Ezekiel 14

Elders of the exiles come to Ezekiel for a word from God, but their hearts are given to idols. God says a hidden idol makes a man’s seeking empty, and He calls the people to repent. He then declares that even Noah, Daniel and Job could save only themselves from a guilty land. The chapter closes with the promise that a remnant will survive and that Jerusalem’s judgment is just.

Ezekiel 14:1

Some leaders among the exiles come and sit before Ezekiel, wanting to hear from the LORD. It looks like a respectful visit. But God sees what sits behind it, as the next verses show. Outward religion can look sincere while the heart is somewhere else.

BSA: elders (“old, elderly, respected leaders”): These were men people looked up to, so their divided hearts could mislead many.

See also: Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 20:1.

Ezekiel 14:2-3

God tells Ezekiel what is really going on. These men have set up idols inside their hearts. They also keep their sin right before their eyes, ready to trip them. God asks whether He should let such men consult Him at all. The question carries its own answer.

BSA: hearts (“the seat of feelings, will, and intellect”): The idols are not statues in a room but whatever rules a person’s loves, choices and thinking. stumbling blocks (“obstacles, hindrances”): The very thing they cling to is what makes them fall.

Hebrew: מִכְשׁוֹל (mikhshol, H4383) — “a stumbling block, something that trips you.” Ezekiel uses this word for sin that trips a person up. Here the men have set their own trap in front of themselves.

See also: 1 John 5:21.

Ezekiel 14:4-5

If such a man comes to a prophet, God Himself will answer him. The answer will fit his great idolatry, and it will not be the comfort he wants. God’s aim is to win back the hearts of His people, who have drifted far from Him because of their idols.

BSA: estranged (“alienated, separated”): Idols do not just add a second loyalty. They cut the people off from the God who made them.

See also: Romans 1:24.

Ezekiel 14:6

In the middle of the warning comes a plain invitation. God tells His people to repent and turn away from their idols and from all their detestable things. The door is open. Turning back means turning the whole face, and the whole life, toward Him.

BSA: Repent (“turn back, change your mind”): Repentance is a real change of direction, not just feeling sorry.

Hebrew: שׁוּבוּ (shuvu, H7725) — “turn back, return.” This is the common Hebrew word for coming home. It pictures someone walking away who now turns around and walks back.

See also: Acts 3:19.

Ezekiel 14:7-8

The same holds for foreigners living among Israel. Anyone who cuts himself off from God, keeps his idol and then seeks an answer will meet God directly. God will set His face against him and make him a warning that others talk about. Through this, people will know that He is the LORD.

BSA: Myself (“personally, directly”): God will not pass the answer through a prophet’s soothing words. He will deal with the man Himself. proverb (“wise saying, lesson”): His fate becomes a lesson people repeat to warn others.

See also: Deuteronomy 28:37.

Ezekiel 14:9-11

A prophet who gives a comforting message to such a man is also judged, and so is the one who asked. God’s rule over everything includes the way He allows deceit to ensnare those who love it. The aim is that Israel will stop straying and become His people again.

BSA: enticed (“deceived, tricked”): The prophet is taken in by the lie he tells, and God holds him responsible.

Hebrew: פֻתָּה (puttah, H6601) — “was enticed, was persuaded.” The word means being talked into something. It shows how easily a prophet who wants to please people can be led into falsehood. Christians differ on how to describe God’s part here, but the text says clearly that the guilt is real.

See also: 1 Kings 22:23; Ezekiel 37:27.

Ezekiel 14:12-13

A new word begins. Suppose a whole land is unfaithful to God and He sends famine. Cutting off the supply of food means taking away what people live on. Judgment is not random cruelty. It follows long unfaithfulness.

BSA: supply of food (“break the staff of bread”): Bread is pictured as the walking stick that holds a person up, and God can break it.

Ezekiel 14:14

Even if Noah, Daniel and Job lived in such a land, their righteousness would save only themselves. These three are well-known men of faith. Noah was saved from the flood, Job was a blameless man, and Daniel was famed for wisdom and faithfulness. Their goodness could not rescue a guilty people.

BSA: righteousness (“moral integrity, upright living”): Real goodness is precious to God, but it cannot be handed to others like a coat.

Hebrew: צִדְקָתָם (tsidqatam, H6666) — “their righteousness.” The word means right standing and right living. Ezekiel stresses the possessive, their righteousness, which belongs to them and does not cover anyone else.

See also: Jeremiah 15:1; Job 1:1.

Ezekiel 14:15-16

God now names a second judgment: wild beasts that empty the land of people until no one dares to travel. Again, if the three righteous men were there, they could not save even their own children. They alone would live while the land lay in ruins. Each person must answer to God himself.

BSA: desolate (“wasted, devastated”): The land itself is left empty, a picture of what sin finally leaves behind.

See also: Ezekiel 18:20.

Ezekiel 14:17-18

The third judgment is the sword. God pictures Himself commanding it to pass through the land. The refrain repeats: even these three could not save their sons or daughters. The repetition is meant to sink in. A whole people cannot lean on the faith of a few good people among them.

BSA: sword (“weapon of war, instrument of destruction”): War is described as something God directs, not just a human accident.

Ezekiel 14:19-20

The fourth judgment is plague, joined with bloodshed. Once more, Noah, Daniel and Job could rescue only themselves. Four rounds of the same refrain press one point. The nation cannot count on being spared by borrowed righteousness. It must turn from sin itself.

BSA: plague (“pestilence, disease”): Sickness is the last of the four ways the land can be struck.

Ezekiel 14:21

Then God applies this to Jerusalem. It will face all four judgments together: sword, famine, wild beasts and plague. If one alone is terrible, all four will be far worse. The city that thought itself safe will learn that God means what He says.

BSA: four (“a complete set, a foursquare foundation”): The four judgments together are complete. Nothing is left out of what God warned about.

See also: Revelation 6:8.

Ezekiel 14:22-23

Even so, some will be left. Sons and daughters will be carried out of Jerusalem and come to the exiles. When Ezekiel and his people see how these survivors have lived, they will see the judgment was deserved. That brings real comfort. They will know God did nothing without cause.

BSA: survivors (“a remnant, those who remain”): God always keeps a remnant alive, even in His harshest judgments. consolation (“comfort and peace”): Seeing God’s judgments as just, not random, brings the exiles a settled peace.

Hebrew: פְלֵטָה (peletah, H6413) — “those who escaped, survivors.” The word means those who slipped out alive. It shows that God’s mercy still works inside His judgment.