Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 9:4
And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
4 7. Command to seal those to be spared, and to slay without distinction all others
4. set a mark ] The word is Tav, the last letter of the alphabet, the old form of which was a cross. The term is used here as in Job 31:35, of a mark in general, though perhaps the Tav or cross was the simplest form the mark could take. The passage is imitated, Revelation 7, though the mark there is the name of God. All who mourned over the abominations done in Jerusalem were to be thus sealed and spared.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
mercy precedes judgment. So in the case of Sodom Gen. 19, and in the last day Luk 21:18, Luk 21:28; Rev 7:1. This accords with the eschatological character of the predictions in this chapter (see the introduction of Ezekiel).
A mark – literally, Tau, the name of the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The old form of the letter was that of a cross. The Jews have interpreted this sign variously, some considering that Tau, being the last of the Hebrew letters, and so closing the alphabet, denoted completeness, and thus the mark indicated the completeness of the sorrow for sin in those upon whom it was placed. Others again observed that Tau was the first letter of Torah (the Law) and that the foreheads were marked as of men obedient to the Law. Christians, noting the resemblance of this letter in its most ancient form to a cross, have seen herein a reference to the cross with which Christians were signed. The custom for pagan gods and their votaries to bear certain marks furnishes instances, in which God was pleased to employ symbolism, generally in use, to express higher and more divine truth. The sign of the cross in baptism is an outward sign of the designation of Gods elect, who at the last day shall be exempted from the destruction of the ungodly Mat 24:22, Mat 24:31.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 4. Set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh] This is in allusion to the ancient every-where-used custom of setting marks on servants and slaves, to distinguish them from others. It was also common for the worshippers of particular idols to have their idol’s mark upon their foreheads, arms, c. These are called sectarian marks to the present day among the Hindoos and others in India. Hence by this mark we can easily know who is a follower of Vishnoo, who of Siva, who of Bramah, &c. The original words, vehithvitha tau, have been translated by the Vulgate, et signa thau, “and mark thou tau on the foreheads,” &c. St. Jerome and many others have thought that the letter tau was that which was ordered to be placed on the foreheads of those mourners and Jerome says, that this Hebrew letter tau was formerly written like a cross. So then the people were to be signed with the sign of the cross! It is certain that on the ancient Samaritan coins, which are yet extant, the letter tau is in the form +, which is what we term St. Andrew’s cross. The sense derived from this by many commentators is, that God, having ordered those penitents to be marked with this figure, which is the sign of the cross, intimated that there is no redemption nor saving of life but by the cross of Christ, and that this will avail none but the real penitent. All this is true in itself, but it is not true in respect to this place. The Hebrew words signify literally, thou shalt make a mark, or sign a sign, but give no intimation what that mark or sign was. It was intended here to be what the sprinkling of the blood of the paschal lamb on the lintels and door-posts of the Israelites was, namely, a notice to the destroying angel what house he should spare. As the whole of this matter only passed in vision we are bound to neither letter, nor any other kind of figure. The symbolical action teaches us that God, in general judgments, will make a distinction between the innocent and the guilty, between the penitent and the hardened sinner.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The Lord said, spake from the midst of that glory, Eze 9:3.
Unto him, the man clothed in linen, i.e. to Christ.
Go through; pass through as men use to go who keep an even, steady pace.
The midst of the city; the chief street of the city.
Set a mark: it is too curious, and as useless, to inquire what mark this was. It is groundless to confine it to the sign of the cross, whatever some discourse of the antique form of the letter Thau. It is sufficient that, after the manner of mans speaking, the Lord assures us his remnant are safe, as what is under a seal, which none can or dare break open.
Upon the foreheads, as the faithful servants of God, in allusion perhaps to the custom in the East, that servants wore their masters name in their foreheads, or to let us know that now this deliverance would be not as in Egypt by whole families, but by single and selected persons.
That sigh, out of inward grief for other mens sins and sorrows.
That cry; express their grief by vocal lamentations, who dare openly bewail the abominations of this wicked city, and so bear their testimony against it.
