Book of Ezekiel: Chapter 14
In this chapter of Ezekiel, we find the prophet meeting with some of Israel’s leaders. During this meeting, Ezekiel has a message for them from God. As one may come to expect, God is not too happy with these leaders.
God’s message for these leaders is that of judgment. He has seen the sin in their hearts and their deeds. They have been worshiping false idols and subsequently leading their fellow Israelites in the same direction, effectively poisoning their hearts. God is not pleased, and informs them to repent their sins or they will be made an example of God’s judgment.
The second half of this chapter has God speaking to Ezekiel about the certainty of His judgment. He proceeds to explain to Ezekiel how He will bring four different plights to any nation that sin against God. These plights are those of famine, wild animal attacks, war, and disease. God places emphasis on these warnings by stating that even heroes Noah, Job, and Daniel could not save anyone but themselves.
We must learn that even though we rely on our leaders (our pastors, our mentors, our parents, etc. ) we must remember to rely on the ultimate leader: God. We cannot use these corporeal entities as protection. We must truly place our trust in the one leader that matters.
Note:There have been some disagreements and different interpretations as to who Daniel is in verse 14:14. Some scholars believe it to be the prophet Daniel and others believe it to be referencing a mythical hero known as “Dan’ el” or “Dnil”. See this article for more information: http://bible.org/article/who-ezekiels-daniel
Key Verses:
“I, the Lord, will answer all those, both Israelites and foreigners, who reject me and set up idols in their hearts and so fall into sin, and who then come to a prophet asking for my advice. I will turn against such people and make a terrible example of them, eliminating them from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ~ Ezekiel 14:7-8 NLT
Questions to ponder:
- Why couldn’t heroes such as Noah, Job or Daniel save a nation like Israel?
- How much do we rely on our human leaders rather than God himself?
