The Destiny of Nations
Introduction
What do Noah, Daniel, and Job have in common? In a word, the answer is deliverance. George Williams (1850-1928) explains, “Noah’s family owed their salvation [deliverance] to him Gen vi. 6-9 and 18 and vii. 1, Daniel’s companions were similarly saved [delivered] Dan ii. 12, 17, 49), and Job’s three friends were pardoned [delivered] because of Job’s intercession (Job xlii. 7-9).”[1]
We read about Noah in Genesis 6:6-9, “And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. ”
We read about Daniel in Daniel 2:12, 17, and 49, “For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. . . . Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions . . . . Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.”
We read about Job in Job 42:7-9, “And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.’ So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD commanded them; for the LORD had accepted Job.”
Please note we find the word translated “deliver” or “delivered” seven times in our text. From Ezekiel 14:12-20 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. ‘If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, even though these three men were in it, as I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate. ‘Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I cut off man and beast from it, even though these three men were in it, as I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered. ‘Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”
I. A Promise of Destruction.
God through the prophet Ezekiel, here issues a warning to nations.
George Williams writes, “In Jeremiah xv. 1 guilty Jerusalem was told that the intercession of Moses and Samuel (Exodus xxxii. 11-14, Num xiv. 13-20, 1 Sam vii. 8-12) would fail to avert her coming doom, and in this chapter it is added that the presence in the city of Noah, Daniel and Job would also fail to preserve it from destruction.”[2]
Please note the threat of famine, wild beasts, the sword, and pestilence looms on the horizon as we read in our passage. In Ezekiel 14:13b-20, “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. ‘If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, even though these three men were in it, as I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate. ‘Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I cut off man and beast from it, even though these three men were in it, as I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered. ‘Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.’”
II. A Prayer for Deliverance.
This passage dispels a delusion about deliverance. Featuring three individuals God reveals the limit of influence and intercession. George Williams points out, “Noah was ‘perfect’ (Gen vi. 9), Daniel ‘greatly beloved’ (Dan x. 11), and Job, ‘unequalled in the earth’ (Job i. 8).”[3]
William MacDonald (1917-2007) explains, “Judah’s guilt was too great to be pardoned, even through the intercession of Noah, Daniel, and Job. What about our society with its crime, violence, abortion, immorality, idolatry, drugs, and secular humanism?”[4]
God warns His people in Jeremiah 7:4-16, “Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.’ ‘ For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. ‘Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it’ says the LORD. ‘But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. And now, because you have done all these works,’ says the LORD, ‘and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren—the whole posterity of Ephraim. ‘Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you.”
They were given over to idolatry, iniquity, and immorality, but they incorrectly assumed as long as the sanctuary was standing they were still in God’s favor. God warns His people through Ezekiel that they will not escape His judgment simply because saints like Noah, Daniel, and Job are present or even praying.
It is easy to be deluded into thinking that a nation will not be destroyed as long as there is a sanctuary or as long as there are saints in it.
The presence and prayers of God’s people perform a great purpose to a point.
III. A Principle about Decline.
God through the prophet Ezekiel states His complaint in Ezekiel 14:13a, “Son of Man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness. . .” This “persistent unfaithfulness” is a stubborn pattern of reprehensible behavior. From Proverbs 29:1, we read, “He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, / Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”
In the words of James Russell Lowell (1819-1891),
“Once to every man and nation,
Comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with false-hood,
For the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision,
Offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever,
'Twixt that darkness and that light.
Then to side with truth is noble,
When we share her wretched crust,
Ere her cause bring fame and profit,
And 'tis prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses,
While the coward stands aside,
Till the multitude make virtue,
Of the faith they had denied.
Though the cause of evil prosper,
Yet the truth alone is strong:
Though her portion be the scaffold,
And upon the throne be wrong,
Yet that scaffold sways the future,
and, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow,
Keeping watch above his own.”
Conclusion
Dr. J. Harold Smith (1910-2001) preached his signature message all over the country titled “God’s Three Deadlines.” In fact, you can hear him preach this message at the following website http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8284495028410434349# .
We must remember there comes a time in the life of every man and nation when it will be too late for deliverance.
[1]George Williams, The Student’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1960 [1926]), p. 582
[2]George Williams, The Student’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1960 [1926]), p. 582
[3]George Williams, The Student’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1960 [1926]), p. 583
[4]William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), p. 1049
By Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, pastor First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort 30775 Jay Drive Spanish Fort, Alabama 36527
Author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice Available on Amazon.com and WORDsearchbible.com
http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Biblical-Preaching-Giving-Bible/dp/1594577684
http://www.wordsearchbible.com/products/Sound_Biblical_Preaching_1476.html
http://www.webspawner.com/users/franklinlkirksey / fkirksey@bellsouth.net / (251) 626-6210
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