Ezekiel 14

Ezekiel 14

In ch 14 Ezekiel deals with two theoretical objections that might be raised against his announcement of Jerusalem’ s judgment. The first is this: How can God punish his people for sins into which they have been led by men claiming to be prophets? (Ezekiel 14:1-11). The second objection raises the question of how God could destroy the holy city when there were still some righteous people within (Ezekiel 14:12-23). BY THE FALSE Eze_14:1-11 The people had made no effort to see through the deception of the false prophets because their hearts were divided. The charge appears three times that they have set up idols in their hearts. This fact is first revealed privately to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 14:3). He then exposes publicly the hypocrisy of the elders (Ezekiel 14:4) and the entire house of Israel (Ezekiel 14:7). A Private Revelation (Ezekiel 14:1-3) The setting with the elders (Ezekiel 14:1): Certain men of the elders of Israel came unto me, and sat before me. During the period of the exile, the elders were supposed to be the spiritual leaders of the nation. The elders of Israel, came to Ezekiel to seek a message from the Lord. They probably were anxious to be enlightened about the future of their homeland. In sitting before the prophet, the elders were acknowledging him as a genuine teacher from God.

The sin of the elders (Ezekiel 14:2-3): The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (Ezekiel 14:3) Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts. The stumbling block of their iniquity they have placed before their face. Should I ever permit them to make inquiry of me? In response to the inquiry of the elders, Ezekiel receives a revelation (Ezekiel 14:2). God revealed to the prophet the heart condition of the elders. They were guilty of setting up their idols in their hearts. This does not necessarily mean that these elders were actually worshiping idols. They were longing after the old pagan practices that they had observed prior to the exile. Their thoughts were influenced by magic spells, divination and the like.

The elders in exile were contemplating acquiring idols like their counterparts back in Jerusalem (cf. Ezekiel 8:10). Certainly they were dreaming them up in their hearts. The elders were in grave danger of tripping over this obstacle to true devotion and overtly violating the first two commandments. The internalized idolatry was a stumbling block that these elders willfully had set before themselves. No special divine direction is forthcoming for men who do not exclusively devote their hearts to the Lord. To express this fact, God used a rhetorical question couched in the most emphatic terms. Should God allow himself to be petitioned by hypocrites? A strong negation is implied (Ezekiel 14:3). Hypocrisy of the Elders Exposed (Ezekiel 14:4-5) A principle set forth (Ezekiel 14:4): Therefore, speak unto them, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Any man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and places the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes unto the prophet— I the LORD will respond to him that comes according to the multitude of his idols; Ezekiel now reveals to the elders what God had revealed to him privately. He sets forth the message in the form of a legal principle addressed to any man (person) of the house of Israel. Because idolatry was so firmly rooted in their hearts, these elders need not expect an oral answer to their inquiry from the Lord. Rather, the Lord himself will come to answer, i.e., he will answer personally, not through an intermediary. He will answer them by deeds— by acts of judgment. Furthermore, the judgment that he metes out to each individual will be according to the multitude of his idols. God responds to their hypocrisy, rather than their inquiry. A purpose made clear (14:5): in order that I may take the house of Israel in their heart, because all of them have been turned aside from me through their idols. God’ s great priority was to take the house of Israel in their heart, i.e., to win complete allegiance from his people. All of them, like the hypocritical elders, had divided hearts— hearts still estranged from God because of idolatry. Yahweh had exposed the pagan inclinations of the elders. He had announced judgment upon them for their lack of full commitment to him. Thereby the Lord will force all members of the house of Israel to acknowledge him alone as God.Hypocrisy of the People Exposed (Ezekiel 14:6-8): A call for repentance (Ezekiel 14:6): Therefore, say unto the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Return, and turn away yourselves from your idols.

