Ezekiel, 9
4. and Yahweh said to him, 'Go all through the city, all through Jerusalem, and mark a cross on the foreheads of all who grieve and lament over all the loathsome practices in it.'
4. and Yahweh said to him, 'Go all through the city, all through Jerusalem, and mark a cross on the foreheads of all who grieve and lament over all the loathsome practices in it.'
Ezekiel 9 narrates the prophet's view of the destruction that would come upon Jerusalem because of the sins of the people. In vision, six men appear and receive orders from God to kill all the inhabitants of the city who had no mark on their forehead. The following verses are related to the topics addressed in Ezekiel 9:
Job 2:3: "Then the Lord said to Satan," Did you noticed in my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him, blameless, righteous, a man who fears God and avoids evil. He remains righteous, although you have incited me against him to ruin him for no reason. "In this verse we see the emphasis on justice and integrity, which are important values for God and were missing among the people of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 5:13: "Then my wrath will be fulfilled, and I will satisfy myself. When I have exhausted my wrath against them, then you know that I, the Lord, said in my zeal, when I have fulfilled my wrath against them ". Here we see the idea of divine wrath and judgment over those who departed from God and did not repent.
Ezekiel 18:30: "Therefore, O nation of Israel, I will judge them to each one according to their ways, declares the sovereign, the Lord. Repent! It will be a fall. " This verse speaks of each person's individual responsibility to repent and move away from sin, and how it can avoid falling.
Jeremiah 25:29: "For, behold, in the city that is called by my name to punish; and you shall be completely unpunished? Do not go unpunished, for I will make the sword come over all the residents of the earth, says the Lord of hosts." This verse relates to the idea that no one would be exempt from divine judgment, not even those who considered themselves faithful to God or who lived in the city that was called by the name of God.
Revelation 7:3: "They do not cause damage to the earth, neither to the sea nor to the trees, until we sealed the servants of our God." This verse relates to the idea that God would protect those who were His faithful servants, as we see in Ezekiel 9, where those who had the mark on the forehead would be spared from destruction.
“O trabalho é tão sagrado como a oração”. São Padre Pio de Pietrelcina
