Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 14:13

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ezekiel 14:13. By trespassing grievously — Having been frequently warned, and having refused to leave their sin, and so filled up the measure of their iniquity.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Justice in punishing Jerusalem (14:12-23)

Some were no doubt saying that God would not destroy Jerusalem as Ezekiel had been prophesying. God would surely spare the city out of consideration for the godly people within it, even though such godly people may have been few in number. Ezekiel replied that even if some of the godliest people who ever lived were in the city, God would still destroy it; though he would deliver the godly (12-14). God’s punishment could take various forms, but the same basic principle would apply (15-18). The righteousness of a few would not save the wicked from their just punishment (19-20).
Later some citizens of Jerusalem would escape the slaughter and come to join the exiles in Babylon. Then the exiles would see how corrupt the people of Jerusalem really were. The exiles would at last realize that God’s judgment on the city was indeed just (21-23).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, when a land sinneth against me by committing a trespass, and I stretch out my hand upon it, and break the staff of the bread thereof, and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast; though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord Jehovah."

EVEN A RIGHTEOUS REMNANT COULD NOT SAVE JERUSALEM

"When a land sinneth… by committing a trespass" "`Trespass' is far too mild a word for this strong Hebrew term. The root concerns high treason and the crime of `acting treacherously.'"J. B. Thompson, p. 128. It was no ordinary trespass, or sin, that resulted in the kind of destruction God was bringing upon Jerusalem.

"These three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job" Even such citizens as these, though living in Jerusalem and interceding for it, could not have averted the richly deserved punishment of Jerusalem.

WHAT DANIEL WAS THIS?

Every Bible student is made aware of the radical critic's efforts to make this mention of Daniel a reference to some alleged Daniel mentioned in the Ras Shamra tablets and who lived about 1,400 B.C.

Arguments by which critics attempt to support this view are: (1) There are two spellings of Daniel, the one in Daniel's prophecy, and the one here in Ezekiel, namely, `Daniel' and `Dan'el.'" The Ezekiel spelling matches that in the Ras Shamra tablets.G. R. Beasley-Murray in the New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 672. (2) Only the ancient Dan'el is properly placed if this list of eminent persons is chronological. If the contemporary Daniel had been meant, he would have been listed last. (3) It is very improbable that Ezekiel would have listed a contemporary.Carl G. Howie in the Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 40.

None of these arguments has any weight.

(1)    Variations in the spelling of names are common in scriptures; besides that both variations of the name Daniel mean exactly the same thing, i.e., "God is my judge."R. D. Wilson in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, p. 782.

(2)    The notion that the list of these three ancient worthies was intended to be chronological is false. Both Keil and Leal declare emphatically that the arrangement of the names is "according to subject matter, and not according to chronology."Thomas H. Leal in The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary (Funk and Wagnalls), p. 150, and Carl Friedrich Keil, Keil-Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 185.

"The true source of the order here derives from the fact that Noah was able to save eight persons, Daniel three persons, and Job, not even his sons and daughters."Ibid. As Keil noted, this inability of Job to save even his sons and daughters tallies with the repeated mention of the phrase, "save neither sons nor daughters" in the following verses.

(3)    The alleged improbability of Ezekiel's mention of a contemporary is nothing at all except the biased opinion of a scholar who had already made up his mind. Canon Cook, one of the greatest scholars of a century, stated that, "The mention of Daniel here shows that by this time Daniel was a very remarkable man; and the introduction of the contemporary Daniel gives force and life to his illustration."B, p. 335.

The positive reasons that support the identification of this Daniel mentioned by Ezekiel with the author of the prophecy of Daniel are: (1) no other Daniel was known either by Ezekiel or the people who heard his prophecies. The foolish allegation that they knew all about the Ras Shamra tablets and some ancient worthy who allegedly lived in 1,400 B.C. is so unreasonable as to appear preposterous. (2) On the other hand, every Jew on earth knew all about the Daniel who was the esteemed favorite of the king of Babylon, who had survived the Lion's Den, and who had already procured countless blessings for the captive Israelites, and who was, in effect, a royal deputy of the most powerful Nebuchadnezzar. If Ezekiel had meant any other Daniel, he most certainly would have said so. (3) There's not a word about that "other Daniel" in the Old Testament, and if he had been all that famous, it is totally inexplicable how his name got left out of the Bible! (4) a number of top rank scholars have pointed out how worthless is the alleged support for the other Daniel.