From all your abominations turn away your face; Ezekiel now addresses the people at large on the issue of divided allegiance. As always in the economy of God, a call for repentance precedes the execution of judgment. The Hebrew verb sub (return/turn) is used three times in one verse. Ezekiel calls on them to return to God, and force themselves (Hiphil) to turn away from your idols and all your abominations, i.e., all the paraphernalia of idolatry. A warning for the impenitent (Ezekiel 14:7): because any man of the house of Israel and of the alien who dwells in Israel who has turned aside from me, and erected his idols in his heart, and has set the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes unto the prophet to inquire by him of me— I the LORD will respond to him by myself. The Lord next addresses all who reject his call for repentance. Ezekiel expands the legal threat of v 4 to include the alien who dwells in Israel. Foreigners who lived in the Israelite theocracy were as much bound by the laws against idolatry as native-born citizens. Ezekiel has in mind those aliens who had attached themselves to the Israelite community in Babylon. Those who play the role of the hypocrite, who harbor idolatrous inclinations in their hearts, will receive a message from God when they appear before a prophet; but it will not be the kind of message they expect. Instead of a spoken answer by the mouth of the prophet, there will be an answer in the discipline of life (v 7). A curse upon the uncommitted (Ezekiel 14:8): I will set my face against that man, and I will make him a sign and proverb. I will cut him off from the midst of my people, that you may know that I am the LORD. In fulfillment of the “curse” stipulations of the Mosaic covenant, God will inflict four penalties on anyone whose hearts was divided regarding him. First, the Lord will set his face against that man, i.e., he will assume a posture of hostility toward that hypocrite (cf. Ezekiel 13:9; Leviticus 20:3; Leviticus 20:5-6). Second, God will make that man a sign and proverb, i.e., he will inflict upon that man an exemplary punishment that (1) becomes proverbial, and (2) thereby act as a deterrent to others inclined toward idolatry (cf.

Deuteronomy 28:37). Third, God will cut off that man from the midst of his people, i.e., excommunicate him (Leviticus 17:10; Leviticus 20:3; Leviticus 20:5-6). Fourth, when men witnessed this righteous judgment, they recognize that Yahweh is the only God. False Prophets Explained (Ezekiel 14:9-11) Some so-called prophets did give responsive oracles to hypocritical inquirers. Such men, however, were false prophets. The hypocrites sitting before Ezekiel knew their own hearts. They knew that inwardly they had not surrendered their idols. Since God will not give guiding counsel to such people, the “ prophet” who pretended to do so was not inspired of God. Enticement of the “prophets” (Ezekiel 14:9 a): As for the prophet, when he is enticed, and speaks a word, I the LORD have enticed that prophet. The prophets who were causing such confusion in Jerusalem and Babylon had been enticed. God declares that he had enticed that prophet, i.e., he had permitted the enticement to take place (cf. 1 Kings 22:19-23). This does not mean that the prophet who spoke falsely was divinely compelled to do so. He bore complete responsibility for his actions. The idea here is that men who reject the truth of God have opened their mind for such judicial enticement to false thinking.

One must distinguish between the permissive and active will of God. Part of the punishment that God metes out to sinners is that he permits them to be led into ever greater sin. When men obstinately refuse the truth, God gives them over to falsehood. Punishment of the “prophets” (Ezekiel 14:9-10): I will stretch out my hand against him. I will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. (Ezekiel 14:10) They will bear their iniquity. The iniquity of the prophet will be like that of the one who inquires; The prophets had been enticed to falsehood.

Shortly they will experience divine judgment. God will stretch out his hand against them. They will be destroyed from the midst of Israel (Ezekiel 14:9). God is no respecter of persons when it comes to judgment. Both the prophets and the citizens who came to seek their counsel will have to bear their iniquity, i.e., suffer the same punishment (Ezekiel 14:10). Enlightenment of the nation (Ezekiel 14:11): that the house of Israel might not again go astray from me, or defile themselves with all their transgressions; but they will be my people, and I will be their God (oracle of the Lord GOD). The deceivers, and those who cried out to be deceived, will alike experience the judgment of God. The purpose of this divine judgment was not so much revenge as it was correction. The punishment was to serve as a deterrent so that God’ s people will no longer go astray from Him to serve idols. The people defiled themselves by such transgressions. By discouraging defilement by idolatry, God was doing what was necessary to promote his relationship with his people.

