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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Ezekiel 14:12 - 14:23
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God's Irrevocable Sentence
v. 12. The word of the Lord came again to me, saying,
v. 13. Son of man, when the land sinneth against Me by trespassing grievously, in unfaithfulness and treachery, then will I stretch out Mine hand upon it, to mete out the well-deserved punishment upon its idolatrous inhabitants, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, taking away that upon which man chiefly relies for food, and will send famine upon it and will cut off man and beast from it, Cf.Ezekiel 4:16; 5:16.
v. 14. Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, the fact of whose historical, existence, together with the piety of their lives, is thus established, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. Each of these three men not only saved his own life by his fear of the Lord, but was instrumental also in delivering others from danger and death. But in this case even their presence in the doomed city would avail nothing, since the guilt of idolatry weighed down too heavily in challenging the wrath of God.
v. 15. If I cause noisome beasts, various reptiles and beasts of prey, to pass through the land, causing them to multiply and increase in an unusual degree, and they spoil it, by making men and beasts their prey, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts:
v. 16. though these three men were in it, paragons of virtue though they were, as I live, saith the Lord God, the sovereign Ruler of the world, using the most solemn oath possible for Him, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, it would be impossible for them to ward off the punishment from the land doomed by its own guilt; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.
v. 17. Or if I bring a sword upon that land, in a third scourge, and say, Sword, go through the land, the figure being purposely strong in order to emphasize the severity of the Lord's punishment through the slaughter of the battle, so that I cut off man and beast from it:
v. 18. though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.
v. 19. Or if I send a pestilence into that land, the usual companion of devastating wars, and pour out My fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:
v. 20. though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter, not so much as one child; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. These facts, the prophet says, are generally true; they would be maintained under all conditions.
v. 21. For thus saith the Lord God, How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the four principal scourges of His wrath, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? The people of God were like the servant who knew his Lord's will and still persisted in going contrary to it; wherefore he was punished with more stripes than another, all four scourges being used at once in this case. "War brings famine into the cities, corpses outside, which attract the beasts; and from all there follows the pestilence. " Note: If Noah, Daniel, and Job, noted for the piety of their lives, could not deliver the land when deserving but one judgment, how much more when all four judgments combined are justly laid upon the land for its sin!
v. 22. Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant, an escaped portion, that shall be brought forth, both Sons and daughters, whom the mercy of the Lord would spare in the general destruction, although the punishment of the exile would strike them; behold, they shall come forth unto you, namely, the exiles of Judea in Chebar, and ye shall see their way and their doings, thereby obtaining the knowledge that corruption of this magnitude fully deserved such destruction; and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, realizing the justice of the Lord's punishments, even concerning all that I have brought upon it.
v. 23. And they shall comfort you, by offering proof for the righteousness of God's acts, when ye see their ways and their doings; and ye shall know that I have not done without cause, in arbitrary cruelty, all that I have done in it, saith the Lord God. This will eventually be true in the case of all those who feel the heavy hand of God upon them for their transgressions; they and others with them will he obliged to acknowledge the justice of God's punishment, as Abraham also reminded the rich man. Cf Luk_16:25.