Ezekiel 18:1-4
The word of the LORD came to me: “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ” ‘The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? “As surely as I live, declares the Lord YAHWEH, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
At the time this chapter was written Ezekiel was living under the Babylonian Captivity around 590 B.C. He had been taken captive along with King Jehoiachin and the other rulers of Israel. It was still prior to the destruction of Jerusalem’s temple; but that was not far away. Ezekiel came to tell any that were hoping for a resurgence of Jerusalem and the temple, “don’t even think about it.” It naturally made them ask the question, “Why?” Ezekiel said, “It’s your own fault.” The Israelites said, “It’s our fathers’ fault.”
I. The concept of suffering: joint or individual
In catechism we learned the Ten Commandments. In the conclusion we learned how God said to the Israelites, “I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” Here God’s Word clearly says that God punishes the children for the sin of the fathers. Yet this can be explained by looking at the nature of that sin. What is that sin? Hating God. If daddy tells his children that church is a pain and God is a hatemonger, sons and daughters will usually believe it. So the son is punished as a result of the sin of the father in the way he raises his son to hate God. The nature of his upbringing trains him to be an enemy of God.
We might instead go back to the Fall. The very nature of the Fall teaches us that we suffer because of a fall into sin that happened thousands of years ago. Paul writes that “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin.” (Ro 5:12) He continues to say that “many died by the trespass of the one man.” Thousands of people died before God even gave the written law. Because of Adam’s sin we are all born in sin by no choice of our own. It was Adam’s choice, and we are punished as a result of that choice. Yet then again we give God plenty of reasons to punish us after the Fall, as we choose to do plenty of things under the influence of our sinful nature. Paul also writes, “death came to all men, because all sinned.” Here we see both sides of the story. We die because we are sin and because we commit sin. Why are we sin? Why do we sin? We sin because we are born in Adam’s sin.
So perhaps the Israelites are right. God does punish people because of others sins. Consider the story of Achan. In Joshua chapter 7 God had commanded the Israelites not to take any of the plunder from the enemy. Yet Achan found a really nice robe, so he decided to bury it under his tent. As a result of his specific sin which no other family knew about, God had the Israelites get thrashed in a battle of Ai so that thirty six of them died. None of the men who died in that battle had anything to do with what Achan did, but they still died in battle as a result of Achan’s sin. When Joshua prayed to God about this matter God said, “Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions.” (vs. 11) I find it interesting that God held the whole community responsible for one man’s sin. Here we see that punishment can come on other people as a result of another person’s sin.
Do you remember when this question came to Jesus? The disciples saw a man on the side of the road who was born blind. They asked Jesus, “who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. It was a popular thought in Jesus’ day that people were born with natural diseases and sicknesses because of an earlier sin. Jesus didn’t attribute this man’s suffering to any sin whatsoever, but to a higher purpose that God had in his life – for God to show His glory through him. In addressing this specific man Jesus said that it wasn’t due to a specific sin of his parents or himself.
II. The sources to the answer of suffering
So what’s the answer to this question? The Israelites of Ezekiel’s time thought for sure they knew the answer. ‘The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ Do you understand the proverb? If your parents eat sour grapes you usually won’t have a bad taste in your mouth. Yet that was what they were saying. It was our parents’ fault. We didn’t do anything wrong. Why do children get in trouble in school? Is it because they don’t have proper parenting at home? Or is it because the teacher doesn’t like the parents? Or is it the child’s fault? Think about the message of the protesters to those who die in war. Did the soldier die because of the soldier’s sin or because of America’s sin? The protesters say yes to both. The families say no. What does God say? That is the important question.
The Israelites were willing to learn and quote popular sayings of the time more readily than they were willing to learn and quote God’s Word. They used the popular thoughts and sayings to absolve themselves of any feelings of guilt. You can see the same attitude in Americans who love to use popular quotes to rid themselves of any guilt. Sayings such as, “everybody does it,” or “whatever,” or “I can’t help it I was born this way,” or “God made me this way,” or “the devil made me do it,” or “it’s just the way I am,” or “God wants me to be happy.” People will listen to anyone or anything that will allow them to live their own lives and do their own thing. They will search the internet or cherry pick friends who will tell them nice things which allow them to be who they want to be. The only problem is that just because it’s on the internet, the radio, or TV doesn’t make something true.
God called to Ezekiel to break the chain of popular lies and sayings with the truth of God’s Word. The word of the LORD came to me: “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel.” God didn’t need an explanation of the quote. He meant to confront, debunk, and stop the quote. It is only the Holy Spirit working through the Word which debunks the myths of today’s world and cuts through the bologna. We need to look to the word of the LORD.