Free from the taint of idolatry, they could be his people, and he could be their God (Ezekiel 14:11). At this point hope shines through the otherwise gloomy discourse of Ezekiel. The prophet is a realistic optimist. He cannot deny the divine forecast of stormy judgment. He sees, however, a silver lining in those dark clouds. Some ultimate good will come of it.

God’ s eternal purpose will not be frustrated by the collapse of earthly Jerusalem. OF MENEze_14:12-23 A General Principle (Ezekiel 14:12-14): 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 will deliver only their own lives through their righteousness (oracle of the Lord GOD). Famine is frequently mentioned in Scripture as a means by which God punished his people. When God will break the staff of bread (i.e., bring about a famine), innocent beasts, as well as sinful men, are thereby cut off i.e., die (v 13). Yet there was no deliverance for the sinful land merely because innocent animals suffered. Will 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. Israel, however, 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 that 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 will be able to deliver the land. The doctrine of personal responsibility here is carried to its logical conclusion.

Judgment for unrepentant sinners is inevitable. 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 survived deportation to Babylon. He saved his friends from an edict to slay the royal magicians. Eventually he was elevated to high office in the Babylonian government. Daniel already had established himself as a pious man of God and a folk hero in the eyes of the Jewish captives.

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 godly men induce God to spare the wicked. So it is that Noah, Daniel and Job will only be able to save their own lives through their righteousness (Ezekiel 14:14).

Specific Illustrations (Ezekiel 14:15-20): Resorting to emphasis by repetition, Ezekiel pounded home his point that Noah, Daniel and Job will not be able to deliver the land. In Ezekiel 14:13-20 he enumerates three more types of judgment that God might on occasion send against his people. These are punishments threatened in the Mosaic covenant (Leviticus 26:22-26).

Evil beasts (14:15-16): If I cause evil beasts 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 will not deliver sons or daughters. They alone will be delivered, but the land will become a desolation. Evil beasts (hayya ra‘ a) might be brought against the land. These are probably rabid animals, not simply predatory beasts. Rabies passes quickly from one animal to another. An infested rat might bring the disease into a city under siege with devastating effects on both humans and livestock.

Out of fear, the land will be deserted and become desolate. Men of other countries will loathe passing through (Ezekiel 14:15). Still there will be no deliverance for the sinful land. Sons and daughters of the sinful inhabitants will 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 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.

Sword (Ezekiel 14:17-18):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; (Ezekiel 14:18) though these three men were in its midst, as I live (oracle of the Lord GOD), they will deliver neither sons nor daughters, for they alone will be delivered. The sword (i.e., military invasion) might be used against the land. Such action will involve the indiscriminate slaughter of man and beast (Ezekiel 14:17). From such slaughter there will be no deliverance. Plague (Ezekiel 14:19-20): 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; (Ezekiel 14:20) though Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, as I live (oracle of the Lord GOD) they will not be able to deliver son or daughter; they will deliver only their own lives by their righteousness. Plague (diseases) might be the means of punishment. God’ s fury poured out upon the land will manifest itself in blood, i.e., a high death rate. Still there will be no deliverance. Pointed Application (Ezekiel 14:21-23) The cutting off (Ezekiel 14:21): Because thus says the Lord GOD: How much more when I send my four calamitous judgments against Jerusalem— sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague— to cut off from it man and beast. 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— any land— from divine judgment.

In Ezekiel 14:21 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 that must suffer all four. The number four conveys the idea of completeness and universality because it reflects the notion of the four points of the compass.

The pathetic remnant (Ezekiel 14:22-23): If a remnant is left in it who are brought forth — sons and daughters — behold, they will come forth unto you. You will see their way and their deeds. You will be comforted concerning the calamity that I have brought against Jerusalem, all that I have brought against her. (Ezekiel 14:23) They will 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) A remnant survives the fourfold catastrophe that befalls Jerusalem. The remnant will be brought forth, i.e., carried into exile. Their survival should not be interpreted as indicating their righteousness. Far from it!

