I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ezekiel 9-12.

    As a continuation of the vision which Ezekiel had which revealed the idolatry going on in Jerusalem (I want to note that all of these revelations occurred to Ezekiel wile he was living near Babylon, nowhere near Jerusalem) he saw God summon seven men. Six of whom were armed, the seventh was dressed in linen and carrying a writer’s case. The fact that Ezekiel described the seventh man as being dressed in linen suggests that the other six were dressed as warriors. The man dressed in linen was instructed to mark those who were heartbroken by the sins being committed, while the six armed men were instructed to follow him and kill everyone who was not so marked.

nbsp;   When the man dressed in linen returned from marking those who were faithful God commanded him to take some coals and scatter them over the city. Once the man had done so, the whole fantastic vision lifted up and carried the glory of God out of the Temple and out of Jerusalem. On the way out of the city, God told Ezekiel that those who were telling the people that all would be well would suffer His judgment. I am unsure of this next interpretation, but there seems to be something more to what was going on then is stated explicitly here. I believe that God was addressing those leaders who were encouraging people to invest in the future when they themselves were cashing out. The elites, the leaders, were reassuring the people that all was safe and secure, while preparing to profit from the coming destruction and acting to secure their own safety. God promised them that their selfish plans to secure themselves would fail and that they too would experience God’s justice.