14:1 Then some men from Israel’s elders came to me and sat down in front of me.
Some of the elders of Jerusalem visited Ezekiel at his home
14:2 The word of the Lord came to me:
A fourth prophetic message came from Jehovah to Ezekiel.
14:3 “Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek me?
Jehovah called Ezekiel the “son of man,” meaning that he was a human being. The Lord Jesus Christ also referred to Himself in this manner, allowing the people to know that He was both human and God. Jehovah informed Ezekiel that the elders were hypocrites. They were pretending to honor and seek Jehovah, but they were secretly worshiping demons. Jehovah asked Jeremiah if he should allow these hypocritical elders to seek information from Him.
14:4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When any one from the house of Israel erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally according to the enormity of his idolatry.
If an idol worshiper comes to seek knowledge from Jehovah, then Jehovah would tell him that the only thing that he needs to know was to quit worshiping idols and turn to Jehovah instead
14:5 I will do this in order to capture the hearts of the house of Israel, who have alienated themselves from me on account of all their idols.’
Israel was caught in the snare of demonism. There only escape was to alienate themselves from these demonic idols.
14:6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Return! Turn from your idols, and turn your faces away from your abominations.
The only message that the house of Israel was to receive about the future was to quit worshiping demonic idols and turn to Jehovah.
14:7 For when anyone from the house of Israel, or the foreigner who lives in Israel, separates himself from me and erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet to seek something from me, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally.
The Hebrew word for “foreigner” is גֵּר (gēr), meaning a resident alien in Israel who had accepted the Mosaic Law. If an Israelite or a resident alien worshiped idols and asked Jehovah about his future, then Jehovah would answer them personally. However, they would not like His answer.
14:8 I will set my face against that person and will make him an object lesson and a byword and will cut him off from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
If the person worshiped idols and asked Jehovah for His advice, then Jehovah would make him an example of him by executing him. He would take away his physical life. Then, all of Israel would know that Jehovah is the sovereign God over all things.
14:9 “ ‘As for the prophet, if he is made a fool by being deceived into speaking a prophetic word—I, the Lord, have made a fool of that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel.
Jehovah would allow false prophets to be deceived by their demonic sources. God would cause their prophecies to fail, making them look foolish.
It is important to note that God does allow false prophets to exist in modern cults, isms, and charismatic churches. God does allow these false prophets to deceive their listeners. If one of these listeners is not grounded in Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God, then they will be deceived by these false prophets. These listeners will be more interested in the spoken and written words of the false prophets than they are in the study of the written Word of God. This is why it is very important for believers to become Bereans so that they can check out the teachings of their teachers. One cannot become a Berean unless one studies in the entire counsel of the Word of God from the original languages.
14:10 They will bear their punishment; the punishment of the one who sought an oracle will be the same as the punishment of the prophet who gave it
Jehovah would administer capital punishment upon these false prophets of Judah. These false prophets would commit the sin unto death.
14:11 so that the house of Israel will no longer go astray from me, nor continue to defile themselves by all their sins. They will be my people and I will be their God, declares the sovereign Lord.’ ”
The false prophets were deceiving Israel. Since Israel would not enforce the Mosaic Law of executing false prophets, then Jehovah must enforce capital punishment himself. Otherwise, Israel would be led astray.
14:12 The word of the Lord came to me:
Jehovah gave a fifth prophetic message to Ezekiel.
14:13 “Son of man, suppose a country sins against me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out my hand against it, cut off its bread supply, cause famine to come on it, and kill both people and animals. 14:14 Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would save only their own lives by their righteousness, declares the sovereign Lord.
Jehovah addressed Ezekiel as a “son of man,” meaning that Ezekiel was a human being who did not understand all of the ways of God. Jehovah gave Ezekiel four possible scenarios to describe Judah’s spiritual condition.
