Scripture Daily

Context No. 4226 of 4322 · Ezekiel

Context · Reflection

Ezekiel 14:17-23: in context

17“Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land, so that I cut off from it man and animal’— 18though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only would be delivered themselves. 19“Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my wrath on it in blood, to cut off from it man and animal— 20though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only their own souls by their righteousness.” 21For the Lord GOD says: “How much more when I send my four severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword, the famine, the evil animals, and the pestilence—to cut off from it man and animal! 22Yet, behold, there will be left a remnant in it that will be carried out, both sons and daughters. Behold, they will come out to you, and you will see their way and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought on Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought on it. 23They will comfort you, when you see their way and their doings; then you will know that I have not done all that I have done in it without cause,” says the Lord GOD.

God speaks a sobering word to Ezekiel about judgment. Even if three righteous men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in a land under judgment, God says, they would deliver neither son nor daughter by their righteousness; they would save only themselves. Their righteousness could not be transferred to others; each would stand or fall on his own.

What stands out is the personal, non-transferable nature of standing before God. We cannot lean on another's goodness, nor coast into safety on someone else's faith. Even the righteousness of a Noah, a Daniel, or a Job availed only for himself. Each person stands before God individually, accountable for his own life and response.

There is a sobering truth here, and a pointer to the gospel. We each stand before God on our own; no one else's righteousness can cover us, and our own is never enough to save. This is precisely why we need what the passage cannot supply: a righteousness given to us from outside ourselves. What Noah's or Job's righteousness could never do for another, the righteousness of Christ does for all who trust him, credited to those who could never earn it.

Do I recognize that I stand before God individually, unable to lean on anyone else's goodness or coast on another's faith, and have I sought the righteousness I cannot produce myself, the righteousness of Christ credited to those who trust him?

Sources