Even If The Great Ones Are In It . . .

Daily Bread Devotions by Chuck Myer  Daily Bread Archive | Sign up for our resources

From the book of Ezekiel we read,
 

“The word of the LORD came again to me saying, ‘Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,’ says the LORD God.” (Ezekiel 14:12-14 – NKJV)

 
I have this blocked off in my Bible, this “word of the LORD.” God speaks to his prophet Ezekiel and lays out words of judgment that He will bring upon “a land” if they are “persistent” in “unfaithfulness.” The Creator, Yaweh, “will stretch out (His) hand against” the nation that fails to be faithful to Him and His law. 
 
He will, in His righteous judgment, “cut off its supply of bread,” and He will “send famine on” the “land.” He will “cut off man and beast from it.” 
 
This principle is, I believe, alive and active in our day. It is a truth that transcends time. Nations that persist in “unfaithfulness” will be judged by God. Even if, within that nation, righteous individuals exist, that will not deter God carrying out His wrath on the “land” and upon “man and beast.” (Note:  Romans 1:18)
 
In our text of warning it is most interesting that God gives three names of righteous individuals who, even though they might be in the “land” their “righteousness” will “only . . . deliver themselves” and not the nation. “Unfaithfulness” by a nation will not go unpunished even if the great ones are in it. Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job” are in the “land,” these righteous men of God, not even that would constrain God from acting upon a nation’s “unfaithfulness.”
 
I am of the mind that, in our nation today, there are many who are in Christ. There are many men and women of God who are faithful hearers and doers of the Word, striving to practice righteousness as it is laid out in Scripture. I am also of the mind that these are the minority and not the majority. We live in an extremely unfaithful “land,” in an extremely unfaithful world. That would mean that this principle laid out in writing by the prophet Ezekiel is certainly something that we should take serious note of. God will deal with this nation and the nations of the world, just as He has said He would do, even if the great ones are in it, if “a  land” persists in “unfaithfulness.” 
 
Because we are a people that have been lulled into taking so much for granted: there will be a new day, there will be food on the store shelves, there will be a church activity tonight, there will be a car to take me here and there, there will be money in our pockets, there will be a weekend, there are righteous people in the “land” . . . . . I fear we can fall into a false sense of security that all is well, all will go well; you can expect it! But, even if the great ones are in it, the “land” will not go unpunished, the nations will not go without judgment if “unfaithfulness” persists.
 
Have a good day brethren . . . and note God’s righteous examples, Noah, Daniel, and Job. Strive to learn of them and let there righteousness serve as an example for you as you seek to live out your daily life to the glory of God.