Ezekiel 18
1 “The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, 2 What mean ye,
that ye use this proverb concerning the
have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth
are set on edge?”
What mean ye, that
ye use this proverb, etc.? Another
and entirely different section opens, and we see at once
from what it
started. Ezekiel had heard from the lips of his countrymen,
and had seen its
working in their hearts, the proverb (already familiar to
him, it may be,
through Jeremiah 31:29) with which they blunted their sense of
personal responsibility. They had to bear the
punishment of sins which they
had not committed. The sins of the fathers were visited, as
in Exodus
20:5; 34:7; Leviticus 26:39-40; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy
5:9,
upon the third and fourth generations. Manasseh and his
people had
sinned, and Josiah and his descendants and their
contemporaries had to
suffer for it. The thought was familiar enough, and the
general law of the
passages above referred to was afterwards applied, as with
authority, to
what was then passing (II Kings 23:26; 24:3). Even Jeremiah
recognized it in Lamentations 5:7 and Jeremiah 15:4, and
was
content to look, for a reversal of the proverb, to the
distant Messianic time
of the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:29-31). The plea with
which Ezekiel
had to deal was therefore one which seemed to rest on the
basis of a Divine
authority. And that authority was confirmed by the
induction of a wide
experience. Every preacher of righteousness in every age
has to warn the
evil doer that he is working evil for generations yet unborn,
to whom he
transmits his own tendencies, the evil of his own influence
and example. It
is well that he can balance that thought with the belief
that good also may
work in the future with a yet wider range and mightier
power (Exodus 20:5).
Authority and experience alike might seem to favor the plea
that
the fathers had
eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth were set on
edge. Ezekiel was led,
however, to feel that there was a latent falsehood in
the plea. In the depth of his consciousness there was the
witness that every
man was personally responsible for the things that he
did, that the eternal
righteousness of God would not ultimately punish the
innocent for the
guilty, he had to work out, according to the light given
him, his vindication
of the ways of God to man, to sketch at least the outlines
of a theodicy.
Did he, in doing this, come forward as a prophet,
correcting and setting
aside the teaching of the Law? At first, and on a surface
view, he might
seem to do so. But it was with him as it was afterwards
with Paul He
“established the
Law” in the very teaching which seemed to
contradict it.
He does not deny (it would have been idle to do so) that
the sins of the
fathers are visited upon the children, i.e. affect
those children for evil. What
he does is to define the limits of that law. And he may
have found his
starting point in that very book which, for him and his
generation, was the
great embodiment of the Law as a whole. If men were
forbidden, as in
Deuteronomy 24:16, to put the children to death for the
sins of the
fathers; if that was to be the rule of human justice, — the
justice of God
could not be less equitable than the rule which He
prescribed for His
creatures. It is not without interest to note the
parallelism between Ezekiel
and the Greek poet who was likest to him, as in his genius,
so also in the
courage with which he faced the problems of the universe.
AEschylus also
recognizes (‘Agam.,’ 727-756) that there is a righteous
order in the
seeming anomalies of history. Men might say, in their
proverbs, that
prosperity as such provoked the wrath of the gods, and
brought on the
downfall of a “woe insatiable;” and then he adds —
“But I,
apart from all,
Hold this
my creed alone.”
And that creed is that punishment comes only when the children reproduce
the impious recklessness of their fathers. Justice shines
brightly in the
dwellings of those who love the right, and rule their life
by law. Into the
deeper problem raised by the modern thought of inherited
tendencies
developed by the environment, which itself originates in
the past, it was not
given to Ezekiel or AEschylus to enter.
Sinful men always attempt self-justification. These murmurers in
felt the severity of their chastisement, but did not feel the gravity of their sin.
They imagined that it must have been their fathers’ sins which were being
avenged in them. This state of mind has always been a characteristic of the sinner.
The sinner thinks his punishment is excess of his sin and like Cain, complains
“My
punishment is greater than I can bear” (Genesis
4:13). Now, a
part of
the penalty of sin is the blinding of the mind, the
perversion of the judging
faculty. The man fastens his attention on his suffering, thus losing sight of his
secret
sin.
3 “As I live, saith
the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more
to use this
proverb in
which implied unrighteousness
in God is no longer to be used in
There, among the, people
in whom He was manifesting His righteousness
for the education of
mankind, it should be seen to have no force whatever.
The thought was an essentially
heathen thought — a half-truth
distorted
into a falsehood.
An Old Proverb Discarded (vs. 2-3)
The proverb of the sour grapes was but an expression of a
prevalent belief
of the Jews, viz. that guilt is hereditary. Whatever
element of truth there
may have been in this proverb was overlaid and lost in a
monstrous notion,
which destroyed both the sense of personal responsibility
and the
conception of Divine justice, substituting doctrines of
unavoidable fate and
unreasonable vengeance on the innocent.
which it embodied were based
upon dark, mysterious, but still true, facts of
experience.
Ø Children share
in the sufferings produced by the sins of their parents.
Sins of the fathers are visited
on the children. This dread fact was
recognized in the ten
commandments (Exodus 20:5). We see it
confirmed by our daily
observation of the world. The vices of the
father
and mother bring poverty,
disgrace, and disease on the children. When
the thief is sent to prison his
children are left without bread. Fearful
diseases appear in the
constitution of innocent children following their
parents’ profligacy.
Ø
Children inherit the appetites and habits of their
parents. The child of
the drunkard is predisposed to
inebriety. This physical inheritance in
brain and nerve is confirmed by
the ceaseless, powerful, unanswerable
LESSONS OF
EXAMPLE! Where the head of
the family leads a
loose life the children are
brought up under evil influences.
Ø
God does not inflict real punishment on innocent children. They
suffer, but they are not punished; for
there is no element of Divine
anger towards them in what they endure. God permits the suffering,
and He uses it, as He uses other troubles of His children, for discipline.
But He cannot look upon the poor victims of the vices of others with
any disfavor. It is a piece
of hypocritical Pharisaism on the part of
society to treat the
children who come of sinful parentage
as though
they were disgraced by
their birth. The effect of sour
grapes is purely
physical. When we transfer
the physical fact to the moral world
we
fall into a mistake.
Ø
Actual sin is not hereditary. If it were, men would
be doomed to sin
apart from their own choice. But
the essence of sin is a self-willed
rebellion against
God. When freedom of choice is taken
out of it
the evil thing ceases to be sin;
it becomes a moral disease. So long as
we have individuality and
personal wills we can choose
for ourselves.
No one is utterly the slave
of moral disease, or, if such a person exists,
he is a moral lunatic, and not
responsible for his action. Therefore he
should be put under lock and key.
Moreover, responsibility is measured
by opportunity, and moral conduct
is seen in the amount of resistance
offered to the terrible slavery of an
inherited tendency to evil habits.
The proverb of the sour grapes was not only
a discouragement to
children; it was an excuse for impenitence among grown
men.
·
THE EXPOSURE AND REJECTION OF THE PROVERB.
Ø
A familiar saying may be false. It may be a venerable lie, or, if true
in its first utterance, it may
have been exaggerated and so presented
as to be false in its present
application.
Ø
It is the duty of the teacher of religion to correct
popular notions. This
is the second occasion on which
Ezekiel has exposed and repudiated a
popular fallacy enshrined in the
form of a proverb (ch. 12:22).
Christ fought prevalent
delusions (e.g. Luke 13:1-5); so did
(Romans 2:25).
Ø
There is an advance in revelation. The proverb of the
sour grapes was
never given with the authority
of a Divine truth. But in the earlier stages
of revelation there was not
enough light to liberate men from the illusion
on which it was founded. As revelation advances it dissolves moral
difficulties and clarifies
our vision of Divine righteousness.
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.”
Behold, all souls
are mine, etc. The words
imply, not only
creation, ownership, absolute authority, on the part of
God, but, as even
Calvin could recognize (in loc.), “a paternal affection towards the whole
human race which He created and formed.” Ezekiel anticipates here, and
yet more fully in v. 32. the teaching of Paul, that “God
willeth that all
men should be saved” (I Timothy 2:4). The soul that
sinneth, it shall
die. The sentence, though taken from the Law, which ordered
capital
punishment for the offences named, cannot be limited to
that punishment.
“Death” and “life” are
both used in their highest and widest meaning —
“life” as including all that makes it worth living, “death” for the loss of that
only true life which is found in knowing God (John 17:3).
The Misapplied Proverb
of Sour Grapes (vs. 1-4)
“The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying, What mean
ye, that ye
use this proverb concerning the
Commentary’ a connection between this and the preceding
chapter is
pointed out. “The last verse of the preceding chapter
declares that God is
wont to abase the lofty and to exalt those of low estate.
This gives
occasion for a declaration of the principle upon which
these providential
dispensations proceed, viz. that every individual shall be equitably dealt
with — a principle that precludes the children from either presuming on the
fathers’ merits
or despairing
on account of the fathers’ guilt.”
·
THE SOLEMN TRUTH EXPRESSED IN THIS PROVERB.
Regarding this proverb apart
from the spirit in which it was used by the
Jews, it sets forth the truth
that there is a transmission of certain
qualities
and tendencies, advantages and
disadvantages, from parents to their
children; that children inherit
good or evil, or both, from their parents; that
some of the consequences of
parental character and conduct extend to their
children.
Ø
This truth is stated in the
sacred Scriptures. We find it in Exodus
20:5-6; II Samuel 21:1; Jeremiah
15:4; Lamentations 5:7; Luke 11:50-51.
Ø
This truth may be distinctly
traced in human life. It is apparent
physically. It is exemplified in the sound constitutions of the
children of
healthy and virtuous parents; in
the debilitated frame and depraved appetite
of the children of drunkards;
and in the transmission of certain diseases of
the body from generation to
generation. The operation of this principle is
clearly seen in the secular circumstances of
persons. Prudent and thrifty
parents often bequeath to their
children material comforts and riches, while
the reckless and thriftless
squander their possessions and leave to their
children encumbered estates or
no estate at all. This principle is exhibited
socially in the
respect which is accorded to the offspring of honorable
parents, and in the infamy of
vicious or criminal parents which damages the
reputation of their unfortunate
children. It is apparent mentally.
The
children of educated and
thoughtful parents generally manifest inclination
and aptitude for learning and
intellectual pursuits. The reverse is usually the
case with the children of
unthinking and ignorant parents, It is traceable
even in moral character and tendency. The proclivities to sin
in the
offspring of depraved and vicious
parents are far more active and powerful
than in the children of the
godly. To live virtuous and Christian lives is
much less difficult for the
latter than for the former. Moral tendencies
are
transmissible. We may trace the presence and working of this principle
in
communities. Much
of the good and also much of the evil which we have
in our life and circumstances
today we inherit from the generations which
have preceded us — from the
governments, the Churches, the authors, of
earlier ages, The connection of
the generations necessitates the fact upon
which we are dwelling.
·
THE UNJUSTIFIABLE USE OF THIS PROVERB. It was in common
and frequent use amongst the
Jews in
(Jeremiah 31:29). It was used
wrongly by them. They used it:
Ø
So as to ignore their own sins. They were suffering
because of the sins
of their ancestors, especially
of Manasseh (Jeremiah 15:4); and they
repeated this proverb as though
they had done nothing to merit the
afflictions under which they
labored, and were being unrighteously dealt
with. Whereas we have seen
already in these prophecies of Ezekiel how
widely they had departed from God, and how deeply they were
implicated in the worst of sins (compare ch. 5:5-11; 6:1-7; 7:1-9; 8:5-18;
16:15-34). They were suffering not one iota more than they deserved
for
their own sins.
Ø So as to
ignore the beneficial action of the essential principle of this
proverb.
o
By the operation of this principle good is
transmitted from parents to
children as well as evil. They overlooked all the good which they
had
inherited from
such ancestors as Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David,
Solomon, and
others. We inherit many and precious blessings through the
lives and
labors, the sufferings and sacrifices, of those who have preceded
us on this
planet.
o
The operation of this principle is
calculated to exert a powerful
influence in restraining from sin and
inciting to virtue. The
love of
parents for
their children is one of the purest and strongest affections
of the human
heart. That love, combined with a recognition of this
principle,
would constrain parents to live wisely and purely, lest
otherwise they
should injure their beloved offspring. But in using this
proverb the
Jews took no account of the beneficial operation of this
principle. They quoted it as though it were productive
only of evil.
o
So as by
implication to challenge the justice of God in His providential
dealings with
them. They repeated this proverb complainingly,
as if they
were suffering
wrongfully, and were not receiving righteous treatment at
the hand of the
Lord. They had themselves eaten sour
grapes, and their
teeth
were set on edge; but
they spoke only of their fathers having eaten
the sour
grapes, and the children suffering the consequences. Thus tacitly
they aspersed
the righteousness of the government of the Lord Jehovah in
relation to
them.
