Ezekiel 14:15

14:12-23 National sins bring national judgments. Though sinners escape one judgment, another is waiting for them. When God's professing people rebel against him, they may justly expect all his judgments. The faith, obedience, and prayers of Noah prevailed to the saving of his house, but not of the old world. Job's sacrifice and prayer in behalf of his friends were accepted, and Daniel had prevailed for the saving his companions and the wise men of Babylon. But a people that had filled the measure of their sins, was not to expect to escape for the sake of any righteous men living among them; not even of the most eminent saints, who could be accepted in their own case only through the sufferings and righteousness of Christ. Yet even when God makes the greatest desolations by his judgments, he saves some to be monuments of his mercy. In firm belief that we shall approve the whole of God's dealings with ourselves, and with all mankind, let us silence all rebellious murmurs and objections.

Evil and hurtful ones; not so much those that are poisonous as pernicious; such, as lions, tigers, foxes, wolves, and bears, that are very ravenous and devouring, and especially in a time of famine before threatened; though sometimes God makes use of lesser creatures to do damage to a land, and the fruits of it, as locusts, caterpillars, &c. but the former seem to be intended here, which sometimes God threatens and sends to a people disobedient and rebellious; see Leviticus 26:22 ; and they spoil it; or, "make it childless" (x); they or I bereave the inhabitants of it of their children; or bereave it of other cattle that are tame, as sheep and oxen, as well as of men and women also, and even destroy the fruits of the earth: so that it be desolate; having neither men nor cattle, corn or tillage, or any other fruit; all being destroyed by the evil beats, who have commission to pass through it, and lay it waste wherever they come, without control: that no man may pass through because of the beasts; for fear of them: not only the inhabitants of the land should be destroyed by them, but even travellers, such as come from other countries, would not choose to pass through it because of the beasts; so that it would on this account be destitute both of inhabitants and of travellers; and must be a most desolate place, where only wild beasts were to be seen, ranging about at pleasure. (x) "orbaturas eam", Pagninus, Montanus; "orbaturas eam", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus; "orbam fecere i

Ezekiel 14:15-21 . If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land — We find it was one punishment of the inhabitants of Judea, to be infested by lions and other wild beasts. To this their neighbourhood to the deserts of Arabia exposed them; and God, at certain times, to punish them for their sins, either by causing a scarcity of food in the deserts, or by some other means, influenced these wild beasts to make incursions into Judea, in great numbers, which they otherwise were not wont to do. Or if I bring a sword upon that land, &c. — “If I deliver a land into the hand of a cruel enemy. The conquerors’ sword is often called the sword of the Lord, in the prophets, because they are the executioners of God’s judgments.” So that I cut off man and beast from it — “Men are destroyed by the sword, and the cattle are driven away by the enemy; or else consumed by pestilence, arising from the air’s being corrupted through the stench of dead bodies.” Or I send pestilence, and pour out my fury in blood — With great destruction of men’s lives, Ezekiel 38:22 ; for every kind of sudden and immature death is called blood in the Hebrew.

How much more — Shall there be an utter destruction; when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem — “If it is just, with respect to other countries, that the good alone should escape punishment, how much more with respect to Jerusalem, after such repeated instructions and admonitions?” And if the intercessions of such holy men as those above mentioned could not prevent the execution of one of these four judgments upon those that had filled up the measure of their iniquities, how much less would they be able to keep off all the four, when I commission them all to come at once?

(15-20) In these verses the same declaration is repeated, for the sake of emphasis, with each one of three other instruments of punishment, with only such variations of phraseology as are required for rhetorical reasons. The phrase “their own souls ” is here also simply equivalent to “themselves.” The judgments mentioned are all taken from the warnings in Leviticus 26, the famine from Leviticus 26:26 , the wild beasts from Leviticus 26:22 , the sword and also the pestilence from Leviticus 26:25 .

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 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.

Noisome beasts are one of the great plagues or armies that God hath always at his command. To pass through the land; to range over the land, and spoil their cattle, devour their servants and children, and destroy travellers, and make it as a wilderness. No man may pass through without much danger, and great guards that may repel the wild ravening beasts.

15-21. The argument is cumulative. He first puts the case of the land sinning so as to fall under the judgment of a famine (Eze 14:13); then (Eze 14:15) "noisome beasts" (Le 26:22); then "the sword"; then, worst of all, "pestilence." The three most righteous of men should deliver only themselves in these several four cases. In Eze 14:21 he concentrates the whole in one mass of condemnation. If Noah, Daniel, Job, could not deliver the land, when deserving only one judgment, "how much more" when all four judgments combined are justly to visit the land for sin, shall these three righteous men not deliver it.