God’s Mercy To The Unrighteous : “Therefore, repent and live”

EXPOSITORY ARTICLE | Sean Cavender | Bald Knob, Arkansas

Introduction
The prophecies of Ezekiel are some of the most fascinating in the Old Testament. He wrote during the exile of Judah to Babylon. He was a contemporary of Daniel, yet Ezekiel’s primary message was to Judah themselves, explaining why God was punishing them.

One of the most discouraging, yet vivid scenes, in the book of Ezekiel, is found in chapter 10. Ezekiel describes God’s glory as leaving the temple. The temple had served as a sign to Israel that God was with them. The temple was where sacrifices were made, and the ceremonies of the Day of Atonement were held. The Most Holy Place was in the midst of the temple. God could not literally be held within the temple, He was far too great to be confined to one location like that, but the temple was a symbol of God’s care, grace, and covenant with Israel.

However, Israel had sinned. They were wicked and evil. They had exchanged the worship of the true and living God for idol worship. This was the reason the ten northern tribes had been taken captive by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. History was repeating itself. The two remaining tribes who formed the nation of Judah were now in exile at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians.

The nation as a whole deserved much of the blame because they followed Judah’s ungodly kings, wicked prophets, and evil priests. One of Ezekiel’s most poignant prophecies was against the shepherds of Israel — her leaders (Ezekiel 34:1-10). God brought judgment against Judah because of the rampant immorality resulting from idolatrous worship.

Ezekiel helps explain why God is doing all of this. Judah had sinned against God Almighty. The book of Ezekiel also has prophecies against other nations. God is not going to let other countries behave wickedly without answering God in judgment. The Lord holds all nations — and all people — accountable for their sinful choices. God is fair and righteous. He will not judge one nation for their sins and ignore the sins of another. Neither is God going to give preferential treatment to Israel and Judah because they had the temple, law, and covenants. God seemed to hold them to a higher standard. They should have known better.

Not only does Ezekiel reveal God’s judgment, but he also shows how God desires and encourages repentance. Ezekiel offers a message of hope, too. Ezekiel 18 is probably one of the most well-known passages in all of Ezekiel. Chapter 18 touches on all of these themes and tries to bring them together, offering reason and explanation for God’s judgment upon the guilty. It explains who is responsible for the wickedness of the nation, and it provides a message of repentance, grace, and forgiveness. It is a beautiful chapter with which we want to be familiar!

Blaming the Wrong People
Ezekiel is building a case against Judah. They are guilty of sin, and God is holding them accountable. The temple was empty and would soon be destroyed. Judah stood condemned. So, who were they to blame?

A proverb had become common during those days, quoted in Ezekiel 18:2, “‘The fathers eat the sour grapes, But the children’s teeth are set on edge’?” God declared this proverb should no longer be used in Israel. The proverb illustrated a mindset that was avoiding the responsibility of sin. In quoting this proverb they were blaming previous generations of Israelites. The reasoning behind this proverb was, “Surely we are facing captivity and exile because of the sins of our fathers. We have not been the cause of God’s wrath.” Judah was trying their best to avoid their guilt and responsibility in the judgment upon Jerusalem and its temple.

When confronted with sin, people will often shift the blame to others. Shifting blame is an age-old problem since sin first entered the world. After Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, he blamed Eve, while indicting God as well. Eve blamed the serpent (Gen 3:12-13). Neither of them accepted the responsibility that they had failed to obey God’s law.

So, Ezekiel 18 corrects the mistaken behavior of shifting blame to others. We must be careful not to blame others for our sins. That is unacceptable in God’s sight, and it sorely displeases the Lord. Therefore, Ezekiel wants readers to understand three related points:
1) individuals choose to sin, and thus bear responsibility;
2) as a result of their sin, individuals spiritually die; and
3) individuals must repent.

Individuals choose to sin, thus bearing responsibility for their own sin.
According to the proverb in Ezekiel 18:2, the Jews tried to shift the blame and not accept that they had a part to play in God’s punishment upon them. Individual Israelites were guilty of sin. The nation had sinned because individuals had been influenced by the failed leadership of Judah’s kings, priests, and prophets. Hosea, prophesying to the northern tribes, condemned both the people and the priests. He said, “like people, like priest” (Hosea 4:9). The people behaved like the priests and the priests behaved how the people wanted them to act. Thus, they showed disregard for God and His law.

