Ezekiel 14:12

“The word of the Lord came again unto saying.] At the same time as before, continuing the prophecy, and a denunciation of judgments; for it does not seem to begin a new prophecy. The Targum renders it, the word of prophecy from the Lord.”

“The second part of the chapter: the effect which the presence of a few righteous persons was to have on the purposes of God (compare Gen 18:24-32). God had told Jeremiah that the guilt of Judah was too great to be pardoned even for the intercession of Moses and Samuel (Psa 99:6; Jer 14:2; Jer 15:1), which had prevailed formerly (Exo 32:11-14; Num 14:13-20; Sa1 7:8-12), implying the extraordinary heinousness of their guilt, since in ordinary cases "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man (for others) availeth much" (Jam 5:16). Ezekiel supplements Jeremiah by adding that not only those two once successful intercessors, but not even the three pre-eminently righteous men, Noah, Daniel,…”

“Jeremiah 14:0; Jeremiah 15:0 is a remarkable parallel to this prophecy. Here, as elsewhere, Ezekiel is commissioned to deliver to the exiles the same message which Jeremiah conveys to the inhabitants of Judaea. The answer discovers the nature of the questions which had been expressed or implied. (1) Can God cast out a people who are holy unto Himself? (2) Is it just to punish them with utter desolation? The prophet answers: (1) That when a people is so corrupt as to call down national judgment, individual piety shall save none but the individuals themselves. (2) The corrupt condition of the people shall be made so manifest, that none will question the justice of God in dealing thus severely…”

“14:12-20 Israel had not been unjustly singled out for judgment. If any country were to sin against the Lord, the result would be the same. It is clear that Israel is in view here, however, because the language used to describe their sin is used elsewhere to describe a breach in Israel’s covenant relationship with the Lord. The covenant was broken, so the nation would inevitably and justly experience the covenant curses that they had ratified at the time the covenant was first made (Lev 26). • The covenant curses are itemized in four test cases. Each case envisions one of the curses listed in Lev 26: famine (Ezek 14:13-14; see Lev 26:26), wild animals (Ezek 14:15-16; see Lev 26:22), war (Ezek…”

“The Righteousness of the Godly will not Avert the Judgment The threat contained in the preceding word of God, that if the idolaters did not repent, God would not answer them in any other way than with an exterminating judgment, left the possibility still open, that He would avert the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem for the sake of the righteous therein, as He had promised the patriarch Abraham that He would do in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah ( Gen 18:23.). This hope, which might be cherished by the people and by the elders who had come to the prophet, is now to be taken from the people by the word of God which follows, containing as it does the announcement, that if any land should sin…”