There is no shadow of evidence for the view of some commentators that an older Daniel is referred to. Had there been such a person eminent enough to be classed with Noah and Job, there would have been some mention of him in the Old Testament."E. H. Plumptre in the Pulpit Commentary, p. 248.

Also, another current scholar of very great ability gave as his conviction the following.

This reference in Ezekiel is not a reference to an older Daniel, of whom nothing is stated in the Old Testament. Daniel's fame for wisdom and piety was already widespread in Ezekiel's day.Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Moody Press), p. 80.

Of course, such arguments are unanswerable. How ridiculous it would have been, in the light of the fame which Daniel enjoyed, as the deputy governor of the whole world, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a friend and helper of the Jewish nation, and no doubt as popular as any Hebrew who ever lived -how ridiculous it would have been for Ezekiel to have been referring to any other Daniel except this one! If he had been doing such a thing, would he not have explained it? Certainly.

Of course, it is remembered that in Jeremiah 15:1-4, that prophet stated that not even the intercession of such righteous persons as Moses or Samuel would be able to avert the deserved judgments against Jerusalem. This is a very similar prophecy here.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Jeremiah 14:0; Jeremiah 15:0 is a remarkable parallel to this prophecy. Here, as elsewhere, Ezekiel is commissioned to deliver to the exiles the same message which Jeremiah conveys to the inhabitants of Judaea. The answer discovers the nature of the questions which had been expressed or implied.

(1) Can God cast out a people who are holy unto Himself?

(2) Is it just to punish them with utter desolation?

The prophet answers:

(1) That when a people is so corrupt as to call down national judgment, individual piety shall save none but the individuals themselves.

(2) The corrupt condition of the people shall be made so manifest, that none will question the justice of God in dealing thus severely with them.

Ezekiel 14:12

Or, “When a land” - the case is first put in a general form, and then ism brought with increased force home to Jerusalem - “sinneth against me by trespassing grievously,” and I stretch out “mine hand upon it,” and break the staff of bread “thereof,” and send famine “upon it and” cut off “man and beast: though these three men” etc.

Ezekiel 14:14

Noah, Daniel, and Job - Three striking instances of men who, for their integrity, were delivered from the ruin which fell upon others. Some have thought it strange that Daniel, a contemporary, and still young, should have been classed with the two ancient worthies. But the account of him Daniel 2:0 shows, that by this time Daniel was a very remarkable man (compare Ezekiel 28:3), and the introduction of the name of a contemporary gives force and life to the illustration. There is in the order in which the names occur a kind of climax. Noah did not rescue the guilty world, but did carry forth with him his wife, sons, and sons’ wives. Daniel raised only a few, but he did raise three of his countrymen with him to honor. To Job was spared neither son nor daughter.

Ezekiel 14:22, Ezekiel 14:23

Ye shall be comforted ... - By a truer estimate of the dispensations of the Almighty. This visitation will be recognized as inevitable and just.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

The next verse thought to be joined: for some interpreters altogether pervert the Prophet’s sense by finishing the sentence there, as if he had said, I will extend my hand over it, &e. But the sentence is dependent, as we shall see —

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 14

Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them? ( Ezekiel 14:1-3 )

Why should I talk to them? Why should I deal with them? These guys that are sitting here in front of you, they've got idols that they have set up in their hearts.