So Ezekiel’s message is that all souls belong to God, and it’s the soul who sins who will die (Ezekiel 18:4). There may be influences that affect us negatively and lead us to sin (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:33), but we each bear the responsibility for our sinful choices.

We do not sin because we have inherited a sinful, depraved, corrupted nature that was marred from Adam’s sin. God says that the son does not bear the iniquity and punishment of the father; neither does the father bear the iniquity and punishment of the son (Ezekiel 18:20).

Ezekiel beautifully illustrates how the individual bears responsibility for his or her choices. He uses the example of three generations: a father, a son, and a grandson. The father was righteous and did what was pleasing to God (Ezekiel 18:5-9), but his son is an evil, wicked, and idolatrous man (Ezekiel 18:10-13). Then that son has a son who is a servant of God and lives by the law of God (Ezekiel 18:14-17). The righteous men were not righteous simply because they were from the nation of Israel; they were righteous because they obeyed God. The unrighteous man was not sinful because he inherited guilt from his father; he committed grotesque sins before God, and because of that, “his blood will be on his own head” (Ezekiel 18:13). Notice the condemnation was upon his “own” head. He made his choices. Thus he bore his own guilt.

Our sins are upon us, and God will judge us for the things that we have done. We each must bear our own responsibility.

Due to their sin, individuals spiritually die.
As Ezekiel continues to explore the idea of individual responsibility and individual guilt, because of sins, he states it is the person who sins who will die (Ezekiel 18:20). This death is not a reference to physical death; this is a reference to spiritual death. Death is being used to describe a separation. As physical death is the separation of the soul and body (James 2:26), spiritual death is the separation of the individual and God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Transgression and violation of God’s commands cause us to be separated from God. Separation and death have been the result of sin since the Garden of Eden when God warned Adam that if he ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he would die (Genesis 2:17). Adam did not physically die on the day he ate of the fruit of the tree, but he did not have communion with God any longer. We see this in the question that God asked, “where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). Adam had been separated from God and was spiritually dead (Genesis 3:9). The apostle Paul observes that spiritual death is a spiritual and universal problem because “all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

Because all have sinned, it points to the need for a solution that is made available to all people. That is the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:18-21).

Individuals must repent of their sin or suffer eternal separation from God.
In Ezekiel 18, God pleads with Judah to repent of their sins. While there are physical consequences to their sins (Babylonian captivity), there is still hope for them if they repent and turn back to God!

We must not assume that the righteous individuals in the chapter were sinlessly perfect. The apostle Paul taught that all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). The righteous individuals in Ezekiel 18 are those who have turned away from their sins and have been forgiven. Notice what Ezekiel says:

“Again, when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life” (Ezekiel 18:27, NASB95).

Ezekiel 18 is a wonderful text which shows human beings have free will. The Bible does not teach “once saved, always saved.” Ezekiel says a righteous person can turn to wickedness (Ezekiel 18:24-26). When a person turns to wickedness, they will be judged for their wickedness. They will suffer spiritual separation from God if they do not repent. And in contrast to that, a wicked person can become a righteous person and live! Some may not like these teachings; God acknowledges that some might find fault with God (Ezekiel 18:29). But God will judge each one for their sin (Ezekiel 18:30).

But make no mistake: God does not enjoy judging sinners and condemning them for eternity (Ezekiel 18:32). He desires for all to repent (2 Peter 3:9). God is imploring, through Ezekiel His prophet, that the unrighteous and wicked must repent. If they do not repent, they will suffer eternal separation from God — the second death (cf. Revelation 20:14-15). God will show no mercy to those who refuse repentance.

Conclusion
The message of Ezekiel 18 is a serious one. It is a message warning us of the severe results of our sins. We cannot escape the judgment of God; each of us must bear our guilt and our personal responsibility. Just as no one else forced you to sin, no one else can fix your sins and repent on your behalf. You must bear the responsibility, and you must turn back to God.

But if we will repent and turn to God, we can live (Ezekiel 18:27, 32). God created us so we could enjoy life and fellowship with Him. He wants to restore your soul from sin. He wants to give you a new heart, a new spirit, and a new life. Will you repent at the pleadings of God, or will you remain hard-hearted and in sin? The choice is up to you and you alone.

20.04.07 | GROW magazine