9:1ff This chapter presents a picture of coming judgment. After Ezekiel had seen how corrupt Jerusalem had become, God called one man to spare the small minority that had been faithful. Then he called six men to slaughter the wicked people in the city. This judgment was ordered by God himself (9:5-7).
9:2 The writer’s inkhorn was a common object in Ezekiel’s day. It included a long narrow board with a groove to hold the reed brush that was used to write on parchment, papyrus, or dried clay. The board had hollowed out areas for holding cakes of black and red ink that had to be moistened before use.
9:3 What is God’s glory? It is the manifestation of God’s character—his ultimate power, transcendence, and moral perfection. God is completely above humans and their limitations. Yet God reveals himself to us so that we can worship and follow him.
9:3 Cherubim (cherub is singular) are an order of powerful angelic beings created to glorify God. They are associated with God’s absolute holiness and moral perfection. God placed cherubim at the entrance of Eden to keep Adam and Eve out after they sinned (Genesis 3:24). Representations of cherubim were used to decorate the Tabernacle and Temple. The lid of the Ark of the Covenant, called the mercy seat, was adorned with two gold cherubim (Exodus 37:6-9). It was a symbol of the very presence of God. The cherubim seen by Ezekiel left the Temple along with the glory of God (chapter 10). Ezekiel then recognized them as the living beings he had seen in his first vision (see chapter 1).
9:4, 5 God told the man with the writer’s inkhorn to put a mark on those who were faithful to God. Their faithfulness was determined by their sorrow over their nation’s sin. Those with the mark were spared when the six men began to destroy the wicked people. During the Exodus, the Israelites put a mark of blood on their doorframes to save them from death. In the final days, God will mark the foreheads of those destined for salvation (Revelation 7:3), and Satan will mark his followers (Revelation 13:16, 17), who, like him, are destined for destruction. When God punishes sin, he won’t forget his promise to preserve his people.
9:6 The spiritual leaders (“ancient men”) of Israel blatantly promoted their idolatrous beliefs, and the people abandoned God and followed them. Spiritual leaders are especially accountable to God because they are entrusted with the task of teaching the truth (see James 3:1). When they pervert the truth, they can lead countless people away from God and even cause a nation to fall. It is not surprising, then, that when God began to judge the nation, he started at the Temple and worked outward (see 1 Peter 4:17). How sad it is that in the Temple, the one place where they should have been teaching God’s truth, these men were teaching lies.
9:9, 10 The people said that the Lord had forsaken the earth and wouldn’t see their sin. People have many convenient explanations to make it easier to sin: “It doesn’t matter,” “Everybody’s doing it,” or “Nobody will ever know.” Do you find yourself making excuses for sin? Rationalizing sin makes it easier to commit, but rationalization does not convince God or cancel the punishment.