"The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 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 beast from it: Though these men, NOAH, DANIEL, and JOB, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God" (Ezek. 14:12-14).
This is a very vital part of the scriptures that would encourage us to live a consecrated life unto God. In the text above, God testified about NOAH, DANIEL and JOB. For God to say "though these men... were in it", it means their presence could cause a change in that situation. It means they got to the stage where God can leave off destroying the land because of them. God repeated this statement in verses 16, 18 and 20. This leaves us with the question: "What was special about these three men, that God would have to reference them like this?".
One thing they had in common is consecration. They presented themselves living sacrifices meet for the master's use. Noah was a just man and perfect in his generation (Gen. 6:9) and in the sight of the Lord (Gen. 6:8) even in the midst of a crooked and perverse world. In addition to this, He obeyed God in faith, carrying out an instruction that would take him several years to complete; building the ark, when there was no rain. Daniel also made up his mind not to defile himself in anyway (Dan. 1:8). Job was a man who stood firm with God through thick and thin. Even when life and death 'played chess' over his life, he stood his ground in God's promises to be with Him always, despite his condition (Job 42:2). Beloved, God can reference you for good, but you've got to humble yourself (2Pet.5:6) and remain consecrated in your duties, in worship and in all you will ever be engaged in. David was called a man after God's heart because he humbled himself before God. He sought for God diligently and found Him.
May we find grace to abide till he comes to take us home in the name of Jesus.
Ikpa Onwuka.
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