·
THE CESSATION OF THE USE OF THIS PROVERB. “As I live,
saith the Lord
God, ye shall not any more use this proverb in
Behold, all souls
are mine,” etc. Ezekiel does not
explicitly say by what
means the use of this proverb
should be brought to an end. But we
suggest:
Ø By the manifestation of the personal wickedness of those who used it.
God would so bring their sin to
light that it should be evident that their
punishment did not exceed their
guilt. Calvin clearly expresses the idea:
“It was just as if he had said,
I will drive out of you this boasting, by laying
bare your iniquity, in such a
manner that the whole world shall perceive
you to suffer the punishment you
yourselves deserve, and you shall not be
able, as you have been hitherto
endeavoring, to cast the burden on your
fathers.”
Ø Because of the relationship which God bears to all souls in common.
“Behold, all souls
are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul
of the son is
mine.” He is “the God of the spirits of all
flesh.” He is
“the Father of
spirits.” In this relationship we have
a guarantee that He
will not deal unjustly
with any one. All souls are His; and therefore He
will not manifest partiality
in His dealings with any. “The soul of one
man was as much regarded
by Him as that of another. He had the soul
of the father as absolutely
at His disposal as that of the son; and He could
have no motive for
letting the one escape with impunity in order to punish
the other in his stead”
(Scott). (Do you remember the song (He’s
Got
the Whole World in His Hands -
CY - 2021)
Ø Because the real punishment of sin can only befall the actual sinner.
“The soul that
sinneth, it shall die.” This death is
“the end of a process, the
separation of the soul from its
life source, the Spirit of God”
(Deuteronomy 30:15; Proverbs
11:19; Jeremiah 21:8). Only in
union with God can the soul live. When through Christ the soul reposes its
utmost confidence in God, sets
its supreme affection upon Him, and renders
its loyal obedience to Him, it
lives. Sin is the very opposite of this; it is
disobedience, disaffection,
distrust. It sunders the soul from God,
and
THAT IS THE DEATH OF THE SOUL! “Your iniquities have
separated between
you and your God, and your sins have hid His face
from you.” That separation is death,
and that is the real punishment
of sin. And it can come only upon the actual sinner,
because it grows out
of the sin. Sin and punishment
are related as seed and fruit.
“Whatsoever a man
soweth, that Shall he also reap;” (Galatians
6:8);
“Sin
when it is full
grown, bringeth forth death.” Men may
and do suffer by
reason of the sins of others,
but that suffering is not their punishment, but
their misfortune. SPIRITUAL DEATH IS THE TRUE PENALTY OF
SIN and can only come
upon the sinner himself. “The wages of sin
is death;” (Romans 6:23) “The
soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
·
CONCLUSION. Our subject shows:
Ø The fallacy of
the notion that sin is an injury only to the sinner himself.
The essential penalty falls upon
him alone. But others are ill-affected by his
pernicious example, and feel
some of the sad consequences of his evil
character and conduct. “For
none of us liveth to himself.” (Romans
14:7)
Ø
The solemn obligations of parents to live upright and
worthy lives. All
men are under such obligations.
But parents are specially so bound by
reason of their relation to
their children. They ought so to
live that their
lives shall
entail nothing but good to their offspring, in every respect —
physically, etc.
Ø The temerity and
sin of challenging the justice of the Divine dealings
with man. “The Lord is righteous in all His works;” (Psalm 145:17)
“Clouds and
darkness are round about Him: righteousness and
judgment are
the foundation of His throne.” (ibid. ch. 97:2)
If
we cannot always discern the
righteousness of His ways and
acts, it is not because that
righteousness does not exist, but because of the
imperfection of our perceptions.
These are not wide or clear enough to
survey the vast extent or
penetrate the profound depth of His designs and
doings. Or our perceptions may
be dulled or perverted by our sins. But His
ways and works are ever not only just, but infinitely
holy. “Righteous
and true are thy
ways, thou King of the nations.” (Revelation 15:3)
The Death Penalty (v. 4)
present passage. The prophet is
not now describing the kind of punishment
that follows sin; he is
indicating the persons on whom that punishment shall
fall. When asked who
is to die, he answers — The sinner; not his child, but
the sinner himself. But the very fact that the nature of the death penalty is
taken for granted makes it the
more apparent that the prophet had no
doubt about it. Now, we cannot
say that Ezekiel’s language about the
dying of the soul had any
reference to a second death in Hades in which the
conscious personality is
annihilated. We should be missing the historical
perspective if we supposed that
any such idea would occur to a Hebrew
prophet of the Old Testament.
The Old Testament religion was concerned
with this present life, and its
sanctions were secular. The penalty of
transgressions of the Law was to
be “cut
off” from among the people, i.e.
to be killed — stoned or
stabbed. The soul is the life, and to the ancient
Hebrew for the soul to die is
just for the man to have his earthly death.
Still, there is in this no hope
of a glorious resurrection for the sinner. His
doom is final as far as man can
follow it. Moreover, dying, not merely
suffering, is the penalty of the
impenitent, while wholesome pain is the
chastisement of the penitent
(Hebrews 12:6). Sin destroys body,
character, faculty, affection.
It is a killing influence in all respects
(Romans 6:23).
Other consequences of sin reach
the innocent; but not this. Herein lies the
solution of the terrible enigma
presented by the spectacle of children
suffering for the sins of their
fathers — or rather, a partial solution of it.
The real punishment of the sin
does not fall upon them. When the guilty
father is drowned in his own
wickedness, he sprinkles some of the foul
spray on his children, and it
burns them like spots of fire; but he does not
drag them down with him to his
dismal doom unless they freely choose to
follow HIS BAD EXAMPLE! Now, for the guilty man there is this dark
prospect — he cannot shirk his
responsibility and cast his punishment upon
another. THERE IS AN AWFUL LONLINESS IN
GUILT! Every one
must bear the load of his own sin.
OWNERSHIP OF SOULS. All belong to God;
therefore He will not permit
final injustice. The discarded
proverb (v. 2) rested on a sense of fatalism.
The idea it contained was not
just, but it seemed to be inevitable. The
tragedies of AEschylus and
Sophocles exhibit the operation of a Nemesis
pursuing the descendants of a
guilty man until the original crime of their
ancestor is expiated.
Physically, something of the kind does often occur;
but in the higher moral and
spiritual realm it is impossible, so long as a
personal God
takes personal interest in individual souls. The modern
Nemesis is physical law. We can
only escape from some form of unjust
fatalism by a belief in a
personal God and His direct dealings with souls.
Ø
Here is a grand exception to the order of punishment. THE SOUL
THAT DID NOT SIN DIES FOR THE SOULS THAT DO!
But with this fact we are in a
new order. Christ’s death is not a
consequence of moral law.
o
He comes in
grace.
o
His act is
voluntary. (“I
lay down my life that I may take
it again.
No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of
myself,
I have the power to lay it down, and I have the
power to take it again.” – John 10:17-18)
Ø
Here is the hope of our deliverance from death. We have all sinned.
Therefore we all deserve death,
for there is no exception to the law,
“The soul that sinneth, it shall
die” (v. 20). But not only has
Christ
died for us; He dies in us, we are crucified in Him, and dying to sin
through His grace we are spared the fearful dying for sin.
In vs. 5-9 is one of the most complete pictures of a
righteous life presented in the
Old Testament. It was characteristic of Ezekiel that he
starts from the avoidance of
Sins against the first table of the commandments.
5 “But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and
right,
6 And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted
up his
eyes to the idols
of the house of
neighbor’s wife,
neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,
To eat upon the
mountains was to take part in
the sacrificial feasts on the
places, of which he had
already spoken (ch. 16:16; compare ch.22:9;
Deuteronomy 12:2). The words, lifted up his eyes, as in Ibid. ch. 4:19 and
Psalm 121:1,
implied every form of idolatrous adoration. The two sins that
Follow seem to
us, as compared with each other, to stand on a very different
footing. To Ezekiel, however, they both appeared as mala
prohibita, to
each of which the Law assigned the punishment of death
(Leviticus 18:19;
20:10, 18; Deuteronomy 22:22), each
involving the dominance of animal
passions, in the
one case, over the sacred rights of others; in the
other, over a law of self-restraint which rested partly on
physical grounds,
the act condemned frustrating the final cause of the union
of the sexes;
partly, also, on its ethical significance. The prominence given to it implies
that the sin was common, and that it brought with it an infinite degradation
of the holiest ties.
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;”
Hath restored to
the debtor his pledge. The law, found in
Exodus 22.25 and Deuteronomy 24:6, 13, was a striking
instance of
the considerateness of the Mosaic Law. The garment which
the debtor had
pledged as a security was to be restored to him at night.
Such a law
implied, of course, the return of the pledge in the
morning. It was probably
often used by the debtor for his own fraudulent advantage,
and it was a
natural consequence that the creditor should be tempted to
evade
compliance with it. The excellence of the man whom Ezekiel
describes was
that he resisted the temptation. Hath spoiled none by violence.
Compare
Leviticus 6:1-5, which Ezekiel probably had specially in
view. The sin,
common enough at all times (I Samuel 12:3), would seem to
have been
specially characteristic of the time in which Ezekiel
lived, from the king
downwards (Jeremiah 22:13). As contrasted with the sin,
there was the
virtue of generous almsgiving (Isaiah 58:5-7).
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, 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 that hath not given forth
his money upon
usury. The word “usury,” we must remember,
is used, not, as with us, for
exorbitant interest
above the market rate, but for interest
of any kind. This
was allowed in
commercial dealings with foreigners (Deuteronomy 23:20),
but was altogether forbidden in the case of loans to
Israelites (Exodus
22:25; Leviticus 25:35-37; Deuteronomy 23:19; Isaiah 24:2).
The principle implied in this distinction was that,
although it was, on strict
principles of justice, allowable to charge for the use of
money, as for the
use of lands or the hire of cattle,
law of brotherhood. If money was to be lent at all, it was to be lent as to a
brother in want (Matthew 5:42; Luke 6:35), for the relief
of his
necessities, and not to make profit. A brother who would not help a
brother by a loan without interest was thought unworthy
of the name. The
ideal of the social polity of
of small freeholders, bound together by ties of mutual
help — a
national
friendly society,
rather than of traders and manufacturers; and hence the
whole drift of its legislation tended to repress the money making spirit
which afterwards became specially characteristic of its
people, and ate like
a canker into its life. The distinction between the two words seems to be
that “usury”
represents any interest on money; and “increase,”
any profit
on the sale of goods beyond the cost of production, as
measured by the
maintenance of the worker and his family. To buy in the cheapest market
and sell in the dearest was not to be the rule in a
nation of brothers, and it
was wiser to forbid it altogether rather than to sanction
what we call a
“reasonable rate” of interest or profit. Hath executed
true judgment. The
last special feature in the description of the righteous
man is that he is free
from the judicial corruption which has always been the ineradicable evil of
Eastern social life (I Samuel 8:3; 12:3; Amos 5:12; Isaiah
33:15).
The Description of a Good Man (vs. 5-9)
are within his power.
It stands to reason that the bad man is directly opposite
of these traits.
10 “If he beget a son
that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth
the like to any
one of these things,” A
robber. The Hebrew implies robbery
with violence, perhaps,
as in the Authorized Version margin, the offence of the
housebreaker. That
doeth the like to any of these things. The margin of
the Revised Version, following the Chaldee paraphrase,
gives, who doeth
to a brother any of these things. Others (Keil and Furst) render, “who
doeth only one of these things,” as if recognizing the
principle of James
2:10. On the whole, there seems sufficient reason for
keeping to the text.
11 “And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath
eaten upon
the mountains,
and defiled his neighbor’s wife,” The word “duties” is not
in the Hebrew, but is legitimately introduced as expressing Ezekiel’s meaning,
where the mere pronoun by itself would have been ambiguous. In English we
might say, “He does these things: he does not do those;” but this does not fall
in with the Hebrew idiom.
