Ezekiel 9 Study Notes: The Mark on the Faithful
God summons six executioners and a man in linen as His glory moves to the temple threshold. The man marks everyone in Jerusalem who grieves over its idolatry so they will be spared, and judgment begins at the temple. Ezekiel pleads for Israel, but God says their great guilt will be repaid.
General
True or False: The LORD told the executioners to start at His sanctuary, and the first to fall were the elders standing in front of the temple (9:6).
Answer: True
This is true. The LORD commands the executioners to pass through Jerusalem and strike without pity, sparing only those who have the mark, and to start at His sanctuary; so the first to fall were the elders standing before the temple (9:5-6). Judgment began at God's own house, with the elders standing before it, the very place where Ezekiel had just been shown the worst abominations (chapter 8). The courts were then to be filled with the slain, and the killing spread through the city (9:7). Amos links God's special relationship with Israel to its accountability: because God had chosen to know Israel uniquely among the peoples, He would punish its sins (Amos 3:2). Peter applies a related principle to the church: judgment begins with God's own family (1 Peter 4:17).
- Ezekiel 9:5-6 (BSB)“And as I listened, He said to the others, “Follow him through the city and start killing; do not show pity or spare anyone! Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.”The executioners are told to spare only the marked and to start at the sanctuary, and they begin with the elders.
- Amos 3:2 (BSB)““Only you have I known from all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.””God will punish Israel's iniquities precisely because He chose to know Israel alone among the nations.
- 1 Peter 4:17 (BSB)“For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?”Peter teaches that judgment starts with God's own people, a related principle.
Theological
True or False: According to 9:6, the judgment was to start at God's sanctuary, and the first to fall were the elders in front of the temple.
Answer: True
This is true. The command is to spare none but the marked and to start at the sanctuary, and the executioners begin with the elders before the temple (9:5-6). Judgment starts at God's own house, where the abominations of chapter 8 had been exposed and where the elders stood, and from there it spreads through the city (9:7). Elsewhere Scripture ties Israel's special relationship with God to its accountability: because He has known Israel uniquely among the peoples, He will punish its iniquities (Amos 3:2). Peter states a related principle for the church, that judgment begins with God's own family (1 Peter 4:17).
- Ezekiel 9:5-6 (BSB)“And as I listened, He said to the others, “Follow him through the city and start killing; do not show pity or spare anyone! Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.”The executioners are told to spare only the marked and to start at the sanctuary, and they begin with the elders.
- Amos 3:2 (BSB)““Only you have I known from all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.””God will punish Israel's iniquities precisely because He chose to know Israel alone among the nations.
- 1 Peter 4:17 (BSB)“For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?”Peter teaches that judgment starts with God's own people, a related principle.
General
How does the LORD answer Ezekiel's cry (9:9-10)?
Answer: Their guilt is enormous, and He will repay their deeds
God does not deny that the judgment is severe. He answers that both Israel and Judah carry immense guilt, with bloodshed throughout the land and injustice filling the city (9:9). He quotes their own excuse, that the LORD has left the land and sees nothing, the same claim the elders made in the dark (8:12). So He will not pity or spare them, but will bring what they have done back on their own heads (9:10). The judgment is the just return of their own deeds. God says the same of those whose hearts chase after idols (11:21), and in 22:31 He speaks of having repaid the people for their ways. Paul warns that a person harvests what he plants (Galatians 6:7).
- Ezekiel 9:9-10 (BSB)“He replied, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of perversity. For they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land; the LORD does not see.’ But as for Me, I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. I will bring their deeds down upon their own heads.””God answers that Israel's guilt is very great and that He will return their deeds on them.
- Ezekiel 11:21 (BSB)“But as for those whose hearts pursue detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.””God says He will bring the conduct of idolaters back on their own heads.
- Ezekiel 22:31 (BSB)“So I have poured out My indignation upon them and consumed them with the fire of My fury. I have brought their ways down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.””God speaks of having brought the people's ways back on them in His wrath.
- Galatians 6:7 (BSB)“Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.”Paul warns that God will not be fooled: what a person plants, he harvests.
Theological
What reply does the LORD give to Ezekiel's intercession (9:9-10)?
Answer: Their guilt is enormous, and He will repay their deeds
God answers the intercession by pointing to the magnitude of the guilt: Israel and Judah's iniquity is immense, bloodshed fills the land and perversity the city, and the people have reasoned that the LORD has abandoned the land and is blind to it (9:9; compare 8:12). The judgment is therefore strict retribution, their own conduct returned upon their heads (9:10). The same principle is stated of idolatrous hearts in 11:21 and of the people's ways in 22:31, and Paul states it universally: God will not be made a fool of, and what a person plants he will harvest (Galatians 6:7).
