Ezekiel 18

CHAPTERS 18 AND 19THEME: Jerusalem an example of “the wages of sin is death”; elegy of Jehovah over the princes of IsraelIn chapter 18 God will show that in His judgment He deals specifically and individually with each person.

Ezekiel 18:1

Again, it is clear that Ezekiel is not giving his own opinion. This is God’s Word.

Ezekiel 18:2

The children of Israel had a proverb they used, and it is mentioned twice by Jeremiah. In Jer_31:29 we read, “In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” And then in Lam_5:7 we find, “Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.” I believe the people had built this proverb upon a passage back in Exodus: “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” (Exo_20:5). The problem is that the proverb they drew from this verse is incorrect. That is the danger in lifting out one verse of Scripture without considering its context. This is a false proverb: The fathers ate the grapes, and the children paid the penalty. That is true to a certain extent, but God judges the individual, father or son, according to his conduct. This is not a judgment for eternal life, but a judgment in this life according as a man obeys or disobeys Him.

Ezekiel 18:3

The word live, or some form of it occurs thirteen times in this chapter, and the word die occurs fourteen times. We have life and death presented here, but it is not eternal life or eternal death that God is talking about. God is speaking of the way in which He judges individuals in this life. We need to look at this entire chapter from that viewpoint.

Ezekiel 18:4

God says here that all souls belong to Him. If the sins of the fathers come upon the children, it is because the children have followed the wickedness of their fathers. Every man shall be put to death for his own sin. We read in Deu_24:16, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.” “The soul that sinneth, it shall die"God will judge each individual.

Ezekiel 18:5

“Hath not eaten upon the mountains"he has not engaged in idolatry. This man is a just man who has walked in God’s statutes and kept His ordinances. “He shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.” He is talking about this life, not eternal life. God will bless him in this lifethis is the blessing of the Old Testament.

Ezekiel 18:10

However, the just man may have an ungodly son.

Ezekiel 18:13

God will judge that sonnot the father.

Ezekiel 18:14

On the other hand, a son may decide not to follow in the footsteps of his wicked father. There were several instances of this in the history of Israel. Old Ahaz was a wicked king, but his son Hezekiah led in a revival. Josiah was a wonderful man, and he had a very wicked father.

Ezekiel 18:17

God is saying that each man is judged in this life for the way he lives his life. Remember that He is not speaking of eternal life but about judgment here and now. He wants Israel to know this is the basis on which He intends to judge them.

Ezekiel 18:20

“The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” We have this twice in this chapterhere and in verse Eze_18:4.

Ezekiel 18:31

The teaching of this chapter answers the new psychology we have today. Psychology argues that the reason a person is a brat or an oddball is because his mother didn’t treat him right but neglected him and didn’t love him. My friend, you stand alone. You are a sinner because you are a sinner yourself. There’s an old bromide that is rather crude, but it certainly expresses it well: Every tub must sit on its own bottom. Every individual will stand before God, and he won’t be able to blame his papa and mama at that time. Ezekiel makes it very clear that the Israelite will be judged in this life on the basis of the life he lived, whether he was a believer or not.

Ezekiel 18:32

Again, this refers to physical death. God does not take any delight today in seeing anyone die. That is something that is foreign to Him; He didn’t intend death for mankind. Remember that the Lord Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus, even though He was going to bring him back into this life. By man came death, not through the working of God, but because of man’s sin.