The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, Son of man, when the
land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I
stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread
thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and
beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job, were in
it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness,
saith the Lord God. If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the
land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may
pass through because of the beasts: Though these three men were in
it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons
nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be
desolate. Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go
through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: 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. Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and
pour out my fury 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
God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but
deliver their own souls by their righteousness. For thus saith the
Lord God; How much more when I send my fourscore judgments upon
Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the
pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? Yet, behold, therein
shall be left a remnant that shall be brought 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 see their ways and their
doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all
that I have done in it, saith the Lord God (verses 12-23).
The Word of the Lord came again to Ezekiel. The previously announced
judgment cannot be averted, it is unavoidable; this is the burden of the
second message the inquiring elders heard from the prophet's lips.
Perhaps this was on their minds when they came to the prophet and sat in
his presence. Famine is threatened first; it would come upon man and
beast. Then the noisome beasts would pass through the land, to spoil it
and make it desolate. These beasts must not be understood in the literal
sense; they symbolize the Gentiles, whom Daniel in his vision saw also
as beasts (Dan. vii). These nations like the Chaldeans would overrun the
land and waste it. The last two judgments were to be the sword (verse
17) and the pestilence (verse 19). These four sore judgments were about
to fall upon Jerusalem and the land--famine, noisome beasts, Gentile
invasion, the sword and pestilence. Twice in this address Noah, Daniel
and Job are mentioned. They were righteous men, yet if they were all
three in Jerusalem they would deliver only their own souls by their
righteousness, which was the result of their faith in and obedience to
Jehovah. They were witnesses and men of prayer. Noah, the witness before
the great judgment by water swept over the earth; Daniel even then in
Babylon, and Job of the patriarchal age. All their righteousness, and
all their witnessing and prayers would not help in preventing these four
sore judgments. Then there is a gracious promise for the remnant which
is to be preserved in these judgments.