- Ezekiel 9:9-10 (BSB)“He replied, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of perversity. For they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land; the LORD does not see.’ But as for Me, I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. I will bring their deeds down upon their own heads.””God answers that Israel's guilt is very great and that He will return their deeds on them.
- Ezekiel 11:21 (BSB)“But as for those whose hearts pursue detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.””God says He will bring the conduct of idolaters back on their own heads.
- Ezekiel 22:31 (BSB)“So I have poured out My indignation upon them and consumed them with the fire of My fury. I have brought their ways down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.””God speaks of having brought the people's ways back on them in His wrath.
- Galatians 6:7 (BSB)“Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.”Paul warns that God will not be fooled: what a person plants, he harvests.
General
What did Ezekiel ask God when he was left alone during the judgment (9:8)?
Answer: Whether God would wipe out all who remained of Israel
While the executioners carry out their work, Ezekiel is left alone. He falls on his face and cries out, asking whether the Lord GOD will wipe out everyone left of Israel as He pours out His wrath on Jerusalem (9:8). The prophet does not watch coldly; he pleads for the people even as judgment falls. He cries out in nearly the same way again when Pelatiah dies (11:13). Abraham pleaded for Sodom, asking whether God would destroy the righteous along with the wicked (Genesis 18:23), and Amos begged God to forgive because Jacob was so small (Amos 7:2). Faithful prophets carried God's message of judgment and also prayed for the people under it.
- Ezekiel 9:8 (BSB)“While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord GOD, when You pour out Your wrath on Jerusalem, will You destroy the entire remnant of Israel?””Ezekiel falls on his face and asks whether God will destroy all who are left of Israel.
- Ezekiel 11:13 (BSB)“Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Oh, Lord GOD, will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete end?””Ezekiel cries out again with nearly the same plea for the remnant.
- Genesis 18:23 (BSB)“Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?”Abraham interceded for Sodom, showing the same pleading spirit before God's judgment.
- Amos 7:2 (BSB)“And when the locusts had eaten every green plant in the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?””Amos pleaded for forgiveness, asking how Jacob, being so small, could survive.
Theological
What is the substance of Ezekiel's intercession in 9:8?
Answer: Whether God would wipe out all who remained of Israel
Left alone amid the slaughter, Ezekiel falls on his face and intercedes, asking whether the Lord GOD's outpoured wrath will leave nothing of Israel's remnant (9:8). The prophet who announces judgment also stands before God on behalf of the judged, and he will plead in almost the same terms at Pelatiah's death (11:13). He stands in the line of Abraham's intercession for Sodom (Genesis 18:23) and Amos's plea for small Jacob (Amos 7:2): God's messengers share His word of judgment and also carry the people to Him in prayer.
- Ezekiel 9:8 (BSB)“While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord GOD, when You pour out Your wrath on Jerusalem, will You destroy the entire remnant of Israel?””Ezekiel falls on his face and asks whether God will destroy all who are left of Israel.
- Ezekiel 11:13 (BSB)“Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Oh, Lord GOD, will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete end?””Ezekiel cries out again with nearly the same plea for the remnant.
- Genesis 18:23 (BSB)“Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?”Abraham interceded for Sodom, showing the same pleading spirit before God's judgment.
- Amos 7:2 (BSB)“And when the locusts had eaten every green plant in the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?””Amos pleaded for forgiveness, asking how Jacob, being so small, could survive.
General
True or False: In 9:3, God's glory moves from its place over the cherubim to the doorway of the temple.
Answer: True
This is true. As the judgment begins, God's glory rises from over the cherubim, the winged heavenly creatures connected with God's throne, where it had rested, and moves to the temple's threshold; from there the LORD calls to the man dressed in linen (9:3). This is the first stage of a departure Ezekiel watches over the next chapters. The glory stands over the doorway and fills the court with brightness (10:4), then leaves it (10:18), and finally rises from the city and stands over the mountain to its east (11:23). God had said the abominations were driving Him from His sanctuary (8:6); now His presence begins to withdraw.
- Ezekiel 9:3 (BSB)“Then the glory of the God of Israel rose from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side.”God's glory rises from the cherubim to the threshold, and He summons the man in linen.
- Ezekiel 10:4 (BSB)“Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and stood over the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD.”The glory again stands over the threshold, filling the court with brightness.
- Ezekiel 10:18 (BSB)“Then the glory of the LORD moved away from the threshold of the temple and stood above the cherubim.”The glory then moves off the threshold, continuing its departure.
- Ezekiel 11:23 (BSB)“And the glory of the LORD rose up from within the city and stood over the mountain east of the city.”Finally the glory leaves the city and stands above the mountain to the east.