III. The answer according to the right source
Ezekiel clearly said, “it’s your own fault.” In context Ezekiel directly correlates their captivity and the destiny of Jerusalem to their own individual behavior. He goes on to say in Ezekiel 18,
“Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right. He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife or lie with a woman during her period. He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. He does not lend at usury or take excessive interest. He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between man and man. He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign LORD. “Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things (though the father has done none of them): He eats at the mountain shrines. He defiles his neighbor’s wife. He oppresses the poor and needy. He commits robbery. He does not return what he took in pledge. He looks to the idols. He does detestable things. He lends at usury and takes excessive interest. Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head.” (5-13)
In short God was saying, “It is YOUR FAULT you are in captivity and the temple will be smashed, not your parents. Own up. Stop making excuses.”
The answer is still true today. If you continually yell at your wife and speak down to her because your dad spoke to your mom that way, that doesn’t absolve you. God won’t somehow bless your marriage with bliss and happiness if you want to live that way. If you continually ignore your study of God’s Word in order to pursue your career or your schooling because your whole upbringing geared you to think and act that way, it doesn’t absolve you. If you decide to go into debt beyond what you can pay and then simply resolve to file bankruptcy so you don’t have to pay back what you owe, don’t be surprised when you are paid back with poverty and broken relationships. God isn’t going to accept your excuses as to why you don’t pay back debts. If you want to use anger and force to bully people around then you will also find God to be angry with you on Judgment Day. If you want to live like a sinner you are going to live a miserable life and die like a sinner. It will be your own fault. Your upbringing won’t absolve you. He’ll punish you for who you are and what you have done. “For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.”
Notice the use of the singular. God owns every soul individually. Even though a person may sin as a result of his upbringing and the company he or she keeps, God will hold the individual responsible. But what about the thirty six who died because of Achan’s sin? What if upright believers find themselves fighting on behalf of an army that God has destined for destruction? Will they somehow escape death because of their righteousness? Later on Ezekiel God said this to the Israelites, Ezekiel 21:3 ‘This is what the LORD says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.” When God swung His sword against the Israelites He said He would cut off both the righteous and the wicked together. Sometimes when God swings the sword against the wicked, He cuts off the righteous as well when they are fighting on the same side. In dealing with the group as a whole He will also deal harshly with her righteous as a result of the unrighteousness of the whole group. Does that mean that the righteous were under God’s wrath? Does that mean that they were being individually judged into hell? No.
IV. The exception to the principle
The overall principle is, “The soul who sins will die”. In a more general sense if there were no sin, there would be no death. Believers are sinners. Believers die too. Believers die because they are sinners. The soul who sins will die. The wages of sin is death. Why on earth should God allow you to bypass suffering or death? What have you done to earn your whirlwind and chariot to heaven? Nothing. You, individually, have earned death. Sin has corrupted your body from head to toe. Even your finest works are stained with sin.
Isn’t this what Jesus was praying for from the Garden of Gethsemane? “Lord, if there is some way, provide a way for me to bypass this death and hell that I am about to face.” The difference is that Jesus had every right to pray that prayer. He didn’t deserve it. Jesus had every right to be provided the whirlwind and chariot to heaven. He had no sin. He should have felt no death or hell. It’s only the soul who SINS who deserves to die. Yet in this one Man God decided to turn the law of death on its head. In Jesus God said, “the soul who didn’t sin is the soul who will not only die but also go to hell.” Jesus knew from God’s answer that the only way we could overcome His justice would be if HE would endure this injustice. The soul who didn’t sin was the one who died and went to hell. Jesus refused to taste the sour grapes from the cross, yet His teeth were still set on edge, as God deserted Him and allowed Him to suffer and die. “Why?” Jesus earned that question. We didn’t. How did God answer His question? Not by having him AVERT death, but by having him ENDURE death and living to talk about it! Why? So that Jesus could provide a solution for death by earning life after death for the world.
