1 God reproves the unjust parable of sour grapes. 5 He shows how he deals with a just father: 10 with a wicked son of a just father: 14 with a just son of a wicked father: 19 with a wicked man repenting: 24 with a just man revolting. 25 He defens his justice, 31 and exhorts to repentance.
Eze 18:1 The word of the LORD came to me:
Eze 18:2 “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: “‘The parents eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
Eze 18:3 “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.
Eze 18:4 For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die.
Eze 18:5 “Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right.
Eze 18:6 He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife or have sexual relations with a woman during her period.
Eze 18:7 He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked.
Eze 18:8 He does not lend to them at interest or take a profit from them. He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between two parties.
Eze 18:9 He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign LORD.
Eze 18:10 “Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things
Eze 18:11 (though the father has done none of them): “He eats at the mountain shrines. He defiles his neighbor’s wife.
Eze 18:12 He oppresses the poor and needy. He commits robbery. He does not return what he took in pledge. He looks to the idols. He does detestable things.
Eze 18:13 He lends at interest and takes a profit. Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death; his blood will be on his own head.
Eze 18:14 “But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:
Eze 18:15 “He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife.
Eze 18:16 He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked.
Eze 18:17 He withholds his hand from mistreating the poor and takes no interest or profit from them. He keeps my laws and follows my decrees. He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live.
Eze 18:18 But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.
Eze 18:19 “Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live.
Eze 18:20 The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.
Eze 18:21 “But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die.
Eze 18:22 None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live.
Eze 18:23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
Eze 18:24 “But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.
Eze 18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, you Israelites: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
Eze 18:26 If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die.
Eze 18:27 But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life.
Eze 18:28 Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die.
Eze 18:29 Yet the Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are my ways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
Eze 18:30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.
Eze 18:31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel?
Eze 18:32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!
Eze 18:1 The word of the LORD came to me:
1. The word of the Lord. A new section opens, which deals with the responsibility of the individual. Ezekiel had repeatedly emphasized the certainty of the coming judgments, hoping thereby to lead the people to repentance.
But this salutary purpose was frustrated by the way these judgments were interpreted. The people considered that they were innocent children suffering for the iniquity of their fathers and that consequently repentance was needless and useless. They were not inclined to acknowledge their personal guilt or recognize their individual responsibility.
Eze 18:2 “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: “‘The parents eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
2. Ye use this proverb. The fact that it was termed a “proverb” indicates that the saying was popular. The tense of the Hebrew verb shows that the words were oft repeated. Jeremiah referred to and condemned the same proverb (Jer. 31:29, 30).
The sour grapes the fathers ate represented their own personal sins. The setting of the children’s teeth on edge represented the suffering the Jews felt came upon them in consequence of their fathers’ sins. On the surface it may appear that this proverb is in harmony with what is expressly stated in the second commandment, that the iniquities of the fathers are visited upon the children (Ex. 20:5; Ex. 34:7; Deut. 5:9).
Then why should Ezekiel so strongly condemn it? Ezekiel’s statement and the statement in the law deal with two different aspects of the problem. Ezekiel’s contemporaries insisted that they suffered for their fathers’ guilt. The law deals with the handing down of depravity. “It is inevitable that children should suffer from the consequences of parental wrong-doing, but they are not punished for the parents’ guilt, except as they participate in their sins” (PP 306).
Sin depraved and degraded the nature of Adam and Eve. It was impossible for the parents of the human race to pass on to their posterity that which they themselves did not possess (see GC 533). Hence, we, as their offspring, suffer the result of the transgression of our forefathers, but not through any arbitrary imputation of their guilt. If the latter were true, the charge of unfairness could be sustained.
But in the former case, the element of unfairness is eliminated by the observation that the only alternative course would have been the annihilation of the human family at the time of the first sin. The setting into operation of the plan of salvation involved the necessity of perpetuating the lives of our first parents even though such a perpetuation would permit the working out of the law of heredity. However, the situation was fair since the plan of salvation was instituted, for it provided for ultimate freedom from perverted appetites, debased morals, physical disease and degeneracy, which are transmitted as a legacy from father to son. It provided also victory in this life over hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil.
The ultimate salutary effect will be not only the salvation of untold multitudes but eternal immunity against future transgression. Ezekiel’s countrymen failed to comprehend this truth and falsely charged God with inflicting upon them the punishment for sin for which they in no wise were responsible.
Eze 18:3 “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.
Eze 18:4 For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die.
Every one belongs to me. All are equally His creatures, and His dealings with them are without prejudice or partiality. He loves and would save all, and punishment ensues only when it is deserved.
The one who sins. Though Ezekiel was speaking primarily of the immediately impending judgments, his words have a wider application. They are equally true of the final, irrevocable second death (Rev. 20:14; cf. Matt. 10:28). God’s restored universe verse will have every vestige of sin removed. No reminders of the curse will remain, such as eternally burning souls in an ever-existing hell. God’s triumph over evil will be complete.