Idolatry begins in the heart. There's where you first turn against God. There's where you really turn to God. "Believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead" ( Romans 10:9 ). "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life" ( Proverbs 4:23 ). "Out of the heart proceeds the evil speakings, the murders, the adulteries, the fornications, the lies, the heart" ( Matthew 15:19 ). And here were these men coming to inquire of God, to hear the word of the Lord from the prophet. And God says to Ezekiel, "Hey these guys that are sitting here, Ezekiel, why should I speak to them? Why should I be inquired of by them? Because they all have their little idols all set up in their hearts." Now, usually they would set up an idol on an altar, on a table, or some place in their home, that's bad enough. But it's even worse to set up an idol in your heart, because then you begin to deceive yourself, you say, "Well I don't have... I'm not guilty of idolatry. I don't have any idols. I don't have any little shrines in my home." But you've got it right here in your heart, that's worse.

Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh, according to the multitude of his idols; That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols ( Ezekiel 14:4-5 ).

I'll answer them, "They've all become a stranger to me because of their idols, idolatry, worshipping an idol, a principle, an ideal, a philosophy." Having a master passion governing your life other than God always estranges a person from God.

Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, [turn, change, don't just be sorry, repent, have a change of action] and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all of your abominations. For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourns in Israel, which separates himself from me and sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself: And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off out of the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD ( Ezekiel 14:6-8 ).

God says, "I'm going to be fierce in My judgment of that person; I'll cut him off. Come to inquire of Me with idols in your heart? Hey, that's dangerous business." Ananias and Sapphira sought to do so. They came to God, but they had idols in their hearts. Mammon was sitting there. A desire, oh there were other idols too; it was desire to be acknowledged and recognized by the church as generous givers. "Oh my, isn't that marvelous? They sold their property and are turning all their money in. Ooh great, fantastic." But they weren't; they were only pretending to do so. They were holding back part of the profit for themselves. Now, there's nothing wrong with that. They didn't have to sell their house. They didn't have to bring anything in. God didn't require that. But they were making a pretense, it was a hoax, it was a sham. They were coming before God, but there were idols in their hearts. "Why have you conspired in your heart," Peter said, "to do this evil and to sin against God and to lie to the Holy Ghost? You haven't lied unto man; you've lied unto God." And of course, they fell over dead and were carried out. God said, "I will wipe them out from among My people." Be thankful God isn't so severe today as He was in the early church. We wouldn't have a church the size that we do. God's heavy hand.

And if the prophet be deceived when he has spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of the people of Israel. And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him; That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, nor be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD ( Ezekiel 14:9-11 ).

Oh, how He longed to be their God and for them to be His people and that they walk before Him in holiness and in righteousness, not polluted by their transgressions.

Now, the word of the LORD came unto me saying, Son of man, when the land sins against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out my hand upon it, and I will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Now 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 ( Ezekiel 14:12-14 ).

In other words, God says, "When I bring judgment upon the land, even though there are righteous men in it, those righteous men will only deliver themselves. They can't deliver anybody else by their righteousness. They'll only deliver themselves."

Now, it is interesting the three men that God spoke of: Noah, whom God delivered when He brought His judgment upon the earth; Daniel. Now Daniel was at this time alive and one of the counselors to Nebuchadnezzar. Already, he was a very young man, at this point probably in his early twenties, but yet he had already developed a tremendous reputation as a spiritual giant and as a spiritual leader, a spiritual man. And, of course, that was evidenced when first he was brought into captivity in Babylon. And he purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the king's meats and requested that he be allowed a vegetarian diet. He didn't want the meat that had been sacrificed to pagan idols, the meat that wasn't killed according to the kosher laws. And he said, "Just let us eat vegetables." And the guard says, "Hey, you know, if you guys are just eating vegetables, you'll begin to look skinny and sick, you know, then they'll have my head, man." Daniel said, "Well, give us ten days and take a look after ten days and if we look skinny and malnourished then we'll eat your meat." The guy said, "Fair enough." And after ten days ole Daniel and his buddies were healthier, ruddier looking and all than all the others who were eating this polluted meat of the king, so they were able to go on. Then he had begun to be known for his interpreting of the king's dreams and all. And so Daniel already was coming into prominence in the minds of the people, and though he was a young man, still he is named with Noah, Daniel, and Job. Righteous men, examples of righteous men.