12 “Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by
violence, hath
not restored the
pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols,
hath committed
abomination,” The word abomination
probably covers
the specific sin named
in v. 6, but not here.
13 “Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase:
shall he then
live? he shall
not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely
die; his blood
shall be upon him.” One notes the special emphasis, first of
the question, and then
of the direct negative, as though that, in the judgment
alike of God and man,
was the only answer that could be given to it in the
very words of the Law
(Leviticus 20:9,11,13).
14 “Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s
sins which he
hath done, and
considereth, and doeth not such like, 15 That hath not
eaten upon the
mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of
the house of
oppressed any,
hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by
violence, but
hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the
naked with a
garment, 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.” Now, lo! etc.
The law of personal responsibility had been
pressed on its darker side. It is now asserted in its
brighter, and that with
the special emphasis indicated in its opening words. The
proverb of the
“sour grapes” receives a direct contradiction. The son of the evil doer may
take warning by his father’s example, and repent, as
Ezekiel exhorted those
among whom he lived to do. In that case he need fear no
inherited or
transmitted curse. He shall surely live; Hebrew, living he shall live. That
truth came to Ezekiel as with the force of a new
apocalypse, and it is
obviously “exceeding broad,” with far-reaching consequences
both in
ethics and theology.
The Breach of Heredity (v. 14)
It is possible for the son of the sinner not to tread in
his father’s evil
footsteps. Here
we have the door of escape from the odious proverb of the
sour grapes (v. 2).
verse before us presents a
distressing picture, though one with bright
features in it. The father should be an example to his children, and they
should be able
to look up to him with reverence.
Indeed, very little children
naturally regard those who have
charge of them as good. When first a child
discovers that one who has
directed his conduct is doing wrong, the
revelation comes upon him with
a
painful shock of surprise. How sad
that
this should become a familiar
sight! The very center of authority in the
home is then degraded. The child
may still obey from a sense of fear, from
a feeling of duty, or from mere
force of habit. But all reverence is gone,
and contempt is beginning to
take its place. There must be something sadly
wrong when a right-minded child
is forced to despise his father or his
mother. Surely such a prospect should be a warning to parents when
personal
considerations fail to influence them.
BY ITS VERY SHAMEFULNESS. There is an influence
which is just the
contrary of heredity in sin.
Unconsciously, by force of physical
constitution, and by the
influence of example no doubt, a child is drawn
towards his
father’s sin. But when he reflects upon it and exercises his own
judgment, he has
miserable opportunities for witnessing its shamefulness
which are not
accorded to the happily guarded children of purer homes.
(As a child, I had a good friend
whose father was an alcoholic and I
remember him saying he would
never do that and to this day, my friend
has kept his word. – CY – 2014).
The child of the drunkard knows the
evil of strong drink only too
well. Thus if he “considereth” he has
an ever
present warning. Do we not see
children who have turned with loathing from
the habits of disgraceful parents,
shunning the first approaches to the evil
which has wrought
such havoc in their homes, when other children who
have not been to so
painful a school TOY WITH IT IN THE
CONFIDENCE OF
IGNORANCE!
CHILDREN OF WICKED PARENTS. The problem furnished by the
wreck of broken down character
among the degraded creatures who haunt
the slums of great cities is
well nigh insoluble, because so many of those
hopeless beings
refuse to be reclaimed. If they are
removed to decent
dwellings and supplied with
the means of conducting respectable lives, they
sink back to their
old stats of degradation. Emigration
alone will not cure
this disease of dissoluteness.
We could only burden
colonies with useless paupers by
sending its victims across the sea. They
have neither the moral nor the physical strength to begin
s new life. It
would seem that the best thing
we could do for them would be to shut
them up in a hospital for
incurables, where at least they might be prevented
from spreading moral contagion. They have
reached moral imbecility. But
we can save their children. It
is with the children that the hope of recovery
is most encouraging. Good work
already done in rescuing the little waifs of
the streets points to a much
more extensive effort in that direction. For the
price of an ironclad we might
save the children of the slums of a whole
city! It is here that
the solution of our great social problem will begin.
18 “As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled
his brother
by violence, and
did that which is not good among his people, lo,
even he shall die
in his iniquity.” The reappearance of the father, with the
same emphatic “lo!” seems to imply that Ezekiel
thought of the two
phenomena as possibly
contemporaneous. Men might see before them, at the
same time:
·
the father dying in
his sins, and
·
the son turning
from them and gaining the true life.
19 “Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of
the father?
When the son hath
done that which is lawful and right, and hath
kept all my
statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not
bear the
iniquity of the
father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of
the son: the
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and
the wickedness of
the wicked shall be upon him.” Why?
doth not the son, etc.?
The words are better taken, with the Septuagint, Vulgate, Revised Version, and
most critics, as a single question, Why doth not the son bear, etc.? What is the
explanation of a fact
which seemingly contradicts the teaching of the Law?
The answer to the question
seems at first only an iteration of what had been
stated before. The son repents, and therefore does not bear his father’s
iniquity.
A man is responsible for his own sins, and for those only. To think otherwise
is to think of
God as less righteous than man.
Personal Character and Destiny (vs. 10-20)
Personal principles and piety cannot be transmitted from father to son as
property is transmitted. The son of a good man may repudiate his father’s
God, and refuse to tread in his father’s footsteps. Eli was a good man, but
his sons were “sons of Belial, they knew not the Lord” (I Samuel 2:12).
David was a great and godly man, but he begat an Absalom. And Solomon
begat
a Rehoboam. “Grace
does hot run in the blood, nor always attend the
means of grace.” On the other hand, a wicked parent may beget a son who
shall shun his father’s sins, and live a righteous and religious life. The son
does not inherit either the righteousness or the wickedness of his father as
he inherits the paternal possessions.
“If he
beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood,” etc. Most of the
features of character mentioned in these verses came under
our notice in
our preceding homily. And other parts of these verses (e.g. “the
soul that
sinneth, it shall
die”) have already engaged our attention.
But the
paragraph suggests the following observations.
·
THAT PERSONAL CHARACTER
IS NOT HEREDITARY. We have
pointed out (on vs. 1-4) that
moral tendencies are frequently hereditary; a
child may inherit a strong bias
towards good or towards evil from his
parents. But a person’s real
character is not the product of the law of
heredity. A just man may “beget
a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood,
and that doeth any
one of these things,” etc. (vs.
10-14). The character
thus portrayed is the very
opposite of the just man (vs. 5-9), yet it is
suggested that this character
may belong to the son of the just man.
Personal principles and piety
cannot be transmitted from father to son as
property is transmitted. The son of a good man may repudiate his father’s
God, and refuse to tread in his
father’s footsteps. Eli was a good man, but
his sons were “sons
of Belial.” David was a great-souled and godly man,
but he begat an Absalom. And
Solomon begat a Rehoboam. “Grace does
not run in the blood, nor always attend the means of grace.” On the other
hand, a wicked parent may beget
a son who shall shun his father’s sins, and
live a righteous and religious
life. The son does not inherit either the
righteousness or the wickedness
of his father as he inherits the paternal
possessions.
AVAIL FOR THE SALVATION OF HIS CHILDREN. The just man by
his holiness does not save his
wicked son. That son “shall not live: he
hath
done all these
abominations: he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon
him.” The children of the godly have great religious
advantages. In the
instructions,
examples, and prayers of their parents
they have most valuable
aids to personal piety. Moreover, they probably inherit from them
tendencies and aptitudes to the
true and the good. Still, the parental
character will only avail for the
salvation of the parents. The children of the
godly can only realize the
salvation by realizing a character like unto their
parents. David’s godliness, though joined with intense love for his
son, did
not save Absalom from ruin. Hezekiah was a good man, but
his son
Manasseh was
terribly wicked. Josiah was eminently
pious and patriotic,
but his children were
notoriously depraved. True religion is
an intensely
personal thing; it is an individual life and experience and practice. All
its
important experiences and acts
are essentially personal and solitary. Only
the sinner himself
can repent of his sins. No one can
believe on Jesus Christ
for us. If faith is to benefit
us it must be our own willing and cordial act
and exercise. We cannot work out
our salvation by proxy. Every man must
“work out his own
salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).
The Jews prided themselves on
their descent from Abraham, as though by
that their salvation was
secured; but John the Baptist declared to them the
worthlessness of their hope
(Matthew 3:7-11), and our Lord exhibited
its utter delusiveness (John
8:33-44). True religion is not ours in virtue
of any human
connection or relationship. It is a
thing not of flesh and
blood, but of spirit and
principle; not of human generation,
BUT OF
DIVINE
REGENERATION!
NECESSITATE THE WICKEDNESS AND DEATH OF HIS
CHILDREN. “Now, lo, if he”
(i.e. the wicked son of just father) “beget
a
son, that seeth
all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and
doeth not such
like,” etc. (vs. 14-17). Great are the disadvantages of the
children of wicked
parents. Poor parental example and influence
are
decidedly
hostile to their highest and best interests. If they become true and
good it will be
notwithstanding their parents, not because of them. Yet such
children may grow up righteous
and religious, useful and godly. The son
may behold his
father’s sins, not as an example, but as a warning, and may
form quite a different
character and lead quite a different life. The
prophet
mentions certain steps in this
process which we may glance at with
advantage.
Ø
Parental sins seen. “A son, that seeth all his father’s sins
which he
hath done.” Sons are close observers of
their fathers’ acts and ways.
This should lead
fathers to act wisely and to follow the ways that
are good. It is a sad thing for a son to see follies and
sins in his
own father.
Ø
Parental sins considered. “And considereth.” Observation is of little
benefit without reflection. By
reflection we are enabled to realize the
true significance and bearings
of facts and circumstances. By reflection
facts become forces unto us.
Inconsideration often leads to sin. At a
time when
laid against them was, “My people doth not consider.” (Isaiah 1:3)
Ø
Parental sins shunned. “Considereth, and
doeth not such like.” A due
consideration of the ways and
works of the wicked, their real character
and certain tendencies, would
lead us to regard them as solemn lessons
to he earnestly shunned. Thus,
according to our text, the son of a sinful
parent may avoid that parent’s sins, and practice the opposite
virtues.
Examples of this are happily
numerous. The excellent Hezekiah was
the son of the wicked Ahaz. (I
recommend II Chronicles 28 – Spurgeon
Sermon – That King Ahaz – this web site – CY – 2014) Good
Josiah
was the son of the notoriously
depraved Amon, and the grandson of
the still more notoriously
wicked Manasseh.
CHARACTER. “Yet
say ye, Wherefore doth not the son bear the iniquity
of the father?
When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and
hath kept all my statutes,
and hath done them, he shall surely live. The soul
that sinneth, it
shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father,
neither shall the
father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the
righteous shall be
upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be
upon him.” No statement could be more explicit and decisive than this.
And it is corroborated by other
declarations of Holy Writ. “If thou art
wise, thou art
wise for thyself; and if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear
it” (Proverbs 9:12); “Each
one of us shall give account of himself to God”
(Romans 14:12); “Each man shall
bear his own burden.” (Galatians
6:5).
Individual destiny grows
out of individual character. “As righteousness
tendeth to life:
so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own
death.”
(Proverbs
11:19)
21 “Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of
the father?
When the son hath
done that which is lawful and right, and hath
kept all my
statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
22 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not
bear the
iniquity of the
father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of
the son: the
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and
the wickedness of
the wicked shall be upon him.”
But if the wicked
will turn, etc. Here, however, there is
a distinct advance. The question is carried further into
the relations
between the past and the present of the same man,
between his old and his
new self. And in answering that question also Ezekiel becomes the
preacher of a gospel. The judgment of God deals with each
man according
to his present state, not his past. Repentance and
conversion and obedience
shall cancel, as it were, the very memory of his former
sins (Ezekiel’s
language is necessarily that of a hold anthropopathy), and
his
transgressions shall not be mentioned unto him (compare ch.
33:16;
Isaiah 43:25; 64:9; Jeremiah 31:34). Assuming the later
date of
Isaiah 40-66, the last three utterances have the interest
of being those of
nearly contemporary prophets to
whom the same truth had been revealed.
Repentance at any stage of human probation is possible. It is recognized,
throughout the Bible, that a man may turn from evil ways. If, at any point
short of death, a man is disposed to turn from a vicious
course, all
the
resources of God’s skill and power are on his side. There is no
hindrance
to a man’s reformation and restoration SAVE HIS OWN
UNWILLINGNESS!
