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your conscience may save your life

Ezekiel 9:3-8 (JDV)

Ezekiel 9:3 Then the impressive appearance of the God of Israel rose from above the cherub where it had been, to the threshold of the house. He called to the man clothed in linen and carrying writing equipment.
Ezekiel 9:4 “Pass throughout the city of Jerusalem,” Yahveh said to him, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the repulsive practices committed in it.”
Ezekiel 9:5 He spoke to the others in my hearing: “Pass through the city after him and start killing; do not look compassionately on them or spare them!
Ezekiel 9:6 Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, as well as the children and older women, but do not come near anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the house.
Ezekiel 9:7 Then he said to them, “Defile the house and fill the courts with the murdered ones. Go!” So they went out killing people in the city.
Ezekiel 9:8 While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell face-down and cried out, “Oh, Lord God! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel when you pour out your wrath on Jerusalem?”

your conscience may save your life

In the vision that Ezekiel saw, the man with the clipboard (see yesterday’s post) marked the people who sighed and groaned over the idolatry and hypocrisy that had infested their city. Those acts of conscience were what the clipboard man was looking for. When he saw someone who felt sick over the moral state of Jerusalem, he would mark that person’s forehead. The mark was a sign that this person would be excluded from the judgment. Because they did not ignore the evil present among them, they would be spared when God came to punish it.

My friend, don’t try to close your mind to hypocrisy and injustice and violence and prejudice and other forms of evil. If you can do nothing else, let your voice be heard. That simple act of conscience may save your life. Our God will not stay hidden. When he shows up, he will deal with evil. If you do not say something now, you just might be included in the slaughter.

LORD, give us the wisdom to speak up.