Now if I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it is desolate, that no man may pass through it 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 shall only be delivered, but the land shall be desolate ( Ezekiel 14:15-16 ).

These men, if they were dwelling there, they could only deliver themselves. They can't even deliver their families. Every man must have his own personal relationship with God. God has no grandchildren, only sons. You cannot have a relationship with God through your mother, through your father, through your family. You've got to have your own personal relationship with God. And these men, as righteous as they were, Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord for he was righteous in all of his generation. And yet, he could only deliver himself and his sons who came into the ark with him.

Now, this of course, to me is a...God it says, "If I'm bringing these terrible things upon the land, the noisome beasts and the famines and so forth, the righteous can only deliver themselves." In other words, the righteous will be delivered even as we will be delivered before God brings His judgment upon this earth. And any man who says otherwise is denying the righteous principles of God.

Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and I 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 the land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut it off from man and beast: Though Noah and 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 four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, famine, noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut it off from 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 comfort you, when ye 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 ( Ezekiel 14:17-23 ).

Now, soon these captives will be coming from Jerusalem, that remnant that will escape, and when they tell you the things that happen and when you see these people, you'll know that what I did was righteous in My judgment when you hear the abominations and things that were going on. You'll know that I was righteous when I brought My judgment against Jerusalem. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The Lord spoke to Ezekiel again. He revealed that Jerusalem’s great sins had made deliverance from divine punishment impossible. Evidently some of the exiled Jews were remembering God’s promise to Abraham that He would deliver Sodom if there were enough righteous people in it (Genesis 18:22-33). Surely, they thought, there were enough righteous people in Jerusalem that God would not destroy it.

"This attitude is nothing less than using the saints as an insurance policy to cover the sinners. It has been a human failing in every generation. A community is a trifle embarrassed to have a saint among its number, but it derives a sense of security from his presence, rather like the possession of a religious lucky charm. A family with no pretensions to spirituality is often glad to have a minister of religion in one of its branches, however far removed." [Note: Taylor, p. 128.]

When sin had gone so far that Yahweh stretched out His hand in severe judgment by famine, even the righteousness of a Noah, a Daniel, and a Job could not save the nation. Noah was the only righteous man of his day, but his righteousness did not avert God’s judgment on the rest of humanity. Daniel was righteous, but his presence in Jerusalem had not precluded the deportation of many Judahites. Job’s righteousness could not even prevent judgment that touched his family members and possessions. All three men were righteous men who lived amidst unrighteousness-Noah, a pre-Israelite, Daniel, an Israelite now living in Gentile Babylon, and Job, a non-Israelite. Some scholars believed the Daniel in view was not the Daniel of the Book of Daniel, Ezekiel’s contemporary, but a character in a Canaanite epic. [Note: E.g., ibid., p. 129; Stuart, p. 130; and Allen, p. 218.] Most conservative commentators have rejected this view. [Note: For a rebuttal of it, see Cooper, pp. 163-64.] If these three men lived in Jerusalem, the Lord would deliver them for their own righteousness, but He would deliver no others for their sake. God had, in fact, delivered Daniel from the coming destruction of Jerusalem by removing him safely to Babylon. God would have spared Sodom if only 10 righteous people lived there (Genesis 18:33), but He would not spare Jerusalem if three of the most righteous people in history lived there. Jerusalem’s guilt was greater than Sodom’s.

"Noah, Job, and Daniel-each one of them faces a distinct challenge that demands a profound level of faith. The issues that confronted them: faith in the word of God amid prevailing scientific skepticism, faith in God in spite of acute suffering; faith in God displayed in a situation of sophisticated pluralism, choosing to accept death rather than dishonor God." [Note: Jo Ann Davidson, "’Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job’ (Ezekiel 14:14; Ezekiel 14:20)-Why These Three?" Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 12:2 (Autumn 2001):143-44.]