For all the abominations; not as if these mourners knew every particular abomination, but they mourned for all the kinds of wickedness which they knew of.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. midst of . . . city . . . midstof JerusalemThis twofold designation marks more emphaticallythe scene of the divine judgments.
a markliterally, theHebrew letter Tau, the last in the alphabet, used as amark (“my sign,” Job31:35, Margin); literally, Tau; originally writtenin the form of a cross, which TERTULLIANexplains as referring to the badge and only means of salvation, thecross of Christ. But nowhere in Scripture are the words which are nowemployed as names of letters used to denote the letters themselves ortheir figures [VITRINGA].The noun here is cognate to the verb, “mark a mark.“So in Re 7:3 no particular markis specified. We seal what we wish to guard securely. When allthings else on earth are confounded, God will secure His people fromthe common ruin. God gives the first charge as to their safetybefore He orders the punishment of the rest (Psa 31:20;Isa 26:20; Isa 26:21).So in the case of Lot and Sodom (Ge19:22); also the Egyptian first-born were not slain till Israelhad time to sprinkle the blood-mark, ensuring their safety (compareRev 7:3; Amo 9:9).So the early Christians had Pella provided as a refuge for them,before the destruction of Jerusalem.
upon the foreheadsthemost conspicuous part of the person, to imply how their safety wouldbe manifested to all (compare Jer 15:11;Jer 39:11-18). It wascustomary thus to mark worshippers (Rev 13:16;Rev 14:1; Rev 14:9)and servants. So the Church of England marks the forehead with thesign of the cross in baptizing. At the exodus the mark was on thehouses, for then it was families; here, it is on theforeheads, for it is individuals whose safety is guaranteed.
sigh and . . . crysimilarlysounding verbs in Hebrew, as in English Version,expressing the prolonged sound of their grief. “Sigh”implies their inward grief (“groanings which cannot beuttered,” Ro 8:26); “cry,”the outward expression of it. So Lot (2Pe 2:7;2Pe 2:8). Tenderness shouldcharacterize the man of God, not harsh sternness in opposing theungodly (Psa 119:53; Psa 119:136;Jer 13:17; 2Co 12:21);at the same time zeal for the honor of God (Psa 69:9;Psa 69:10; 1Jn 5:19).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the Lord said unto him,…. This shows that a divine Person is meant by the glory of the God of Israel:
go through the midst of the city; that is, as it is next explained,
through the midst of Jerusalem; the city the six men had the charge over or against, Eze 9:1;
and set a mark upon the foreheads; not the Hebrew letter , as some say, because in the form of a cross, and so signifying salvation by the cross of Christ; for this letter has no such form, neither in the characters used by the Jews, nor by the Samaritans, at least in the present character; though Origen and Jerom on the place say that the letter “tau” had the form of a cross in the letters the Samaritans used in their time; and this is defended by Walton t, who observes, that Azariah in his Hebrew alphabet gives a double figure, one like that which is in present use, and another in the form of a cross, called St. Andrew’s cross, and as it appears in some shekels; and in the Vatican alphabet, which Angelus E Roccha published, the last letter has the form of a cross; as have the Ethiopic and Coptic alphabets, which, it is certain, sprung from the ancient Hebrew; and so Montfaucon says u, in some Samaritan coins, the letter “thau” has the form of a cross; which, if Scaliger had met with, he says he would never have opposed the testimonies of Origen and Jerom; though, after all, it seems to be no other than the form of the Greek “x”; and so the Talmudists say w the high priest, was anointed on his forehead in the same form: some think this letter was the mark, because it is the first letter of the word , “the law”; as if it pointed out such who were obedient to it; or of the word “thou shall live”. It is a Rabbinical fancy, mentioned by Kimchi x, that Gabriel had orders to write the letter in ink upon the foreheads of the righteous, and in blood upon the foreheads of the wicked; in the one it signified , “thou shall live”, and in the other , “thou shall die”; but, as Calvin observes, rather, if this letter could be thought to be meant, the reason of it was, because it is the last letter of the alphabet; and so may signify, that the Lord’s people marked with it are the last among men, or the faith of the world; or that such who persevere to the end shall be saved: but the word signifies, not a letter, but a mark or sign; and so it is interpreted in the Septuagint version, and by the Targum, Jarchi, Kimchi, and others; and denotes the distinction the Lord had made by his grace between them and others; and now by his power and providence in the protection of them; for the, Lord knows them that are his, and will preserve them. The allusion is either to the marking of servants in their foreheads, by which they were known who they belonged to, Re 7:3; or to the sprinkling of the posts of the Israelites’ houses with blood, when the firstborn of Egypt were destroyed, Ex 12:22;
of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof; the abominations were those abominable idolatries mentioned in the preceding chapter, and those dreadful immoralities hinted at in Eze 9:9; all which were grieving and distressing to godly minds, because they were contrary to the nature and will of God; transgressions, of his righteous law; and on account of which his name was dishonoured, and his ways blasphemed and evil spoken of; for these they sighed and groaned in private, and mourned and lamented in public; bearing their testimony against them with bitter expressions of grief and sorrow, by groans, words, and tears; and such as these are taken notice of by the Lord; he comforts those that mourn in Zion, and preserves them.