Theological
True or False: As the judgment of chapter 9 begins, the glory of God leaves its resting place over the cherubim and moves to the temple's doorway (9:3).
Answer: True
This is true. The glory of Israel's God lifts from its place over the cherubim and moves to the temple's threshold, from where the LORD issues His commands (9:3). It is the opening movement of the glory's staged withdrawal: over the threshold with the court full of its brightness (10:4), off the threshold to rest above the cherubim (10:18), and finally out of the city to the mountain on its east (11:23). What God warned in 8:6, that the abominations were driving Him from His sanctuary, is now coming to pass.
- Ezekiel 9:3 (BSB)“Then the glory of the God of Israel rose from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side.”God's glory rises from the cherubim to the threshold, and He summons the man in linen.
- Ezekiel 10:4 (BSB)“Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and stood over the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD.”The glory again stands over the threshold, filling the court with brightness.
- Ezekiel 10:18 (BSB)“Then the glory of the LORD moved away from the threshold of the temple and stood above the cherubim.”The glory then moves off the threshold, continuing its departure.
- Ezekiel 11:23 (BSB)“And the glory of the LORD rose up from within the city and stood over the mountain east of the city.”Finally the glory leaves the city and stands above the mountain to the east.
General
Whom was the man dressed in linen told to mark on the forehead (9:4)?
Answer: Those grieving over the detestable things in the city
Six men with weapons come to carry out judgment, and with them is a man dressed in linen carrying a writing kit (9:2). Before anyone is struck, the LORD sends this man through Jerusalem to mark the foreheads of those who grieve and groan over all the detestable practices done there (9:4). The executioners were not to come near anyone who bore the mark (9:6). In the middle of judgment, God knows and protects His own. The text names who receives the mark: those whose hearts were grieved by the city's sin rather than at ease with it. When the work is done, the man in linen reports that he has carried out the command (9:11). A related picture appears at the Passover, where a blood sign on the dwellings marked those God would pass over (Exodus 12:13), and Revelation uses a similar image, with God's servants sealed on their foreheads before harm comes to the earth (Revelation 7:3). Paul uses the image of a seal for a related truth: the Lord recognizes His own people (2 Timothy 2:19).
- Ezekiel 9:2 (BSB)“And I saw six men coming from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, each with a weapon of slaughter in his hand. With them was another man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. And they came in and stood beside the bronze altar.”Six armed men arrive, together with a man in linen who carries a writing kit.
- Ezekiel 9:4 (BSB)““Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.””God sends the man in linen to mark everyone who grieves over Jerusalem's abominations.
- Exodus 12:13 (BSB)“The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a sign; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”At the Passover a sign on the houses spared God's people when judgment fell, a related image of protection.
- Revelation 7:3 (BSB)““Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have placed a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.””God's servants are sealed on their foreheads before harm is done, a related image of protection.
- 2 Timothy 2:19 (BSB)“Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.””Paul cites the seal on God's foundation: the Lord recognizes His own people.
Theological
Who received the mark from the man dressed in linen before the executioners went out (9:4)?
Answer: Those grieving over the detestable things in the city
Before the six executioners strike, the man in linen goes through Jerusalem marking the foreheads of those who sigh and groan over the city's abominations (9:2, 4), and the executioners are forbidden to touch any who bear the mark (9:6). God distinguishes and preserves His own in the very hour of judgment. The text states a single criterion for receiving the mark: grieving and groaning over the abominations done in Jerusalem (9:4). Those marked are identified by their sorrow over the city's sin; the man in linen later reports the task complete (9:11). Related images appear elsewhere in Scripture: the Passover blood marked the houses the LORD passed over (Exodus 12:13), the servants of God are sealed on their foreheads before the judgments of Revelation fall (Revelation 7:3), and Paul speaks of God's firm foundation bearing a seal, the truth that the Lord recognizes His own (2 Timothy 2:19).
- Ezekiel 9:2 (BSB)“And I saw six men coming from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, each with a weapon of slaughter in his hand. With them was another man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. And they came in and stood beside the bronze altar.”Six armed men arrive, together with a man in linen who carries a writing kit.
- Ezekiel 9:4 (BSB)““Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.””God sends the man in linen to mark everyone who grieves over Jerusalem's abominations.
- Exodus 12:13 (BSB)“The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a sign; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”At the Passover a sign on the houses spared God's people when judgment fell, a related image of protection.
- Revelation 7:3 (BSB)““Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have placed a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.””God's servants are sealed on their foreheads before harm is done, a related image of protection.
- 2 Timothy 2:19 (BSB)“Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.””Paul cites the seal on God's foundation: the Lord recognizes His own people.