Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. 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. And
it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that
I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah, Lord God! wilt thou
destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury
upon Jerusalem? Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of
Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood,
and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The Lord hath
forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not. And as for me also,
mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will
recompense their way upon their head. And, behold, the man clothed
with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter,
saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me (verses 7-11).
The command is literally carried out. God's judgments are always carried
out to the letter; there is no such thing as a "spiritual" fulfillment
of a judgment of God. The world some day will find out the solemn truth
of this fact. The temple where they had practised all the vileness of
idolatry, where they worshipped creeping things, is now defiled by their
dead bodies. To touch a dead body anywhere meant defilement for seven
days (Num. xix:11), but now the very place which they considered holy is
made a defiled place. The Priest-Prophet is shocked. He fell on his face
and a cry of horror escaped his lips. "Ah, Lord God! wilt Thou destroy
all the residue of Israel in Thy pouring out of Thy fury upon
Jerusalem?" Was it not contrary to God's holiness to defile the place
dedicated to Himself? And would He not show mercy and destroy the
residue of His people? The despairing cry is answered at once. The
iniquity of the house of Israel and the house of Judah was filled up.
God could no longer pity nor spare. This is but a repetition of what
Jehovah had announced before. (See chapter v:11; vii:4; viii:18.)
"And behold, the man clothed in linen, which had the inkhorn by his
side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as Thou hast commanded
me."