What happensPermalink
God’s glory moves from the cherub to the temple threshold. God summons six executioners and a man in linen carrying a writing case. The man must mark the foreheads of those who sigh over Jerusalem’s abominations; the others must kill everyone without the mark, beginning at the sanctuary. Ezekiel pleads for Israel’s remnant, but God answers that the land is filled with bloodshed and injustice while the people believe He does not see them. The man in linen returns and reports that he has completed his task.
Why it mattersPermalink
Judgment begins at the sanctuary, while those who grieve over Jerusalem’s sins receive a mark of preservation. The mark recalls Passover and anticipates the seal on God’s servants in Revelation 7. Ezekiel’s plea raises the question of the remnant that returns in chapter 11. Meanwhile, God’s glory has begun to withdraw from the temple.
Key versePermalink
Then he said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’”