April 23, Ezekiel 9
And while they were striking, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face, and cried, "Ah Lord GOD! Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?" - Ezekiel 9:8
Like the sole survivor of a crash or a fire, Ezekiel stood alone, surrounded by the heaps of corpses all around him in the vision of destruction. The time of mercy and patience had passed, and the time of judgment had come. The devastation and death was so overwhelming that Ezekiel cried out to the Lord, asking if he would destroy even the remnant of the faithful. This short chapter is full of lessons for us. Let's ponder a few together.
The six executioners that God sent to destroy the wicked sinners of Jerusalem waited until the agent of mercy had marked those faithful ones who were dismayed at the wickedness that prevailed among the people of God. Like other judgments from God against wickedness throughout history, this act of divine retribution is a picture of the final judgment that is coming. The destroying ones and the one who marked the righteous ones remind us of the angels and their work in Jesus' stories about judgment. Some angels gathered the faithful ones safe into the Lord's barn. But the others were gathered and burned up by the fire of the Lord's wrath. I hope we never lose our sense of wonder about being saved by grace. How much more amazing will the grace that saves us be in that final day when we stand at the right hand of God and see those on the left sent away into everlasting punishment?
God explained why the judgment against Jerusalem was so severe. He said the widespread bloodshed and injustice, along with their complete disregard for God had brought this disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The descriptions of the idolatry in Chapter 8 shed some light on why God’s wrath was both great and greatly deserved.
Just as God sent one marking angel to identify and preserve the godly ones, so Jesus came to make those who would surrender to him as Lord his own. He marked them for protection with his own lifeblood, just as the blood of the Passover lamb spared the Israelites the night of the final plague, when the firstborn of every house died across Egypt.
Ezekiel wondered if the remnant would survive the slaughter. There would be survivors (Jeremiah among them). But the real remnant of Israel would return from Babylon after the seventy years of captivity. I wonder if Noah and his family felt the same way after they alone were spared from the Flood.
God showed Ezekiel that the marking agent would secure the survivors from a city marked for destruction. Those marked people had sighed and groaned over the abominations around them, just as Lot had vexed his soul with the ungodly conduct of his neighbors in Sodom. And like Lot and his family, the faithful ones would not perish, but be brought out of the destruction alive.
Was Ezekiel really all alone? He sounds like Elijah under the juniper tree, claiming that he, he alone, was left to serve God. Just as God told Elijah he had 7,000 others who had not bowed to Baal, so God showed Ezekiel that he knew and would protect the faithful. He has faithful ones we don't know. It is not our job to keep score or mark the roll in the Book of Life. It's our job to be faithful. We will do better to rejoice in God's mercy and grace.
If men and women choose to despise God's mercy, the day will come when the wrath they deserved will come. Those of us who are saved from that wrath by grace must not be proud or arrogant. Let's be humble and rejoice in God's mercy. Let's be content to trust God to do the right thing, and keep every one of his promises.
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—April 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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