Incessantly, God is
inviting such repentance.
Repentance leads to complete and perfect
righteousness. Repentance is not
merely a negation; it is a positive good. It is the first
link in a golden chain
that shall bind the soul in
sweet allegiance to God. It is the
first drop in a
precious shower of blessing. It is the foundation-stone of
a new character.
It is the seed of a magnificent harvest. From true
repentance every virtue,
every excellence, every noble quality, shall spring. Give it time, and it shall
bear upon its branches all the figures and fruits of
goodness. It is the first
ray of heaven
struggling to find
entrance into man’s heart.
Personal Responsibility (vs. 19-22)
We can only account for the Prophet Ezekiel laying such
special stress
upon the principle of individuality in religion by
supposing that, in his time
and among those with whom he associated, there was a
prevalent
disposition and habit leading to the denial of what seems
to us an
unquestionable truth. Indeed, in some form or other, men do
incline to shift
responsibility
from themselves to their parents, their early
teachers, their
companions, the
society in which their lot is cast.
·
THE VAIN AND DECEPTIVE CONTENTION THAT THE MORAL
QUALITY OF ONE GENERATION IS IMPUTED TO ANOTHER. This
contention may take either of
two forms.
Ø The son of a good father is apt to rely
upon his father’s goodness. There
is no doubt
that such a one may inherit much that is advantageous, e.g. a
good
constitution, a happy temperament, a good introduction to life, the
favorable
regard of many helpful friends. And it is sometimes forgotten
that all this
does not interfere with responsibility; in fact, he who is so
highly favoured
is thereby raised to a higher level of accountability. Much
is given, and much will be required.
Ø The son of a bad father is apt to excuse
his faults by casting the blame
for them upon
the transmission of evil influences by heredity, or upon
circumstances
traceable to family relationships. It is the case that such a
person starts heavily
weighted upon the race of life; his temptations to
error and sin are
many and urgent, and restraining influences are weakened.
Allowances are
made by men, and no doubt by God also, for such
disadvantages; but they do not destroy the moral responsibility
of the free
agent.
INALIENABLE RESPONSIBILITY. Reference has been made to the
attempts too often made by
sinners to cast their responsibility upon others.
But it may unhesitatingly be
asserted that those who put forward such
excuses are never themselves
convinced by them. In their hearts they
are
well aware that
there is no sincerity in such excuses,
that they are mere
subterfuges. The conscience
within, which accuses and excuses, gives no
uncertain sound. The religious teacher, the Christian preacher, who seeks
to convince men of sin has the
assurance that the inner monitor of his
hearers supports
his endeavor, that he neither
upbraids nor pleads alone.
When the Lord God exclaims by
the voice of His prophet, “Hear now, O
house of
man, convicted by his
conscience, is reduced to silence; for there is no
reply to be made. When
conscience is awakened, its witness is plain and
unmistakable.
OWN
The language of this
chapter is peculiarly explicit upon this matter. “The soul
that sinneth, it
shall die;… the righteous shall surely live, he shall not die.”
And these statements are in
harmony with the whole tenor of Scripture teaching.
The Bible magnifies man’s
personality, and never represents man as a machine,
an organism. Each living soul stands in its own relation to THE FATHER
OF SPIRITS before whom every moral and free nature must appear to
render an account
for itself, and not for another. The
teaching of our Lord
and of His apostles is as
definite and decided
upon this point as the teaching
of the Lawgiver and the
prophets of
the earlier dispensation. We are throughout
Scripture consistently
taught that THERE IS NO EVADING THE
GREAT ACCOUNT!
23 “Have I any pleasure
at all that the wicked should die? saith the
Lord GOD: and not
that he should return from his ways, and live?”
Have I any
pleasure, etc.? Ezekiel’s anticipations of the
gospel of Christ take a yet wider range, and we come at
last to what had
been throughout the suppressed premise of the argument. To
him, as
afterwards to Paul (I Timothy 2:4) and Peter (II Peter
3:9),
the mind of God was presented as being at once absolutely
ABOSOLUTELY
RIGHTEOUS AND ABSOLUTELY LOVING! The death of the wicked,
the loss, i.e., of true life, for a time, or even
forever, might be the necessary
consequence of laws that were righteous in themselves, and
were working
out the well being of the universe; but that death was not
to be thought of
as the result of a Divine decree, or contemplated by the
Divine mind with
any satisfaction. If it were not given to Ezekiel to see, as
clearly as Isaiah
seems to have seen it, how
the Divine philanthropy was to manifest itself,
he at least gauged that philanthropy itself, and found it
FATHOMLESS!
How God Views the Death of the Wicked (v.
23)
Ø It might appear
that He has.
o
Men transferred to God their own low notions of vengeance.
“Revenge is sweet” among
men; therefore it was supposed
that God must take some
pleasure in avenging Himself on
those who have offended
Him.
o
The rigor of the Law of God appeared to favour this notion.
If God had no pleasure in
the death of the wicked, why did
God let him die? Such a
question goes on the assumption that
the only motive of action
is the personal pleasure of the agent.
Ø But on the other hand, it is certain that the fate of the sinner is
no
pleasure to God.
o
God is righteous. The pleasures of vengeance are
sinful. It
cannot be good to feel
anything but distress at the ruin of a
soul. There might be a
certain pleasure in the infliction of
useful chastisement,
because of its happy end; but the death
of a soul is wholly dark.
o
God is merciful.
God does not hate His enemies. “He hateth
nothing that He hath
made.” God loves the souls that perish.
§
His long
suffering and delay of punishment,
§
His readiness to
forgive the penitent, and, above all,
§
the gift of His
Son to redeem the world from death,
are PROOFS that He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
Ø
God has given freedom to His children. It can scarcely be said
that God
kills a wicked man. The sinner is his own executioner; his sin is its own
sword of vengeance.
SIN SLAYS ITSELF! The sinner is practically
A SUICIDE! God has no pleasure in the ruin which the
foolish man
brings on his own head. But there would be no moral nature left for
him,
and therefore no possibility of
goodness, if God did not leave him the
use of that freedom which he abuses in slaying his own soul.
(I find it interesting that we have such an obsession with freedom
in
Libertine political party, etc., to the point that American citizens,
in the name of liberty and freedom, succeed in slaying their own
Souls!? – CY – 2014)
Ø
God is just, though justice
may be painful. It may be said that we cannot
throw the whole burden of his
death on the sinner, because God has made
him and has made the laws which
connect death with sin. No doubt,
therefore, there is a certain
Divine retribution in the punishment of sin. But
then God is
just “and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
(Romans 3:26), and does not
regard His own pleasure. It is only an
epicurean deity who would refuse
to punish sin because he took no
pleasure in the death of the
sinner.
Ø
There can be no escape for the impenitent. If it were merely a
question
of God’s pleasure, we might
appeal from that to His mercy. But He
already denies Himself to permit
the punishment. It is therefore the
more sure.
pleasure in their death, He will
welcome any avenue of escape. Nay, He will
provide all possible
means of deliverance. HENCE, THE GOSPEL
OF CHRIST!
Ø
There is a possibility of escape through amendment. It can come no
other way, or justice would be
outraged; for it is better that
the soul
should die THAN THAT IT SHOULD CONTINUE FOR EVER
IN SIN! THE LIFE OF SIN IS A CURSE TO THE SINNER
AND A BLIGHT ON
GOD’S WORLD! A return to the better
way is OPEN TO ALL
OF US THROUGH
CHRIST!
II Corinthians 5:20).
Ø
This escape gives life. God loves life, or He
would not have created a
world teeming with living
beings. He loves to gives us A NEW
LIFE IN
CHRIST! (I John 5:12) LET NO ONE DESPAIR!
God does not desire
our death; GOD
WILLS OUR LIFE!
God’s Benevolence (v. 23)
of Him who chose the people as His own, trained them for
His service, instructed
them in his Law, bore with their frequent disobedience and rebellion,
and ever
addressed to them promises of compassion and of help. But all proofs of the
Divine benevolence pale before that glorious exhibition of
God’s love and
kindness which we Christians have received in Him who is
the unspeakable
Gift of Heaven. Had the Almighty felt any pleasure in the death of the
wicked,
He would not have given his own Son, while we were yet
sinners, to die for us.
He took pleasure, not in the condemnation and death, but in
the salvation of
men. In Christ His love and kindness appeared; for Christ came, not to
condemn the world, BUT THAT THE WORLD THROUGH HIM MIGHT
BE SAVED! (John
3:17) The
pleasure of God is that the wicked “should
return from his way, and should live.” Thus there is coincidence
between
the good pleasure of the Omnipotent upon the one hand, and the best desires
and truest interests of penitent sinners on the other. He who repents
of his evil
deed, who looks upwards for forgiveness, and who resolves
upon a new and
better life, has not to encounter Divine displeasure or
ill will; on the contrary,
he is assured of a gracious reception, of immediate
pardon, of kindest
consideration, and of
help and guidance in the carrying out of holier purpose
and endeavor. The demeanor and the language of God are
those of the
compassionate Father, who welcomes the returning prodigal, accords him
a benign reception, and proffers him all those blessings, now and
HEREAFTER which alone
can answer to the glorious and
comprehensive
gift of Divine love
— ETERNAL LIFE!
How God Views the Death of the Wicked (v.
23)
Ø It might
appear that He had.
o
Men transferred to God their own low
notions of vengeance. “Revenge
is sweet” among
men; therefore it was supposed that God must take some
pleasure in
avenging Himself on those who have offended Him.
o
The rigor of the Law of God appeared to
favor this notion.
If God
had no pleasure
in the death of the wicked, why did God let him die? Such
a question goes
on the assumption that the only motive of action is the
personal
pleasure of the agent.
Ø But on the other hand, it
is certain that the fate of the sinner is no
pleasure to God.
o
God is righteous. The pleasures of vengeance are sinful. It
cannot be
good to feel anything but distress at the ruin
of a soul. There might be
a
certain
pleasure in the infliction of useful chastisement, because of its
happy end; but the death of a soul is wholly dark.
o
God is merciful. God does not hate His enemies. “He hateth nothing
that He hath made.” God loves the souls that perish. His long
suffering and
delay of
punishment, HIS READINESS TO FORGIVE the penitent, and,
above all, THE GIFT OF HIS SON TO REDEEM THE WORLD
FROM
DEATH
are proofs that He has no pleasure in the
death of the wicked.
Ø
God has given freedom to His children. It can scarcely be
said that God
kills a wicked man. The sinner
is his own executioner; his sin is its own
sword of vengeance. Sin itself
slays. The sinner is practically a suicide. God
has no pleasure in the ruin
which the foolish man brings on his own head.
But there would be no moral
nature left for him, and therefore no
possibility of goodness, if God
did not leave him the use of that freedom
which he abuses in slaying his own soul.
Ø
God is just, though justice may be painful. It may be said that
we cannot
throw the whole burden of his
death on the sinner, because God has made
him and has made the laws which
connect death with sin. No doubt,
therefore, there is a certain
Divine retribution in the punishment of sin. But
then God is just, and does not
regard His own pleasure. It is only an
epicurean deity who would refuse
to punish sin because he took no
pleasure in the death of the
sinner.
Ø
There can be no escape for the impenitent. If it were merely a
question
of God’s pleasure, we might
appeal from that to His mercy. But He already
denies Himself to permit the
punishment. It is therefore the more sure.
pleasure in their death, He will
welcome any avenue of escape. Nay, He will
provide all possible means of
deliverance. Hence the gospel of Christ.
Ø
There is a possibility of escape through amendment. It can come no
other way, or justice would be
outraged; for it is better that the soul
should die than that it should continue forever in sin. The life of sin
is a curse to the sinner and a blight on God’s world. But a return to
the better way is open to all of us through Christ (II Corinthians 5:20).
Ø
This escape gives life. God loves life, or He would not have created a
world teeming with living beings. He loves to gives us a new life in
Christ (1 John 5:12). Let no one
despair. God does not desire our death;
God wills our life.
24 “But when the righteous turneth away from his
righteousness, and
committeth
iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations
that the wicked
man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that
he hath done
shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath
trespassed, and
in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.”
In the previous argument (v. 21) the truth that the individual
character may change had been stated as a
ground of hope. Here it appears
as a ground, for fear and watchfulness. The “grey-haired saint may fail at
last,” the apostle may become a castaway (I Corinthians
9:27), and the
righteousness of a life may be cancelled by the sins of a
year or of a day.
