Ezekiel 9:3-4
9:4 And Yehuveh 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.
Commentary on 9:3 [23 September 2007]: What is the glory of Yehuveh here? Moses had asked Yehuveh: “I beseech Thee, shew me Thy glory. And He said, I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of Yehuveh before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.” “Yehuveh passed by before him, and proclaimed, Yehuveh, Yehuveh Elohim, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” Exodus 33:18-19; 34:6-7.
From comparison of Ezekiel 1:10 and 10:14 and other verses in these two chapters, the living creatures of chapter 1 became the cherubim of chapters 9 and 10, the anointed messengers of Yehuveh. Having taken His character qualities as their own, they now become the instructors for all those willing to hear.
The threshold is Hebrew entry H4670: miphtan, “a stretcher, a sill,” from the same unused root meaning to twist, to turn, that yields entry H6620: pethen, “an asp or adder.” A threshold is a turning point, a transition point, a point at which the decisions, goals and desires change.
Interesting, the house is “all the people, . . . the whole house of Israel,” not the temple. “The glory of Yehuveh went up from the cherub [the anointed instructors], and stood over the threshold of the house.” By the faithful instruction of the anointed ones, Yehuveh is able to bring all His faithful people back to His ways. Leviticus 10:6; Ezekiel 10:4.
Simple overreading yields: “The good qualities of the Elohim of Israel which elevated the anointed messengers now changes the purposes and beliefs of the returning people of the house of Israel, appealing to them to be a united people separated by marking the full cycles of the moon in elevated celebration.”
Commentary on 9:4 [24 September 2007]: We have the pieces, now, to overread the KJV translation: “Yehuveh said unto the united people, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and mark minds of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.” Before the slaughtering begins, Yehuveh seeks one last time to impress truth into the minds of those who have been blinded, yet distressed by the evils they have perceived.
Gael Bataman
Originally Written: 23 September 2007
Latest Update: 24 September 2007
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