diff --git a/content/bible_journal/ezekiel_18:1-32.md b/content/bible_journal/ezekiel_18:1-32.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4baa5e0 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/bible_journal/ezekiel_18:1-32.md @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ ++++ +title = "Ezekiel 18:1–32" +date = "2023-04-17" ++++ + +### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ezekiel18.1-32) + +This message from the Lord concerns His justice as it applies to individuals. +There was apparently a proverb in Israel that taught that the actions of a +father affected his sons' lives. While that is true to an extent, the +Israelites must have been using it in a way that made it seem that God was not +just in His dealings with people. Just as a man eating sour grapes doesn't +transfer the sour taste to his sons' mouths, neither does his iniquity get +passed down from generation to generation. + +It is important to note the distinction between punishment and consequences. +Many improper actions have natural consequences that occur simply because they +have been done. Liars and traitors become mistrusted, heavy drinking causes +health problems, the spendthrift doesn't have enough money. All of these are +mere consequences. Punishments are consequences that are imposed by an external +authority in order to get recompense for the crime committed and as a further +discouragement from further infractions. + +The Lord presents three case studies to help us understand, and they are all +related to each other. The first man is righteous as we can see from the list +of things he does and does not do, and the Lord says he will live. These are +all things listed in the Law of Moses that God's people were to do or not do. +The second man is the first's son, and he does the opposite of his father in +every way. He is thoroughly worthless and wicked, and so the Lord says he shall +die. The third man is the second's son, and after seeing all that his father +did, he follows instead in the ways of his grandfather. Unlike his father who +brought judgement upon himself through his wicked deeds, the third man lives. + +Amazingly, the people of Israel did not think this was right. I can only think +that they must have wanted to be pardoned because their fathers and +grandfathers were rigtheous. Surely they wouldn't want their children to be +punished for what they have done. It may be that they considered the whole +community to be a moral unit, and everyone shared in blessings or curses +together. Whatever the case, the Lord refutes their assertion and says He +punishes individuals for their own sin. It doesn't matter who you are related +to in terms of morality. + +The Lord then drops a bomb into the dialogue by saying that a wicked man can +become righteous and a righteous man can become wicked. It is the last state +that they persist in that the Lord considers, not the former way that he +walked. The hypothetical Israelites also say that this is not just, but the +Lord corrects this attitude as well. Since we have the whole, complete inspired +Word of God, we can understand that everyone actually starts out wicked, under +the curse of sin, but through the work of Jesus Christ we can repent and +believe that He will work righteousness through us. The Lord has made a way, so +repent. + +* * * + +You do not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, but want all to come to +repentence.