Ezekiel chapter 9 is a judgment
scene. It's the judgment of God falling
on Judah for their continual abominations and rebellions. And after many warnings of judgment,
the time has come, back in the seventh chapter, And verse 2,
we read the words, an end. That's verse 2. Verse 6, an end. The end is come. Yeah, it is in verse 2. An end, the end has come upon
the four corners of the land. Then again in verse 6, an end
has come. The end has come. It watcheth for thee, behold,
it is come. Then on down in verse 10, behold the day, behold, it is
come. And then verse 12, the time is
come. And so now in chapter nine, judgment
does come. And Ezekiel the prophet is seeing
this in a vision. So I want us to pick up in reading
verse one of Ezekiel chapter nine. He cried also in my ears
with a loud voice saying, cause them that have charge over the
city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon
in his hand. And behold, six men came from
the way of the higher gate. which lieth toward the north,
and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand. And one man among
them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his
side. And they went in and stood beside
the brazen altar. And the glory of the God of Israel
was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was to the threshold
of the house. And he called to the man clothed
with linen, which had the rider's inkhorn by his side. 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. And the others, he said in mine
hearing, go ye after him through the city, and smite. Let not
your eye spare, neither Have you pity. Slay utterly, old and
young, both maids and little children and women. But come
not near any upon whom is the mark. And began at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient
men which were before the house. And he said unto them, defile
the house and fill the courts with the slain. Go you forth. And they went forth and slew
in the city. came to pass while they were
slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and
cried, and said, O our Lord God, wilt thou destroy all the residue
of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? Then
said he unto me, the iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah
is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city
full of perverseness, for they say, The Lord hath forsaken the
earth, and the Lord seeth not. And as for me also, mine eyes
shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense
their way upon their head. Behold, the man clothed with
linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter,
saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me. Now, during this
awful judgment, we read here that men, women, children alike
are being slain. And I'd simply call our attention
to four little words in verse eight, where Ezekiel, in seeing
this vision, he says these four little words, and I was left. And it came to pass while they
were slaying them and I was left. Ezekiel says, strangely, I was
not slain with those being slain, but I was left. First, we look at the misery
of this judgment and then at the mercy of God. in that Ezekiel
could say, and I was left. The judgment is passed and I'm
still standing. First, the justice of God in
his infinite holiness called for judgment upon the sins of
the people. It was a just thing. You know,
we have things happen in our world today and great tragedies
and thousands are killed, plane crashes, tornadoes, earthquakes,
tsunamis, mass murders, shootings. And people say, well,
why does God let that happen? How could a God of love let that
happen? We only understood the awfulness
of Adam's race by nature, of the strong rebellion against
God and hatred of God in the heart by nature. The question
wouldn't be, how could God let anything bad happen? The question
would be, how could he ever let anything good happen to the likes
of us? So it's a just judgment. In spite
of God's commandments, they had made idols of silver and gold and
bowed down and worshipped them. Chapter 7 and 8 speaks of many
of these sins. In chapter 7 and verse 19, they shall cast their silver
in the streets, and their gold shall be removed. Their silver
and their gold shall not be able to deliver them. In other words,
their idol gods will do them no good in the day of the wrath
of the Lord. Then in chapter 8 and verse 10,
He says, So I went in and saw, and behold, every form of creeping
things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house
of Israel portrayed upon the wall round about. Idol worship was a big thing. He saw the 70 elders of Israel. with their censers in their hands,
and they worshiped the idols. Verse 11 in chapter 8, and there
stood before them 70 men, elders of Israel, the ancients of the
house of Israel. And in the midst of them stood
Jeazaniah, the son of Shefan, with every man his censer in
his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. They were burning incense. to
their idols and their false gods. And they went on to say, The
Lord don't see us. Then said he unto me, Son of
man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel
do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery?
