Ezekiel 9:7
And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city. And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.
The order is given to pollute the temple with the dead, fill its courtyards with bodies, and go out to kill throughout the city, and those appointed with deadly weapons carry it out. The destroying work starts with God's own house and sanctuary and then spreads outward to the city, where it is done completely. Only those who mourn over the sins and wrongs among God's professed people are marked and spared, while the unmarked are not spared, including the great mass of lukewarm, half-hearted professors without the seal of the living God who fail to distinguish sin from righteousness. The stroke falls hardest on men of responsibility and corrupt religious leaders who profess truth without living it, act unjustly and oppressively, and refuse to be changed in heart. Its fulfillment is very near in the great day of the Lord, calling those who are asleep with great truths unpracticed to humble themselves, be converted and reform before every case is decided forever, for stern realities are about to come and every soul must prepare.
Command to Defile Sanctuary
The command is to defile the house, fill its courts with the slain, and go forth, and the men appointed with slaughter weapons obey by going forth and killing in the city. That order comes after the marking of those who grieve over the abominations and wrongs among God's professed people, so that those bearing the mark are spared while the general destruction falls on those without it who do not distinguish sin from righteousness. The ministers of destruction are thus ordered to defile the sanctuary with the slain and then continue the killing in the city without sparing the unmarked.
The judgment begins at God's house and sanctuary and then extends outward to the city. In the house and in the city the Lord God of Israel at the appointed time does His work of judgment most thoroughly, especially upon men of responsibility who have not glorified Him by faithfulness and integrity. Corrupt religious leaders who lead others toward the truth without showing its sanctifying power thereby put the churches in danger, while God draws a separating line and recompenses people according to their deeds.
The verse belongs to a solemn scene of judgment in which the house is defiled and people are slain. It is part of the solemn account of the work God requires, whose results are sacred and awful and must be understood seriously. That seriousness presses especially on professed believers in positions of responsibility who claim the truth but do not practice it.
Those Judged and Spared
The slaughter comes only after the marking is finished, when those who sigh and grieve over the abominations and wrongs found among God's professed people have received the mark. The order to defile the house, fill its courts with the slain, and go forth to kill in the city is then given to the ministers of destruction with slaughter weapons, and the judgment begins at God's house and sanctuary. Those who bear the mark are spared in that general destruction, while those without it are not spared.
Those destroyed are those who fail to distinguish between sin and righteousness and who feel no grief over the wrongs in God's church. Among them is the great mass of lukewarm and half-hearted professing Christians who do not have the seal of the living God on their foreheads, and who in the day of God will meet with bitter disappointment.
The judgment falls most thoroughly upon men of responsibility who have not glorified God by faithfulness and integrity, in the house and in the city at the appointed time when the Lord God of Israel does His work. It falls especially on corrupt religious leaders who lead others toward truth without showing its sanctifying power, thereby putting the churches in danger, and on professed believers in positions of responsibility who claim the truth but do not practice it. It also reaches those who act unjustly and oppressively, for God sees such acts and will judge them, and those commissioned to warn must speak or be held accountable for the blood of souls. It humbles those in positions of responsibility who persist in unrepented wrongdoing and refuse to let His word transform their hearts.
God draws a separating line and recompenses every person according to his deeds, while a faithful remnant grieves over the abominations around them. Unless there is a thorough change of heart, that humbling judgment will reach even the institutions led by the unfaithful.
Future Fulfillment and Warning
The command will be literally fulfilled, and very soon, for the time for its fulfillment is very short. It belongs to events soon to take place in connection with the great day of the Lord and the day of God, when the wicked face destruction. It is God's call to those who are asleep while time is passing, who have great and important truths revealed to them but refuse to bring those truths into individual experience, to hear and receive His message, to humble the soul, and to be converted and reform before it is too late. The Lord will not bear with such refusal much longer, and soon, very soon, every case will be decided for eternity.
It is a solemn warning of stern realities that will shortly come to pass. It belongs to a solemn account of the work God requires, whose results are sacred and awful, and that work must be understood seriously. The warning is neglected despite its solemnity. It warns that every soul must prepare for those coming events.
God sees unjust acts and will judge those who act unjustly and oppressively. Those commissioned to warn must speak, for failing to do so leaves them accountable for the blood of souls. The chapter presenting the Lord's judgment on wrongdoing is to be studied alongside Ezekiel 2:1-10 and Revelation 5.