Ezekiel 14
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.
Ezekiel was a prophet amongst those in exile. He was from a priestly family and grew up in Judea. God revealed many things to him. Many times in Ezekiel we read that the hand of the Lord was upon him.
Israel went into exile because they continually disobeyed God. That’s a picture of a Christian who knows that he’s not doing God’s will but still continues in disobedience.
Juda went into exile and God was so wroth with them that He said that even these three men will only save themselves by their righteousness and not any one else. How did these three men get it right to live a victorious Christian life in their evil and wicked time?
Looking at the world around us one wonders what hope there is for the world.
Let’s first look at Noah. Noah was the son of Lamech. Noah was the tenth generation from Adam. The Bible tells us that Noah lived in a very difficult time, where the imaginations of men were evil continually. God saw how wickedness increased continually, and He decided to destroy man from the face of the earth. He found one man among them who were upright. He lived a blameless life before God and men. Because of that he found mercy in the eyes of God. So God said that even though He had decided to destroy the world He would save Noah.
Noah separated from the world and feared God. You too need to separate from the things of the world.
Let’s also look at Daniel. The king of Babylon looked for the best young men without defect. So too today the enemy, satan, looks for the most brilliant and beautiful young people to serve him.
They were taught the language of the Chaldeans. So too many children of Christians are speaking the language of the Chaldeans, of the world. Even the way they speak to each other when they’re alone; it’s the language of the world.
When these young people knew that they were assigned the food offered to idols from the king’s table, Daniel resolved not to be defiled with the royal food and wine. That speaks about an inner decision in his heart. He made this decision while in exile away from his parents.
There are many Christians that need to make this decision in these days. They cannot discern between that which is right and wrong.
Daniel could discern and made that resolution in his heart.
Daniel also approached the matter with wisdom so that the guard that was appointed over them eventually agreed that they could be excused from the king’s meat and wine.
Let’s look at the end of Daniel’s life at the time of king Darius. Daniel was one of three administrators appointed by the king. But Daniel distinguished himself because God’s Spirit was upon him. The others were jealous of him and sought to harm him. So they approached the king with subtlety that no one may worship anyone else except the king for thirty days. When Daniel heard of it, he didn’t consult with flesh and blood but simply continued as before and worshipped God three times a day with his windows open towards Jerusalem. And God was faithful and delivered him.
When God delivered Daniel, the king issued an edict that all should fear and tremble before the God of Daniel, for He is the living God. Daniel’s faithfulness glorified the name of the Lord.
God still delivers and can deliver you from your bondage today, if you will come to Him.