Year 3, Day 144: Ezekiel 18

An Easily Understood Chapter

As difficult as Ezekiel 17 was to think through, this chapter is straightforward.  The message is simple.  If you obey God’s ways you will live with God regardless of what your father did before you.  However, if you are disobedient according to God’s ways you will not live with God – you shall die without God – regardless of what your father did before you.  If you live in sin, you will die in sin.  If you live in righteousness, you will live with God.

Sounds fair, right?  After all, that is the principle upon which America was built.  Each person is in control of his own destiny.  Each person can determine his own fate.  Carpe Diem!  Want to live with God?  Live righteously!  Repent!  It’s up to you!  Yes, that’s really what this whole chapter is about.

You might be wondering who could possibly have an issue with this.  Well, that’s a little more difficult question to answer.  Remember those fairly important things called the 10 Commandments?  Do yourself a favor.  Go back and read them in Exodus 20.  In fact, I’ll tell you right where to look – although I’m sure you could figure it out yourself.  Take a look at verse 4-6.

Did you read them?  Did you hear what they said?  God promised to bring the punishment of the iniquity of the father onto the third or fourth generation.  God promises to bring the righteousness of the father onto the thousandth generation.

Clearly, the Hebrew people would be familiar with this important passage.  Clearly, the Hebrew people would be in favor of this passage.  After all, punishment is promised only for a short time while blessing is promised for a lengthy time.  Given the percentages, you are far more likely to be in a time of blessing than a time of curse under the system given in the 10 commandments.  So, we can see why it is that the Hebrew people might say, “Unfair!”

Why Might God Change His Tune?

This isn’t so much a position of God changing as much as it is a position of God emphasizing different things.  You see, God has always judged people based on their own righteousness (or perhaps better to be said on the righteousness of the Messiah as expressed through them).  Eternal life with God is always based on the individual and their relationship with God.  That hasn’t changed.

In Exodus, God was talking about living in a general state of blessedness.  Exodus 20 is talking about life here on earth and whether it goes well for us or poorly for us.  In fact, what Exodus is trying to say is that when we allow our society to head in the direction of corruption it will likely be corrupt for generations.  But if we can keep our society pure, the purity can last for a long time.

Thus, while it sounds like God is changing His tune, God is merely speaking about two different circumstances.  In the Law, God is talking about life here on earth.  But here in Ezekiel, God is talking about our eternal dwelling with our Creator.  If we submit and are obedient to Him, we will live.  If we do not submit and rebel and follow our own desires, we shall die in our iniquity.

Speaking of Dying in Our Iniquity

I do think it is worthwhile to take a look at the list God gives to Ezekiel.  But before I do that, please understand I have no desire to lift up these sins as the “especially bad ones.”  I don’t believe in mortal and venial sins.  I don’t believe that any one sin is better or worse than another.  All sin separates us from God.  All sin breaks our relationship with God.  How can anything that breaks our relationship with God be “better?”

On that note, however, let’s look at the list. 

1. The first sin is eating upon the mountain.  That has to do with idolatry – which is really just spiritual adultery. 
2. The second sin is defiling the neighbor’s wife – which is physical adultery. 
3. The third sin is oppressing the poor and needy – which is taking advantage of those who cannot defend themselves. 
4. The fourth sin is committing robbery – which at its heart is self-mongerism, or caring more about your own desires than the needs of others. 
5. The next sin on the list is not restoring the debtor – which is fundamentally about living a life unconcerned with forgiveness. 
6. The next sin is back to idolatry – which we’ve talked about already. 
7. The next sin is committing an abomination – which is a word that refers to the defiling of the temple (the place designed to worship God) that we’ve spoken of earlier in the book of Ezekiel. 
8. Finally we hear about people who lend and expect interest to be paid upon lending money – which is a sentence that should strike fear into anyone who works for a banking institution, government loan program, or a car dealership.

Look at those sins.  Notice a common thread.  The things on that list are about two primary things.  First, the things on that list break relationship or at least make it hard to continue in relationship.  Second, the things on that list are all about a person putting themselves first.

{I do think that it is important to note that idolatry is mentioned three times and one of those times it is specific to the place where God is worshipped.  I think God is extraordinarily concerned with what happens in our worship space.  Idolatry is a significant sin to avoid.}

This is what God seems to be saying to Ezekiel.  From and eternal perspective, those who put themselves ahead of others will perish.  But those who submit to God shall live.

Amen.

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