Reflections on Ezekiel 14

Ezekiel 14 (Contemporary English Version)
1. One day, some of Israel's leaders came to me and asked for a message from the LORD.
   
2. While they were there, the LORD said:
   
3. Ezekiel, son of man, these men have started worshiping idols, though they know it will cause them to sin even more. So I refuse to give them a message!
   
4. Tell the people of Israel that if they sin by worshiping idols and then go to a prophet to find out what I say, I will give them the answer their sins deserve.
   
5. When they hear my message, maybe they will see that they need to turn back to me and stop worshiping those idols.
   
6. Now, Ezekiel, tell everyone in Israel: I am the LORD God. Stop worshiping your disgusting idols and come back to me.
   
7. Suppose one of you Israelites or a foreigner living in Israel rejects me and starts worshiping idols. If you then go to a prophet to find out what I say, I will answer
   
8. by turning against you. I will make you a warning to anyone who might think of doing the same thing, and you will no longer belong to my people. Then you will know that I am the LORD and that you have sinned against me.
   
9. If a prophet gives a false message, I am the one who caused that prophet to lie. But I will still reject him and cut him off from my people,
   
10. and anyone who goes to that prophet for a message will be punished in the same way.
    
11. I will do this, so that you will come back to me and stop destroying yourselves with these disgusting sins. So turn back to me! Then I will be your God, and you will be my people. I, the LORD God, make this promise.
    
12. The LORD God said:
    
13. Ezekiel, son of man, suppose an entire nation sins against me, and I punish it by destroying the crops and letting its people and livestock starve to death.
    
14. Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were living in that nation, their faithfulness would not save anyone but themselves.
    
15. Or suppose I punish a nation by sending wild animals to eat people and scare away every passerby, so that the land becomes a barren desert.
    
16. As surely as I live, I promise that even if these three men lived in that nation, their own children would not be spared. The three men would live, but the land would be an empty desert.
    
17. Or suppose I send an enemy to attack a sinful nation and kill its people and livestock.
    
18. If these three men were in that nation when I punished it, not even their children would be spared. Only the three men would live.
    
19. And suppose I am so angry that I send a deadly disease to wipe out the people and livestock of a sinful nation.
    
20. Again, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were living there, I, the LORD, promise that the children of these faithful men would also die. Only the three of them would be spared.
    
21. I am the LORD God, and I promise to punish Jerusalem severely. I will send war, starvation, wild animals, and deadly disease to slaughter its people and livestock.
    
22. And those who survive will be taken from their country and led here to Babylonia. Ezekiel, when you see how sinful they are, you will know why I did all these things to Jerusalem.
    
23. You will be convinced that I, the LORD God, was right in doing what I did.
    
    

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    Elders of Israel who were in exile along with Ezekiel came to the prophet to have him consult God on their behalf. Because these elders had "set up idols in their hearts," God was not pleased to be included as one of the multiple gods they consulted. Concerning the enquiry of these elders through Ezekiel God asked, "Should I be consulted by them at all?" (14:3) The unspoken answer is "No." If a person sets up idols in their heart they should not dishonor God by placing Him, the Creator of the universe, on equal standing with idols that are objects of man's creation. If these elders thought God would be pleased with their consultation of His counsel, they were mistaken. Instead of being pleased or of giving the information they sought, God made a ruling: "When anyone from the house of Israel sets up idols in his heart, puts a sinful stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet, I, the LORD, will answer him appropriately. . . . I will turn against that one and make him a sign and a proverb; I will cut him off from among My people. Then you will know that I am the LORD." (14:4 & 8) Instead of responding through the prophet, the one to whom they brought their enquiry, God would respond to them directly, cutting them off from His people. That is, He would take their lives.
    
    Those who propose to seek truth by enquiring of the teachings of the various religions, including Chrisitanity, as if there are no differences and all are the same, should know that God is not honored and truth will not be found. God will not be drawn down to the same level with the religious creations of men. Such an approach will lead to confusion rather than truth. Nor will one find any peace in this manner. God's peace can only be found through Jesus Christ, and as for truth, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through Me." (John 14:6)
    
    Following God's ruling about those who set up idols in their hearts, He gave another ruling through Ezekiel: Israel will not be saved through the righteousness of others. Those who turn to God will save only themselves. To emphasize this message God drew on three of the most righteous men of Israel - Noah, Daniel, and Job. The presence in Israel of all three of these righteous men would not save even their own sons or daughters let alone all of Israel. It will not be like Sodom and Gomorrah that could have been saved had their been even 10 righteous people found in the city. Only a person's own righteousness would deliver them.