"All of them were tested and proved faithful, Noah by the Flood, Daniel in the lions’ den, and Job by painful trials from Satan." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 188.]

The Lord said that this principle of judgment applied to "a country" (Ezekiel 14:13), any country that acted treacherously against the Lord.

"It probably is sufficient simply to note that the hypothetical situation has both a general character (note that Noah, Daniel, and Job are all associated with non-Israelite contexts) and a specific application to Israel. The point of the passage is that Israel was under a divine judgment that was irreversible in its very nature." [Note: Cooper, p. 162.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

5. The need of personal righteousness for deliverance 14:12-23

This prophecy continues the emphasis on judgment from the previous one and stresses the irrevocability of Jerusalem’s destruction (cf. Jeremiah 7:16; Jeremiah 15:1-4).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously,.... That is, the inhabitants of the land, when they are in general become sinners against God and his law; and not merely sinners, as all men are, but grievous ones, notorious sinners, guilty of very gross enormities, of great prevarication, perfidy, and treachery; for God is a God longsuffering, and has great patience with a people; and does not usually come forth in his judgments against nation, until sin has universally prevailed among them, and they are guilty of grievous abominations, and those continued in: but when this is the case,

then will I stretch out mine hand upon it; his hand of vindictive wrath and justice, and cause it to fall heavily, and men to feel it:

and will break the staff of the bread thereof; take away bread corn from the nation, the support of human life; which is that unto it, and the stay of it, as a staff is to a decrepit old man, that cannot walk without one; or take away the virtue of it, so as though it might be had and eaten, yet not be nourishing; see Ezekiel 4:16;

and will send famine upon it; by causing a drought, restraining rain, sending mildew, locusts, caterpillars, c. to eat up the fruits of the earth:

and will cut off man and beast from it the latter for the sake of the former, and both through want of food.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      12 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,   13 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:   14 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.   15 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:   16 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.   17 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:   18 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.   19 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:   20 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.   21 For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?   22 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.   23 And they shall comfort you, when ye 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.

      The scope of these verses is to show,

      I. That national sins bring national judgments. When virtue is ruined and laid waste every thing else will soon be ruined and laid waste too (Ezekiel 14:13; Ezekiel 14:13): When the land sins against me, when vice and wickedness become epidemical, when the land sins by trespassing grievously, when the sinners have become very numerous and their sins very heinous, when gross impieties and immoralities universally prevail, then will I stretch forth my hand upon it, for the punishment of it. The divine power shall be vigorously and openly exerted; the judgments shall be extended and stretched forth to all the corners of the land, to all the concerns and interests of the nation. Grievous sins bring grievous plagues.

      II. That God has a variety of sore judgments wherewith to punish sinful nations, and he has them all at command and inflicts which he pleases. He did indeed give David his choice what judgment he would be punished with for his sin in numbering the people; for any of them would serve to answer the end, which was to lessen the numbers he was proud of; but David, in effect, referred it to God again: "Let us fall into the hands of the Lord; let him choose with what rod we shall be beaten." But he uses a variety of judgments that it may appear he has a universal dominion, and that in all our concerns we may see our dependence on him. Four sore judgments are here specified:-- 1. Famine,Ezekiel 14:13; Ezekiel 14:13. The denying and withholding of common mercies is itself judgment enough, there needs no more to make a people miserable. God needs not bring the staff of oppression, it is but breaking the staff of bread and the work is soon done; he cuts off man and beast by cutting off the provisions which nature makes for both in the annual products of the earth. God breaks the staff of bread when, though we have bread, yet we are not nourished and strengthened by it. Haggai 1:6, You eat, but you have not enough. 2. Hurtful beasts, noisome and noxious, either as poisonous or as ravenous. God can make these to pass through the land (Ezekiel 14:15; Ezekiel 14:15), to increase in all parts of it, and to bereave it, not only of the tame cattle, preying upon their flocks and herds, but of their people, devouring men, women, and children, so that no man may pass through because of the beasts; none dare travel even in the high roads for fear of being pulled in pieces by lions, or other beasts of prey, as the children of Beth-el by two bears. Note, When men revolt from their allegiance to God, and rebel against him, it is just with God that the inferior creatures should rise up in arms against men, Leviticus 26:22. 3. War. God often chastises sinful nations by bringing a sword upon them, the sword of a foreign enemy, and he gives it its commission and orders what execution it shall do (Ezekiel 14:17; Ezekiel 14:17): he says, Sword, go through the land. It is bad enough if the sword do but enter into the borders of a land, but much worse when it goes through the bowels of a land. By it God cuts off man and beast, horse and foot. What execution the sword does God does by it; for it is his sword, and it acts as he directs. 4. Pestilence (Ezekiel 14:19; Ezekiel 14:19), a dreadful disease, which has sometimes depopulated cities; by it God pours out his fury in blood (that is, in death); the pestilence kills as effectually as if the blood were shed by the sword, for it is poisoned by the disease, the sickness we call it. See how miserable the case of mankind is that lies thus exposed to deaths in various shapes. See how dangerous the case of sinners is against whom God has so many ways of fighting, so that, though they escape one judgment, God has another waiting for them.