The idea that the wicked will be granted eternal life, though in torment, is entirely contrary to the Scriptures. This doctrine rests upon the false premise that the soul is a separate entity and is indestructible. But this idea is derived, not from the Scriptures, but from false philosophical concepts that early found their way into Jewish and Christian thinking. The word translated “soul” (nephesh) does not refer to any immortal part of man nor even to an animating principle in man. It is equivalent to “man,” or “person,” or “self.” Nephesh refers to man as a unique individual, different from every other individual. When this peculiar identity is emphasized, the Scriptures designate man as a “soul.” Ezekiel is here declaring, “the person who sins shall die.” For a more extended discussion of nephesh see on Ps. 16:10.
Eze 18:5 “Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right.
Eze 18:6 He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife or have sexual relations with a woman during her period.
Eat at the mountain shrines. That is, eaten sacrificial meals to heathen deities. God severely condemned such participation in heathen feasts (Eze. 16:16; 22:9; cf. Deut. 12:2).
Lifted up his eyes. Probably denoting a hankering after idolatry (see Gen. 19:26; Matt. 5:28–30).
Hath defiled. See Ex. 20:14; Lev. 20:10.
Come near. See Lev. 18:19; 20:18.
Eze 18:7 He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked.
7. His pledge. See Ex. 22:26; Deut. 24:6, 13.
Given his bread. A virtue frequently enjoined and extolled (see Job 31:16–22; Isa. 58:5–7; Matt. 25:34–46; James 1:27; 2:15, 16).
Eze 18:8 He does not lend to them at interest or take a profit from them. He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between two parties.
8. Usury. Interest, not only exorbitant, but any amount whatsoever. The Mosaic law prohibited the Jews from taking interest from their brethren who had “waxen poor,” but permitted them to take it from a foreigner (see on Ex. 22:25; see Deut. 23:19, 20).
Executed true judgment. See Isa. 33:15; Jer. 7:5; Zech. 7:9. God requires absolute fairness,
Eze 18:9 He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign LORD.
Ezekiel doubtless intended these words to apply primarily to temporal prosperity in this present world, but they are equally true of the future immortal life.
Eternal life is received when the soul accepts Christ. Jesus said, “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47; cf. 1 John 5:11, 12). “Christ became one flesh with us, in order that we might become one spirit with Him. It is by virtue of this union that we are to come forth from the grave,—not merely as a manifestation of the power of Christ, but because, through faith, His life has become ours” (DA 388).
Eze 18:10 “Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things
10. A robber. Verses 10–13 describe the case of a son who, instead of following the good example of his pious parent, adopts a course directly opposite, recklessly abandons virtue, and indulges in crime.
Eze 18:11 (though the father has done none of them): “He eats at the mountain shrines. He defiles his neighbor’s wife.
Eze 18:12 He oppresses the poor and needy. He commits robbery. He does not return what he took in pledge. He looks to the idols. He does detestable things.
Eze 18:13 He lends at interest and takes a profit. Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death; his blood will be on his own head.
Eze 18:14 “But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:
14. Doeth not such like. Verses 14–18 describe the case of a son who, shocked at his father’s sins, is influenced to shun the wickedness of his parent. Here the father has eaten “sour grapes,” and his son’s teeth were not set on edge (see v. 2). The parable is thus directly contradicted. Each man is to be judged according to his own individual character.
Nevertheless it is true that the son of a righteous man may have certain advantages, and the son of a wicked father certain hindrances, with respect to the formation of a righteous character. However, a man’s responsibility is directly proportioned to privilege (see Luke 12:48). But since the gospel contains the power to overcome hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, the effect of an unfavorable heredity can be canceled, at least so far as the attainment of the requisite character is concerned. And since all have the privilege of receiving the gospel, none can validly offer to the Judge in the last day the excuse implied in the parable of the “sour grapes.” The man who is lost will have but himself to blame for his exclusion from heaven.
Eze 18:19 “Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live.
19. Why? doth not the son bear? Or, “Why doth not the son bear?” The query probably has its source in the fact that the parable seemingly contradicts the teaching of the law, the operations of nature, and popular opinion.
Ezekiel does not reason with the human objection, but repeats the law of individual responsibility. In Jewish thinking the individual was regarded as a part of a nation or family. Ezekiel’s new teaching was really a precursor of one of the basic concepts of the new covenant. Under the old covenant (see on ch. 16:60) men believed that salvation was based upon an external connection with the central system of worship. The priest was the interpreter of divine law, and the individual, instead of searching the Scriptures for himself, depended upon the interpretation of the religious leaders. Under the new covenant it is expressly stated, “And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest” (Heb. 8:11; cf. Jer. 31:34).
All were to have direct access to God. No longer were they to worship at Jerusalem through external ceremony, but they would worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:21–24). God requires justice and mercy toward men and humility toward Him (Micah 6:8).
Eze 18:20 The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.
Eze 18:21 “But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. 20. Soul. See on v. 4.
21. If the wicked will turn. The change in individual character is now considered, first, the case of a wicked man repenting and doing righteousness (vs. 21–23, 27, 28), and second, the case of a righteous man falling into wickedness (vs. 24–26).
Eze 18:22 None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live.
