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 Ezekiel
18: is a marvelous chapter on the fairness and justice of God.
Its message is in an Old Testament setting, but it portrays an
attribute of God which is unchanged; and it should be read today
— with care.
The
Israelites had a proverb: “The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge” —by which they
blamed their troubles on an earlier generation. God said, yes,
your fathers sinned, but “ye have done evil more than your
fathers.” “Every one shall die for his own iniquity: every
man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.”
(Jer. 16:l0-f. 31:29-30)
“The
soul that sinneth, it shall die: the son shall not bear the
iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the
iniquity of the son.” The physical and environmental
consequences of one generation’s sin may affect generations to
come (Ex. 20:5, 34:7) but God categorically denies that the
guilt of one is passed to another. By one man (Adam) sin entered
the world, and so spiritual death; but all die (spiritually) “for
that all have sinned.” (Rom. 5:12) THE death (see Greek) and
THE righteousness (the extremes, viewed metaphorically) are
through or by Adam and Christ respectively. But we are condemned
as individuals, on the basis of individual sins; and made
righteous, through forgiveness, as we individually come to
Christ. (Rom. 5:17-21, Acts 2:38-41) As Ezekiel records: “Therefore
I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his
ways, saith the Lord Jehovah.” (v.30) We have such a God now.
(Rom. 2:2-11)
Our
text also shows that man can
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change — from wicked to righteous and
from righteous to wicked. Free agency is not limited to a
one-way street. “If the wicked turn from all his sins that he
hath committed, and keep all my statutes...he shall surely live.”
“But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness
... None of his righteous deeds...shall be remembered in his
trespass...and in his sin… in them shall he die.” (Vs.
21-24)
We
are not judged by our past performance. To put it in N.T. words,
it is not enough that we once came into: God’s light; we must
continue “walking in the light.” The Jew pointed to his
ancestry and past glory; and we drag out our baptismal
certificate but God says, “What are you now! Are you striving
to follow me today?” If you have been tempted to
believe some sort of “cloak of righteousness” is spread over
the impenitent sinner that his past answers for today, read
Ezek. 18: carefully. (And study the subjunctive present “IF”
we “walk and “confess” of 1 Jn. 1:7-9.)
God
says, through Ezekiel, “For I have no pleasure in the death of
him that dieth,-- wherefore turn you selves, and live.” (v.
32) This idea is expressed in 2 Pet. 3:9 where are told, “The
Lord is… not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance.” The decision, in this life, is
ours. We say “Yes” or “No” to God — for a time! But we
must meet Him in final judgement, where He will determine our
eternal destiny. Are we doomed to repeat the errors of Ezekiel’s
day despite our advantage in Christ??
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