October 07, 2024 | Be God's Light
Mark on the Foreheads & Idolaters Killed
Scripture: Ezekiel 9(NIV)
1 Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, “Bring near those who are appointed to execute judgment on the city, each with a weapon in his hand.” 2 And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.
3 Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side 4 and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”
5 As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. 6 Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple.
7 Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So they went out and began killing throughout the city. 8 While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown, crying out, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”
9 He answered me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see.’ 10 So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.”
11 Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded.”
Devotional
We have already seen some parallels between the Old Testament book of Ezekiel and the final New Testament book of Revelation. In today’s reading a mark was to be placed on the foreheads of Jerusalem’s faithful. They would not be killed in the coming invasion. Similarly, Revelation 7:3 says this about the faithful in the end times: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
All of this harkens back to the time when the people of God were fleeing four hundred years of forced slavery in Egypt. The people marked the homes of the faithful with the blood of a lamb, and the angel of death passed over those inside (see Exodus 12:13-28). God takes note of those who are faithful to him.
Sadly, the discipline began with those entrusted to spiritually lead the people. Ezekiel 9:6 says, “‘Begin at my sanctuary.’ So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.” Those who should have known best failed the worst. James 3:1 says that “we who teach will be judged more strictly.” The priests and prophets of Ezekiel’s day knew better. So do the pastors and seminary professors of our day.
But this didn’t take the followers off the hook. The few faithful folks were marked, then spared. The unfaithful people faced discipline, exile, and death. It is not enough to claim that your leaders taught you wrong. Ignorance is no excuse. God expects faithfulness.
What does this reading teach you about the people in Ezekiel’s day. What about our day? What about in the end times? How is the Lord calling you to live?
Poem
There Are Times In Our Days
There are times in our days
When the world seems so bleak
When false promises, speech
When all good is impeached
That response is oft’ hard
Words seem helpless to form
But with sighing and groaning
We live
In these times of our grief
When the world seems so bleak
When false promises, speech
When all good is impeached
That we must oft’ remember
Our watermarked brow
With the sign of the cross
God’s firm baptismal vow
We live
