty men" who were "at the door
of the temple… between the porch and the
(brazen) altar" \\#Eze 8:16\\.
(b) All of the angels have assembled at the
brazen altar inside the inner court.
(c) Mercy and judgment join together at the
altar for both serve God.
b. \\#3-4\\ "And he called to the man clothed with linen"
(1) \\#4\\ Go through the midst of the city" - The
angel of mercy was to go through the entire
city.
(2) "set a mark upon the foreheads" - As will be done
in the end times.
Rev 7:3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the
sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the
servants of our God in their foreheads.
(3) "of the men that sigh and that cry" - Those who
were grieved at "all the abominations" being
done were to receive the mark.
(a) The mark was for deliverance. Those whom
God marked, would not be killed by the
invading army.
(b) How many were sighing for the evil at
Jerusalem?
i. Probably not many, neither in
Jerusalem or Israel.
ii. There were six angels to carry the
sword and only one to carry the
inkhorn. It would take only a little
more time to wield the pen than to
wield the sword.
(c) Did God spare the righteous in this
invasion?
Eze 9:6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids,
and little children, and women: but come not
near any man upon whom is the mark….
i. God commanded the angels not to kill
those who had the mark.
ii. How was this accomplished?
(aa) As the Babylonian army
approached, most who believed
prophets like Jeremiah would
have obeyed them and either
fled or surrendered to Babylon.
(bb) We also know that some of the
righteous had been carried
captive to Babylon in previous
conquests, i.e. Daniel and
Ezekiel.
(cc) And I am certain that God
directly intervened to save some
as He did with Jeremiah.
(dd) But I wonder if the righteous
chose to stay with the wicked,
would they be killed as well.
Perhaps their deliverance
depended in large measure upon
their obedience to flee or
surrender. Note:
Eze 21:3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus
saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and
will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and
will cut off from thee the righteous and the
wicked.
4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the
righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my
sword go forth out of his sheath against all
flesh from the south to the north:
5 That all flesh may know that I the LORD have
drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall
not return any more.
B. \\#3\\ God's Glory Moved
1. "the glory of the God of Israel"
a. In Ezekiel's first two visions, the Lord had been in
the land of captivity, away from Israel and
Jerusalem.
b. But Ezekiel was back in Jerusalem (via his vision)
and in Israel, the Lord had a place to dwell, in the
temple upon the Mercy Seat between the cherubims.
Ex 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and
I will commune with thee from above the mercy
seat, from between the two cherubims which are
upon the ark of the testimony, of all things
which I will give thee in commandment unto the
children of Israel.
Ex 30:6 And thou shalt put it before the vail
that is by the ark of the testimony, before
the mercy seat that is over the testimony,
where I will meet with thee.
Le 16:2 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak
unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all
times into the holy place within the vail
before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark;
that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud
upon the mercy seat.
Nu 7:89 And when Moses was gone into the
tabernacle of the congregation to speak with
him, then he heard the voice of one speaking
unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon
the ark of testimony, from between the two
cherubims: and he spake unto him
c. Had the Lord returned to His place?
2. "the glory… was gone up from the cherub"
a. Even though back in Jerusalem, the glory of the Lord
had not returned to the Mercy Seat but still abode
upon the divine representation that Ezekiel had and
was seeing.
b. "to the threshold of the house"
(1) Ezekiel saw the glory rise up from the divine
image and move NEAR the doorway of the
Holy Place and stop. (We emphasize NEAR for
Ezekiel will tell us God's next movement in
\\#Eze 10:4\\.)
(2) "he called" - From there, God commanded the angel
of mercy to go mark the people who sighed.
(3) This will not be the last movement of God's
glory.
II. \\#5-11\\ The Judgment Executed
A. \\#5-7\\ The Judgment
1. \\#5\\ "Go ye after him… and smite" - After the man
clothed in linen marked the people, the angels of
judgment were loosed.
2. "let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity"
a. \\#6\\ They were to "slay utterly old and young…"
b. "maids and little children, and women"
c. "begin at my sanctuary" - Start at the temple.
d. "Then they began at the ancient men before the house."
Judgement started with those committing the leaders
who were committing false worship at the temple..
3. "but come not near any man upon whom is the mark" - This
is the one exception. Those who have a heart for God,
God will protect.
4. \\#7\\ "Defile the house, and fill the courts with the
slain" - A dead body was unclean \\#Num 19:11\\. God
will literally have the false worshippers killed in the
temple area, thus leaving it polluted.
5. "…go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew the city."
Although still in the vision, Ezekiel saw the death
angels carrying out their duty.
B. \\#8-11\\ A Plea for Mercy
1. \\#8\\ Ezekiel's Please
a. "I fell upon my face" - Seeing the death, Ezekiel
was moved to reverently plead for mercy.
b. "wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel…?"
(1) Since Babylon had conquered Israel twice before,
all people left in the land were "the residue."
(2) Ezekiel feared God might kill all of the people
that were left.
2. \\#9-10\\ God's Answer
a. \\#10\\ "as for me also, mine eye shall not spare,
neither will I have pity" - God did not directly
answer Ezekiel's question, but He declined his
request.
b. \\#9\\ In declining Ezekiel's request, God gave His
reasons:
(1) "The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah
is exceeding great"
(a) The first reference is to sin in general.
Sin in the land had gone way beyond the
bounds of what God would tolerate.
(b) Notice that God spoke again of Israel, the
northern kingdom which had been carried
away 150 years before \\#Eze 4:5\\.
(c) Although long gone, the influence of their
evil abode to that day and the coming
judgment was in some measure still upon
them and their sins.
(2) "the land is full of blood" - The second
reference to the violence in the land, people
hurting and killing people.
(3) "the city is full of perverseness"
(a) The Hebrew word means a distortion or to
stretch.
(b) Perverseness occurs when people take what
God has created for one purpose and use it
for an alternate and unnatural purpose.
(c) Homosexuality is an example of perverseness.
(4) "they say, 'The Lord hath forsaken the earth'"
The judgment was because of spiritual
wickedness, spiritual ignorance, and spiritual
blasphemy.
c. The four counts God gave were merely summaries of the
great sins that Judah had committed against Him and
for which He would show no mercy.
3. \\#11\\ The Marking Completed - "the man clothed with
linen" reported that he had "done as thou hast commanded
me."
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