These escapees will serve as an object lesson. When the earlier exiles observed the character and conduct of those who later joined them, they will be comforted concerning the calamity that Jerusalem experienced. They will realize that God had no alternative but to destroy that city. His punishments had not been arbitrary or excessive. The preservation of a remnant from Jerusalem was an act of pure grace (Ezekiel 14:22). Indirectly the future captives will comfort 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 that throw new light on what was perceived to be a disastrous situation.

Ezekiel Chapter FourteenVerse 1 AGAINST Keil divided this chapter into two parts. “God will not allow idolaters to inquire of him (Ezekiel 14:1-13), and the righteousness of the godly will not avert the judgment (Ezekiel 14:14-23)."[1]Ezekiel 14:1-3“Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me. And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them?““Certain of the elders …” (Ezekiel 13:1) The prophecies here, although directed to this group of elders actually concerned all of Israel. Their having taken their idols into their heart was no slight violation but a fundamental crime against God. “These men …” (Ezekiel 14:3). According to Taylor, this expression, in context, “designates them as contemptible."[2]“Should I be inquired of at all by them …” (Ezekiel 14:3)? In the Hebrew language, a question like this, “requires a negative answer”;[3] and therefore the meaning here is simply that men with idols in their hearts have no right whatever to seek any information from God. Verse 4 “Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Every man of the house of Israel that taketh his idols into his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I Jehovah will answer him therein according to the multitude of his idols; that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Return ye, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.““That taketh his idols into his heart …” (4). The repeated mention of the idols having been received in the hearts of God’s people is exceedingly significant. It means that they had learned to love the pagan gods and goddesses. Their secret devotion belonged to their idols. The licentious ceremonies with which they had worshipped their idols were dear to their hearts, and they strongly desired to renew such practices. God’s word they neither believed nor trusted. “I, the Lord will answer him …” (Ezekiel 14:4). Eichrodt labeled this as a “contradiction” of the proposition that idolatrous inquirers would get no answer from God. No, God did not indicate any such refusal to answer the inquiring idolaters; he merely declined to send them any message through a true prophet. They would get an answer, all right, it would be directly from God Himself. “This answer would not have any relation at all to the curiosity of the inquirers; there would be no words; it would consist of the execution of a sentence spelled out in Ezekiel 14:8."[4]“That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart …” (Ezekiel 14:5). God was here fighting to keep his people; and what is meant here is that, through his judgments against them, he will touch their consciences and bring down their proud hearts. God’s purpose was always their restoration and salvation, never their destruction. “Still, this is a threat of punishment."[5] “After all, to turn to other gods was a crime worthy of death as clearly spelled out in the Law of Moses (Exodus 20:3-5; Leviticus 19:4; Leviticus 26:1; andDeuteronomy 5:8; 12:3; 27:15)."[6]“Return ye, and turn yourselves from your idols …” (Ezekiel 14:6) The infinite mercy of God is here seen in the fact that, while in the very act of pronouncing a sentence of death upon his Chosen People, God here made one last solemn plea for them to forsake the evil idolatrous ways to which their hearts so avidly desired to return, in which guilty state they were already ensnared, and instead to give up all of their evil practices and return wholeheartedly to the Lord. Verse 7 “For every one of the house of Israel, as of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that separateth himself from me, and taketh his idols into his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet, to inquire for himself of me; I Jehovah will answer him by myself; and I will set my face against that man, and will make him an astonishment, for a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah. And if the prophet be deceived and speak a word, I, Jehovah, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people.