22. Shall not be mentioned. Ezekiel now becomes a preacher of the gospel. His theme is justification by faith. Sins are no longer mentioned to the sinner, because through repentance and confession they have been completely forgiven.
They have all been placed upon Jesus, who has become the sinner’s substitute and surety. And the Lord, in return, “places the obedience of His Son to the sinner’s account. Christ’s righteousness is accepted in place of man’s failure, and God receives, pardons, justifies, the repentant, believing soul, treats him as though he were righteous, and loves him as He loves His Son” (EGW RH Nov 4, 1890). Such are the marvelous provisions of Heaven’s plan. Man is accepted before God as if he had not sinned (see SC 67). Thus, wholly surrendered to God, he need no longer be anxious about what Christ and the Father think of him, but about what God thinks of Christ, man’s substitute (see EGW GCB April 23, 1901, pp. 419–422).
Eze 18:23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
23. Have I any pleasure? Compare 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9. The charge that the way of the Lord in His dealings with men is not just and right is answered in the assertion that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but desires that men be converted and live. He has furthermore provided an opportunity for all. It is with the strongest appeal that He pleads with every sinner to disconnect himself from sin, lest he be destroyed with it at last.
Eze 18:24 “But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.
In the event the righteous man falls away, the book of remembrance, in which all his good deeds were recorded, is not taken into account in the judgment. He is rewarded according to his long category of sins. Not only are sins he has not repented of charged against him, but all those also for which he had earlier obtained pardon.
When a man separates himself from God he rejects His pardoning love, and is consequently “in the same condition as before he was forgiven. He has denied his repentance, and his sins are upon him as if he had not repented” (COL 251). It is sometimes erroneously held that when a sin is forgiven it is immediately blotted out. As in the type the blood “removed the sin from the penitent” but left it in “the sanctuary until the Day of Atonement,” so the sins of the penitent “will be blotted from the books of heaven” in the day of judgment (PP 357, 358; see also GC 483–485).
Eze 18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, you Israelites: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
25. Equal. Heb. takan, “to test,” in the form here found “to be approved,” “to be in order,” “to be right.” The people still insist that God does not work by uniform laws and that His ways are marked by caprice. In reply the prophet reaffirms the equity of the divine judgments (vs. 25–29).
Eze 18:26 If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die.
Eze 18:27 But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life.
Eze 18:28 Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die.
Eze 18:29 Yet the Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are my ways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
Eze 18:30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.
30. Repent, and turn. Verses 30–32 constitute an appeal based on the principles of the justice of God’s dealings. When the counsel is given, “Make you a new heart and a new spirit” (v. 31), the prophet does not mean that man can save himself by his own power.
But there is a part that man just act in the work of salvation. God can do nothing for man without man’s consent and cooperation (see DA 466). The meaning of repentance is not so clearly expressed by the Hebrew root, shub, as it is by the Greek, metonia. Nor does the English word always convey all that is bound up in this spiritual experience. The basic idea of shub is “to turn.” According to this definition, men turn from their sins (see SC 26). Metanoia is built on two words, the first, meta, which means “after,” and the second, nous, which means “mind.” The resultant meaning is to have a different mind afterward.
Sin has its seat in the mind. The soul must purpose the sinful act before passion can dominate over reason. The root of sin, then, is a bent of mind that causes man to choose the evil course. The solution to the problem is to correct this basic disposition. This is what repentance is intended to accomplish. A change must take place in the thinking of the individual. Since God never coerces the will, this act must be voluntary, but the Holy Spirit is given to aid the soul. It is quite impossible for the individual of himself to accomplish the transformation. But when he chooses to make the change and in his great need cries out to God, the powers of the soul are imbued with power from above and the propensity of the mind is corrected.
True repentance, then, is a function of the mind. It includes a thorough scrutinizing of the situation to discover what factors led to the defection, and also a study as to how similar errors can be avoided in the future. Repentance is the process whereby sin is expelled from the life. Once repented of, it can be confessed, and it will be forgiven. But confession without repentance is meaningless. God cannot forgive sins that are still active in the heart. This is the reason why the basic emphasis of the Scriptures is upon repentance rather than confession. Jesus’ fundamental teaching was, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:15). Peter’s counsel was, “Repent, and be baptized” (Acts 2:38).
A proper grasp of the true meaning of repentance in its relationship to confession is essential to a successful spiritual experience. The reason many Christians fall so repeatedly into the same error is that they have never truly permitted the Holy Spirit to change their basic thinking with regard to that sin; they have never taken their sins to heart, to discover how, by the enabling grace of God, they might have complete victory over those sins.
Israel charged that God was unjust and caused their ruin. God declared that sin itself, which the sinner voluntarily chose, was their ruin (see 5T 120). He may not acknowledge the justice of God’s ways now; but in that awful moment, when he conforms the Judge of all the earth, there will be heard from his lips the acknowledgment that God’s ways are just (see GC 668, 669).
Eze 18:26 If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die.
Eze 18:27 But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life.
Eze 18:28 Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die.
Eze 18:29 Yet the Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are my ways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
Eze 18:30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.