      III. That when God's professing people revolt from him, and rebel against him, they may justly expect a complication of judgments to fall upon them. God has various ways of contending with a sinful nation; but if Jerusalem, the holy city, become a harlot, God will send upon her all his four sore judgments (Ezekiel 14:21; Ezekiel 14:21); for the nearer any are to God in name and profession the more severely will he reckon with them if they reproach that worthy name by which they are called and give the lie to that profession. They shall be punished seven times more.

      IV. That there may be, and commonly are, some few very good men, even in those places that by sin are ripened for ruin. It is no foreign supposition that, even in a land that has trespassed grievously, there may be three such men as Noah, Daniel, and Job. Daniel was now living, and at this time had scarcely arrived at the prime of his eminency, but he was already famous (at least this word of God concerning him would without fail make him so); yet he was carried away into captivity with the first of all, Daniel 1:6. Some of the better sort of people in Jerusalem might perhaps think that, if Daniel (of whose fame in the king of Babylon's court they had heard much) had but continued in Jerusalem, it would have been spared for his sake, as the magicians in Babylon were. "No," says God, "though you had him, who was as eminently good in bad times and places as Noah in the old world and Job in the land of Uz, yet a reprieve should not be obtained." In the places that are most corrupt, and in the ages that are most degenerate, there is a remnant which God reserves to himself, and which still hold fast their integrity and stand fair for the honour of delivering the land, as the innocent are said to do, Job 22:30.

      V. That God often spares very wicked places for the sake of a few godly people in them. This is implied here as the expectation of Jerusalem's friends in the day of its distress: "Surely God will stay his controversy with us; for are there not some among us that are emptying the measure of national guilt by their prayers, as others are filling it by their sins? And, rather than God will destroy the righteous with the wicked, he will preserve the wicked with the righteous. If Sodom might have been spared for the sake of ten good men, surely Jerusalem may."

      VI. That such men as Noah, Daniel, and Job, will prevail, if any can, to turn away the wrath of God from a sinful people. Noah was a perfect man, and kept his integrity when all flesh had corrupted their way; and, for his sake, his family, though one of them was wicked (Ham), was saved in the ark. Job was a great example of piety, and mighty in prayer for his children, for his friends; and God turned his captivity when he prayed. Those were very ancient examples, before Moses, that great intercessor; and therefore God mentions them, to intimate that he had some very peculiar favourites long before the Jewish nation was formed or founded, and would have such when it was ruined, for which reason, it should seem, those names were made use of, rather than Moses, Aaron, or Samuel; and yet, lest any should think that God was partial in his respects to the ancient days, here is a modern instance, a living one, placed between those two that were the glories of antiquity, and he now a captive, and that is Daniel, to teach us not to lessen the useful good men of our own day by over-magnifying the ancients. Let the children of the captivity know that Daniel, their neighbour, and companion in tribulation, being a man of great humility, piety, and zeal for God, and instant and constant in prayer, had as good an interest in heaven as Noah or Job had. Why may not God raise up as great and good men now as he did formerly, and do as much for them?