For they say, The Lord seeth us not. The Lord hath forsaken
the earth. We give up on the true and living
God. We make our own gods, our own
idols. And still in chapter 8, verses
13 and 14, he said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and
thou shalt see greater abominations than they do. It gets worse,
he sayeth. Then he brought me to the door
of the gate of the Lord's house, which was toward the north, and
behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. This Tammuz was a
Babylonian ritual marking the death and descent into the spiritual
world of their false gods. And the women of Israel, of all
people, were wrapped up in all this. Now still in chapter 8,
verses 15 and 16, then said he unto me, Has thou seen this, O son of
man? Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations
than these. It gets worse, he says. And he brought me into the inner
court of the Lord's house. This is the place of worship
now. And behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between
the porch and the altar, this is where the priests operated
daily in their service were about five and twenty men with their
backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the
east and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Here all these were at the temple
of the Lord where they were supposed to worship the Lord and they
worshipped idols and they worship the Son. So this is a just judgment
that God is carrying out. They could not say, we don't
deserve this. They knew they did. What a great
mercy, what a wonder of grace that any one of us this morning
escapes the judgment of God, knowing quite well that we're
all guilty of idolatry in our hearts. We've given our time,
our affections, and in some measure have worshipped things other
than the living God. Not only was this judgment just,
but notice in the second place, here we read in chapter 9, it
was preceded, the judgment was preceded by a separation. A separation which removed those
who had a right spirit before the judgment fell. In
chapter 9, Ezekiel sees in this vision, verse 3, he said, a man
clothed with linen, which had the writer's ink horn by his
side. Now I'm not clear on exactly
what this ink horn was. I'm assuming it was a quill and
an ink well. A man could dip the quill in
the ink and write. And verse 4 says he was to go
through the midst of Jerusalem and mark certain people, make
a separation, a distinguishing mark. And here's the people he
was to mark in verse 4. The men that sigh and that cry
for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof,
those who grieved over the abominations and the idolatries and the sins
in society. They can only do so by having
been given another heart, a heart of repentance, grief, and only
God's elect are given such a heart. Looking to the coming judgment
on this world that we live in today, A distinction is being
made. A separation is taking place. God's elect are given a new heart,
a heart of repentance, a heart to grieve over sin. And lest
any of you be misunderstanding what I'm saying, a heart of repentance
is not a one-time thing. When you walk down the aisle
and boo-hoo a little bit and say, do you accept Jesus? Oh,
yes. Well, it's done. You've got your ticket to heaven
going about your business and live like hell. No, that's not
what it's talking about. I'm talking about giving a heart
of repentance to grieve over one's sins day and night as long
as we're in this world. Those are the ones that are marked,
looking for this distinction. a heart of repentance, a heart that fears that we must
face God in His infinite holiness and justice, knowing what wretched
sinners we are. But this separation we see here
is made before the judgment falls. Remember, before the floodwaters
came upon the earth, and destroyed all the race. Noah and his family
were safe in the ark. God gave Noah the instructions. He
made the preparation. He made that distinction. And
the ark was built. Noah and his family were in the
ark before a drop of rain fell. Now I know all of you have heard
that Noah preached for 120 years trying to get people to come
into the ark. You don't find that in the Bible. What you do
find is that the Lord instructed Noah to build an ark. And he
said, for Noah has found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God
picked this man, chose this man. Noah was a child of Adam too.
He's a sinner too. But he found grace, not because
he was looking for it, but because God gave it. He chose him, instructed
him to build an ark. And when he got it built, the
Lord said to him, come, thou and thy house, into the ark.
The Lord was already in there. He said, come on in. Eight souls
were invited. Eight souls went in. The rest
perished. End of story. But it happened
before the judgment fell. There was no bumper sticker on
the back of the ark that said, smile, God loves you. While people
were swimming around screaming and perishing, oh no, God's judgment
is just. But a separation was made before
judgment fell. Before the fire and brimstone
rained down on the cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah,
The Lord had reached down and had delivered Lot and his daughters
out of Sodom. So this separation was made. In this present time, when you
and I live, it is the effectual working of the Holy Spirit of
God that gives us hearts to repent, to look unto Him, to trust in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Then we note in the third place,
this judgment was to begin in the temple, the sanctuary of
the Lord, the place where supposedly the Lord is worshipped. He says
in verse 6, middle of the verse, and begin
at my sanctuary, begin at my churches, begin with my preachers,
begin with my people, begin with church members, begin with church
attenders, and mark those who are truly opposed, those that
sigh and that cry for all the abominations that are done in
the midst thereof. Peter said, for the time has
come that judgment must begin at the house of God. And if it
first began at us, what shall the end be of them that obey
not the gospel of God? Oh, that judgment, judgment,
judgment might begin in your heart and mine this morning.
Can I say, to deny our sin is as wicked as the devil himself.
To play the hypocrite is to play the fool. Oh, so many this morning,
in our efforts to deceive God, we deceive ourselves, perish
in our sins. Then a fourth thing, it says
that none were spared from this judgment except those with this
mark. In verse 6, but come not near
any man upon whom is the mark. The sword is not to fall there,
but old and young, priest included, everybody. And so shall it be
when Christ returns to this earth. All who have not been given a
new heart, all who have not fled to Christ for refuge, shall surely
perish in God's judgment. Justice called. Justice demanded
it. Judgment. Justice called. Justice was done. But mercy answered
in his administering grace to his elect. Ezekiel says, I saw
all this in a vision. I saw it all. people being slain
all around me in judgment, and I was left. And I was left. How humbling to look around at
those slain by God, knowing in my heart that I deserved it myself. And yet because of grace, I was
left. While multitudes lie flat, dead
on the ground, I was left standing. The Apostle Paul asked the question,
1 Corinthians 4, 7, and this is a question that every one
of us needs to ask every day that dawns. For who maketh thee
to differ? What makes you special? Who maketh
you to differ? You and I haven't lived good
enough to escape judgment. Oh, no. We all deserve it. Just as much as those who've
already perished and are in hell today. Who maketh thee to differ? I say those who glory in their
profession. glory in their religious works
and contend that somehow God was moved because they moved.
