God Wants You To Know
Ezekiel 9
Emmanuel Christian Church
2.11.24
INTRODUCTION: The Book of Ezekiel isn’t easy. It was written in
desperate times to address desperate spiritual conditions infecting God’s
people. Of its 48 chapters, the first thirty three are filled with God’s
righteous accusations against His people and the promise of His
judgment.
It’s not until the last fifteen chapters that we begin to see the clouds
part and the sun shine as God holds out hope for the nation of Israel, the
nations of the world and all of the fallen Creation itself. But we are only in
chapter 9! And if the book of Ezekiel isn’t easy- chapter 9 is ANYTHING
BUT easy! So, buckle your seatbelt we’re in for a bumpy ride this morning!
Ezekiel 9:1 Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, “Bring the guards of
the city here, 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.
Ezekiel 9:3 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.”
Ezekiel 9:5 As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the
city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. 6 Slaughter old men,
young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone
who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders
who were in front of the temple.
Ezekiel 9:7 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,
“Ah, Sovereign LORD! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel
in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”
Ezekiel 9:9 He answered me, “The sin of the house 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.”
Ezekiel 9:11 Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought
back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded.”
PROPOSITION: “BRUTAL” - that’s the word that describes what we just
heard! Why did God give Ezekiel this terrifying vision? Is He cruel? Does
He want us to run from Him? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
Actually, I would propose to you that this terrifying vision its born of
God’s kindness and desire to draw us to Himself! It is our sin and rebellion
that separates us from Him and incurs His righteous wrath. Only when we
turn from THEM are we able turn to HIM! To put it bluntly, you can’t be
headed for Heaven, until you’ve had the Hell scared out of you! You can’t
appreciate the Good News of the Gospel until you’ve faced the BAD
NEWS of sin and rebellion!
God wants us to jump in the cold shower of spiritual reality and
CLEARLY understand FOUR IMPORTANT THINGS.
#1 GOD WANTS YOU TO UNDERSTAND FEAR
Ezekiel 9:1 Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, “Bring the guards of
the city here, 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.
- The six armed guards of this vision are angelic beings with the power of
life and death, commissioned by the LORD Himself to execute those
who claim to be God followers, but are not.
- If that picture doesn’t strike fear in your heart, you either do not
understand it, or you do not believe it to be true.
- Our problem is that we have been conditioned to believe in a one
dimension God of love and grace. We almost reflexively reject the image
of God’s righteous wrath.
APPLICATION: You cannot love God unless you first respect Him with
reverential fear. In the absence of such fear, grace becomes cheap and His
forgiveness becomes an entitlement.
Along with that, a lack of the fear of God leads to our moral
unraveling. Just look at Paul’s letter to the Romans- and START with
verse 18 (everything before that, is the list of what happens when we as
individuals give up our fear of God.)
Romans 3:10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11
there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have
turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who
does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their
tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their
mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed
blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they
do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
EVERY SINGLE PROBLEM we face today, can ultimately be traced
back to a lack of the fear of God. Your best interest is at God’s heart. He
knows that apart from your reverential fear of Him- you will have no
good thing in this life or in the life to come.
#2 GOD WANTS YOU TO UNDERSTAND YOU’RE MARKED
Ezekiel 9:3 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.”
- Understand, NOT EVERYONE receives God’s mark- only those who are
on His side. The mark is NOT AUTOMATIC, it is the result of one’s
individual deliberate choice.
- The “mark” of God is what spares from DEATH.
- That “mark” is clearly repeated and explained in the New Testament.
Ephesians 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were
marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit…
APPLICATION: Exactly WHEN is that “mark” or “seal” affixed to the
believer? Again, scripture is perfectly clear:
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in
the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your
children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will
call.”
#3 GOD WANTS YOU TO UNDERSTAND HE’S IMPARTIAL
Ezekiel 9:5 As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the
city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. 6 Slaughter old men,
young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone
who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders
who were in front of the temple.
- Popular sentiment says, “Kill all the men- they probably deserve it!” but
what about the “innocent” women and children? Ahh, therein lies the
moral dilemma!
- But this is a statement built upon a false foundation! Here’s the harsh
reality of the human condition: every last one of us, with the ability to
choose, have made sinful choices that make us eligible for the
death penalty! It is only God’s grace that grants us forgiveness when
we believe, repent and are united with Christ in Christian baptism.
- If someone claims to be a follower of God, but is not- they can only
expect the same fate as “the elders who were in front of the temple”!
1 Peter 4:17 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 do not obey
the gospel of God?
APPLICATION: Just because you go to the zoo- that doesn’t make you a
giraffe! And just because you go to church- that doesn’t make you a
Christian. Being a Christian isn’t about coming to church- it’s about
coming to Jesus! And yes, (for all you legalists out there) when you come
to Jesus, you will love coming to the Church which is His BRIDE.
#4 GO WANTS YOU TO UNDERSTAND JUDGMENT IS COMING
Ezekiel 9:7 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,
“Ah, Sovereign LORD! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel
in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”
Ezekiel 9:9 He answered me, “The sin of the house 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.”
Ezekiel 9:11 Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought
back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded.”
- That was THEN. Jesus Himself warned us about WHAT IS TO COME…
Matthew 24:15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the
abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel
— let the reader understand — 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to
the mountains. 17 Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take
anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get his
cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and
nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on
the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the
beginning of the world until now — and never to be equaled again. 22 If
those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake
of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to
you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For
false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and
miracles to deceive even the elect — if that were possible. 25 See, I have
told you ahead of time.
CONCLUSION: There is sonly one way you can be ready for that coming
Day- you must COME TO CHRIST and be marked with His Holy Spirit:
BELIEVE, REPENT, BE BAPTIZED.