Whether there was an opening for repentance, even after
that fall, the
prophet does not say, but the law that a man is in
spiritual life or death
according to what he is at any given moment of his course,
seems to
require the extension of the hope, unless we assume that the nature of the
fall in the case supposed fetters the freedom of the will,
and makes
repentance impossible (Hebrews
6:4-6; II Peter 2:20).
25 “Yet ye say, The way of the LORD is not equal. Hear now, O
house
of
Are not my ways
equal? The.
primary meaning of the
Hebrew adjective is that of something ordered,
symmetrically arranged.
Men would find in the ways of God precisely that in which
their own ways
were wanting, and which they denied to Him — the workings
of a
considerate equity, adjusting all things according to their
true weight and
measure.
26 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. 27 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. 28 Because he considereth,
and
turneth away from
all his transgressions that he hath committed, he
shall surely
live, he shall not die. 29 Yet saith the house of
The way of the
LORD is not equal. O house of
ways equal? are
not your ways unequal?” The equity of the Divine
judgments is asserted, as before, by fresh iteration rather than by new
arguments. In a discourse delivered, as this probably was, orally, it was
necessary, so to speak, to hammer in the truth upon men’s minds so that
it might be driven home and do its work.
Reversals of Character (vs. 26-28)
We have here an instance of man’s misjudgment of God, and
wrongful
accusation of injustice against Him. People who have borne
good
characters are punished by God, and others who have earned
themselves
odious reputations are spared. This is the stumbling block.
But our text
supplies the explanation of the apparent inconsistency. The
good men have
fallen into sin, and the bad men have repented and mended
their lives.
Therefore it is not unjust in God to treat them no longer
according to their
old characters.
judgment is stiff and blunt.
Having formed our estimate of a man, we
hold
it after all
justification for it has vanished. We
are blind to those traits in his
character which do not agree
with our theory; or, if we are forced to
recognize them, our first
impulse is to twist them into harmony with the
theory. Thus men’s characters in
the world outlive the facts on which they
are founded. They are not all
equal in this respect. A good character is
more easily lost than a bad
character. (I have heard that it takes a
lifetime to gain a reputation
and only a moment to lose it! – CY – 2014)
If a man has once earned an evil
name, it is almost impossible for him to
divest himself of it. People
will not believe in his thorough conversion.
This suspicion is partly due to
ignorance of the hearts of men, and to a
consequent danger of being
imposed upon by hypocrisy. But God knows
hearts. He is not bound by names and reputations. He sees present
facts,
and He judges men as they are.
Then He judges according to present
condition. He does not spare the
fallen man on account of past goodness,
and He does not rake up old
charges against the penitent. We must not
suppose, however, that God
judges by a man’s latest act. This would throw
in an element of chance. A man
is not condemned because he happens to
be doing wrong at the moment of
death, or saved because death finds him
on his knees in prayer. But when the whole life is turned
round, God judges
by its present character, and
not by its former state. (We ought to
live
our lives for God to the point
that if someone said something bad about
us, no one would believe it! –
CY – 2014)
arguing on hypothetical cases.
The ways of God to men are to be justified
in part by the knowledge that
such cases exist.
Ø
The good man may fall away into sin. When this happens,
the world
lifts up its hands in
horror at what it supposes to be a revelation of
monstrous and long
continued hypocrisy; but there may be no hypocrisy
in the case. The fallen man may have been sincere in his
earlier life of
goodness. But he has turned
aside from it. Here is a terrible
warning.
No character is
crystalline; all characters are more or less mobile.
The best man may fall. (“Wherefore let him that thinketh he
standeth take heed
lest he fall.” - I Corinthians 10:12)
Then all his former goodness
will not save him. We have reason for
watchfulness,
diffidence, and prayer for GOD’S PROTECTION!
Ø
The bad man may be recovered. The stern and changeless
judgment of
the world dooms one who has
fallen to lifelong ignominy. This is cruel
and murderous. If we lend a
helping hand, the fallen may be lifted up.
BY THE GRACE OF
CHRIST the most hardened sinner may be
softened to penitence and turned into the ways
of goodness. Then his
former sin will not hang like a millstone about
his neck to keep him
forever down. God forgives it, and never mentions it again. It is the
elder son, not the father, who
refers to the former
sins of the returned
prodigal (Luke 15:30).
Moral Transformations and Their Consequences
(vs. 21-29)
“But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath
committed, and
keep all my statutes,” etc. In this paragraph the vindication of the moral
government of God is advanced another stage. Already it has
been shown
that the son does not die for his father’s sins, or live
for his father’s
righteousness. Only the soul that sinneth shall die; only the soul that is
righteous shall
live. Now the prophet proceeds to show
that “so far from
the sins of his fathers excluding from salvation, not even
his own do this, if
they be penitently forsaken.” Or, as Matthew Henry
expresses it, “The
former showed that God will reward or punish according to
the change
made in the family or succession, for the better or for the
worse; here He
shows that He will reward or punish according to the change
made in the
person himself, whether for the better or the worse.”
A Deplorable Moral Transformation (v. 26)
and committeth
iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that
the wicked man
doeth.” Here is the transformation of
a righteous man into
a wicked man; of a doer of
righteousness into a worker of iniquity. The
prophet does not set forth an
occasional or temporary aberration from the
right and the true; but the
habitual and persistent practice of wickedness.
Moreover, in the case supposed,
the sinner “doeth according to all the
abominations” of the
wicked, and continues therein to the end of his
earthly existence: he “committeth iniquity, and dieth therein.”
That such a turning from
righteousness to wickedness is possible is
Evident from the moral
constitution of man. He is free to obey or to
disobey God; to do that which is
right or to commit iniquity.
Ø
He forfeits the
benefit of his former righteousness. “All
his
righteousness that
he hath done shall not be mentioned;”
Revised
Version, “None of his
righteous deeds that he hath done shall be
remembered.” This is the
antithesis to that which was declared of
him who turns from sin unto
righteousness: “All his
transgressions
that he hath
committed shall be remembered against
him.”
(v. 22)
Unless we persevere we lose what
we have gained.
“Look
to
yourselves, that
ye lose not the things which we have wrought,
but that ye
receive a full reward.” (II John 1:8).
Ø
He incurs the
penalty of his persistent wickedness. “In his trespass that
he hath
trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall
he die;… for his
iniquity that he hath done shall he die.” (vs. 24, 26).
On this death, see our remarks
on v. 4, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die;”
and on v. 31.)
A Desirable Moral Transformation (vs. 27-28)
clear.
Ø
Serious
consideration. “He” (i.e. the wicked man) “considereth”
(v. 28). Reflection is an
indispensable step towards repentance.
Thinking must precede turning.
Thus it was with the psalmist:
“I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy
testimonies.
I made haste and
delayed not to keep thy commandments.”
(Psalm 119:59-60). So also with the
prodigal son: “when he came to
Himself,” and thought upon his father’s house, and his
own wretched
condition, it was not long
before he arose and penitently went to his
father (Luke 15:17-20). Consideration leads to conversion.
Ø
Resolute
forsaking of sin. “If the wicked will turn from all
his sins
that he hath
committed” (v. 21); “Because he considereth, and
turneth away from
all his transgressions that he hath committed”
(v. 28). There is no true turning or repentance apart from the
renunciation of sin; and where repentance is both true and
thorough there is a renunciation of “all his sins;” the sinner
“turneth away
from all his transgressions.” He makes
no
reservation; he does not long or
plead for the retention of any
because they are small or comparatively
uninjurious. He loathes
sin, and endeavors to eschew it
altogether.
Ø
Hearty following
after righteousness. “And keep all my statutes,
and do that which is lawful and right.” Getting rid of the evil
is not enough; we must needs get
possession of the good. (Else
we will be like the man
which Jesus talked about in his self-help –
“Then goeth he,
and taketh with himself seven other spirits
more wicked than
himself, …….and the last state of the man
is worse than the
first” (Matthew 12:44-45). Ceasing to do
evil must be followed by learning to do well. Not only are we
not to be overcome of evil; we are to go on to overcome evil
with good. (Romans
12:21). “He
that would love life… let him
turn away from
evil and do good” (I Peter 3:10). If the evil
spirit be expelled from our
heart, and the Holy Spirit be not
welcomed therein, the evil spirit
will return with other spirits
worse than himself, and
they will take
possession of our heart
and dwell there (As stated
above – CY – 2014). The desirable
moral transformation includes
hearty abandonment of sin and
hearty
cultivation of goodness.
Ø
Forgiveness of
his sins. “All his transgressions that he
hath
committed, they shall not be mentioned unto
him;” Revised
Version, “None of his transgressions that he hath committed
shall be remembered against him.” They shall be so completely
pardoned that
there shall be no reproach because of them,
no recall of
them, no recollection of them. HOW FULLY AND
HOW ABSOLUTELY
GOD FORGIVES!
o
“I will forgive
their iniquity, and their sin will I
remember no
more;” (Jeremiah 31:34)
o
“I, even I, am He
that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine
own sake; and I will not remember thy sins;” (Isaiah
43:25)
o
“As far as the
east is from the west, so far hath He removed
our transgressions from us;” (Psalm 103:12)
o
“Thou hast cast
all my sins behind thy back;” (Isaiah 38:17)
o
“He delighteth in
mercy. ….He will turn again and have
compassion upon us; He will subdue our
iniquities,
and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths
of the sea.”
(Micah 7:18-20)
Ø
Bestowment of
spiritual life. “He shall surely live, he shall not die.
In his righteousness that he hath done he
shall live He shall save
his soul alive.” In the
favor and fellowship of God is the soul’s life.
“In His favor is
life” (Psalm
30:5). And that favor is granted to the
soul that penitently turns
from sin unto God. (For additional
suggestions concerning this
life, see our notes on v.9.)
Ø
Its great encouragement. “Have I any
pleasure in the death of the
wicked? saith the
Lord God: and not rather that he should return
from his way, and
live?” God delights in the conversion,
not in the
condemnation, of the sinner; in
the inspiration of life, not in the
infliction of death. “The God of the Old Testament,”
says Havernich,
“has a heart: Himself the
essence of all
blessedness, and mirroring
Himself in the blessedness of
the creature, He has a heart
for every
being who has fallen away from Him, and who is exposed to death.
The fundamental feature of His
character is holy love: He
delighteth in the return of the
sinner from death to life.” “He
delighteth in mercy” (Micah
7:18). This is
the great encouragement
for the sinner TO TURN IN
PENITENCE UNTO HIM!
THE EQUITY OF THE DIVINE DEALINGS WITH MEN IN
EACH OF THESE MORAL TRANSFORMATIONS. (vs. 25, 29.)
1. Men sometimes challenge the
rectitude of God’s dealings with them.
“Ye say, The way
of the Lord is not equal… Saith the house of
way of the Lord is
not equal.” The righteousness of the
Divine way is thus
denied, or at least questioned,
sometimes even by the godly.
a.
Thus did Job (Job
10:2-3).
b.
Thus also did Asaph
(Psalm 73:11-14).
If sore affliction or protracted
trial befall us, we are prone to doubt and
challenge the kindness, perhaps
even the justice, of God’s treatment of us.
Yet “wherefore doth a living man
complain, a man for the punishment of his
sins?” (Lamentations
3:39)
2. Those who thus challenge the rectitude of God’s dealings are generally
unrighteous themselves. “ Hear now, O
house of
ways unequal?” The wickedness of the house of
exceedingly great, and was still
so; yet they were forward to charge God
with unfairness in
His dealings with them. The greatest sinners are the
readiest to daringly call in question the holiness of
the character and the
righteousness of
the doings of God. The more excellent a man is the
greater will be his confidence
in the holiness of the Divine will and ways,
the more hearty his
acquiescence in that will, and the more devoted his
love to its great
Author.
3. If God should, deign to reply to such a challenge, he will
most amply
vindicate the character of his dealings with men. He does so in this
chapter. When the evolution of His purposes in relation to our race is more
complete, it will be unmistakably clear that in the
salvation of the penitent
sinner and in the condemnation of the persistently wicked He has acted in
complete harmony
with the infinite perfections of His being.
