They said He was unfair (Ezek 18:25). God says clearly, it isn’t Me who is unfair, is it not you?
They said that they were being held responsible for the sins of their fathers and not their own sins:
“The fathers eat sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (v. 2)
The Lord says that every life belongs to Him, both the Father and the Son. Meaning that he deals with everyone on an individual basis, blessing and holding responsible the person. And the person who sins is the one who will die.
Sayings like the above were commonplace. And God says this one is not righteous. It will need to be stopped. Then he goes on.
Now there are a number of sins that these Scriptures list:
- Cheating on your spouse
- Sexual relations with a woman during her menstrual cycle
- Charging interest or profiting off of loans (for your own countrymen, charge for foreigners was allowed – Deuet 23:20)
- Stealing
- Worshiping idols
- Not caring for the poor and needy
- Not returning collateral
He is now going to give a couple of examples:
- A righteous man – He doesn’t commit these sins. This man will live.
- A Violent Son – The father is righteous but the son does all of the sins above. It’s the son who will be held responsible for the sin, not the father.
- An Ungodly Father – The father does all the sins above, but the son does not. It is the father who will die for his sin
“The righteousness of the righteous will be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be on him” (Ezek 18:20).
Now what if there is a change?
What if the one doing evil comes to his senses and repents and begins to walk in righteousness?
And what if the one doing righteous begins to fade and start doing that which is wrong?
The one who repents and turns to righteousness, his sins will be held against him (Ezek 18:22).
The one who is righteous and then slides into evil, he will because of the sin he has committed (Ezek 18:24).
But that’s unfair! the Israelites cried. But God says that they are the ones who do not want fairness.
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. 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? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
Repent. It is the first words of Jesus’ message, the first main message of Peter, the mess of John the Baptist, the message of the apostles, the message of the commissioning, and the message that is not accepted today.
