Ezekiel 18:32King James Version (KJV)
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
Ezekiel 18. “The Soul Who Sins is the One Who Will Die”
Ezekiel 18
V 1–3: PROVERB PROHIBITED The proverb that the children’s teeth are set on edge, because their fathers have eaten sour grapes, is wrong and God prohibits it. V 4–9: PRIME PRINCIPLE Instead, God’s prime principle is that everybody will be punished according to his or her own sin. Those with righteous lives, which throughout this chapter must mean those who manifest repentance and faith in God leading to a changed life of righteousness, will be delivered. V 10–18: PERSONAL PUNISHMENT The logic follows that if a righteous father has a sinful son, the son will be punished, and not the father. Conversely, if an unrighteous father has a righteous son (his righteousness being evidence of his faith and repentance) it is the father and not the son who will be punished and die for his iniquity. The son will neither be protected nor punished because of his father’s sin; he has his own walk and accountability before God. V 19–29 PENITENTS PROTECTED The principle is discussed in the next verses and God declares that it is perfectly fair that those who turn from sin to righteousness will be saved. Those who turn from righteousness to sin, thus manifesting no saving faith, will be punished. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. His ways are fair. V 30–32: PASSIONATE PLEA God is not a disinterested bystander, shown in the fact that He says, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies.’ Thus, He passionately pleads with people to repent and turn from their sin so that they may live. God wants sinners to turn and be saved.
Ezekiel Chapter 18
One of the foundational principles of Scripture is presented in this chapter. (Also taught in Deut. 24 v.16; 2 Kings 14 v.6) Judgment is according to individual faith and conduct. He had foretold national punishment, but the reason was individual sin.
18:1-2 “The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,” “What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?”
Again, we have a totally new prophecy beginning here.
It seems, some of the younger men had been complaining that they had not sinned, and yet, they were suffering for the sins of their fathers.
Though they were themselves wicked and idolatrous, they blamed their forefathers for there state. The rationalizing is expressed in a current proverb (Jer. 31:29 which means in effect, “They sinned (ate sour grapes); we inherit the bitterness” (teeth set on edge).
This evidently was a well known proverb. The point of it is that children suffer for their parents’ sins. However, this proverb was not true in the case of Israel
Though there is an element of truth in the statement that the children suffer as a consequence of the parents; sins, it could not be applied here. The proverb was being used as a lame excuse for their own sinful condition. Rather, the Lord says, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father (v.20). Ezekiel thus preserves in proper balance the tragic consequences of sin and the principle of individual accountability.
18:3 [As] I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have [occasion] any more to use this proverb in Israel
This statement they had been making about God visiting the sins of the father on the son was misunderstood. God would no longer let them make this statement. God rejected their blame shifting and evasion of responsibility.
From now on, each person would be judged separately. Even today, in a sense, the bad reputation of the father will bring hardships on his children. This cannot be helped. In God's sight, however, each person is responsible for his own sin.
18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
The penalty for sin is death. That is why it was necessary for the body of Jesus to die on the cross. He paid our penalty of death for us. He became our substitute. Our bill for our sin is marked paid in full {if we are Christians}. Each person is responsible for his own sin.
God played no favorites, but was fair in holding each individual accountable for his own sin. The death is physical death which, for many, results in eternal death.
We all belong to God, in the fact that He created us. We are saved, or condemned, one at a time, not in a group. God may save the multitude, but He saves them one at a time.
Verses 5-18: Two scenarios are proposed to clarify the matter of personal guilt: (1) a just father of an unjust son (vs. 14-18); and (2) an unjust father of a just son (vs. 14-18).
18:5 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
This is the beginning of the explanation of the character of a just man. The definition of “just” or righteous is given in specifics in vs. 6-9. Such behavior could only characterize a genuine believer who was “faithful” from the heart.
18:6 [And] hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel
These were all forbidden in the law of God. "Eating on the mountain" is speaking of breaking bread in the presence of a false god. The remnant of Jews that God saved, were made up of those who had not bowed their knees to a false god. We see, also, that there must be great respect shown for the neighbor and his wife. Adultery is spoken of in all instances here. The man spoken of had not committed physical adultery, or spiritual adultery.
18:7 And hath not oppressed any, [but] hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;
Jesus covered this, when He said in Luke6:31 "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." This person is good to his fellow man, knowing that it was as if he had done these things unto the Lord.
18:8 He [that] hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, [that] hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,
This man does not take advantage of his brother in trouble. He tells the truth at all times, and is no respecter of persons.
Usury refers to interest on loans.
18:9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he [is] just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.
He is obedient to God. He is fair with God and man. He has kept the two commandments Jesus would speak of as covering them all.
The righteous do die physically for many reasons that do not contradict this principle, such as old age, martyrdom, or death in battle. While there are exceptions to “surely live” as to temporal life and sometimes the ungodly survive, unlike 18:13 there can be absolutely no exceptions in God’s ultimate spiritual reckoning. In every case, the just die to live eternally and the unjust, which never possessed spiritual life, shall perish physically and eternally. The just will live no matter what the character of his parents or children.
