We continue considering one of many talking point scare quotes that are oft employed against Bible believers. Ezekiel 9:6 states, “Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children.” For pseudo-skeptical-atheists a fragment of a verse is always enough information upon which to rain down condemnation. Let not take a text out of context to make a pretext for a prooftext but let us delve into the immediate and greater statements. Find the whole series at this link.
From Ezekiel ch. 3:
1 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel”…4…go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them…7…the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you…all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate…9…they are a rebellious people”…11 Go now to your people in exile and speak to them…14 The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD on me. 15 I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days—deeply distressed…17…I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me…21…if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning…24 Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25 And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people. 27 But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’ Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.
Get the picture? The scroll contains “words of lament and mourning and woe” and Ezekiel is to warn Israel of this, which he does in various localities. He “went in bitterness and in the anger” and “deeply distressed.” He was to “speak and give them warning.” He is then directed to perform various actions which are to be symbolic of YHVH’s coming judgment and we see again that in the end, the Israelites have a choice to repent or keep rebelling and suffer the predicted consequences, “Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse.”
From Ezekiel ch. 4:
1 …take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. 2 Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it. 3 Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the people of Israel. 4 “Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the people of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side…6…lie down again, this time on your right side…7 Turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her. 8 I will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your siege…9…make bread…12…bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.” 13 The LORD said, “In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.” 14 Then I said, “Not so, Sovereign LORD! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.” 15 “Very well,” he said, “I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement”…17…They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of their sin.
Ezekiel continues performing symbolic acts. By the way, if you go to a health food store you can actually find Ezekiel 9 bread. As an aside: what Ezekiel says to YHVH in response to being told to cook over human excrement (to this day, cow dung is a common fuel as it is mostly hay/grass/straw) is essentially what Peter says when God tells him that eating un-kosher food is now acceptable:
Then a voice told him, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ ‘Surely not, Lord!’ Peter replied. ‘I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.’ The voice spoke to him a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ (Acts 10:13-15).
Here are books on the topic:
Eric A. Seibert, Disturbing Divine Behavior: Troubling Old Testament Images of God
Paul Copan, Is Yahweh a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God
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