Ø
“His work is
perfect; for all His ways are judgment: a God of
faithfulness and
without iniquity, just and right is He”
(Deuteronomy 32:4)
Ø
“Clouds and
darkness are round about Him: righteousness and
judgment are the
foundation of His throne;” (Psalm 97:2)
Ø
“The Lord is
righteous in all His ways, and gracious in all His works;”
(Psalm 145:17)
Ø
“Great and
marvelous are thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous
and true are thy
ways, thou King of the ages.” (Revelation 15:3)
30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of
to his ways,
saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from
all your
transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have
transgressed; and
make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why
will ye die, O
house of
and fear. The
goodness and severity of God alike led up to that. For a man
to remain in his sin will be fatal, but it is not the
will of God that he should
so remain. What he needs is the new
heart and the new spirit, which are primarily,
as in ch. 11:19, God’s gift to men, but which men must make
their
own by seeking and receiving them. So iniquity shall not be your ruin;
better, with the margin of the Revised Version, so shall
they not be a
stumbling block (same
word as in ch. 3:20; 7:19; 14:3) of iniquity
unto you. Repented
sins shall be no more an occasion of offence. Men may
rise on them to “higher things,” as on “steppingstones of
their dead selves.”
A Solemn and Startling
Inquiry (v. 31)
“Why will ye die?”
The prophet has just exhorted the house of
repent, to turn away from all sin, to turn unto God, so
that iniquity should
not prove their ruin. And now he addresses to them the
brief and
awakening interrogation, “Why will ye die?” This inquiry,
interpreted in
harmony with its context, implies, what has been already
stated more than
once in this chapter, that persistence
in sin leads to the death of the soul.
The prophet has
also repeatedly stated that turning from sin to
righteousness
leads to life. And now, having completed
the vindication of
the Divine government against the charge implied in the
popular proverb,
“The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the
children’s teeth are set on
edge,” he
earnestly appeals to them to turn from their transgressions to
God, and thus to turn from death to life. And in this
appeal he utters the
solemn and startling inquiry. “Why will ye die, O house of
Wherefore will ye
not repent, and live? Why will ye persist in sin, and die?
·
THE RUINOUSNESS OR PERSISTENCE IN SIN. It leads to death.
“Why will ye die?” Man can live spiritually only in union with God. “In
His
favor is life.” (Psalm 30:5) Cut
our world adrift from the sun with its light and
heat, and ere long it would be
one region of invariable and total death. All life of
every kind would perish from the
earth. The
soul cut off from God dies; for
HE IS ITS LIFE AND LIGHT.
Apart from the grace of God, and the
influences of the Holy Spirit, all men are dead through their
trespasses and
sins. Every genuine Christian is said to have
passed from death unto life:
“He that heareth
my word, and believeth Him that sent me, hath eternal life,
and cometh not
into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life;”
(John 5:24) “We know that we have passed out
of death into life, because
we love the
brethren.” (I John 3:14) Absence of sensibility is the great
characteristic of death. In a dead
body the eyes are there, but they see not;
the ears are there, but they hear
not; the nose, but it smells not; the organs
of speech, but they speak not;
the nerves, but they feel not. Sensibility
has departed. And they who live in sin lack spiritual
sensibility;
Ø
they do not perceive
the beauties of truth and holiness;
Ø
they do not hear the
voice of God speaking through their conscience
or through His Word;
Ø
they do not realize
the joys of religion:
Ø
they are spiritually dead.
But from this state they may be quickened into life by the
Word and the
Spirit of God; they may be
renewed in heart and in life. But persistence
in sin, resistance of the influence of Divine grace and of
the Holy Spirit
diminish the possibility of the soul’s renewal, and TEND TO RENDER
ITS DEATH
PERMANENT. Redemptive facts and forces, even when
applied by the Holy Spirit,
affect the soul less and less unless
they be yielded to.
And conscience, even when
quickened by the Holy Spirit, speaks
ever with
decreasing authority unless its authority be practically recognized. And so the
moral condition proceeds from bad to worse. Persistence in
sin leads to a
deeper, darker death; or, speaking more accurately, to a
more fully
developed death. “Sin,
when it is ful lgrown, bringeth forth death.”
(James 1:15) Who shall express the dread significance
of this death? It has been
spoken of thus: “The words of pardon, the
language of love, will fall unheeded. The glorious
redemption of man’s
soul by Christ, and Christ alone, will have no
power. That
power has
departed. Every day it grew less. Sin has deadened all the
senses; and no
longer can he see the radiant form of the Son of heaven ....
Every good
shall die. Every ray of hope shall die. Every offer of mercy
shall die. Every
idea of future blessedness shall die. Every resolve of hallowed
obedience,
every repentant feeling, every
sorrowful emotion, SHALL DIE! The sinner left
to himself; the sinner left alone; the sinner bereaved of
good, bereaved of
holiness, bereaved of God; the sinner left alone to die; — this were hell, at
which the stoniest heart would
quail, and the stoutest soul recoil!” (J.W.
Lester). This death, which is
the full development of sin, is, we think,
unutterably and inconceivably
dreadful. Persistence in sin is ruinous.
·
THE WILFULNESS OF PERSISTENCE IN SIN. “Why will
ye die?”
The inquiry’ implies that man’s ruin is of
himself. The whole drift of this
chapter has been to the same
conclusion.
Ø Man does not die
because of any unwillingness on the part of God
to
save him.
o
“I have no
pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the
Lord God;” (v. 32)
o
“He delighteth in
mercy;” (Micah 7:18)
o
“The Lord thy God is
in the midst of thee, a Mighty One who
will save: He will
rejoice over thee with joy, He will rest
in His love, He will joy over thee
with singing.” (Zephaniah
3:17)
HE FINDS INFINITE
SATISFACTION AND JOY IN
DELIVERING SOULS
FROM DEATH, AND IN GRANTING
THEM LIFE AND LIGHT! He has proved His willingness to save
men by the infinite cost at which He
provided salvation for them.
“He spared not His
own Son, but delivered
Him up for us all.”
(Romans
8:32)
Ø Man does not die because of any deficiency in the Divine provisions
for his salvation. The purposes and provisions of Divine grace for
human salvation
are INEXHAUSTIBLE and INFINITE. Spiritual
forces are not limited and exhaustible as material forces are. The
reconciling or atoning power which is adequate for one sinful soul
is adequate for A MILLION, OR ANY NUMBER OF MILLIONS,
of such souls. “Christ Jesus
gave Himself a ransom for all;” “He
died for all.”
Ø Man does not perish because of his inability to appropriate the
salvation provided for him by
God. It is offered gratuitously on
condition of repentance for sin
and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Repent ye, and
turn yourselves from all your transgressions,” etc.
(v. 30); “Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved,
and thy house;” (Acts 16:31) “Who
soever believeth on Him should
not perish, but
have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Man is summoned by
God to repent and believe the
Saviour, and God never summons man
to any duty, but man either has
the power to obey the summons, or God
waits to bestow that power upon
him. In the latter case man has but to
be willing to receive the power and it will be given unto
him
in ample sufficiency for his needs. (John
1:12) Man is
prone to believe.
In many things he believes too
readily. And in Jesus Christ there is
everything to awaken and attract
the heart’s truest, tenderest, and most
reverent trust. Salvation is
offered on such terms that EVERY MAN
MAY AVAIL HIMSELF OF THE OFFER IF HE WILL DO IT!
It is in the human will that the mischief lies.
o
“Because I have
called, and ye refused,” etc.
(Proverbs 1:24-25);
o
“How often would I
have gathered thy children together, even
as a hen gathereth
her chickens under her wings, and ye would
not! (Matthew
23:37)
o
Ye will not come
to me, that ye may have life;” (John 5:40)
o
“This is the
judgment, that the light is come into the world, and
men loved the darkness rather than
the light; for their works
were evil.” (John
3:19)
Divine Remonstrance (v. 31)
There is something very impressive in the form of this
remonstrance. If the
question were taken in its literal sense, and published
among men upon
Divine authority; if men were invited to accept immunity
from bodily
dissolution; — in how many cases would the appeal meet, not
only with
earnest attention, but with eager response! The death which
is here referred
to must be that which consists in Divine displeasure, or,
at all events, that
death in which such displeasure forms the most distressing
ingredient. The
appeal may be enforced by several obvious but weighty
considerations.
If the death of the body is in
itself and in its circumstances and
consequences of a repulsive
nature, all the more fitly may it serve to set
forth and to suggest the evils denoted in Scripture as spiritual death.
Insensibility and dissolution
may be taken as figures of that spiritual state in
which interest in Divine truth
and righteousness and love has departed, in
which there is no occupation in
the service of God. The soul that has any
just sense of its own good must
needs shrink from such a condition.
BLESSINGS? The life of
the body, if accompanied by health and favorable
circumstances, is desirable and
delightful. No wonder that in Scripture the
highest blessings of which the
nature of man is capable are designated by
the suggestive and comprehensive
term “life.” The spirit that truly lives is
open to all heavenly appeals and
influences, finds in the just exercise of its
powers the fullest satisfaction,
experiences the blessedness of fellowship
with the
ever-living God. Our Lord Christ
Himself came to this world, and
wrought and suffered as He did,
in order that “we might have
life, and
might have it more
abundantly.” The appeal of the text
calls upon us to
accept this priceless boon.
WITHIN YOUR REACH?
There would be mockery in the appeal of the
text were this not so. But He
who alone can provide both the means and the
end compassionately addresses
those who have forfeited life and have
deserved death, and urges upon
them the remonstrance, “Why will ye die?”
It is a remonstrance which comes
home with tenfold force to those who
listen to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, “the true God and
the Eternal
Life.” Knowledge and faith, the Holy Spirit of God Himself, and
the truth
which He reveals and applies to
the nature of man; — here are the means,
here is the living agency, by
which men may rise “from the death
of sin
unto the life of
righteousness.” When such means and
such agency are
provided, the guilt and folly are manifest of those who CHOOSE
DEATH RATHER THAN LIFE!
YOU LIFE RATHER THAN DEATH? The benevolence of the Divine
nature finds expression in the
virtual entreaty of the text. It is as though a
kind of infatuated willfulness
were presumed to exist in the breasts of sinful
men; as if, while their Maker
and Judge wishes to be their Saviour, they
were indisposed to accept the
boon offered by His pity and loving kindness.
It is as though the eternal Lord
Himself, against whom sinners have
offended, urged His own
compassion upon those who have no pity upon
themselves. (I remember many years ago, Bro. Steve
Holland, preaching
a message at Little River
Baptist Church. He emphasized that it
seems
as if God has to beg people to
come to Him! I think of the University
of
in a long line the night before
to get free tickets to watch the new team
practice and scrimmage. One would think,
that when it comes to a person’s
own soul, that a man
would line up at the church door to obtain
direction on how to
attain to “ETERNAL
LIFE!” - CY – 2014)
gave His life a
ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
The Saviour’s death is
represented as
the redemption, the purchase price, securing
the exemption
from death of those who accept the provision of Divine mercy and
love.
The appeal is powerful which
is made to sinful men not to refuse the boon
so graciously offered, and SECURED AT A PRICE SO COSTLY!
CHRIST DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE!
Why Will Ye Die? (v. 31)
repeatedly repudiates the notion
that He has any pleasure in their death (e.g.
vs. 23 and 32). He does not
regard that terrible fate with indifference, as
though it were no concern of
His, after the manner of an epicurean divinity.
He might say that, as men have
foolishly and sinfully earned their own ruin,
He would regard their doom with
complacency. But instead of doing so, He
manifests the
utmost concern, urgently expostulating with the self-willed
sinners, and entreating
them to save themselves.
Nay, has He not gone
further, in
sending His Son to save the world before His guilty children
began to repent
and to call for deliverance? (“But God commendeth
His love toward us, in that while we were
yet sinners, CHRIST DIED
FOR US!” - Romans 5:8). In like manner, Christ, lamenting the
coming ruin of
that killest the
prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee,
how often would I
have gathered thy children together, as a hen
gathereth her
chickens under her wings, and YE WOULD NOT!”
(Matthew 23:37).
ye die?” It is not written by God. It is not fated by destiny. It
does not fall
out by chance. It is not a
consequence of circumstances. Secondary and
external events may appear to be
traceable to one or other of these causes.
but UTTER
SOUL-RUIN depends on the soul itself. If the soul dies it
is
because IT WILL DIE!
The reasons for this position are two.
Ø
We have free will. If we sin, therefore,
we do it of our own accord.