t Supplementum de Sicl. Formis, p. 37. 3. Prolegom. 3. de lingua Hebr. sect. 36. u Palaeograph. Graec. l. 2. c. 3. w T. Bab. Ceritot, c. 1. fol. 5. 2. x Vid. T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 55. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Divine Command
Eze 9:4. And Jehovah said to him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and mark a cross upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which take place in their midst. Eze 9:5. And to those he said in my ears: Go through the city behind him, and smite. Let not your eye look compassionately, and do not spare. Eze 9:6. Old men, young men, and maidens, and children, and women, slay to destruction: but ye shall not touch any one who has the cross upon him; and begin at my sanctuary. And they began with the old men, who were before the house. Eze 9:7. And He said to them, defile the house, and fill the courts with slain; go ye out. And they went out, and smote in the city. – God commands the man provided with the writing materials to mark on the forehead with a cross all the persons in Jerusalem who mourn over the abominations of the nation, in order that they may be spared in the time of the judgment. , the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, had the form of a cross in the earlier writing. , to mark a , is therefore the same as to make a mark in the form of a cross; although there was at first no other purpose in this sign than to enable the servants employed in inflicting the judgment of God to distinguish those who were so marked, so that they might do them no harm. Eze 9:6. And this was the reason why the was to be marked upon the forehead, the most visible portion of the body; the early Christians, according to a statement in Origen, looked upon the sign itself as significant, and saw therein a prophetic allusion to the sign of the cross as the distinctive mark of Christians. A direct prophecy of the cross of Christ is certainly not to be found here, since the form of the letter Tav was the one generally adopted as a sign, and, according to Job 31:35, might supply the place of a signature. Nevertheless, as Schmieder has correctly observed, there is something remarkable in this coincidence to the thoughtful observer of the ways of God, whose counsel has carefully considered all before hand, especially when we bear in mind that in the counterpart to this passage (Rev 7:3) the seal of the living God is stamped upon the foreheads of the servants of God, who are to be exempted from the judgment, and that according to Rev 14:1 they had the name of God written upon their foreheads. So much, at any rate, is perfectly obvious from this, namely, that the sign was not arbitrarily chosen, but was inwardly connected with the fact which it indicated; just as in the event upon which our vision is based (Exo 12:13, Exo 12:22.) the distinctive mark placed upon the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, in order that the destroying angel might pass them by, namely, the smearing of the doorposts with the blood of the paschal lamb that had been slain, was selected on account of its significance and its corresponding to the thing signified. The execution of this command is passed over as being self-evident; and it is not till Eze 9:11 that it is even indirectly referred to again.
In Eze 9:5, Eze 9:6 there follows, first of all, the command given to the other six men. They are to go through the city, behind the man clothed in white linen, and to smite without mercy all the inhabitants of whatever age or sex, with this exception, that they are not to touch those who are marked with the cross. The for before is either a slip of the pen, or, as the continued transmission of so striking an error is very improbable, is to be accounted for from the change of into , which is so common in Aramaean. The Chetib is the unusual form grammatically considered, and the singular, which is more correct, has been substituted as Keri. is followed by , to increase the force of the words and show the impossibility of any life being saved. They are to make a commencement at the sanctuary, because it has been desecrated by the worship of idols, and therefore has ceased to be the house of the Lord. To this command the execution is immediately appended; they began with the old men who were before the house, i.e., they began to slay them. are neither the twenty-five priests (Eze 8:16) nor the seventy elders (Eze 8:11). The latter were not , but in a chamber by the outer temple gate; whereas , in front of the temple house, points to the inner court. This locality makes it natural to think of priests, and consequently the lxx rendered by . But the expression is an unsuitable one for the priests. We have therefore no doubt to think of men advanced in years, who had come into the court possibly to offer sacrifice, and thereby had become liable to the judgment. In Eze 9:7 the command, which was interrupted in Eze 9:6, is once more resumed. They are to defile the house, i.e., the temple, namely, by filling the courts with slain. It is in this way that we are to connect together, so far as the sense is concerned, the two clauses, “defile…and fill.” This is required by the facts of the case. For those slain “before the house” could only have been slain in the courts, as there was no space between the temple house and the courts in which men could have been found and slain. But cannot be understood as signifying “in the neighbourhood of the temple,” as Kliefoth supposes, for the simple reason that the progressive order of events would thereby be completely destroyed. The angels who were standing before the altar of burnt-offering could not begin their work by going out of the court to smite the sinners who happened to be in the neighbourhood of the temple, and then returning to the court to do the same there, and then again going out into the city to finish their work there. They could only begin by slaying the sinners who happened to be in the courts, and after having defiled the temple by their corpses, by going out into the city to slay all the ungodly there, as is related in the second clause of the verse ( Eze 9:7).