Ezekiel 14:12-23 – We are individually accountable to God.

For the sin committed in Jerusalem, she would not be spared. This was what God wanted the people to know through the Prophet Ezekiel. We surmise that there were those who doubted that Jerusalem would end in such a fate because of the conflicting messages of the false prophets. Here in Ezekiel 14:12-20, God said in no uncertain terms concerning the certainty of the destruction of the city and the people.

Hypothetically God was saying Jerusalem had reached such a deplorable stage where even if three notable righteous characters, namely Noah, Daniel, and Job were present He would still not spare her.  However, only these three righteous ones would be spared. Noah was the one God kept alive from the judgment of the flood. Daniel was the prophet who refused to compromise. His godliness stood out in the exile in Babylon. Job according to God had no equal in righteousness. He was the most righteous man in the East.

In this passage, God detailed four ways by which Jerusalem and her people would be judged. Through famine, ravaging wild animals, war, and plagues, the city and her people would be destroyed. None would be spared. The point God wanted to underscore was this: the presence of a few righteous could not avert God’s judgment coming upon them.  

However, in verses 21-23, we see a surprising twist. God said there would be some who be brought out from the ruin. Notice the word is not saved from it but brought out from the catastrophe. He allowed this survival for a reason.  They were brought to assure those already in exile, to show them the horrible depravity of Jerusalem.  With their deplorable behavior on display among them, they would fully understand why the judgment on Jerusalem was justifiably needed. They would have nothing to say but to know that God had no other option but to act the way He did.

What is the takeaway? No one can be saved based on borrowed righteousness. Everyone is responsible and accountable for himself or herself. Our righteousness is the imputed righteousness of Christ. We have this imputed righteousness because we put our total trust in His atoning sacrifice at Calvary. Only with Him as our Savior, Lord, and Master that we become redeemed members of the New Covenant community. And as we walk in obedience, will we be able to experience the deep assurance of our blessed future in Him. It is by grace through faith that we are saved. It is a gift of God and therein have nothing in ourselves that we can use to boast.