We cannot lay the blame on
our tempters. There is always a way
of escape from temptation
(I Corinthians 10:13). The deed that is
done under compulsion is no
longer a sin. Every sin is the soul’s
free act.
Ø
The death of the soul comes directly from sin. (James 1:13-15)
It is not an extraneous
event; it is just the natural fruit of the
soul’s own evil doing.
Therefore we cannot accuse God, or
Satan, or nature, or
circumstances. The blame rests with
ourselves.
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED. “Why will ye
die?”
Ø
Because of indifference. Many
are heedless. They do not will to die,
But they will the way to
death. But he who chooses the path chooses
its end.
Ø
Because of obstinacy. The appeal of
the text is made against a stubborn
spirit of self-will. God brings up the battering rams of grace against the
thick walls of the town of
ways. But pride will be humbled
in the day of ruin. There is no pride in
death.
Ø
Because of the love of
sin. This love blinds men. They see
the attractive
wickedness; they should learn to
see also the snake that lurks among the
flowers.
Ø
Because of unbelief. This is not merely a
wrong intellectual conclusion.
There is a dangerous unbelief
that comes from closing the eyes to
unpleasant facts. Yet they are
not the less true.
Ø
Because of the rejection of
grace. IF WE WILL NOT TO HAVE
CHRIST, WE DO IN
FACT WILL TO DIE!
Ø
By casting out sin. Sin is the viper in
the bosom, whose bite is mortal.
Any cherished
sin brings death. The first step must
be not merely to
grieve over sin, but to tear it
away and fling it off.
Ø
By receiving a new heart. We need to have a
better nature. Nothing
less than a new
heart will suffice. ONLY GOD CAN GIVE THAT
(Psalm 51:10). ONLY THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN REGENERATE
(John 3:5). But the change
depends on
our seeking and accepting it.
The Unreasonableness of Persistence in Sin ( v. 31)
“Why will ye
die?” Man is so constituted that he should
act from reason. He has
instincts and other impulses which lead to action; but
these should be
guided and governed by his reason. His instincts and passions should be
ruled by his reason, which is the glory of his nature, and raises him above
the inferior creatures in this world. When reason holds its proper place and
exercises its proper power, then the lower impulses of our
nature
contribute to our true development and progress.
“When
Reason, like the skilful charioteer,
Can break
the fiery passions with the bit,
And, spite
of their licentious sallies, keep
The
radiant track of glory; passions then
Are aids
and ornaments. Triumphant Reason,
Firm in
her seat and swift in her career,
Enjoys
their violence, and, smiling, thanks
Their
formidable flame for high renown.”
(Young.)
The Most High appeals TO MAN’S REASON! “Come now, and
let us reason
together, saith the Lord,” etc. (Isaiah 1:18); “Produce
your cause, saith
the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons,” etc. (Isaiah 41:21); “Why
will ye die?” This
inquiry implies that man should have some reason for
persistence in the way that leads to death. It also implies that he
has not a
satisfactory reason.
It is, perhaps, designed to bring man to
pause, and lead
him to consider his ways, and to ASK HIMSELF WHY HE
PURSUES
THE WAY OF DEATH! THERE IS NO SATISFACTORY REASON
WHY MEN WILL DIE! PERSISTENCE IN SIN IS UTTER AND
SUICIDAL FOLLY! “Why will ye die? For I have no pleasure in the
death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: WHERFORE TURN
YOURSELVES AND LIVE!
32 “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth,
saith the Lord
GOD: wherefore
turn yourselves, and live ye.” Turn
yourselves, etc. As in
ch.14:6, but there is no ground for the rendering of “turn others,” suggested
in the margin of the
Authorized Version. So we close what we may rightly
speak of as among the noblest of Ezekiel’s utterances, that which makes him
take his place side by side with the greatest of the prophets as a
preacher of
REPENTANCE and FORGIVENESS. In the
next chapter he returns to
his parables of history after the fashion of those of ch. 17.
The Path to Life (vs. 25-32)
Sin has a blinding effect upon man’s intellect and reason.
It leads to most
ERRONEOUS CONCLUSIONS!
It produces deep-seated and suicidal prejudice.
It puts “darkness for light, and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20). The most perfect
equality it
brands “inequality.” It would make
heaven into hell.
The chief folly of men is their thoughtlessness. (I would like to recommend
Isaiah 1 – Spurgeon Sermon – To the Thoughtless – this web site CY –
2014) They sink into mental and
moral indolence. They will not investigate
truth, nor ponder the demands
of duty, nor forecast the future. But when
“he comes to
himself” (Luke 15:17), he begins to reflect. “Because he
considereth” (v. 28), he turns over a new leaf. The man allows intelligence
and wisdom and reason to
prevail. He resolves to seek his real good. He
chooses the best course, and
determines to pursue it.
intelligent resolve, the man “turns away from his transgressions.” He begins
with known sins. He abandons
these. That is only a sham decision which
does not lead to action. The
will may be a slave to feeling and appetite; in
that case no real decision has
been made. The soul is divided. There is
strife and war within! But if
the man has decided upon a line of conduct,
new action will at once
follow. (We would all do better if we
had our
mind made up about certain
things before we get into certain
situations! – CY – 2014)
that necessary work which was at
first repulsive ceases to be repulsive. We
grow to love actions which are
oft repeated. Especially if such actions are
right in themselves, if they
have a moral loveliness, if others approve them,
if they produce good effects, we
learn to love them. Our actions develop
and strengthen our affections.
The heart is benefited. The tone and temper
of our spirit are improved.
True, it is God that renews and purifies the
heart; but He works through our
own activity. He gives Divine efficacy to
the means employed.
a man’s sentiments and
affections are, so is he (Proverbs
23:7). “A
new
heart, and a right spirit” go together. The character follows the affections.
The man that loves purity
will become pure. The man that
loves God will
become
Godlike. So long as man is on earth, he is always becoming, good
or bad, great or mean. Character
here is in a state of fusion.
PLEASURE. God has no
pleasure in the death of a sinner; He has pleasure
from his ransomed life. If my heart and life are right, I afford pleasure to
God, I add to
his joy. (In fact, God joys and sings over us! Zephaniah
3:17). On the other hand, my sin diminishes His joy.
For His own sake,
therefore, He will hear my
prayer; He will help me in my struggles against sin.
Why, then, should we
die? It is unreasonable. Every
argument, every motive,
is against it. To continue in sin is:
Ø
folly,
Ø
madness,
Ø
suicide.
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Ø
God Accused of Man’s
Injustice (v. 25)
The Jews were asserting that the ways of God were not
equal, when the
fact was that their ways, not his, were unequal.
not equal.” It is felt that the
rule of the supreme God should be very
different from that of earthly
judges, some of whom take bribes, and all of
whom are fallible. “Shall not the
Judge of all the earth do right?” exclaims
Abraham, when venturing to
expostulate with God on what appears to him
a threatened injustice (Genesis
18:25). Yet the facts of life are often
discouraging, and suggest to
doubting, impatient souls a notion that God is
not acting justly. The wicked
prosper, and the good meet with misfortune.
Children suffer from the
misdeeds of their parents. Persons equal in
character are unequal in
fortune. To one the way of life is far more smooth
than to another, although we can
detect no good reason for the distinction.
At one time a wild and mindless
Chance seems to play with the world, at
another a blind, stern Fate
appears to hold it in an iron grip. We cannot
discover the hand of justice
behind the drifting cloud of circumstances.
But:
Ø Justice does not involve equality, but treatment according to desert.
Ø We only see a small part of God’s ways, and therefore cannot judge
of
the whole. The
fly on the wheel cannot understand the machine. He might
think the action
of the “eccentric” deranged because it was unequal, and
yet it is
essential to the right working of the whole engine.
Ø We are too limited in nature to judge, even if we saw all the facts.
impute to God what is in
ourselves. We judge him by our own hearts and
conduct. We know what would be
our motives if we did certain things
which we discover in the Divine
action, and therefore we ascribe those
same motives to God. We color
what we see with the hues that are in our
own eyes. To the railway
traveler the hedgerows and trees appear to be
turning about invisible pivots,
now flying to him and then swiftly whirling
away; yet the motion is with the
observer.
Ø We are unjust in attempting to judge God. Here on the threshold the
fault is seen
to be ours. Even if God were unjust, since we are not capable
of
understanding his actions, we should be unjust also in venturing to give
a verdict on
his deeds.
Ø We are unjust in our general conduct. There
is a lack of integrity of
heart in us
even when our external behaviour is straight. We walk in
crooked paths,
and our conscience itself is perverted, so that the very rule
by which we
measure is warped. It is not surprising that God seems to be
unjust when our
standard of measurement does not agree with his action;
but then the
fault is with the standard. Until our own hearts and lives are
right, it is
not possible for us to form right views of God.
Ø We are unjust in ascribing our own
injustice to God. The inequalities
of
society are
charged against God. They come from “man’s inhumanity to
man.”
The
Alternatives of Judgment. (v. 30)
·
THE JUDGMENT.
Ø
It is to be by God.
“I will judge you.” The all-searching and
almighty
Lord will be the Judge. None can
elude his inquiry; none can resist his
sentence.
Ø
It is a matter of
the future. Therefore we cannot wisely
make light of it
by comparison with present
experience. The future will be different from
the present in this respect. Now
is the time of probation; evil has therefore
a liberty which will not
continue. There will be a change of dispensations,
that of judgment superseding the
dispensation of grace.
Ø
It will certainly
come. It is not conditional on possible
circumstances.
There is nothing hypothetical in
the prophet’s words. God does not say,
“If I judge,” but “I will
judge you.”
Ø
It will come home
to God’s own people. God will judge
the “house of
oppressors, the neighbouring heathen
nations, should be judged. But she
herself will also be judged. God
will judge Christendom; he will judge his
Church. The Master calls his own
servants to account (<402514>Matthew
25:14).
Ø
It will be
individual. God will not judge the house
of
but “every one of you.” Each
will be judged separately. None will be
overlooked.
Ø
It will be
according to the conduct of life. “According
to his ways.”
o
According
to conduct — not according to creed, feelings, aspirations,
but deeds.
o
According
to normal conduct. His ways, i.e. his habits, his general
course of
conduct, not exceptional acts of virtue, nor occasional lapses
below the usual
manner of living. God judges on the conduct of the whole
life.
·
THE ALTERNATIVES.
Ø
Amendment. This involves two changes, an internal and an external.
o
The
internal change. Repentance.
The first step towards amendment is
that turn of
mind which consists in grief and loathing for the past, together
with a hearty
desire for a better future.
o
The
external change. “Turn
yourselves from all your transgressions.” It
is useless to
weep over the deeds which we do not forsake. Repentance of
heart must be
proved and confirmed by change of conduct. The drunkard
must not only
weep over his last night’s debauch; he must give up the
drink. The
thief must cease to steal, the liar to lie, the blasphemer to swear.
This is not to
be fully accomplished without a change of heart (ver. 31).
But while God
only can truly regenerate us, we must voluntarily turn from
the evil way
and seek the new life.
Ø
Ruin. Ezekiel urges his readers to repent with the mingled
warning and
encouragement. “So iniquity
shall not be your ruin.”
o
The
consequences of condemnation are ruin. When God sits in
judgment over
an evil life, terrible issues are at stake. No mere temporary
suffering will
satisfy the just demands of law. The broad road leads to
“destruction”
(Matthew 7:13). The end of sin is an utter undoing, a
shipwreck of
life, a confounding of the soul, death!
o
This ruin
flows directly from sin. God does not send an angel of
judgment to
punish the sinner. His own iniquity will be his ruin. Sin works
directly on the
soul as a deadly poison. Therefore all that the judgment of
God can be
required to do is to make it apparent that the ruin is justly
earned, and to
show that nothing can be justly done to avert it.
Why Will Ye Die? (v. 31)
·
GOD EARNESTLY DESIRES TO SAVE HIS CHILDREN. He
repeatedly repudiates the notion
that he has any pleasure in their death (e.g.
vs. 23 and 32). He does not
regard that terrible fate with indifference, as
though it were no concern of
his, after the manner of an epicurean divinity.
He might say that, as men have
foolishly and sinfully earned their own ruin,
he would regard their doom with
complacency. But instead of doing so, he
manifests the utmost concern,
urgently expostulating with the self-willed
sinners, and entreating them to
save themselves. Nay, has he not gone
further, in sending his Son to
save the world before his guilty children
began to repent and to call for
deliverance? In like manner, Christ,
lamenting the coming ruin of
unto thee, how often would I
have gathered thy children together, as a hen
gathereth her chickens under her
wings, and ye would not!” (Matthew
23:37).