““That separateth himself from me …” (Ezekiel 14:7). No double minded person can be right in God’s sight. The secret love and adoration of idols cut every guilty soul completely off from God. This sin, whether committed by the racial stock of Israel, by sojourners living in Israel under God’s protection, was fatal to any satisfactory relationship with God. “I will answer him by myself …” (Ezekiel 14:7). This meant that God would answer, not through the words of any true prophet, but by the summary execution of terrible penalties upon the idolater. “I will set my face against that man …” (Ezekiel 14:8). Here is spelled out the penalty: (1) spiritual death, (2) being cut off from God’s people, and (3) the experiencing of some terrible earthly calamity, of the type that would get public attention and make the victim an astonishment and a proverb. Two examples of this in the New Testament are the sudden death of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:5-11) and the stroke that took away Herod Agrippa II at Caesarea (Acts 12). Nothing could be more terrible for any mortal than the fact of God having set his face against that man. “I have deceived that prophet …” (Ezekiel 14:9). As Cooke noted, “A statement like this is not intelligible unless we take into consideration the thought patterns of oriental mind."[7] We have the same pattern in the thinking of believers even today. When a loved one is lost, we have all heard it said that, “The Lord has called him home.” This merely by-passes secondary and subordinate causes and attributes all that happens to the eternal will of God. God’s “deceiving a false prophet” here was in no sense an evil act upon God’s part. “As a matter of fact the false prophet had brought the deception upon himself”[8] a by his own evil desires and deeds. What is in view here is God’s judicial blinding, hardening, or deception of wicked men. The classical example in the Old Testament is that of Pharaoh. The Lord indeed “hardened Pharaoh’s heart”; but that occurred only after the Bible had declared no less than ten times that, “Pharaoh had hardened his own heart.” Does the equivalent of such a thing happen today? Most assuredly, it does. “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 KJV). It was possible to say of this self-deceived prophet that God had deceived him, because, “The consequences of his sin,. as well as the moral law of God which he violated were God’s ordinances, and because the penalty of deception, was according to God’s will, therefore his state of deception could quite properly be attributed to God."[9] This line of reasoning, however, suggests no amelioration of the false prophet’s guilt. “No man can possibly become a false prophet without criminal blame upon himself."[10]This passage forbade any true prophet to provide God’s Word to idolaters; and, by definition, that meant that any prophet speaking with an idolater was, of course, an evil-doer himself. It is amazing, as Calvin said, that, “Neither imposters nor frauds take place apart from the will of God.” Keil quoted Calvin’s remark, and then added that, “This can happen only with persons who have first admitted evil into themselves. Furthermore, the penalty of God’s judgment shall fall upon both alike, the deceived prophet, and the idolatrous inquirer."[11]Verse 10 “And they shall bear their iniquity: the iniquity of the prophet shall be even as the iniquity of him that seeketh unto him; 11 that the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither defile themselves any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord Jehovah."Ezekiel 14:11 here returns to the grand theme so frequently mentioned in all of the prophets, the glory of God’s people, their blessing from God, their righteousness, and their faithfulness in God’s work. The great mistake of Israel was their reliance upon such wonderful promises, “as if they were an unalienable possession bestowed upon them unconditionally; nor did they understand that such glorious conditions would be attainable only upon the condition of their loving and obeying God."[12]The same author noted that, “This verse (Ezekiel 14:11) renews the appeal for repentance given in 5:6, again reminding Israel that the chief purpose of the forthcoming judgments against them was to bring Israel back from her going astray from God, and to cleanse her from the apostasy by which she had become unclean in God’s sight and had been cast out of fellowship with Him."[13]The last section of the chapter refutes the false notion that had developed among the Israelites that God’s righteousness would not allow him to destroy Jerusalem completely because of the few righteous people whom they supposed to be living there. Apparently, they had picked up this false idea from Genesis 18:32, where it is recorded that God would have spared Sodom if there could have been found as many as ten righteous people in it. Of course, Israel was wrong about this on several counts: (1) There were not any righteous people in Jerusalem. (2) Even if there had been, God had made no such promise on behalf of Jerusalem, because Jerusalem was even worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. (3) Even if such eminent heroes of righteousness as Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the Jerusalem of Ezekiel’s times, and even if they were interceding for the city, even that could not avert the deserved judgment about to fall upon Jerusalem. Verse 12 “And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, when a land sinneth against me by committing a trespass, and I stretch out my hand upon it, and break the staff of the bread thereof, and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast; though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord Jehovah.“EVEN A REMNANT COULD NOT SAVE “When a land sinneth … by committing a trespass …” (Ezekiel 14:13). “Trespass' is far too mild a word for this strong Hebrew term. The root concerns high treason and the crime of acting treacherously.’"[14] It was no ordinary trespass, or sin, that resulted in the kind of destruction God was bringing upon Jerusalem. “These three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job …” (Ezekiel 14:14). Even such citizens as these, though living in Jerusalem and interceding for it, could not have averted the richly deserved punishment of Jerusalem. WHAT DANIEL WAS THIS? Every Bible student is made aware of the radical critic’s efforts to make this mention of Daniel a reference to some alleged Daniel mentioned in the Ras Shamra tablets and who lived about 1,400 B.C. Arguments by which critics attempt to support this view are: (1) There are two spellings of Daniel, the one in Daniel’s prophecy, and the one here in Ezekiel, namely, Daniel' and Dan’el.’” The Ezekiel spelling matches that in the Ras Shamra tablets.[15] (2) Only the ancient Dan’el is properly placed if this list of eminent persons is chronological. If the contemporary Daniel had been meant, he would have been listed last. (3) It is very improbable that Ezekiel would have listed a contemporary.[16]None of these arguments has any weight. (1) Variations in the spelling of names are common in scriptures; besides that both variations of the name Daniel mean exactly the same thing, “God is my judge."[17] (2) The notion that the list of these three ancient worthies was intended to be chronological is false. Both Keil and Leal declare emphatically that the arrangement of the names is “according to subject matter, and not according to chronology."[18]“The true source of the order here derives from the fact that Noah was able to save eight persons, Daniel three persons, and Job, not even his sons and daughters."[19] As Keil noted, this inability of Job to save even his sons and daughters tallies with the repeated mention of the phrase, “save neither sons nor daughters” in the following verses. (3) The alleged improbability of Ezekiel’s mention of a contemporary is nothing at all except the biased opinion of a scholar who had already made up his mind. Canon Cook, one of the greatest scholars of a century, stated that, “The mention of Daniel here shows that by this time Daniel was a very remarkable man; and the introduction of the contemporary Daniel gives force and life to his illustration."[20]The positive reasons that support the identification of this Daniel mentioned by Ezekiel with the author of the prophecy of Daniel are: (1) no other Daniel was known either by Ezekiel or the people who heard his prophecies. The foolish allegation that they knew all about the Ras Shamra tablets and some ancient worthy who allegedly lived in 1,400 B.C. is so unreasonable as to appear preposterous. (2) On the other hand, every Jew on earth knew all about the Daniel who was the esteemed favorite of the king of Babylon, who had survived the Lion’s Den, and who had already procured countless blessings for the captive Israelites, and who was, in effect, a royal deputy of the most powerful Nebuchadnezzar. If Ezekiel had meant any other Daniel, he most certainly would have said so. (3) There’s not a word about that “other Daniel” in the Old Testament, and if he had been all that famous, it is totally inexplicable how his name got left out of the Bible! (4) a number of top rank scholars have pointed out how worthless is the alleged support for the other Daniel. There is no shadow of evidence for the view of some commentators that an older Daniel is referred to. Had there been such a person eminent enough to be classed with Noah and Job, there would have been some mention of him in the Old Testament."[21]Also, another current scholar of very great ability gave as his conviction the following. This reference in Ezekiel is not a reference to an older Daniel, of whom nothing is stated in the Old Testament. Daniel’s fame for wisdom and piety was already widespread in Ezekiel’s day.