It would be hard to believe that such a righteous man would have a son who was a robber, or a shedder of blood, but sometimes it happens.
Could such a sinful son claim the merits of his father’s righteousness and live? No! Each person is responsible for his own personal sin.
Here we see an evil son who worships false gods in the high places, and commits adultery with the neighbor's wife.
This evil son has no regard for the needs of others, and takes advantage of them every time he can.
When those in need come to him to borrow money, he gets them in even more trouble by charging them double on the interest. "Abominations" are revolting sins in the sight of God.
All of the sins mentioned of the son, are from someone who is living in death. He will not live. He has sinned unto death. His blood is not upon his father, but on himself.
Verses 14-18 This part features an unjust father and a just son to make the same point. The righteous son shall “surely live” v.17.
Now, we see the reverse. The father is a sinful man in this parable. In this case, the son sees the sins of the father, and decides not to live like the father. He decides to do what is right in the sight of God.
This son has not committed spiritual or physical adultery.
Jesus would be able to say unto him, Inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of these, ye have done it unto me.
18:17 [That] hath taken off his hand from the poor, [that] hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
This person is not worthy of death. He shall live.
The father, who had committed these sins, had been judged of God and found guilty. He will die.
Again, this is showing that judgment from God is individual. Each person will stand before God to be judged. Each will pay for his own sin, not for someone else's sin.
A person is responsible for his own sins, and no one else's. A person who is righteous cannot pass that on to his children anymore than he could pass on his sins.
18:21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
This is just saying that even someone, who has sinned, can repent of those sins, and be saved. To "repent" means to turn completely away from your sin, and begin again a clean new life.
This is speaking of the fact, that sins that are forgiven are not remembered anymore by God. They are as if they had never happened. This speaks strongly of the righteousness we receive, when we receive Jesus as our Savior. We actually give Him our sin, and receive His righteousness in exchange.
From Genesis to Revelation in the Bible, God wants man to repent of his sins, and be saved. In Jesus, God has given mankind a perfect plan, whereby he can be saved. Every time God poured His wrath out on the people, it was to cause them to repent and turn to God. God is not willing that even one would be lost and He takes no pleasure in the death of the unrighteous.
We find a similar Scripture in Hebrews 6:4-6 "For [it is] impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost," "And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come," "If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame."
This is not speaking of a person falling and committing one sin. This is a person who began living for God, but then changed his lifestyle back to the sinful way.
We find in the following Scripture just how bad this is.
2 Peter 2:21 "For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known [it], to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them."
We see, then, it is a very serious thing to turn away from God back into the world.
But before you say this is saying one can loose their salvation, this is not what is being said. In the case of the Jews in the book of Hebrew, this is where they were given the gospel and began to live in the Word, only to turn back to the ways of the Judaizers after listening to the false prophets and teachers. Their former, apparent righteousness was not genuine and God did not remember it as a valid expression of faith.
I’m going to visit this again in verse 26 with a slightly different view on this as it applied to Old Testament people.
In verses 25-29 God applied the principle in summary to Israel
What a terrible thing it is to question whether God is fair, or not. How could they say this? God is just in all His dealings with mankind. We all want His mercy, but few of us want His justice.
18:26-27 “When a righteous [man] turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.” “Again, when the wicked [man] turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.”
In the Old Testament, everyone was under the law. The law was their schoolmaster to guide men as to how to live and serve God. These Jews were under the Abrahamic Covenant and once a year the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies and offer a sacrifice on their behalf for cleansing.
However that could not remove the sins as only Jesus could do that with His shed blood. Their sins were only covered and remember this was only done once a year.
At this time they were not under a once saved always saved covenant as we are today. Therefore where the righteous turned to unrighteousness, they were judged harshly as the scripture above states.
Verse 24 description given previously would apply to the new covenant which is the covenant of Grace.
18:28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
True repentance brings forgiveness and life to the sinner.
Notice, in this, a person must walk in the saved condition to inherit eternal life. Salvation is a day to day walk.
Their guilty conscience of their sins has caused them to think God unequal. They wanted to go ahead, and sin, and still be saved. That is not the way to get to heaven.
All of the chastisement that came uponIsrael
The key to life eternal and triumph over death is conversion. This involves repentance from sin and receiving the new heart which God gives with a new spirit wrought by the Holy Spirit. God is trying to say something that will cause them to repent, and start all over again with Him.
This verse, above, is speaking strongly of the brand new life we receive from Jesus, when we repent, and are washed in His blood. Some people call it being born again of the Spirit.
John 3:5-6 "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God
This brand new heart is washed in the blood of the Lamb. We are what our heart is. When our heart is pure, we are pure. It is each person's choice. We live with God, or we die in sin.