The first scenario was that if a nation sinned by committing adultery with demonic idols, then Jehovah would attempt to get her to return back to Him by cutting their food supply. If the famine did not work, then even the prayers of Noah, Daniel, and Job would not be able to save the nation. God had already tried famine on Israel, but she did not return to Him. All of the Jews knew about the righteousness of Noah and Job. Daniel was living in that day as a high governmental official of Babylon. Therefore, the people of Daniel's day should have listened to his prophecies from Babylon.
14:15 “Suppose I were to send wild animals through the land and kill its children, leaving it desolate, without travelers due to the wild animals. 14:16 Even if these three men were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own sons or daughters; they would save only their own lives, and the land would become desolate.
The second scenario was that if a nation sinned by committing adultery with demonic idols, then Jehovah would attempt to get her to return back to Him by sending wild animals to devour her. If the wild animals did not work, then even the prayers of Noah, Daniel, and Job would not save the nation. Notice that the righteous men would be protected from death. When a nation goes against God, then God has always protected the righteous remnant inside of the nation. It is important to note that God had already tried sending wild beasts upon Israel, but she did not return to Him.
14:17 “Or suppose I were to bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through the land,’ and I were to kill both people and animals. 14:18 Even if these three men were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own sons or daughters—they would save only their own lives.
The third scenario was that if a nation sinned by committing adultery with demonic idols, then Jehovah would attempt to get her to return back to Him by sending a powerful and ruthless army against her. If the military attack did not work, then even the prayers of Noah, Daniel, and Job would not be able to save the nation. God had already tried military invasions on Israel, but she did not return to Him.
14:19 “Or suppose I were to send a plague into that land, and pour out my rage on it with bloodshed, killing both people and animals. 14:20 Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own son or daughter; they would save only their own lives by their righteousness.
The fourth scenario was that if a nation sinned by committing adultery with demonic idols, then Jehovah would attempt to get her to return back to Him by sending a deadly plague against her. If the deadly plague did not work, then even the prayers of Noah, Daniel, and Job could not save the nation. God had already sent deadly pestilence upon Israel, but she did not return to Him.
It is interesting to note that the prayers of Noah saved his family. The prayers of Daniel saved his three friends. The prayers of Job saved his friends. However, if these three men lived during the time of Ezekiel, their combined prayers would not be able to save Judah or even their own families from the horrors of the Babylonian Captivity to come.
Judah's cup of iniquity was full. As for as judgement, she was past the point of no return. The Babylonian Captivity was imminent, but God promised to return Israel back to her land in peace. However, this peaceful return will not occur until the end of the Great Tribulation. When the Jews cry out "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord", then the Lord Jesus Christ will return and establish the peace of the Millennial Kingdom.
14:21 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send my four terrible judgments—sword, famine, wild animals, and plague—to Jerusalem to kill both people and animals!
Jehovah is sovereign over all of the events of history. The evil people of Jerusalem will receive four terrible judgments from God. He will send the sword, famine, wild animals, and disease upon them.
14:22 Yet some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out. They will come out to you, and when you see their behavior and their deeds, you will be consoled about the catastrophe I have brought on Jerusalem—for everything I brought on it.
Jehovah will allow some of these evil people from Jerusalem to survive and be transported to Babylon.
14:23 They will console you when you see their behavior and their deeds, because you will know that it was not without reason that I have done everything which I have done in it, declares the sovereign Lord.”
When the believing Jewish Remnant in Babylon receives this new group of Jerusalem immigrants, the they will observe for themselves their extreme wickedness. They will understand why Jehovah judged them so harshly. These prophetic events will happen, because Jehovah is sovereign over all of history. When one learns biblical history, then one is learning the mind of God. Satan wants his pupils to learn the dates, times, and events of the satanic world system from a secular viewpoint. God wants his pupils to learn that history is a study of the sovereignty of God. When history is studied from divine viewpoint, then its is a most fascinating and addictive study. Man will master and get bored with many of the things of life, but man will never master or get bored with the study of the Word of God. This spiritual concept was addressed divinely by Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes.