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