[22]Of course, such arguments are unanswerable. How ridiculous it would have been, in the light of the fame which Daniel enjoyed, as the deputy governor of the whole world, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a friend and helper of the Jewish nation, and no doubt as popular as any Hebrew who ever lived -how ridiculous it would have been for Ezekiel to have been referring to any other Daniel except this one! If he had been doing such a thing, would he not have explained it? Certainly. Of course, it is remembered that in Jeremiah 15:1-4, that prophet stated that not even the intercession of such righteous persons as Moses or Samuel would be able to avert the deserved judgments against Jerusalem. This is a very similar prophecy here. Verse 15 “If I cause evil beasts to pass through a land, and they ravage it, and make it desolate, so that no man pass through because of the beasts; though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only should be delivered, but the land should be desolate. Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off from it man and beast; though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only should be delivered themselves. Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my wrath upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast; though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither son nor daughter; they should but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.“In this paragraph, it is clear enough why Ezekiel used Job as the climax of his list of three; it was not due to chronology, but to the fact that Job alone fit the oft repeated expression, “delivered neither sons nor daughters” (Ezekiel 14:16; Ezekiel 14:18; Ezekiel 14:20). Daniel could not qualify, for as a eunuch, he had no posterity. Noah could not qualify, for he saved his sons; but Job was able to save neither sons nor daughters! Therefore, the holy prophet made him the climax of this list. Also, see the comment under Ezekiel 16:46. Notice the fourfold judgments against Jerusalem that are mentioned in this chapter: famine, wild beasts, sword, and pestilence (Ezekiel 14:13; Ezekiel 14:15; Ezekiel 14:17; Ezekiel 14:19). Jeremiah is apparently the first prophet to assemble this quadruple list (Jeremiah 15:2 f). We believe there are overtones in this that reflect the teaching of Amos (Amos 1-2) that, “For three transgressions of Damascus (repeated for a list of eight nations), yea for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, etc.” Right here is given the fulfillment of Amo 2:4-8. “Thus saith Jehovah, For three transgressions of Judah, yea for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have rejected the law of Jehovah, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk. But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem. “Thus saith Jehovah, For three transgressions of Israel, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes - they that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek; and a man and his father go in unto the same maiden to profane my holy name: and they lay themselves down by every altar upon clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of such as have been fined” (Amos 2:4-8) Bunn also noted the strong resemblance to this business of “three transgressions, yea for four” as used by Amos, adding that its use, “indicated completeness."[23] The prophecy of Amos stressed the fourfold transgressions of God’s people; and Ezekiel here stressed the appropriate fourfold judgments which their transgressions merited. Verse 21 “For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the evil beasts, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast! But, behold, there shall be left therein a remnant that shall be carried forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings; and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. And they shall comfort you, when ye see their way and their doings; and ye shall know that I have not done with, out cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord Jehovah.““There shall be left therein a remnant …” (Ezekiel 14:22). This is not the “righteous remnant” remnant” so often mentioned in Isaiah; because this remnant was wicked. These “sons and daughters” were in no sense saved; but God preserved them as specimens and witnesses of the corrupt Israel that had required God’s terminal punishment. Ezekiel pointed out that they would be a source of comfort to those of right mind among the captives, because their ways and their doings (always mentioned by Ezekiel in the sense of wickedness) would enable the captives to see the righteousness of all that God would bring to pass in Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 14:1

