And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.
God repeats what He had touched on before: the Jews trusted in vain in the visible temple, for He had already ceased to dwell there. He orders the Chaldeans to pollute the sanctuary itself, a bitter irony, since the people boasted of His worship there even as they dragged blood, rapine, and fraud into His presence. When corpses filled the temple courts, they would finally see it was no longer sacred.
AI summary
When God has gathered His wheat into His garner, nothing remains but to burn up the chaff. Sin provokes the God of infinite mercy to such severity that even the innocent fall; what an evil thing it is, then, that men will not repent and prevent their own ruin.
AI summary
Commenting on Ezekiel 9:5-11
Do not fear to slay in the temple itself; they have already defiled it with their abominations, so now defile it with their blood. Fill the courts, where the priests, Levites, and their graven images dwelt, with the slain. Go forth from the altar and complete your work in the city, sparing only those marked by God.
AI summary