Noah, Daniel, and Job

Have you ever had a distinct challenge from God? It's a wonderful testimony of His faithfulness to us. Recently I was reading in Ezekiel, and I ran across a passage that stood out. Ezekiel 14:13: "Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and best from it." If that's as far as you read, it's a pretty dismal verse. Doesn't give much hope for humanity. Basically God is saying that if the earth becomes too sinful, He'll destroy it. But the next verse was a real challenge to me. Ezekiel 14:14: "Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God."

Though the world was in peril many times, these three still were saved. First of all, just look at the names. Noah, Daniel, and Job; all names of men who were stedfast in the faith and endured perilous times. By faith, Noah built the ark and saved his family, despite being opposed by everyone else. Daniel was exiled to Bablyon in 605 B.C., but he kept close to God and garnered a reputation of a righteous man. Job was severely tested, but still held faithful to God. Each of them, in their own respective times, behaved righteously. They all lived in corrupt times, but prevailed because of their commitment to God. The caliber of these individuals is not to be taken lightly. And it causes me to think. If these three pillars of faith were saved, I have to be like them to save myself. That's a tall order, and it won't come easily.

The next part of the verse says "they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness." Their responsibility was individual, they couldn't save those around them. But, just as we can't save those around us, they can't save us either. Our walk is individual. We can't get by with being around holy people, we have to walk the walk ourselves. It also says they did it by their righteousness. It's not the righteousness of others. Establishing ourselves in Christ and proving ourselves righteous in His sight. The final part of the verse gives us an assurance; "saith the Lord God" indicates that He will personally honor our service to Him. That's a promise we can hold on to. This verse was such a challenge to me, but also an encouragement. We live in a perverse, divisive, and wicket generation. There's a lot of people not living for God, and it can be worrying sometimes. But, we have to keep ourselves righteous like Noah, Daniel, and Job. It's no easy task, but we can do it and save ourselves from God's judgment. Stay encouraged!