So we now see how God deals with death. By the grace of God he tasted death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9) Now every time that you and I taste grapes at the Lord’s Table they taste sweet instead of sour. The sweetness reminds us of the cup that Jesus drank, the sour cup of death and hell. As we drink this cup Jesus says to us, “I have already tasted the sour taste death and hell. The blood which I shed for you is now yours. This body and blood is not that which is dead and sour, but that which is alive and sweet to your soul.” It is the resurrected Christ Who says to us, “some day you and I will drink of this fruit of the vine together again in heaven.” With this promise we see the heart and core of what God’s promise is about. God doesn’t promise us an escape clause FROM death. He promises us an escape clause THROUGH death. The soul who sins is the one who dies. But the soul who believes is also the soul who also lives. Jesus said to those who believed in Him, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” So we see that life in Jesus’ sense of the word is not apart from death. Life is that which endures through death.
V. The result
But let’s get back to the specific sin and suffering correlation. Do people sometimes suffer and die as a direct correlation and punishment to their specific sin? Does God react to sinners with a direct confrontation of sorrow and suffering? The history of the Bible and the Israelites proves it to be so. Nabal died in the midst of a temper tantrum. Zechariah had his eyes plucked out for refusing to see and listen to the words of the LORD. It still happens today. We don’t like to admit it. There was once a farmer who continually skipped worship throughout the planting season in order to make sure that his crops were all in. By the time harvest came he was all prepared for a nice harvest. Yet the next day a huge storm came through and wiped out his crop. Could it have been that God cursed his crop for putting his crop above his Lord? It was God who once said to the Israelites who were ignoring God in Haggai 1:6, “You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” Haggai correlated bad harvests with bad stewardship.
Is that so hard to believe? A young man decides to ignore his catechetical training. He dates and marries a woman who has no spiritual upbringing whatsoever. Eight years later the son ends up in an ugly divorce and a custody battle with nothing to show. After all is said and done he comes straggling back to church and asks the pastor “why?” He wants to blame his parents for their lack of support. He has the gall to blame God for not giving him a happy marriage. What is the pastor to say? Isn’t the answer obvious? Would the pastor be unfaithful or unloving if he said to the man, “What do you think! It’s because you ignored your faith throughout the whole courtship and marriage!” The soul who sins is the one who will die.
The Israelites wanted to pass the blame for their suffering. Ezekiel wouldn’t let them pass the buck. He said, “It’s your fault Jerusalem and the temple are being destroyed.” Next time you suffer and you want to answer the question, “why is this happening,” don’t be so quick to take your eyes off of yourself or pass the buck to the generality that we live in a “sinful world.” This might seem like a bizarre answer, but maybe you aren’t just as random of a victim in life as you would like to think. Examine your life. Where do you feel guilty? Is there something you did or could have done to avert what you are going through? Maybe you should point your finger at yourself for your own suffering. Maybe there is a specific reason why you should repent. If God really does deal with sinners individually, perhaps He is acting in response to your own specific sin. Is it such a bizarre thought, that God would want sinners to see their sin and feel their sin? Or could it be that God wants you to feel this terror so that you repent? Could it be that He wants you to individually look at your own sins and admit, “It’s my own fault. I messed up.”?
Let’s say that it becomes obvious after an examination of your life that you messed up. Your own suffering is a result of a specific sin. Then what? At the end of this chapter Ezekiel said, “Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!” Here we see the heart and core of God. The LORD was not being harsh with the Israelites because He wanted them to die. He was being specifically harsh with them because He wanted them to live. How could they live? Through repentance! They could live by admitting their own fault in the whole situation and clinging to the mercy of God for life. What is life? Life is when we sorrowfully cling to Christ as our forgiveness and righteousness. Life is when we have the Holy Spirit live and breathe Christ’s forgiveness in our hearts and souls, focusing us on the cross and empty grave. Life is when we see Christ take the wrath of hell that we deserved. Life is when we learn to enjoy everything that God gives us knowing that He wants what is best for us.
There’s a saying that goes “hindsight is 20/20.” The saying is not always true. Some people look back on their lives and never learn from any of their mistakes. They live in misery and find excuse after excuse as to why they can’t stay married or keep a job or so many other things. They fail to see their failures are their own fault. They constantly live as victims. Hindsight isn’t always 20/20. The popular saying isn’t true. But God’s Word is. God’s Word is 20/20. It sees us for what we are; excuse makers; blame shifters; sinners. God’s Word says we all deserve to die. Yet God’s Word also says that the One who didn’t deserve to die died in our place. God’s Word says that through baptism and faith we belong to God. God’s Word says that through faith we are actually holy and precious in God’s sight. God’s Word tells us to admit who we are, repent and live. Next time you are faced with suffering or death, take a good look at yourself. Don’t be afraid to see who you are; for it is only then that your eyes will be opened to see who God is; a God of mercy and forgiveness in Christ. Amen.
