In Ezekiel’s words of judgment, doom, and gloom, we’ve observed God’s hand at work, His character, and the remnant He kept for Himself. This week and next month are the same as last week and last month: we pray for God to give us eyes to see Ezekiel’s theme, that you will know that I am the Lord. 
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its people and their animals, even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign Lord (Ezekiel 14:12-14).
- God decides the judgments He will enact against the wicked.
- The sin God referred to is willing and unfaithful acts against Him.1
- Even though much of the Bible focuses on Israel, at some point God will judge the nations.
- The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth (Psalm 110:5-6).
- And God will save His people—those who are redeemed.
He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever—holy and awesome is his name (Psalm 111:9).
- His judgments may include famine, wild beasts, war, and plague.
- God stated Noah, Daniel, and Job as examples of righteous people.
The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation… The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits…. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. (Genesis 7:1, 20, 23).
- God saved Noah from the flood.
- Although the flood did not specifically include famine, the only food supply on the ark was what God instructed Noah to bring.
- God’s judgment of famine in Ezekiel affected people and animals, which lead to the desolation we read about in stories of the exile.
*How are we unfaithful to God today?
*What does it mean that God has redeemed us?
“Or if I send wild beasts through that country and they leave it childless and it becomes desolate so that no one can pass through it because of the beasts, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate” (Ezekiel 14:15-16).
Daniel answered, “… My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight” (Daniel 6:22).
- God saved Daniel from the lion’s den.
- Lions are certainly wild beasts, but Ezekiel’s description probably included more than lions!
- The word “desolate” means total destruction and relates to the exile.2
- In contrast, remember that God allowed Noah to save his sons and daughters.
- “Save” in these verses may also be translated “deliver,” meaning from one power by another [higher] power.3
- God is all powerful, but chooses not to deliver the wicked who turn against Him.
*Why do you think God added “wild beasts” to the judgments previously listed in Ezekiel: sword, famine, and plague?
*When have you seen God’s power at work?
*How have you experienced God’s deliverance in your life?
“Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath on it through bloodshed, killing its people and their animals, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness” (Ezekiel 14:19-20).
“My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” … After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before (Job 42:8, 10).
- God allowed Job to receive the calamity Satan suggested, including personal plague, or disease.
“Or if I bring a sword against that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass throughout the land,’ and I kill its people and their animals, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved” (Ezekiel 1:17-18).
- God said each righteous man could save only himself, even if judgment included a sword, or war.
- The repetitions show no matter the judgment, God requires a righteous person’s personal relationship to be saved.
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).
*What does it mean to have a personal relationship with Jesus?
“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments—sword and famine and wild beasts and plague—to kill its men and their animals! Yet there will be some survivors—sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding the disaster I have brought on Jerusalem—every disaster I have brought on it. You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign Lord” (Ezekiel 14:21-23).
- Through judgments, God shows His active role in punishing the wicked for their evil and unfaithful acts against Him.4
- When “war” came against Israel in the form of siege and exile, God promised survivors.
- Those survivors are God’s remnant.5
- They will be “brought out” of judgment—literally led forth, as into captivity.6
- Their conduct and actions would comfort those who suffered.
- Others would observe how the righteous walked through life.
- Their stories would speak to those who heard about the disaster on Jerusalem.
- We are responsible for our personal relationship with God.
- Our upright actions and way of life can comfort others when we all observe evil in the world.
- The righteous take part in Ezekiel’s theme: you will know that God does everything to fulfill His purposes, declares the Sovereign Lord.
*What do we learn from stories of God’s remnant?
*How can our way of life comfort others?
*How do we see God’s faithfulness in this passage?
- Warren Baker, D.R.E., General Editor. The Complete Word Study Old Testament (King James Version). (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1994) 642
- Ibid., 1165
- Ibid., 749
- Ibid., 1187
- Ibid., 903
- Ibid., 462-463