Thursday, October 22, 2015

THREE GREAT MEN- NOAH, DANIEL, JOB...AND AN EVEN GREATER GOD

While studying some of the major prayers in the Book of Job, the Lord brought to mind a statement He made in the Book of the great prophet Ezekiel where three of the Giants of our Judeo-Christian Faith not only stand out but are mentioned to another giant, by the Almighty Himself! This is the only time in Scripture where Holy God Himself, Creator of the Universe, called out three different huge heroes of the Bible from three distinctly transformative periods in time!

Look at what Father God says in Ezekiel 14:14 “even though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves".

What would be the common thread linking these three amazing “Old Testament” saints and why would God mention them to another one of His chosen prophets- Ezekiel? We have no clue! Ha! Who can know the Mind of God and do not even try or we would get the same stunning lecture in the whirlwind that Job got from Chapters 38-42! BUT God did mention them and He never wastes His Words! His Words are true, to be relied upon and there is a reason for everything. So very quickly, let’s see just who these men were and what they did!

Noah – God had enough of all the evil which man had committed and chose one man, Noah, as His prophet to preach for decades (some say 120 years) while he built the most famous sailing vessel in human history- Noah’s Ark, in order to save his family and reboot mankind.   He was the grandson of the great Methuselah.  Bible names actually meant something and God was the one who inspired these names. The name “Methuselah” means “his death shall bring judgment”! This is exactly what happened when Methuselah died at the ripe old age of 969 years! Noah had preached for 120 years. His entire line, from Enoch (who walked with God and was raptured out alive) to Enoch’s son Methuselah and great grandson – Noah – all walked with God….and they were an extremely distinct minority. God had already determined in His Mind to destroy the earth and only rescue Noah (Genesis 6:7) and also regretted making mankind (Genesis 6:6). The Great Flood came and only Noah and his immediate family were saved from destruction – eternal destruction, by God.


Daniel – Daniel is the most amazing of all the major prophets, even more so than the great Isaiah or even Jeremiah! All three men were frontline warriors for the Almighty and Isaiah is the only one of these three to be brought directly into the Throne Room of God – literally – where he was cleansed and sent back on mission. But Daniel had a special anointing on his life. Brought over to Babylon when the Lord sent Nebuchadnezzar to punish Jerusalem, Daniel served many kings and rulers there and prophesied not just current events leading through the death of the pagan king Belshazzar, but the events leading up to the End of Time we are in at present! He prophesied, like Noah, the corruption of man and the approaching Judgment. As in Noah’s time, most today are not heeding the call or understanding the times ….and I am talking about Christians! The favor of God was so overwhelming and powerfully evident in Daniel’s life – from the Lion’s Den to wonderful treatment by the conquering Cyrus – that he should be an example for us, in how to NOT compromise in today’s pagan world. Like Noah, Daniel refused to participate in the evil of his time and so should we. The famed “Daniel Fast” came from Daniel himself who refused to eat the king’s corrupt meat sacrificed to idols, honored the real God and ate vegetables. No wonder the Head Angel from Heaven, Gabriel told him in Daniel 10:12 “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words”!

Job – What an tremendously inspired work of historical literature the Book of Job is! The man, whose story is told here, remains not only a pivotal starting point in Biblical history but is an example of many things which all Christians need to take note of.  He is both an example of strong faith in God and how not to debate God with inaccurate information! Still here is the strong love and favor our Father in Heaven had for Job. Read Job 1:8 as the Lord commands all His angels (including the rebel Satan) to give a report of their actions/whereabouts “Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, and one who fears God and shuns evil?’” We know what happened next: God allowed Satan to do a huge number on Job to test him. Job lost everything and then the huge discourses and prayers in the majority of the book of Job until the end when God Himself calls Job to account – face to Face in a whirlwind and proceeds to explain creation. Job was then blessed even more than he was before the trials.

There is a common thread between the three men – they were all chosen by God for specific purposes which they faithfully executed. Noah, Daniel and Job appeared at different times in human history and Noah and Job being closer to each other than Daniel was. All three giants and heroes of the one and only true Faith, were tested and tried almost to the extreme.  Noah was laughed at and persecuted for over century as he preached the coming Judgment (the Flood). Daniel was put upon by those who hated him in the Babylon hierarchy and ended up in a Lion’s Den with ferocious lions. Job lost all his children to violent deaths. He was besot by horrible sores and painful body issues for a very long period of time. All of these actions were perpetrated by the evil one, Satan.

All three men persevered throughout their trials of Faith in Action and accomplished their plans. While all three – Noah, Daniel and Job had the massive favor of God on their amazing lives….as good as they were, God is saying this about them – THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS “GROUP SALVATION” (as some liberal, unbelieving politicians and theologians believe)! It is a warning to the church today and to families specifically, who call themselves Christian. To put it bluntly, God has no grandchildren! Noah, Daniel and Job were made righteous before God (saved as Old Testament saints) because of their OWN full faith and obedience to Him.  But their status before Him is theirs alone, as is ours.  The Lord created individuals and entire groups of people, unfortunately including people close to each of us, will be lost on the Day of Judgment because they did not personally respond to the Gospel and make a commitment of Faith in God, through Christ. There is coming a day when God Himself will do to this world what He says here to Ezekiel, and only those who have repented and have Jesus as Lord and Master of their lives will be saved and separated from the crowd….just like Noah, Daniel and Job.

God to Ezekiel (14:13-14) and thus the world today: “Son of man, when a land (country) 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 three man, Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness” says the LORD God.
Translation – the rain falls equally on everybody, but only His people will be ultimately rescued and saved.
Action Point  - make sure that YOU and yours are one of His (God’s), because Judgment is coming to the world, God will not put up with this for much longer. 

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Excellent Study

Norman Duxfield. said...

I think the thread that links these guy is their faithfulness to God.
Although Job was told, by his wife, ‘to curse God and die’. He remained faithful and trusting.
Noah, who live in times of utter idolatry and unfaithfulness, was himself faithful to God.
Daniel, although a cultured slave in a foreign land was also faithful to God in all things.
Surely this is an encouragement and a challenge to each one of us.
Norman Duxfield.

Unknown said...

In the book of 1 Peter we read of how difficult it is for the righteous to be saved. They undergo intense refinement through suffering. We need all of us to truly learn to persevere. Be humble under God's mighty hand. All christians undergo the same suffering.