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) Set a mark upon the foreheads.The word for mark is literally a Tau, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This, in many of the ancient alphabets, and especially in that in use among the Hebrews up to this time, and long retained upon their coins, was in the form of a crossX or +. Much stress was laid upon this use of the sign of the cross as the mark for the Divine mercy by the older Christian writers, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, and Jerome. This marking was done, it is true, in vision, but the symbolism is taken from such passages as Gen. 4:15; Exo. 12:7; Exo. 12:13; Exo. 28:36; and it is used several times in the Apocalypse (Eze. 7:3; Eze. 9:4; Eze. 14:1). Such marks may be necessary for the guidance of the angelic executors of Gods commands, and at all events, the symbolism is of value to the human mind. It is with reference to such Scriptural instances of marking, doubtless, that the Church has provided for the signing of the baptized with the sign of the cross. It is to be observed here that the distinction of the marking has reference wholly and only to character. No regard is paid to birth or position; they and they only are marked who mourned for the prevailing sinfulness, and kept themselves apart from it.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Set a mark upon the foreheads Literally, set a tau ( T) upon the foreheads. Tau was the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which in ancient times had the form of a cross. The cross is one of the simplest and therefore one of the most common “marks” used by ancient peoples. (See Job 31:35, Hebrews) Perhaps this is the only reason why it is commanded to be used here; yet it is a suggestive fact that centuries before Ezekiel’s time the cross had been used as a sacred symbol. The kings and nobles of Egypt covered themselves with long chains of interwoven crosses and held this “symbol of life” ( ) in their dying hands as reverently as any Roman Christian ever cherished his crucifix. Among the Babylonians this same symbol is found. The Hebrews must have known of the symbolic value attached to the cross, and it is just like Ezekiel to express in this striking way the fact that the gift of life had come from God upon all those marked with the mysterious letter which, it may be noticed, was also the initial of the Hebrew word “live.” (Compare Rev 7:3; Rev 22:4.) This seal of grace was to be put upon all men, women, and children (Eze 9:5-6) who sorrowed over their city’s sin. The cross on the forehead corresponds exactly to the blood upon the doorposts when the destroying angel flew over Egypt. (Compare Gal 6:17.) Both marks the blood and the cross were chosen, not arbitrarily, but because they were “inwardly connected” with the facts indicated (Keil). Neither Moses nor Ezekiel could have known, but Infinite Wisdom foresaw, the peculiar significance and correspondence of these strange symbols. The man with the inkhorn was not to put any mark upon the foreheads of the people but this. It was the sign of the cross that saved them. “This mark was, of course, only visible to the angels.” Orelli.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eze 9:4. Set a mark This expression alludes to the ancient custom of marking servants in the forehead, to distinguish what they were, and to whom they belonged. See Bishop Newton on Rev 7:3. The reader is to remember, that all this passed in vision, and only means that God made a distinction, and separated the good from the bad, as really as if he had marked them with some visible sign. This parabolic command, says Bishop Warburton, alludes to the sanction of the Mosaic law; and implies, that virtuous individuals should be distinguished from the wicked in a general calamity.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 1099
DUTY AND BENEFIT OF MOURNING FOR SIN
Eze 9:4. And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
THERE is in the minds of ungodly men an atheistical idea, that God does not regard the actions of men; and that, as to any interference in their concerns, he has forsaken the earth. This was a common sentiment among the Jews [Note: Eze 8:12; Eze 9:9.]; and it practically obtains to a vast extent amongst us. To imagine that God notices such trifling matters as those which occupy our minds, is supposed to derogate from his honour. But God is omnipresent and omniscient; the minutest as well as the greatest things are all equally present to his all-seeing eye; and every thing is noticed by him with an especial view to a future day of retribution. This is particularly stated in the whole of the preceding chapter. The elders of Israel who were at Jerusalem were given to idolatry; but they were extremely anxious to conceal their practices from the eyes of men: hence they performed their idolatrous rites in some secret chambers of the temple, which they had enclosed with a wall in order to a more effectual concealment. But God in a vision pointed out to his prophet, who was at Babylon, every thing that was transacted in the temple at Jerusalem: and, after having given him many successive and more enlarged views of the abominations that were committed there, issued an order to the angels who had charge over the city, to go forth and slay the offenders; but strictly prohibited them from coming near to any person to whom these abominations had been a source of grief, and who had, in consequence of that, been marked in the forehead by a person expressly commissioned for that purpose [Note: Read the whole preceding chapter, as connected with the text.].
Though the whole of this was a vision, it was, in fact, a just representation of the distinction which God would make between the persons who were guilty of idolatry, and those who lamented its prevalence among them: and it may serve to shew us, in a very instructive way,
I.
