47 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
47 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Ezekiel 14:12–23"
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date = "2023-04-05"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ezekiel14.12-23)
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The message from the Lord turns back to the fate of Jerusalem, and the surety
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of its destruction. He declares that if the three righteous men Noah, Daniel,
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and Job had been living in it, their presence would not have kept the Lord from
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wiping out the city, though their own lives would have been spared. Not even
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their sons or daughters would be saved, presumably because they would not have
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been righteous in Jerusalem like their fathers.
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These three names should be instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with the
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Bible, and each of them was famously righteous in the midst of God's judgement.
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However, the one who studies the history of the Bible will see a problem.
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Daniel the prophet is one of the few individuals in a Biblical narrative with
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no sins or shortcomings recorded in it, so he qualifies for this list in that
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respect. But he wasn't famous yet. He was exiled in the first deportation like
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Ezekiel was, but after six years Nebuchadnezzar may or may not have had the
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dream recorded in Daniel 2, and Daniel may or may not have been second in the
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kingdom. Even if he had, most of the empire would only have known him as
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Belteshazzar, and he would not have been famous for being righteous, _per se_.
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Also, the spelling is different in Hebrew. A better transliteration might be
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Danel.
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So who is this Danel mentioned by the Lord? He is mentioned again in Ezekiel 28
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when the prince of Tyre is compared to him because of his wisdom. Modern
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scholarship believes Danel to be an Ugaritic king famed for his wisdom and
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righteousness, though the tablet fragments mention him in connection with
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Caananite gods. It's not conclusive, but it is the best lead we have. If this
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is the same person, all three righteous men in our passage are non-Israelites
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who were righteous in the midst of destruction.
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The point God is making is the same one He made with Sodom and Gomorrah: a few
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righteous people are not enough to spare the entire wicked community. Sword,
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famine, wild beasts, and pestilence are all coming to ravage the city of
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Jerusalem. However, a few people will be saved from these disasters, and these
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few will become a consolation to the exiles, because they will be the righteous
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remnant who did not follow in the ways of their peers. Thus will everyone know
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that God has dealt righteously with Jerusalem.
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* * *
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Again and again You have shown Yourself to be just and righteous.
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