Ezekiel 14:1. This action was done before and is explained at Eze 8: 1.

Ezekiel 14:2

Ezekiel 14:2. As these elders were sitting before Ezekiel, the Lord delivered another message which the prophet was to give over to the hearers. Whether any or ail of them were guilty of the things to be charged or not, the information was timely.

Ezekiel 14:3

Ezekiel 14:3, These elders had come to the prophet on the pretence of wanting some information from God. The heart is the intelligent part of a man and from which the motives of his actions spring, (See Matthew 15:19.) These men sitting before Ezekiel could not always have an idol present before them, but their heart was devoted to them and thus they had set up their idols in their heart. Should 1 he en- gtiired of by them means that such men had no right to seek any com-munication from God.

Ezekiel 14:4

Ezekiel 14:4. God would not recognize such men in the usual manner, that is, through the established service of a prophet, with the expectation of obtaining any favor at his hands,. Instead, 1-Ie proposed to take charge of the case and handle the pretenders directly as they deserved as regarded such treatment that was coming to them.

Ezekiel 14:5

Ezekiel 14:5. Since these men bad set up their idols in their heart, that would be the place for God to make his attack. Such is the meaning of take the house of Israel in their own heart which He declared would be done.

Ezekiel 14:6

Ezekiel 14:6. This verse should be considered in connection with verse 4, It all means that God would answer these pretended enquirers through the prophet to some extent, but the answer would not be as a recognition of the rights of the evil men, for they were not entitled to such notice. But instead of this, the prophet was told to admonish them to repent and give up their love of idols.

Ezekiel 14:7

Ezekiel 14:7. This verse explains in what sense the Lord would answer by himself as lie announced in a preceding verse; it was to be by some direct judgment upon the wicked people of Israel. This was to be a practical rebuke to them because they thought they could by-pass Him and get tbeir information through the prophet.

Ezekiel 14:8

Ezekiel 14:8. Make him, a sign denotes that God would bring some humiliating punishment upon the man who had tried to ignore Him. This punishment would make him an example to others and cause him to be the object of their sneers.

Ezekiel 14:9

Ezekiel 14:9. I the Lord have deceived that prophet applies to a case where a man has so persisted in his false teaching that God would suffer him to believe Ills own falsehood. The result of such a course would be his own undoing. Paul reveals a similar attitude of God toward the followers of the “ man of sin” in 2 Thessalonians 2:11.

Ezekiel 14:10-11

Ezekiel 14:10-11. The most important thought in this verse is the joint responsibility of the false prophet and those who go to him for information. The passage declares that the punishment of the one will be even as that of him who seeketh unto him.

Ezekiel 14:12-13

Ezekiel 14:12-13, This passage again gives an explanation of the Lord’ s statement to the prophet that he would answer the people by himself. He determined to punish the land by a shortage of the needs of life, this judgment to be considered to be against the country as a whole.

Ezekiel 14:14

Ezekiel 14:14. When general calamities are brought providentially on communities. the Lord provides special care for those who are personally innocent. But even they cannot extend the favor done because of their own virtues to those who are unrighteous; such is the teaching of this verse. It is another phase of the principle that responsibility is strictly individual as far as it pertains to moral conduct.

Ezekiel 14:15

Ezekiel 14:15. Noisome is from a Hebrew word that means “evil or bad,” and here it is applied to beasts that are fierce and destructive, God sometimes used such means to punish persons who were guilty of wrong, (See 1 Kings 13:24; 2 Kings 2:24.)

Ezekiel 14:16

Ezekiel 14:16. This verse is identical in thought with verse 14.

Ezekiel 14:17

Ezekiel 14:17. The Lord brought the sword upon the land by having a foreign army to make a hostile attack, This has been done on numerous occasions in the history of Israel, such as the Assyrians in 2 Kings 17 and the Babylonians in chapters 24 and 26 of the same book.

Ezekiel 14:18

Ezekiel 14:18. The same principle of individuality is taught here as in verse 14.

Ezekiel 14:19

Ezekiel 14:19, A prominent instance of using a pestilence as a punishment Is recorded in 2 Samuel 24:15.

Ezekiel 14:20

Ezekiel 14:20. Once more the thought in verse It is repeated here.

Ezekiel 14:21

Ezekiel 14:21. Famine, pestilence and the sword were frequently threatened as a punishment upon Israel. In this verse another instrument is named, the noisome (bad) beasts. This would be especially applicable where the land In general was to be penalized, since wild beasts would not have much access to the citizens of the city.

Ezekiel 14:22

Ezekiel 14:22. The remnant consisted of the number left after the ravages of the captivity had done their work, and the record of it is in Ezra 2:64.

Ezekiel 14:23

Ezekiel 14:23. When all of the sad experiences have been suffered by the people of Israel, they will be able to look back over the history of their national conduct. When they do so and recall also the many warnings they were given but which were not heeded, they will realize that God did not punish them without cause.