God created us for eternal life. We are His creation. We can be His sons. Ezekiel has preached a beautiful message of repentance and salvation. Each person must decide for himself. We must choose.We can have life, or death. It is our choice.
The death of His saints is precious to God. By contrast, He has no such pleasure when a person dies without repentance. While God is sovereign in salvation, man is responsible for his own sin. “Turn and live: This was a call to repent and avoid physical and eternal death. Ezekiel was a preacher of repentance and of God’s offer of mercy to the penitent.
2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
18:30–32 This is a summary statement. Sin can never be taken lightly in one’s relationship with God. Yet within the solemn warnings about the gravity of sin and the threat it represents, there remains the assurance that God does not desire or delight in the death of the wicked (2 Pet. 3:9). Repentance is the way to life (2 Chr. 6:37–39; Is. 30:15; 59:20; Jer. 18:8; Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:4, 15; Luke 13:3, 5; 15:7, 10;24:47; Acts 3:19; 17:30; 2 Cor. 7:10).
death, of unbelievers
The departure from the present life of unrepentant people to await final banishment from God.
Death is inevitable
The premature death of unbelievers is the consequence of sin
Pr 10:27 OT writers, for whom God’s blessing on the righteous occurs mostly in the present life, often saw early or sudden death as divine judgment on the wicked. See also 1Ch 10:13;Job 22:16; Ps 9:17; Ps 37:1-2,22,38; Ps 55:23; Ps 139:19; Pr 5:21-23; Pr 11:19; Pr 14:12; Isa 17:14; Eze 3:19; Eze 18:4,20; Da 5:30; Lk 12:20
Aspects of the death of unbelievers
Descriptions of the death of unbelievers
Being in fire Lk 16:22-24; Heb 10:27
The consequences of the death of unbelievers
The eternal consequences Da 12:2; Mt 25:41 See also Mt 18:8; Mt 25:46; Mk 9:45-48; Gal 1:8-9; Heb 6:2; Jude 7
The challenge of the death of unbelievers
The only escape is through Jesus Christ Jn 8:51 Death for believers is swallowed up in life, so that they are never personally aware of the pain and sting of death (compare Jn 11:26). See also Jn 5:24
Importance of repentance:
Repentance is of central importance because sin brings God’s judgment and fellowship with God is only possible through full and sincere repentance. God, through his servants, calls people to repent as the only way to escape the judgment and receive the forgiveness and restoration which he offers.
The call to repentance
Repentance opens the way for blessing
It is the only way to escape God’s judgmentEze 18:30-32 See also Job 36:12; Jer 18:7-8;Jer 26:3; Hos 11:5; Jnh 3:10; Lk 3:8-9; Rev 2:5
It brings forgiveness and restoration 2Ch 7:13-14; Isa 55:7 See also Dt 30:1-10; Ne 1:8-9; Job 22:23-25; Job 36:10-11; Isa 44:22; Ac 2:38-39; Ac 3:19; Ac 5:31; Ac 11:18
God desires that all people should repent
He wants everyone to be saved Eze 18:23
His discipline encourages repentance Jer 31:18-20 See also Isa 10:20-21; Isa 19:22;Hos 2:6-7; Hos 6:1
Taking God’s opportunity for repentance
Refusing God’s opportunity for repentance
Examples of those who refuse to repent Jer 35:15 See also Jer 5:3; Mt 11:20; Mt 21:32;Rev 9:20-21; Rev 16:9-11
God confirms those who refuse to repent in their hardness of heart Mt 13:14-15 pp Mk 4:11-12 pp Lk 8:9-10; Ac 28:25-27; Isa 6:10
Repentance may not remove the effects of human sin
Nu 14:39-45 The Israelites’repentance could not prevent the wandering that resulted from their refusal to enter the promised land; 1Sa 15:24-26 Saul’s repentance is too late to escape God’s judgment on his kingship; 2Sa 12:13-14 Despite David’s repentance the son of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba still died; Heb 12:16-17 Esau’s repentance could not bring back the birthright he had sold to Jacob.
Verse 32. For I have no pleasure] God repeats what HE had so solemnly declared before. Can ye doubt HIS sincerity? HIS ability? HIS willingness? the efficacy of the blood of HIS covenant?
Wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.] Reader, now give God thy heart.
Though every man comes into the world with a fallen nature - a soul infected with sin, yet no man is damned on that account. He who refuses that grace which pardons sin and heals infected nature, who permits the evil principle to break out into transgression, and continues and dies in his iniquity and sin, and will not come unto CHRIST JESUS that he may have life; he, and he only, goes to perdition. Nor will the righteousness of a parent or relation help his sinful soul: no man can have more grace than is necessary to save himself; and none can have that, who does not receive it through CHRIST JESUS. It is the mercy of GOD in CHRIST which renders the salvation of a sinner possible; and it is that mercy alone which can heal the backslider. The atoning blood blots out all that is past; the same blood cleanses from all unrighteousness...
