The Slaughter of Jerusalem
Ezek 9 is about the slaughter of Jerusalem. The Lord decided to slay most of the inhabitants in the city because they were so abominable and perverse. He used six men to execute his judgment.
Six Men With Destroying Weapons, Ezek 9:1-2
While Ezekiel was with the Lord in this vision, the Lord called for “them that have the charge of the city to draw near.” Six men came from the way of the higher gate. Each man that appeared had a “destroying weapon in his hand.”
The destroying weapon was evidently a sword. Notice, the angel of the Lord, with a sword, brought the pestilence that killed seventy thousand after David numbered Israel, 1 Chr 21:14-16. Isaiah prophesied the slaughter of the nations with the sword of the Lord in Is 34:2-6. And in Ezek 6:3-5, the Lord uses a sword to destroy the children of Israel and their high places, altars, and idols.
The Man with a Writer’s Inkhorn, Ezek 9:2-4
One of the six men had a writer’s inkhorn by his side. When he and the other men stood by the brazen altar, the glory of the Lord came to the threshold of the house. The Lord instructed the man with the writer’s inkhorn to mark the foreheads of certain people. He marked “the men that sigh and cry for all the abominations” that men were doing in Jerusalem.
This mark is similar to the seal that the angels will place upon the foreheads of the 144,000 in Rev 7:2-8. The seal is a seal of protection; and the mark is a mark for protection, v.6.
The Slaughter of Jerusalem, Ezek 9:5-7
The Lord told the men to follow the man with the writer’s inkhorn. The Lord commanded them to slay the old and young, including maids, little children and women. They were not to spare or have pity on anyone. The only ones exempted from the slaughter were those whom the man with the writer’s inkhorn marked.
The Lord gave these men the same orders that he gave Saul against the Amalekites in 1 Sam 15:3. His judgment is without respect of persons. He told the men to begin their slaughter at his sanctuary. Peter wrote that “judgment must begin at the house of God,” 1 Pet 4:17. So, they began with the ancient men which were before the house, Ezek 8:11-12. Furthermore, the Lord told them to defile the house. That is, they were to kill the men right where they were instead of away from the house and the court. See 2 Chr 23:12-14, for a comparison.
Ezekiel’s Cry For Jerusalem, Ezek 9:8-10
The destruction of the people was so vast that Ezekiel fell upon his face and cried to the Lord. He asked the Lord if he were going to destroy all the residue of Israel. The Lord said that he wouldn’t pity or spare. Instead, he would recompense their way upon their head.
In fact, the men were killing so many people because the iniquity of Israel and Judah was so great. The land was full of blood and the city was full of perverseness. Nevertheless, Ezekiel cried out for them, just like Moses, David, Nehemiah, Jesus, and many others have done.
Those whom the men killed had justified their wickedness. They said, “The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not.” In other words, we can do what we want. With that same attitude, we’re heading for the same judgment they received. Atheists and evolutionists, sadly, will find out the hard way that there is a God.
The Report of the Man with the Inkhorn, Ezek 9:11
When the man with the writer’s inkhorn had finished setting a mark on the foreheads of the men whom they spared, he reported to the Lord. He said, “I have done as thou hast commanded me.”
Conclusion to the Slaughter of Jerusalem
There are three spiritual applications we can make from this passage. First, if you are not saved yet, you should receive Jesus now and be saved. God will pour out his wrath on sin just like the slaughter of Jerusalem. We want you to be spared. For more on how to be saved listen to The Gospel. Second, like the men who cried and sighed, we should sigh and cry for the abominations that men do in our land. And, third, like the man who marked them, we should be able to say to God, “I have done as thou hast commanded me.”