Ezekiel 9:6: “Go after him through the city and strike: Let not your eye spare, neither have pity, slay utterly: the old men, the young men, both maiden and little children and women. But come not near any person upon whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.”
Many people feel that there is a rise in natural disasters, wars and suffering in this world and that this is all part of the judgment of God. Would it not be nice if we could be like those in the time of Ezekiel and have a mark on us when this judgment of God comes? I remember in Bible college learning about something called ongoing prophecy. This teaches that the prophecies in the Bible have more than one fulfillment, sort of like history repeating itself. Hence the promises given by the prophets in the Bible to Israel in the time of judgment would equally apply to us today should our nation come under the judgment of God.
If that is the case then why would not followers of God receive a mark like the people in Ezekiel’s day? Could we, today, receive such a mark to stave off the destroyer when he starts to make his rounds. If so, then how would we qualify for such a mark?
First let’s take a look at the literal meaning of this passage. Verse 4 tells us just who it is that receives this mark. 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 people who are sighing and crying over all the abominations that are done in her midst.” The word sighing comes from the root Hebrew word ’anah which means to mourn. What are these people mourning? The word is spelled Aleph, Nun and Hei. This combination indicates that this mourning is directed toward the coolness and ambivalence toward God resulting in self deception. When you hear Hollywood mock God, when you see our nation leaders pass laws trying to remove any mention of God in public places, or pass laws in support of abortion or gay rights? How do you feel? Is it anger over the fact that your point of view is losing out? Is it fear that such laws will push God over the edge and bring judgment on our nation and you may get caught in the cross fire? Or do you mourn because you know it is breaking God’s heart and as in any love relationship when your beloved’s heart is broken, your heart breaks as well. Judging from the nature of the word ‘anah and the context I would suggest it is the latter.
So let us assume you have a broken heart over God’s suffering for this world and judgment is about to fall, just what would be the nature of this mark? The word used in the Hebrew for mark is taw which is the same as the letter taw. The word itself means mark, sign, line, feature, musical note, or label. It is something externally recognized that signifies something internal. For instance, happiness is internal. A smiling face is not happiness, it is only a sign of happiness. So the sign that will cause the destroyer to not come near is a natural result of what is internal. The only thing that is internal in us that would ward of a destroyer is Jesus.
If Jesus is internal in us then what would be the external sign, the mark or the taw? Well, let me give you one thought for consideration, Jesus said He is the light (John 1). Those of us who have Jesus Christ inside of us, have a light that shines externally.
If judgment falls on this nation and the destroyer comes around, he will not come near to those who have the light of Jesus shining through them. Moses had the light shining through him, but it faded. When the children of Israel were in Egypt and the plague of darkness descended, they had light. The Talmud teaches that this light emanated from the people themselves. That light also faded.
Perhaps this has something to do with the story of the ten virgins. Each had a lamp, but some did not have enough oil so that when the bridegroom came their lights went out. It would seem that the manifestation of this light externally is something that we may have control over. Perhaps it cannot be seen in a physical sense or maybe it can but it is beyond our senses. Maybe animals can see this light. I often speak of yiredu where God’s creation is drawn to us, where creatures of the animal kingdom can be summoned. Maybe you have experienced this at times when it seems like animals are drawn to you and times when it doesn’t seem like it. Perhaps it is the light of Jesus that they are drawn to and at the time they approach you are externally manifesting the light of Jesus more than at other times. The hearts of animals may be more pure than those of us with a free will. David prays that God will give him a pure heart. If we become too involved in this world and it’s cares and treasures, that light will grow so dim that the destroyer may not see the taw or the mark. But if, like David, we seek the face of God to have a pure heart and a heart that is focused on God’s heart and we long to share His heart with others, then that light may just shine so bright, that the destroyer cannot come near.
Ok, I am just speculating about all this mark business, but you know, if you have a pure heart, that is a heart which seeks only to please God and express His heart’s desire, if you care only to bring joy and pleasure to God’s heart, if our land does come under the judgment of God the destroyer may just pass over you because you are just too far gone to begin with and any disaster or tragedy that befalls you will have little to no effect on your relationship with God. Like Paul said in Romans 8: 35-39: 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Apostle Paul lost everything when he found Jesus, wealth, family, friends and status. He was beaten, tortured and suffering physical pain. Man and the destroyer took it all away from him but there was one thing that man or the destroyer could not touch and that was the love of God in Christ Jesus.
I don’t know what this mark is that is mentioned in Ezekiel, but I do know one mark we do have and that is the love of God in Christ Jesus. If that is what our lives are built around, we have nothing ever to fear for that is something we can never lose.
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