The big picture
Elders of Israel, the people bound to God, come and sit before Ezekiel, his prophet. God exposes an obstacle before they ask their question: they have given their hearts to idols. Seeking a prophetic answer does not remove that divided loyalty. God calls for a real turning away from false worship. He then explains that even the presence of deeply righteous people cannot save others from the judgement on a guilty land. Those who survive will help the exiles understand its cause.
In this chapter
- The Elders Bring Idols in Their Hearts Ezekiel 14:1-5
The visiting elders sit before Ezekiel, but God describes what their outward visit conceals.
- Both the Seeker and Prophet Answer Ezekiel 14:6-11
God calls his people to turn from idols and evil acts.
- Righteous People Cannot Rescue Everyone Else Ezekiel 14:12-20
God describes a land that sins gravely and faces famine.
- Survivors Will Reveal the Cause Ezekiel 14:21-23
God applies the warning to Jerusalem, the capital city, where all four judgements will fall: war, famine, dangerous beasts, and disease.
Central truth
God confronts hidden loyalty to idols and declares that another person's righteousness cannot shield a guilty land from his judgement.
Scripture beside the summary
Ezekiel · King James Version · 23Ezekiel 14:1-5
The Elders Bring Idols in Their Hearts
The visiting elders sit before Ezekiel, but God describes what their outward visit conceals. They have given their hearts to idols. They keep the cause of their sin before them. He asks whether such people should expect to question him. Anyone who comes to a prophet while retaining that loyalty will receive an answer matching the idols. God means to seize his people's hearts through that answer because their false worship has separated them from him. A religious visit does not place their hidden commitments outside the reach of his reply.
In everyday life
A debt adviser watches a client ask for a repayment plan while keeping a new gambling account open on his phone. The meeting cannot be useful if the spending remains outside the discussion. She brings the account into the calculation. God answers the elders' hidden idol worship himself; the adviser only works with disclosed evidence.
Notice
Ezekiel 14:3 The idols are described as lodged in the heart. The accusation reaches inward loyalty even while the men outwardly sit before a prophet seeking an answer.
Ezekiel 14:1-5
King James Version1Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
2And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
3Son 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 enquired of at all by them?
4Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
5That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
Ezekiel 14:6-11
Both the Seeker and Prophet Answer
God calls his people to turn from idols and evil acts. The warning also applies to a foreign guest. He too must not leave God and then ask a prophet for an answer. God will confront that person and cut him off. God says that he has deceived a prophet who gives a false word. He does not explain how his action fits with human blame. Both the false prophet and the one who seeks him must bear the cost. God's stated purpose is to stop the wandering and renew the bond between himself and his people.
In everyday life
A licensing assessor places a dishonest application beside the certificate knowingly issued to support it. The applicant cannot shift all blame to the certifier, and the certifier cannot hide behind the request. Both signatures remain on the papers. God also speaks of deceiving the prophet under judgement, which this comparison does not explain.
Notice
Ezekiel 14:10 The prophet and the person who consults him both bear punishment. Seeking a convenient religious answer does not transfer the seeker's responsibility onto the speaker alone.
Ezekiel 14:6-11
King James Version6Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
7For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:
8And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
9And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
10And 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;
11That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither 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 14:12-20
Righteous People Cannot Rescue Everyone Else
God describes a land that sins gravely and faces famine. Even Noah, Daniel, and Job, three men named as examples of righteousness, would save only their own lives there. He repeats the point for dangerous beasts, war, and disease. Even their sons and daughters would not be saved by their good lives. The repeated cases close off each route of assumed protection. Each man has been faithful. Yet that cannot shield a whole land from blame. God will still judge the land. The good people within it do not change that.
In everyday life
The probate solicitor explains separate case files to relatives who keep pointing to their respected grandfather's record. His good name does not alter the evidence attached to each of their names. The papers must be considered separately. Ezekiel concerns life under God's judgement, and the three righteous men are more than character witnesses in a legal case.
Notice
Ezekiel 14:20 The named men cannot deliver even a son or daughter by their righteousness. The closest family tie does not erase the distinction between their conduct and another's.
Ezekiel 14:12-20
King James Version12The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,
13Son 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:
14Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.
15If 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:
16Though 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.
17Or 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:
18Though 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.
19Or 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:
20Though 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.
Ezekiel 14:21-23
Survivors Will Reveal the Cause
God applies the warning to Jerusalem, the capital city, where all four judgements will fall: war, famine, dangerous beasts, and disease. People and animals will be cut off. Yet sons and daughters will survive and come out to the exiles. Their deeds will show the exiles why God acted. This will bring a measure of comfort concerning the disaster, because they will see it was not without cause. The promise does not call the pain good. It says that the lives of those who remain will make the reason clear.
In everyday life
The resettled community elder listens as newly arrived residents describe the conduct that continued inside their ruined town. The details answer questions left open by distant reports. She gains clarity without taking pleasure in the loss. God promises that the survivors' ways will confirm his judgement's cause, not merely add information to a human account.
Notice
Ezekiel 14:23 God points to the survivors' ways and deeds as the evidence the exiles will see. They will find some peace through knowing he did not act without cause.
Ezekiel 14:21-23
King James Version21For 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?
22Yet, 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.
23And 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Ezekiel 14:1 begins with “Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.”
Where the chapter turns
Ezekiel 14:6 forms a natural hinge: “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your…”
The final note
Ezekiel 14:23 leaves the reader with “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…”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, Israel, idols, land, beast, deliver help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- estranged
- Separated in relationship, no longer living in faithful closeness.
- noisome
- Harmful or dangerous, here describing wild beasts.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