The character of the Lords people
Sin is that abominable thing which God hates: and, as it prevailed to an awful extent at that day, so abominations of every kind yet prevail
[They prevail in the world at large. We speak not now of the evils that are visible to all, but of those which are of a more hidden nature. In every order of society there are peculiar and appropriate evils, justified perhaps by those who commit them, yea possibly dignified with the name of virtues, which yet are an utter abomination in the sight of God. Were all the intrigues of the ambitious, the wantonness of the licentious, the deceits of the covetous, the characteristic arts of every class of sinners, exposed to view, what a mass of iniquity should we behold! Yet God beholds it all; a mass which infinitely exceeds our highest conceptions, and which none but God himself could endure to behold.
They prevail also, we regret to say it, even in the Church of God. It was amongst those who professed the worship of the true God, that all those abominations were practised in the Temple at Jerusalem: and we know that many lamentable evils were found in the Churches that were planted by the Apostles themselves. Can we wonder, then, if at this time tares be growing up with the wheat? It were vain to deny that there are many who dishonour their holy profession, and give sad occasion to the enemies of religion to blaspheme that name whereby we are named. The pride, intolerance, and overbearing conceit of Diotrephes may yet be found, amidst high professions of superior zeal and sanctity. Who has ever looked into the interior of religious societies, and not seen the same undue preference to some preachers, and contempt of others, as disgraced the Corinthian Church in the days of Paul? Who has not discovered many a Demas, who loves this present world, and foregoes his spiritual advantages with a view to increase his gains [Note: 2Ti 4:10.]? It would be well if even the base crimes of falsehood, and overreaching, and dishonesty were not sometimes found in the skirts of those who would be thought to have kept their garments clean; yea, if intemperance also and uncleanness did not give the lie to their profession. But the more we inspect the sanctuary of God, the more we shall see occasion for humiliation and grief on account of many, who have a name to live, but are dead; and who, through their misconduct, cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of. And such may well expect that judgment shall begin with them [Note: Compare ver. 6. with 1Pe 4:17.]. We need scarcely add, that evils prevail also in the heart even of true believers. Paul himself confessed, that there was a law in his members warring against the law of his mind, and sometimes bringing him into captivity to the law of sin in his members: and the more conversant we are with our own hearts, the more we shall bewail our innumerable short-comings and defects. Our impatience, our distrust of God, our unbelief, our obduracy, our sloth, our coldness in duties, our sad mixture of principle even in our better actions; our want of love to the Saviour, our want of compassion for our fellow-creatures, our want of zeal for God; alas! alas! our want of every thing that is good, may well make the very best of us sigh and cry, and, like Paul, to account ourselves less than the least of all saints, or rather as the chief of sinners.]
To bewail these abominations is characteristic of every child of God
[Hear how Moses lamented them in his day [Note: Deu 9:18-19.]: how David also [Note: Psa 119:53; Psa 119:136.], and Ezra, bewailed them [Note: Ezr 9:3; Ezr 9:5.]: what extreme heaviness the Apostle Paul felt in his soul on this account [Note: Rom 9:1-2.]; and especially in relation to those very evils which we have specified as obtaining amongst the professing people of God [Note: Php 3:18-19.]! And where is the saint in all the Bible who did not groan within himself on account of the burthen of his own in-dwelling corruptions [Note: Rom 8:23.]? The more any person knows of God and of his own soul, the more disposed he is to say with Job, Behold, I am vile [Note: Job 40:4.]!
Before we proceed to the second point for our consideration, let us examine ourselves, whether these things are a burthen to us, yea, our chief burthen [Note: Zep 3:18. Jer 13:17. Rom 7:24.]? We have no pretensions to true religion, any farther than we answer to this character of mourners on account of sin ]
From marking thus minutely the character of the Lords people, we proceed to notice,
II.
Their privilege
God sets a mark on every one of his people, a mark on their foreheads, whereby they are infallibly known to him, and shall assuredly be screened from the destroying angels. They shall be protected,
1.
Here
[The deliverance of Noah from the Deluge, and of Lot from Sodom, shews not only what deliverances God can vouchsafe to his chosen people, but what may be expected by all who mourn over, and labour to counteract, the abominations that are around them [Note: 2Pe 2:5-9.]. In Babylon, God interposed to effect a literal accomplishment of this prophetic vision; obtaining liberty for Jeremiah, and others of his believing people, whilst the unbelieving part were visited with the heaviest calamities [Note: Jer 15:11; Jer 39:11-12.]. And at the final destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, the disciples of Christ were rescued, as it were by miracle, from all the horrors of the siege, whilst their unhappy and devoted brethren were left to experience such troubles as never came upon any other nation under heaven.
But, if God do not see fit to exempt his people from the calamities that fall on others, he will so support them under their trials, and so sanctify to them their afflictions, that they shall be constrained to say, It was good for them to have been afflicted. He will enable them to glory in tribulations, and to take pleasure in distresses, as fruits of his paternal love, and as means of furthering in their souls the purposes of his grace.]
2.
Hereafter
[The seal which God has set in their foreheads will distinguish them from all others, as clearly as sheep are distinguished from goats. Nor will there be any danger of mistake in any instance whatever. In Egypt the destroying angel did not smite one house whereon the blood of the Paschal lamb was sprinkled; nor will the judgments of God fall on one individual, who has laid to heart the abominations of Israel. God has set them apart for himself; and for him they shall be preserved. No evil shall be come near to him who has the mark in his forehead. Whilst fire and brimstone are rained down upon all others without distinction, these will be safely lodged in Gods holy mountain, beyond the reach or possibility of harm.]
Address
1.
To those who think lightly of sin
[By many it is thought a mark of weakness to sigh and cry for the sins of others, or even for our own [Note: See their character drawn: Amo 6:1; Amo 6:3; Amo 6:5-6.]. But let those who have such light thoughts of sin, consider what sin has done, in this world, and especially in the world to come. What innumerable evils have existed, and do yet exist, throughout the world! yet is there not one in the whole creation, which is not the fruit of sin. And if we could obtain one sight of those dreary mansions, where fallen angels, together with all who have perished in their sins, abide; or could hear but one groan of a damned soul; we should no more account sin a light matter: no indeed, it is fools only, who make a mock at sin. If this do not suffice, let such an one consider, what has been done to expiate sin. Go, sinner, to Gethsemane, go to Calvary, and contemplate the agonies and death of your incarnate God; and then say, Whether sin be not a tremendous evil, for which no sighs or tears can ever be sufficient? But, without extending our thoughts to subjects so much beyond our reach, let us only observe what have been the feelings of persons when once they were brought to a just sense of their sins: let us hear the bitter lamentations of Peter, or the heart-rending cries of the converts on the day of Pentecost; and we shall no longer doubt what ought to be our views of sin, by whomsoever it may have been committed, whether by ourselves or others. Sure we are, that in the last day there will be no diversity of sentiment respecting this: the glorified saints, and the condemned sinners, will have but one view of this matter, O that now, even now, the judgment of every one amongst us might be rectified; and that, before another day, God might see reason to set his mark upon us, as mourners in Zion!]
2.
To those who answer to the character described in our text
[Persons who sigh and cry on account of sin, are apt to yield too much to desponding fears. But they have in reality abundant cause for joy and gratitude: for if, on the one hand, they be greatly burthened on account of sin, they have, on the other hand, reason to rejoice that sin is their burthen. Instead of being in so deplorable a state as they imagine, they are in a state most pleasing to God, and most profitable to themselves. So pleased is God with those who are poor and of a contrite spirit, that his eyes are fixed upon them with the utmost complacency and delight [Note: Isa 66:2.]: and the Lord Jesus, the Judge of quick and dead, repeatedly declares them blessed [Note: Mat 5:3-4.]. Let not any one therefore be dejected because of the depths of depravity which he sees within him; but let him rather conclude, that God has discovered to him these hidden abominations; and let him beg of God to give him a clearer and fuller insight into them; that so his humiliation may he more deep, his faith more simple, his gratitude more lively, and his devotedness to God more entire. Nor let any one be afraid of seeing thus the corruptions of his heart: for, if only our self-knowledge drive us to Christ, and endear him to our souls, it will prove a source of every virtue; of contrition, of fear, of dependence on Christ, of love to his name, and of zeal for his glory. A sense of our necessities will make us cry unto him for the gift of his Spirit; and by that Spirit we shall be sealed unto the day of redemption, and rendered meet for our heavenly inheritance.
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Eze 9:4 And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
Ver. 4. And the Lord. ] That great Imperator, General.
Go through the midst.
And set a mark upon the foreheads.
Of the men that sigh and cry.
a Ammian.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
set a mark. Compare Rev 7:3; Rev 9:4; Rev 13:16, Rev 13:17; Rev 20:4.
mark. Hebrew Occurs elsewhere only in Job 31:35.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Eze 9:4-7
Eze 9:4-7
“And Jehovah said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof, And to the others he said in my hearing, Go ye through the city after him, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; slay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark: and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began with the old men that were before the house. And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and smote in the city.”
MERCY EXTENDED TO THE FAITHFUL
“A mark upon the foreheads of men …” (Eze 9:4). This of course was an act of Divine mercy. Although God would indeed destroy the apostate idolaters, he would by no means destroy his faithful worshippers. This placing of a mark upon the ones to be redeemed appears again in Rev 7:3 and Rev 14:1, indicating that all of the saved in our own generation indeed bear the “mark of God” in their forehead. As this appears to be the very same thing as the “sealing of God’s servants” in Rev 7:3, which is clearly a reference to the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are entitled to conclude that it is no literal mark of any kind, but a certain characteristic of the human spirit, that would be recognized instantly by supernatural beings. We do not believe that either in this vision or in the current dispensation can it be shown that God brands his people with any kind of a literal mark, such as a rancher would use to brand his cattle.
As Cook noted, “There are eschatological predictions in this chapter. And one of the clearest of these is that the Great Judgment of the last day will be individually and not by races, nations, or groups of any kind. Note too that there are only two classes, the saved and the lost. Another startling fact is that absolutely none shall be spared except those who have received the mark of redemption. This was the way it was in the days of the flood; and that is the way it will be in the final judgment.
“That sigh and cry over all the abominations …” (Eze 9:4). The truly righteous are always those who grieve over the sins and wickedness of their contemporaries.
We are not impressed at all with some who try to find some reference to the Cross, or the “sign of the Cross” in this passage. This notion is based upon the fact that the word here translated “mark” is in Hebrew the name of tau, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet; and it is claimed that the early way of making that letter was with a cross; but as Plumptre noted, “There could have been no anticipation of Christian symbols, either in the mind of Ezekiel, or in the minds of his hearers.
“And begin at my sanctuary …” (Eze 9:6). The very place where one should have been able to find a few faithful believers in God was the holy temple; but here God commanded that the slaughter should begin there. There is indeed a great responsibility upon those persons who know God’s word and are responsible for teaching others. An apostle indicated that this principle shall be operative in all of the judgments of God. “For the time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God: and if it begin first at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1Pe 4:17).
“They began at the old men that were before the house …” (Eze 9:6) Dummelow identified these as “the sun worshipping priests. “Apparently the directive to begin at the sanctuary was intended to imply that there was the seat of the worst sins. This should certainly be a warning to religious leaders of all generations.
“And he said unto them, Defile the house …” (Eze 9:7). This was accomplished by their filling the courts with dead bodies. “If to touch a corpse and then to worship without being sprinkled with the water of separation was to defile the tabernacle of the Lord (Num 19:13), how much more would the blood of corpses do so.
Speaking of the defilement of the temple, Eichrodt noted that, “Such a stupendous act of judgment left no room for any doubt that the complete liquidation of the inhabitants of Jerusalem would be carried out in full.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
set a mark
(See Scofield “Jer 15:21”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
set a mark: Heb. mark a mark, Exo 12:7, Exo 12:13, Mal 3:16, 2Co 1:22, Eph 4:30, 2Ti 2:19, Rev 7:2, Rev 7:3, Rev 9:4, Rev 13:6, Rev 13:7, Rev 14:1, Rev 20:4
that sigh: Eze 6:11, 2Ki 22:13, 2Ki 22:19, 2Ki 22:20, Psa 119:53, Psa 119:136, Isa 57:15, Jer 13:17, 2Co 12:21, 2Pe 2:8, 2Pe 2:9
Reciprocal: Gen 4:15 – set a mark Gen 7:1 – Come Exo 12:23 – and will not Num 25:6 – weeping Deu 4:4 – General Jos 2:12 – give me 2Ch 34:27 – thine heart Ezr 9:4 – trembled Ezr 10:3 – of those that Psa 51:17 – a broken spirit Psa 55:10 – mischief Psa 87:6 – when Psa 119:158 – General Isa 3:10 – Say ye Isa 24:13 – there Isa 66:2 – to this Isa 66:10 – that mourn Jer 23:9 – heart Jer 44:10 – humbled Eze 13:22 – with lies Eze 21:6 – Sigh Joe 2:13 – rend Hab 3:16 – that I Mat 5:4 – General Luk 4:18 – to heal Luk 6:21 – ye that weep Luk 17:34 – two Luk 24:17 – and are Joh 11:38 – groaning Rom 7:24 – wretched Rom 9:2 – General 1Co 5:2 – mourned Rev 13:16 – or
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
MARKED MEN!
And the Lord said unto him: Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst therof.
Eze 9:4
What makes a people great and keeps them so, says Milton somewhere, is the presence of a religious life amongst them. And so the records of these prophets are better guides for ascertaining the causes of national decay than the so-called philosophers who do not bring the spiritual element into account at all.
I. The duty of sorrow over the sins of our city.I need not go over the things that call upon us for sorrow, you know them all better than I do. But there is one predominant tendency in all our large cities, and that is the engrossment in temporalities, the almost exclusive attention paid to material objects, to the loss of all high and holy aims. The wealth, the prosperity, the greatness of England rest on a stratum, of which we dont think, and which may at some future time give way, and the whole fabric will fall to pieces. All this deserves the sorrow of every Christian man; sorrow, I say, not contempt, not hatred.
