Thought from today’s Bible reading from Ezekiel 13-15.
“‘Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, send famine against it and cut off from it both man and beast, even though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves,’ declares the Lord God.
“‘If I were to cause wild beasts to pass through the land and they depopulated it, and it became desolate so that no one would pass through it because of the beasts, though these three men were in its midst, as I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘they could not deliver either their sons or their daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the country would be desolate’” (Ezekiel 14:13-16).
The three individuals mentioned – Noah, Daniel, and Job – were known for their trust in God and their obedience to Him. Each one was delivered from some great ordeal: Noah from the flood, Daniel from the lion’s den, and Job from his severe hardship and loss.
The people to whom Ezekiel was prophesying were also in the midst of suffering – they had been taken from their homeland and were in Babylonian captivity. Yet even if great men of faith like Noah, Daniel, and Job were among them, that would not result in the nation’s deliverance. Their righteousness “could only deliver themselves.”
This reminds us of the fact that we are each accountable to God for our own actions. If the people wanted to receive God’s favor, it would not be enough simply to have a few righteous men among them. They would have to be righteous themselves. They could not blame anyone else for causing God’s wrath to come upon them or for preventing their deliverance. They needed to be sure that their own lives were right before God.
We must do the same. Do not blame others for your shortcomings. Do not think you can be saved by the actions of others. If you want to be saved, you must do what God expects you to do (Hebrews 5:9).
Tomorrow’s reading: Ezekiel 16-17
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