      VII. That when the sin of a people has come to its height, and the decree has gone forth for their ruin, the piety and prayers of the best men shall not prevail to finish the controversy. This is here asserted again and again, that, though these three men were in Jerusalem at this time, yet they should deliver neither son nor daughter; not so much as the little ones should be spared for their sakes, as the little ones of Israel were upon the prayer of Moses, Numbers 14:31. No; the land shall be desolate, and God would not hear their prayers for it, though Moses and Samuel stood before him,Jeremiah 15:1. Note, Abused patience will turn at last into inexorable wrath; and it should seem as if God would be more inexorable in Jerusalem's case than in another (Ezekiel 14:6; Ezekiel 14:6), because, besides the divine patience, they had enjoyed greater privileges than any other people, which were the aggravations of their sin.

      VIII. That, though pious praying men may not prevail to deliver others, yet they shall deliver their own souls by their righteousness, so that, though they may suffer in the common calamity, yet to them the property of it is altered; it is not to them what it is to the wicked; it is unstrung, and does them no hurt; it is sanctified, and does them good. Sometimes their souls (their lives) are remarkably delivered, and given them for a prey; at least their souls (their spiritual interests) are secured. If their bodies be not delivered, yet their souls are. Riches indeed profit not in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death, from so great a death, so many deaths as are here threatened. This should encourage us to keep our integrity in times of common apostasy, that, if we do so, we shall be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger.

      IX. That, even when God makes the greatest desolations by his judgments, he reserves some to be the monuments of his mercy, Ezekiel 14:22; Ezekiel 14:23. In Jerusalem itself, though marked for utter ruin, yet there shall be left a remnant, who shall not be cut off by any of those sore judgments before mentioned, but shall be carried into captivity, both sons and daughters, who shall be the seed of a new generation. The young ones, who had not grown up to such an obstinacy in sin as their fathers had who were therefore cut off as incurable, these shall be brought forth out of the ruins of Jerusalem by the victorious enemy, and behold they shall come forth to you that are in captivity, they shall make a virtue of a necessity, and shall come the more willingly to Babylon because so many of their friends have gone thither before them and are there ready to receive them; and, when they come, you shall see their ways and their doing; you shall hear them make a free and ingenuous confession of the sins they had formerly been guilty of, and a humble profession of repentance for them, with promises of reformation; and you shall see instances of their reformation, shall see what good their affliction has done them, and how prudently and patiently they conduct themselves under it. Their narrow escape shall have a good effect upon them; it shall change their temper and conversation, and make them new men. And this will redound, 1. To the satisfaction of their brethren: They shall comfort you when you see their ways. Note, It is a very comfortable sight to see people, when they are under the rod, repenting and humbling themselves, justifying God and accepting the punishment of their iniquity. When we sorrow (as we ought to do) for the afflictions of others, it is a great comfort to us in our sorrow to see them improving their afflictions and making a good use of them. When those captives told their friends how bad they had been, and how righteous God was in bringing these judgments upon them, it made them very easy, and helped to reconcile them to the calamities of Jerusalem, to the justice of God in punishing his own people so, and to the goodness of God, which now appeared to have had kind intentions in all; and thus "You shall be comforted concerning all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and, when you better understand the thing, shall not have such direful apprehensions concerning it as you have had." Note, It is a debt we owe to our brethren, if we have got good by our afflictions, to comfort them by letting them know it. 2. It will redound to the honour of God: "You shall know that I have not done without cause, not without a just provocation, and yet not without a gracious design, all that I have done in it." Note, When afflictions have done their work, and have accomplished that for which they were sent, then will appear the wisdom and goodness of God in sending them, and God will be not only justified, but glorified in them.