Ezekiel 14:12-23

content/bible_journal/ezekiel_14:12-23.md

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