God smiled on them because they smiled on Him. I want to say
they're in for a rude awakening. God's children this morning are
not glorying in their superior wisdom to make Jesus their choice. Oh no, God's children are broken
over their sins and saying, Lord, why me? I'm nothing. I don't deserve this. You've
been so good to me. You've blessed me. You've chosen
me. You've changed my heart. Who maketh me to differ from
that one on death row this morning? Who maketh me to differ? from
that one lying in the gutter this morning. You say, oh, I'm
better than that. Are you? Are you? But for the grace of God, you'd
be there right now. So in awesome wonder, Ezekiel
looks around at the awful scene, the slaying on every side and
says, and I was left. And I was left. I look back over
my life and I remember many people, friends, neighbors, relatives,
classmates, people I've worked with on the job, some older,
some younger. And so many have left this world
in so many ways, auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, cancer,
heart attacks, gunshots, drowning, some overdose, some drug themselves
to death. And I was left. And I was left. Who make it thee
to differ? When the Lord returns in judgment,
so very many will be taken in judgment. But those in Christ
will stand with him and say, as did Ezekiel, and I was left
by his grace. I was left standing. I'm sure all of you heard about
that series of religious books. the left behind series. Matthew
24, one shall be taken and the other left. They're looking at
it backwards. Matthew 24 is a judgment, just like we're talking about
here. And the one taken is taken in
judgment. The one left is left standing
when judgment is passed. And contrary to modern thought,
the one taken is not taken in a rapture and the one left perishes.
Oh, no. The one taken is taken in judgment,
righteous judgment. And when the saints are caught
up to meet the Lord in the air at his return, we're caught up
to be left standing and left safe after the judgment. The separation is made and those
remaining on the earth are the ones taken, taken in judgment. We find that principle throughout
history. This distinction being made,
the separation being made. You remember when the Israelites
were in Egypt, the Lord told Israel that you
may know that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians
and Israel. By the way, that's the only difference
there is, is the difference the Lord puts. What's the difference in you
and the worst person, most miserable person you know this morning?
It's the difference the Lord hath put. He caused great darkness
to fall on Egypt three days. The scripture says the children
of Israel had light in their dwellings. What about that? The sun didn't shine for three
days in all of Egypt, except in Goshen where the Israelites
were, and they had light in their dwellings. When they left Egypt
and crossed the wilderness, and needed food. It never rained
manna down over the whole wilderness. No. Just where they happened
to be camped at the time every morning. The distinction. Oh, it's quite humbling this
morning when you've lived as long as some of us have. And
consider how much has happened to so many and I was left. and I was left. It was due to
nothing in me, nothing in you. It's the distinguishing, separating
work of God that maketh thee to differ. By His grace, the
Lord doth put a difference. And like it or not, this morning,
God's children, left to ourselves, are capable of the most wicked
and ungodly sins imaginable or known to man. But God, but God
who is rich in mercy, Paul said, for his great love wherewith
he loved us. Separation was made and I was
left. I read a story years ago and
I about forgot it. I thought of it yesterday and
I got it halfway right. A man's barn burned and nothing
was left but ashes and just a few charred boards that never burned
completely. And he went out just to look
and walk through the ashes and he saw a hen sitting there on
her nest. She was dead. Feathers burned,
totally lifeless. Cooked, really. And he just sort of stuck his
foot out and kicked at her, rolled her off the nest. And when he
did, little chicks came running out from under her. And they
were fine, unharmed, safe. And each one of those little
chicks could have looked around at the scene and said, judgment
has come. And I was left. I'm still here. I was protected.
No match for the judgment, but protected and preserved. One of the thought upon the site,
upon this site and upon these words, and I was left. Ezekiel
was so moved in his heart. He began to cry out, cry to the
Lord for those that remain. Look at it in verse eight, immediately
after he said, and I was left. Oh, how he's humbled in heart,
how grateful he is. And he said, I fell upon my face
and cried and said, ah, Lord God, wilt thou destroy all the
residue of Israel and thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem. Oh, that God would so quicken
our hearts this morning to see the mercy that he's shown to
us. And we'd cry out and say, Lord,
save our children. Lord, save our families. Lord,
save our friends. Save those around us. So I encourage
you as we go today to meditate on these four words, and I was
left. Think about all you could have
been in your life. Think of all that should have
been in your guilt and undeserving of God's blessing. And think
of all that would have been but for the grace of God. We look
at all the sins and rebellions and the dangerous places and
the situations that many of us have been in through the years
with the wrong crowd, at the wrong time, at the wrong place. But God, but God, judgment has
fallen on so many and I was left. But there's a judgment to come
at His return. And oh, this morning to be in
that number upon whom our judgment has fallen on another. even the
Son of God on the cross. And if that be so, Paul said,
there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. He's taken our place. Though
we are guilty, so deserving of judgment when it comes Because we're in
Christ, we'll be able to say as did Ezekiel, and I was left. Judgment is passed and all is
well with me and we'll be forever with the Lord. Bless his holy
name. Thank you for being here today.
Let's stand together.