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Ezekiel 9:1–11

Ezekiel’s Message

In the midst of complete judgment, God extends his mercy to those who grieve over sin.

Key Themes

• God shows mercy to those who grieve over sin.

• God’s judgment is horrifying in its completeness.

• Judgment begins with the leadership of God’s people.

• God’s judgment is commensurate with the sin.

Context in Ezekiel

In Ezek 9, the focus of the vision changes from scenes of idolatry to a scene of the resulting judgment. The transition from the end of chapter 8 is marked by an ironic play on words in the the original text, which is captured by the ESV: “Though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them. Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice” (Ezek 8:18—9:1a). Those to be judged will cry out for help to the God who cries out for their judgment. But the passage sounds an important counter-note, that in the midst of judgment God shows mercy to those who grieve over sin.

Interpretive Highlights

9:1 appointed to execute judgment: This notion is similar to that in other texts in which God sends angelic agents to bring calamity in judgment (Ps 78:49 [the exodus plagues]; 2 Sam 24:15–16; 1 Kgs 22:19–22). In the historical outworking of this vision, it is the Babylonian army who destroys.

9:2 a man clothed in linen . . . writing kit: Six executioners plus the man in linen brings the total to seven, a complete number to thoroughly accomplish the task. Linen garments were worn by those who ministered in the presence of God (Exod 28:42; Lev 16:4; 1 Sam 2:18; 1 Chr 15:27), and so angels are portrayed in linen as well (Dan 10:5; 12:6). The writing kit most likely corresponds to the type known to be used by Egyptian scribes, containing a stylus and ink well.66 The mention of this detail is striking, which raises curiosity and draws the reader’s attention to the important task of this special angel among the seven (see below). The location where the executioners gather, the “bronze altar,” is the original temple altar built by Solomon. It was later relocated by Ahab, who replaced it with his own altar styled after Assyrian worship practices. He then reassigned Solomon’s altar for personal divination (2 Kgs 16:10–16). The executioners muster at the legitimate altar from which they will commence the destruction.

9:3 the glory . . . went up: Inside the temple building itself were two rooms—an outer room, where the incense altar, table of bread, and lampstand were located, and an inner room called the “the Most Holy Place,” where two statues of heavenly creatures (“cherubim;” see discussion in chapter 10) stood guarding the ark of the covenant over which the cloud of God’s glory appeared (1 Kgs 6:14–28; 7:48–50; 8:6–11; cf. Exod 40:34). The departure of God’s presence from the temple begins as he moves from this inner room, the Most Holy Place, to the front door of the temple.

9:4 put a mark: The word translated “mark” is the name of the Hebrew letter, taw. In the ancient script, it took a form similar to the Latin letter “X.” The letter served as a generic mark to indicate one’s “signature” (Job 31:35). If this is the intention, it might suggest ownership.67 But in this context, it may simply have been a mark to distinguish those to be preserved from judgment (Ezek 9:6), similar in function to the blood on the doorpost during the exodus (Exod 12:13).

9:5 without showing pity: The oracles of Ezekiel have already characterized God’s impending judgment as pitiless (Ezek 5:11; 7:4, 9), but this verse draws out the implications in clear and shocking terms. The language is similar to the destructive judgment that God ordered against the Canaanite population during Joshua’s conquest (Gen 15:16; Lev 18:24; Deut 7:1–2, 16; 20:16–17). Indeed, the point of such language in Ezek 9:6 is that the people of Jerusalem had become, practically speaking, no different than the Canaanites who were judged in an earlier generation. Consequently, the covenant sanctions now fall on Jerusalem (Lev 18:26–28; 20:22–23; Deut 28:49–50). Judgment is corporate and complete (see discussion below under Focus of Application).

9:6 Begin at my sanctuary: In Israelite society, the elder men were the leaders, hence the particularly reprehensible scene in Ezek 8:11. Presumably, the men worshipping the sun with backs turned against the Lord (Ezek 8:16) are elders as well, and as leaders they are relatively more culpable than the general community. Hence judgment begins with them. Normally, the altar is a place of mercy (Exod 21:14; 1 Kgs 2:28; 2 Kgs 11:15), but with God’s holy presence leaving the temple, such sensitivities no longer matter.

9:8 I fell face down: It is a significant part of a prophet’s vocation to intercede (Gen 20:7; Num 12:13; Deut 9:25; 1 Kgs 18:36–37; Amos 7:2, 5; Jer 14:11). Ezekiel’s observation, that those preserved by the mark are few in number, is not surprising in view of Jeremiah’s experience (Jer 5:1–5). Yet it is not just the numbers that matter to him; rather, by invoking the notion of the “remnant,” Ezekiel shows his concern for the entire covenant plan of God. Without a remnant, the promise of God to bless the entire world though Abraham’s descendants is jeopardized (Gen 12:3; Exod 19:5–6).68 While concern for the nations is not a major theme in Ezekiel, it is nonetheless within the scope of his theology of hope (Ezek 47:22–23; see Special Topic: The Remnant).

One must be careful about interpreting prophetic language with undue precision. On the one hand, Jer 5:1–5 would lead one to think that there were none worthy of the protective mark. Indeed, Ezekiel himself uses language that would indicate the complete, unqualified destruction of Jerusalem’s entire population (Ezek 5:1–4, 10; 7:11). At the same time, Ezekiel envisions a few survivors who escape (Ezek 6:8; 7:16). Such rhetoric makes the point that the number of those who “grieve and lament” must be a small minority.

