Ezekiel 14:12-23

B. Presence of Righteous Men 14:12-23

TRANSLATION

(12) And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (13) Son of man, when a land sins against Me by trespassing grievously, and I stretch out My hand against it, and break its staff of bread, and send against it a famine, and cut off from it man and beast; (14) though these three men Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, they would deliver only their own life through their righteousness (oracles of the Lord GOD). (15) If I cause a wild beast to pass through the land, and they bereave it, and it becomes so desolate that no man passes through her because of the beasts; (16) though these three men were in its midst, as I live (oracle of the Lord GOD), they would not deliver sons nor daughters; they alone would be delivered, but the land would become a desolation. (17) Or if I bring a sword against that land, and I say, Let a sword pass through the land, so that I cut off from it man and beast; (18) though these three men were in its midst, as I live (oracle of the Lord GOD), they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, for they alone would be delivered. (19) Or if I sent a plague against that land, and I poured out My wrath upon it in blood to cut off from it man and beast; (20) though Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, as I live (oracle of the Lord GOD) they would not be able to deliver son nor daughter; they would deliver only their own life by their righteousness. (21) Because thus says the Lord GOD: How much more when I send My four calamitous judgments against Jerusalem sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence to cut off from it man and beast. (22) And if a remnant is left in it who are brought forth, sons and daughters, behold they shall come forth unto you, and you shall see their way and their deeds, and you shall be comforted concerning the calamity which I have brought against Jerusalem, all that I have brought against her. (23) And they shall comfort you, when you see their way and their deeds, that you may know that I have not done all that I did against her without cause (oracle of the Lord GOD).

COMMENTS

Here Ezekiel addresses himself to a question that surely must have been on his mind as well as the mind of his auditors. Would not the presence of righteous men in Jerusalem spare that city from the threatened destruction? Abraham in his mighty intercessory prayer (Genesis 18:23 ff.) had used this as a ground to plead for the deliverance of Sodom and Gomorrah. But Israel was beyond the help of any human mediation. The presence of a righteous soul here or there cannot be a lucky religious charm, a community insurance policy which guarantees, if not immunity from judgment, at least a softened blow. So grievously had the land of Judah transgressed against God that not even the presence of super-saints like Noah, Daniel, and Job[308] would be able to deliver the land. The doctrine of personal responsibility here is carried to its logical conclusion. Judgment for unrepentant sinners is inevitable.

[308] Feinberg (PE, p. 81) suggests that the order of the names is climactic rather than chronological Noah delivered his family with himself; Daniel his friends; but Job, not even his own children.

Because Noah was a righteous man he and his family escaped the universal destruction by the Great Flood. Because of his steadfast loyalty to God, Daniel[309] survived deportation to Babylon and saved his friends from a royal edict to slay the royal magicians. Eventually he was elevated to high office in the Babylonian government. Though but a lad at that time, Daniel had already established himself as a pious man of God and a folk hero. Yet he had not been able to use his influence with Nebuchadnezzar to spare the people of Judah. Job was spared while his wayward children met with fatal accidents. In none of these cases did the righteousness of these great men of God induce God to spare the wicked.[310] And so it is that Noah, Daniel and Job would only be able to save their own lives through their righteousness (Ezekiel 14:14; Ezekiel 14:16; Ezekiel 14:18). Sons and daughters of the sinful inhabitants would die (Ezekiel 14:16; Ezekiel 14:18; Ezekiel 14:20). The combined goodness of all three men could not save Israel from divine destruction. As if the mere declaration of this fact in Ezekiel 14:14 were not sufficient, God three times in this passage underscores the solemnity of this declaration by repeating it in the context of an oath. As I live (Ezekiel 14:16; Ezekiel 14:18; Ezekiel 14:20) is a familiar oath formula in the Old Testament. God swears that under no condition can the righteousness of the most righteous men avert the destruction of a sinful nation.

[309] The notion that Ezekiel refers to a fifteenth century Phoenician hero named Daniel rather than the famous Biblical personage of the same name is common among those who do not accept the authenticity of the Book of Daniel.

[310] A similar argument is used by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 15:1).

Resorting to emphasis by repetition Ezekiel pounded home his point that Noah, Daniel and Job would not be able to deliver the land. In Ezekiel 14:13-20 he enumerates four types of judgment which God might on occasion send against His people:

1. Famine is frequently mentioned in Scripture as a means by which God punished His people. When God would break the staff of bread[311] (i.e., bring about a famine), innocent beasts who inhabited the land as well as sinful men would thereby be cut off, i.e., die (Ezekiel 14:13). Yet there was no deliverance for the sinful land merely because innocent animals suffered.

[311] Man's life is sustained by bread even as his weight is sustained by a staff.

2. Evil beasts[312] might be brought against the land, attacking and destroying the inhabitants, bereaving them by robbing them of their children. Out of fear, the land would be deserted and become desolate. Men of other countries would loathe to pass through the land (Ezekiel 14:15). Still there would be no deliverance for the sinful land.

[312] Some have interpreted the evil beasts to be Gentile invaders. But there is no reason these cannot be literal beasts.

3. The sword (i.e., military invasion) might be used against the land. Such action would involve the indiscriminate slaughter of man and beast (Ezekiel 14:17). From such slaughter there would be no deliverance.

4. Pestilence might be the means of punishment. God's fury poured out upon the land would manifest itself in blood, i.e., a high death rate. Still there would be no deliverance.

Ezekiel has set forth in Ezekiel 14:12-20 the general principle that the presence of even the most godly men cannot save a land from divine judgment. In Ezekiel 14:20 the prophet makes the application to Jerusalem. If when only one of the above mentioned punishments is inflicted upon a land the righteous are unable to save the wicked, how much more true will this be in the case of Jerusalem which must suffer all four (Ezekiel 14:21). The number four conveys the idea of completeness and universality because it reflects the notion of the four points of the compass.

Ezekiel 14:22 asserts that a remnant would survive the fourfold catastrophe which was to befall Jerusalem. They would be brought forth, i.e., carried into exile. Their survival should not be interpreted as indicating their righteousness. Far from it! These escapees would serve as an object lesson. When the earlier exiles observed the character and conduct of those who later would join them, they would be comforted concerning the calamity which Jerusalem experienced. They would acquiesce in the righteousness of the judgment of God. They would realize that God had no alternative but to destroy that city. His punishments had not been arbitrary or excessive (Ezekiel 14:22). Indirectly the future captives would comfort[313] those who were already in Babylon (Ezekiel 14:23). The kind of comfort referred to here is that which comes about when a person learns new facts which throw new light on what was perceived to be a disastrous situation.

[313] The Hebrew nacham does not mean comfort in sorrow, but comfort out of sorrow.