II. The fatal issues of negligence to the neglected city.I am not going to indulge in exaggerated statements about decline and downfall. Every form of human society not founded upon God carries in itself the seeds of certain destruction. Friends, churches, countries, nations, it equally applies to them all. There are nations on the earth now who in past time cast off the worship and fear of God, but they are dead to all intents and purposes, and the cause is not difficult to find. The story of Babel built without the sanction of the Almighty, and tumbling to pieces like the burnt brick they made use of, is the clue to all who have shared the same fate ever since. The greatness of England does not come from the wisdom of her statesmen or the valour of her soldiers, from the extent of her commerce, or the force of her armaments which whiten every sea with their sails, but from the Christian principles found permeating the mass of the people, and in proportion as this is the case will England stand up high above other nations.
III. The fatal issues of negligence to the negligent church.The victims of the cities sins are not so much responsible as those who, having the Gospel, refuse to impart it. Let the evil fall upon those who ought to have been the salt of the city, but failed in their duty. Negligence will speedily go into the death of a church. The church having nothing but leaves is very near being blasted with eternal fruitlessness. Negligence is the cause of disease. There is nothing like good hard work for strengthening the instincts of the Christian life. If you would know the power of the Gospel in your own soul, speak it somewhere, to some people, it matters not whom. Do not let us think that a church is a body that meets for mutual delectation; let us be aggressive; living ourselves, let us seek to impart the life to others. If we are negligent, the blessings we keep exclusively to ourselves will fly away.
Illustration
The same rule that applies to plague or pestilence holds good with regard to moral evil; if men neglect sanitary improvements, and the regulations of health, the malady comes, and the rich man is taught that he has to do with it, by having the disease wafted over the wall from the poor mans house. If you think you have nothing to do with the dangerous classes, as they are sometimes called, they will prove, in time, and perhaps in a very fatal manner, that you have to do with them. And, after all, they are very little responsible for the state they find themselves in. You and I, if brought up amid the same circumstances of poverty, vice, and squalid ignorance, would we not have been like them, that herd away down there? Change coats, and we would be like them, and they would be like us. Left to the education of the world, the flesh, and the devil, no wonder at the workings out of these three pernicious agents.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Eze 9:4. Before any general destruction or calamity is brought upon mankind by the Lord, he always makes provision to spare those who are worthy. We may recall the cases of Noah and the flood, Lot in Sodom, the Israelites in Egypt, and the plan of salvation as an escape from the perdition in the next world, In keeping with that principle, the Lord was making provisions to spare certain ones from a general slaughter which these six men would soon be told to execute. The ones to be spared were described as those that sigh and cry for all the abominations that were being done in Jerusalem, These men were not responsible fov the corruptions that had crept into the religious and public life of the city, hence they were to be spared from the severe punishment about to be inflicted upon the majority. The reader should consult the long note offered In connection with 2Ki 22:17, This exception was to be Indicated by being marked upon their foreheads by the man with the inkhorn.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
9:4 And the LORD said to him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that {f} sigh and that cry for all the abominations that are done in the midst of it.
(f) He shows what is the manner of God’s children, whom he marks for salvation: that is, to mourn and cry out against the wickedness which they see committed against God’s glory.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord instructed this man to go through Jerusalem and put a mark on everyone who expressed grief over the abominations that existed in Jerusalem (cf. Rev 7:3; Rev 9:4; Rev 14:1). The mark distinguished the godly from the wicked (cf. Exo 12:7; Exo 12:13; Joshua 2). Some expositors believed that this individual was the Angel of the Lord, the preincarnate Christ, because of his prominence among these messengers and because of what he did (cf. Eze 10:2; Eze 10:6-7). [Note: Ibid.] There is no way to prove or disprove this theory. Most interpreters believe he was an angel.
"There was special significance to the ’mark’ used for the purpose. The word ’mark’ is the Hebrew word taw, which is the name of the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet. It may have been understood as an abbreviation for tam, ’blameless.’ In the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. the taw of Paleo-Hebrew script was written like an X or sloped cross." [Note: Cooper, p. 127.]
"Ezekiel, of course, could not have thought of Christian symbolism nor is the passage a direct prediction of Christ’s cross. It is a remarkable coincidence, however." [Note: Feinberg, p. 56.]
"This is one of the many examples where the Hebrew prophets spoke better than they knew." [Note: H. L. Ellison, Ezekiel: The Man and His Message, p. 44. See Block, The Book . . ., pp. 310-14, for an extensive discussion of the taw on the forehead.]