In Ezekiel 14 the Lord is speaking of the definite judgement which will come upon His faithless people. They have not seen His glory nor listened to His Word of truth (see Ezekiel 12:2) and have instead “set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces” (Ezekiel 14:3).

To underline the certainty of His judgement upon Jerusalem, God makes a subtle illusion to the account of Abraham negotiating with the Lord of the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah and the destiny of Abraham’s nephew Lot (see Genesis 18-19). In those chapters, the assumption underlying Abraham’s appeal is that God would be unjust if He destroyed a city with righteous people living in it (see Genesis 18:19-26). As it turned out, only Lot and three of his family- including two of his children- escaped the city before it was destroyed.

With this story as a background, the Lord draws on the example of three individuals who might be expected to save their communities. If Ezekiel’s audience had this hope for Jerusalem, then they would be found wanting! (Ezekiel 14:16, 18, 20)

The examples of Noah and Job are straightforward: both were “righteous” (Genesis 6:9) and “blameless and upright” (Job 1:8), and both were unable to secure the future of their children (Noah could not keep his son Ham’s line from a curse and Job’s prayerful intercession did not prevent calamity on his family). In other words, the fate of the children is not determined by the faith of the father.

The reference to Daniel is more difficult. The natural assumption is that this must be Ezekiel’s contemporary- the Daniel from the book that bears his name who served in exile in the Babylonian court (see Daniel 1:1-7). It is worth noting that the name is spelled differently in the Hebrew in Ezekiel (dani’el) and in the book of Daniel (daniyye’l). This could be two different form of the same name and person. But given that the fame of Daniel in Babylon would likely not yet have spread to the point where he was as well known as Noah and Job is problematic.

John Hilber gives us another option:

The biblical “Daniel” does not parallel the other two individuals in Ezekiel 14. Both Noah and Job are famous Gentile exemplars from the distant past… Furthermore, because the biblical Daniel has no children, he is not as suitable for literary effect as the other two figures whose children play a role in their stories. There is another possibility, that “Daniel” refers to a famous king of ancient Near Eastern legend (“Dan’el”), whose story is known from extra-biblical texts found at Ugarit. The story depicts him as a just king who cares for widows and orphans and earns the blessing of the gods, but such favour does not prevent the ultimate murder of his male heir… If this interpretation is correct, then we have three righteous gentile men from distant times and places, who are ultimately unable to save their children. The rhetorical point is that there is even less hope that one righteous man could avert the judgement of an entire nation.

In the face of God’s judgement, a faithful person can sometimes move God to mercy. There does come a point, however, when the decree of judgement is irreversible and the protective presence of the righteous can no longer make a difference.

A significant point to take from Ezekiel’s message is that merely being associated with a godly person is not enough to turn away God’s ultimate judgement (see Jesus speaking with Nicodemus in John 3:5-7). If someone ponders their relationship with God, they must realise that their dealings with Him are one to one. Belonging to a Christian family, attending the ‘right’ kind of church, holding a church leadership position, association with a respected charity group, or hanging out with godly friends, will all count for nothing in themselves in the face of God’s judgement.

Accepting Jesus as Lord by faith is all that ultimately matters.