Special Topic: The Remnant

Amos introduced the concept of a “remnant” in prophetic preaching to stress how complete judgment would be, such that only a few would survive (Amos 3:12; 5:3; 6:9–10; 9:1–4). Such use is ironic, rhetorically speaking, since “remnant” is hardly a positive image of hope in these texts. A similar use is found in Isaiah (Isa 1:9; 6:13), but Isaiah also introduces a reversal of this image to underscore the hope that God will ultimately restore blessing to his covenant people (Isa 7:3 [“Shear-Jashub” means a remnant shall return]; 10:20–23; 11:16; cf. Jer 31:7; 50:20; Mic 2:12; 4:6–7; 5:7; Zeph 2:7, 9). In these images of hope, there is an historical fulfillment in the restoration from Babylonian exile (Hag 1:12, 14; 2:2–3; Zech 8:6), but also an expectation for the permanence of Israel’s blessing (Zeph 3:11–13). Since the nation’s blessing did not endure in the postexilic period, the concept remains open to the future. The prophetic expectation is also for survivors from Gentile nations, who are blessed by Israel’s surviving remnant (Amos 9:12; Zech 8:11–13) if they submit to Israel’s saving God (Isa 45:20–22; cf. Mic 5:8, 15).

9:10 down on their own heads: As in previous verses (Ezek 7:23; 8:17), the language in this vision points to the most despicable element of Jerusalem’s sin, violence and injustice (Ezek 9:9). This in turn determines the nature of judgment—violent desolation by warfare corresponding to their violent sin (cf. 1 Kgs 8:32).

Theological Bridge to Application

In tension with such a severe and complete description of judgment is the provision of protection for those who grieve over sin. God’s heart of mercy is evident. Even if no one receives the protective mark (Ezek 9:6), it is not because God was unwilling. At the same time, God’s mercy is conditioned on remorse (“those who grieve and lament” sin; Ezek 9:4). Of greatest concern to God is the condition of the human heart (Ps 51:17; Isa 57:15). This expectation in Ezekiel finds a particularly relevant parallel in the prophet Zephaniah, where it is the humble who have hope to survive impending judgment (Zeph 2:1–3) and so are numbered among the remnant (Zeph 3:12).

Focus of Application

The completeness of judgment in this vision is horrifying. Particularly disturbing in Ezek 9:6 is the suffering of children, whom we characteristically hold innocent. One factor in weighing the ethics of such judgment is understanding the realities of total warfare. In the ancient Near East, practically speaking, warfare often meant targeting complete civilian populations. This happens in modern warfare as well. The horrors of World War II came at the hands of both sides, each of which judged that total warfare, including the killing of non-combatants, was a practical necessity. In the ancient Near East, when God used a nation as an instrument of judgment against another nation (as in the impending Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem), it brought with it the necessary tragedies of war. The mention of “children” in Ezekiel’s language is the ancient way of referring to total warfare.

Another factor, no less important, is understanding that in some contexts guilt has corporate consequences (e.g., the Noahic flood, the plagues against Egypt, the conquest of Canaan, the destruction of Jerusalem, the subsequent destruction of Babylon, Jerusalem’s conqueror [cf. Jer 51:56; Isa 13:16]). The judgment on Jerusalem stemmed from covenant curses, which by nature carried with them terrifying consequences for the entire population of God’s people.69

We should not to confuse the historical outworking of temporal judgment on Jerusalem through the Babylonians with our theology of eternal salvation. Our doctrine of salvation is much more complicated in terms of the application of the atonement and questions of accountability in eternal perspective. There is no one-to-one correspondence between the physical death of individuals during the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and their eternal relationship with the Lord. The stress in this passage is the totality of judgment apart from God’s protection; and the condition for receiving God’s mercy, as stated in this text, is a humble and contrite heart (see also the discussion at Ezek 18:9, 19 and Focus of Application there). How this balances in the scales of justice is beyond our perview, hidden in the yet unseen reckoning of all things.

Two other lessons on the nature of judgment also flow from Ezekiel’s experience. First, God holds leadership especially culpable, as revealed in this passage by the “first priority” in executing judgment (Ezek 9:6; cf. Jas 3:1). Few things are more damaging to the reputation of God, his kingdom, and his own people than the failure of leaders. This bears out in the testimony of Christians who have been deeply wounded by sinful behavior on the part of those to whom they have submitted and depended. The media frenzies over public exposure of prominent Christian leaders are legendary. Second, the nature of God’s judgment is commensurate with and often mirrors the specific sin in uncanny ways. Jacob deceived Isaac by means of an animal skin (Gen 27:16) and he himself was deceived through slaughter of an animal (Gen 37:31–33). David’s greatest sin was orchestrating the violent death of Uriah (2 Sam 11:14–15) and so the sword did not depart from his house (2 Sam 12:9–10). Ezekiel’s vision manifests the common biblical theme wherein people reap what they sow (Prov 22:8; Gal 6:7).

66. For detailed description, see Block, Ezekiel 1–24, 305.

67. Taylor, Ezekiel, 102.

68. Wright, Ezekiel, 117–18.

69. For an overview of difficulties and possible solutions to the problem of divine warfare, see Copan and Flannagan, “The Ethics of ‘Holy War,’” 201–39. With regard to the difficulties in Ezek 9, the commentary by Wright is particularly helpful (Wright, Ezekiel, 113–14).