·
THE DEATH OF SINNERS IS IN THEIR OWN HANDS. “Why will
ye die?” It is not written by
God. It is not fated by destiny. It does not fall
out by chance. It is not a
consequence of circumstances. Secondary and
external events may appear to be
traceable to one or other of these causes.
but utter soul-ruin depends on
the soul itself. If the soul dies it is because it
will die. The reasons for this
position are two.
Ø
We have free will. If we sin, therefore, we do it of our own accord. We
cannot lay the blame on our
tempters. There is always a way of escape
from temptation (1 Corinthians
10:13). The deed that is done under
compulsion is no longer a sin.
Every sin is the soul’s free act.
Ø
The death of the
soul comes directly from sin. It is not an
extraneous
event; it is just the natural
fruit of the soul’s own evil doing. Therefore we
cannot accuse God, or Satan, or
nature, or circumstances. The blame rests
with ourselves.
·
THE REASONS WHICH LEAD SINNERS TO COURT DEATH
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED. “Why will ye die?”
Ø
Because of indifference.
Many are heedless. They do not will to die, but
they will the way to death. But he
who chooses the path chooses its end.
Ø
Because of obstinacy.
The appeal of the text is made against a stubborn
spirit of self-will. God brings
up the battering rams of grace against the
thick walls of the town of
ways. But pride will be humbled
in the day of ruin. There is no pride in
death.
Ø
Because of the love
of sin. This love blinds men. They see the attractive
wickedness; they should learn to
see also the snake that lurks among the
flowers.
Ø
Because of unbelief.
This is not merely a wrong intellectual conclusion.
There is a dangerous unbelief
that comes from closing the eyes to
unpleasant facts. Yet they are
not the less true.
Ø
Because of the rejection
of grace. If we will not to have Christ, we do in
fact will to die.
·
THE WAY OF ESCAPE FROM DEATH IS OPEN TO ALL.
Ø
By casting out sin.
Sin is the viper in the bosom, whose bite
is mortal.
Any cherished sin brings death.
The first step must be not merely to grieve
over sin, but to tear it away
and fling it off.
Ø
By receiving a new
heart. We need to have a better nature.
Nothing less
than a new heart will suffice.
Only God can give that (Psalm 51:10).
Only the Holy Spirit can
regenerate (John 3:5). But the change depends
on our seeking and accepting it.
Heredity and
Individuality (vs. 2-4)
The proverb here quoted embodied a popular sentiment. Those
who
suffered from the troubles and calamities of the time were
not willing to
admit that their sufferings were only their deserts; they
endeavoured to
thrust the blame upon others than themselves; and
accordingly they
complained that they had to endure the consequences of the
evil deeds of
their ancestors. One generation — so they put it — ate the
sour grapes,
and escaped the consequences; a succeeding generation
endured these
consequences, their teeth were set on edge. There was a
half truth in such
representations; for society is linked together by bonds of
succession and
inheritance which constitute solidarity and unity; yet at
the same time, so
far as responsibility is concerned, God deals with men as
individuals.
·
THE INFLUENCE OF HEREDITY UPON CHARACTER. Physically,
the power of heredity is vast.
Every individual, we are told by men of
science, is the product of
parents, with the addition of such peculiarity as
they attribute to the other
principle, viz. variation. A man’s birth, breeding,
and training count for very
much; they determine the locality of his early
days, the climate, the political
and social circumstances, the religions
education, the associations, of
childhood and of youth. The bodily
constitution, including the
nervous organization, the temperament and the
inclinations springing from it,
are to a very large extent hereditary. The
environment is largely the
effect of birth, and the early influences involved
in it. Those who adopt the
“naturalistic” system of morals, to whom man
appears the effect of definite
causes — the “determinists,” as they are
cabled in philosophy — consider
that circumstances, and such character as
is itself the product of
circumstances, determine what the man will be and
must be. Whilst even those who advocate spiritual ethics, and
who believe
in human liberty, are quite
willing to admit that all men owe to hereditary
causes and influences very much
which makes them what they are.
·
THE LIMITS TO THIS INFLUENCE.
Ø
Heredity does not
interfere with man’s moral nature. The will, the
freedom, of man are as real as
the motives upon which he acts, with which
he identifies himself. There is
a distinction absolute and ineffaceable
between the material and animal
on the one side, and the spiritual upon the
other.
Ø
Nor with man’s
responsibility. If man were not free, he would not be
responsible. We do not speak of
the sun as responsible for shining, or a
bird as responsible for flying.
But we cannot avoid speaking and thinking
of men as responsible for all
their purposes, endeavours, and habits. The
wicked are blamable because,
when good and evil were before them, and
they were free to choose the
good, they chose the evil.
Ø
Nor with God’s justice
and grace. Ezekiel makes a great point of
vindicating the ways of God with
men, of showing that every individual
will certainly be dealt with,
not upon capricious or unjust principles, hut
with omniscient wisdom,
inflexible righteousness, and considerate mercy.
Thus, in the sight of God, all
circumstances are apparent, and in the
judgment of God all
circumstances are taken into account, which justly
affect an individual’s guilt.
Heredity may be among such circumstances,
and allowance is doubtless made
for tendencies inherited, for early neglect,
for unfavourable influences of
whatever kind. Where little is given, little is
required. but all this does not
affect the great fact that every individual is
held responsible for his own
moral position and conduct. None can escape
judgment and censure by pleading
the iniquities of his progenitors, as if
those iniquities were an excuse
for yielding to temptation. Every one shall
bear his own burden. All souls
are God’s, to rule, to weigh, to recompense.
From whomsoever sprung, the just
shall live, and the soul that sinneth, it
shall die.
The
Moral Alternative (vs. 5-18)
With a legal minuteness, and with a directness and
plainness becoming to
the teacher of practical morality, the prophet presents the
alternative and
antithesis of human life. If not in every particular, still
in almost every
particular, the picture of the good and of the bad man
printed in this
passage would be admitted by moralists of every school to
be faithful and
fair.
·
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE GOOD AND OF THE BAD MAN. As
the classes are exclusive, each
negativing the other, it is sufficient to name
the characteristics of the good
man, with the understanding that the bad
man is he in whom these
characteristics are wanting.
1. The good man is characterized by justice in dealing with
his fellow men.
2. He refrains from idolatry of every kind.
3. He avoids adultery and every form of impurity.
4. He refrains from oppressing those who, for any reason,
are within his
power.
5. He abstains from violence in the treatment of others.
6. He is charitable to the poor and needy.
7. He forbears taking advantage of those who, by misfortune
and poverty,
are
within his power.
8. He scrupulously and cheerfully obeys the Divine laws.
·
THE RECOMPENSE OF THE GOOD AND OF THE BAD MAN.
1. To the good is promised life, which is to be understood,
not in the
narrow and physical signification
of the word, but in its large and scriptural
sense.
2. Against the wicked is threatened death, which is to be
interpreted as
including the effects of God’s
righteous anger — a doom the most awful
which can be pronounced and
executed.
·
APPLICATION. The minister of religion may from this solemn passage
learn the imperative duty of
teaching morality. There must indeed be a
foundation laid for such
preaching in spiritual and evangelical doctrine; but
the superstructure must not be
neglected. The wise teacher, before entering
into detail as to human
character and conduct, will consider his audience,
and the time and occasion; for
all subjects are not to be treated before
persons of every class, of every
age, of both sexes. But he will find
opportunities for stating and
enforcing the precepts of the Law in the spirit
and with the motives of the
gospel. And the faithful minister will not shrink
from depicting, though for the
most part in careful and scriptural language,
the penalties following upon
disobedience to God’s laws, as well as the
rewards assured to the loyal and
the good. It is true that those who are
saved are saved by grace; but it
is also true that all men, without exception,
are judged by their works, and
that God will bring every work into
judgment, and every secret
thing, whether it be good or bad.
Personal
Responsibility (vs. 19-22)
We can only account for the Prophet Ezekiel laying such
special stress
upon the principle of individuality in religion by
supposing that, in his time
and among those with whom he associated, there was a
prevalent
disposition and habit leading to the denial of what seems
to us an
unquestionable truth. Indeed, in some form or other, men do
incline to shift
responsibility from themselves to their parents, their
early teachers, their
companions, the society in which their lot is cast.
·
THE VAIN AND DECEPTIVE CONTENTION THAT THE MORAL
QUALITY OF ONE GENERATION IS IMPUTED TO ANOTHER.
This contention may take either
of two forms.
Ø
The son of a good
father is apt to rely upon his father’s goodness. There
is no doubt that such a one may
inherit much that is advantageous, e.g. a
good constitution, a happy
temperament, a good introduction to life, the
favourable regard of many
helpful friends. And it is sometimes forgotten
that all this does not interfere
with responsibility; in fact, he who is so
highly favoured is thereby
raised to a higher level of accountability. Much
is given, and much will be
required.
Ø
The son of a bad
father is apt to excuse his faults by casting the blame
for them upon the transmission
of evil influences by heredity, or upon
circumstances traceable to
family relationships. It is the case that such a
person starts heavily weighted
upon the race of life; his temptations to
error and sin are many and
urgent, and restraining influences are weakened.
Allowances are made by men, and
no doubt by God also, for such
disadvantages; but they do not
destroy the moral responsibility of the free
agent.
·
THE WITNESS OF THE CONSCIENCE TO INDIVIDUAL AND
INALIENABLE RESPONSIBILITY. Reference has been made to the
attempts too often made by
shiners to cast their responsibility upon others.
But it may unhesitatingly be
asserted that those who put forward such
excuses are never themselves
convinced by them. In their hearts they are
well aware that there is no
sincerity in such excuses, that they are mere
subterfuges. The conscience
within, which accuses and excuses, gives no
uncertain sound. The religious
teacher, the Christian preacher, who seeks
to convince men of sin has the
assurance that the inner monitor of his
hearers supports his endeavor,
that he neither upbraids nor pleads alone.
When the Lord God exclaims by
the voice of his prophet, “Hear now, O
house of
man, convicted by his
conscience, is reduced to silence; for there is no
reply to be made. When
conscience is awakened, its witness is plain and
unmistakable.
·
THE EXPRESS AND AUTHORITATIVE STATEMENT OF
GOD’S OWN
ACCOUNTABILITY. The
language of this chapter is peculiarly explicit
upon this matter. “The soul that
sinneth, it shall die;… the righteous shall
surely live, he shall not die.”
And these statements are in harmony with the
whole tenor of Scripture
teaching. The Bible magnifies man’s personality,
and never represents man as a
machine, an organism. Each living soul
stands in its own relation to
the Father of spirits, before whom every moral
and free nature must appear to
render an account for itself, and not for
another. The teaching of our
Lord and of his apostles is as definite and
decided upon this point as the
teaching of the Lawgiver and the prophets
of the earlier dispensation. We
are throughout Scripture consistently taught
that there is no evading the
great account.
Divine
Benevolence (v. 2)
No such conception of Deity can be found elsewhere as in
the Holy
Scriptures. Where can the sentiment of this verse be
matched in other
sacred literatures? Thousands of years have elapsed since
these words were
penned; and the world has not produced or heard language in
itself more
morally elevating and beautiful, more honoring to the
Supreme Ruler,
more consolatory and inspiring to the sinful sons of men.
·
MEN HAVE CHERISHED SUSPICION OF THE DIVINE
MALEVOLENCE. No one
who is acquainted with the religions which
have obtained among the nations
of mankind will question this. The deities
of the Gentiles have reflected
the moral qualities of the human race, and
accordingly attributes morally
reprehensible as well as attributes morally
commendable have been assigned
to the deities whom men have
worshipped. Indeed, worship has
to no small extent consisted in methods
supposed efficacious to appease
the wrath of the cruel and malicious
powers from whose ill will
humanity, it has been thought, had much to
dread. And it is not to be
questioned that even Jewish and Christian
worship have not been free from
some measure of this same error. It has
been customary to refer the
governmental and judicial infliction of
punishment to a disposition to
take pleasure in human sufferings and
torture. The student of
Scripture is aware that there is no authority, no
justification for such a view;
but the student of human nature is not
surprised that such a view
should have been taken.
·
GOD’S REPUDIATION OF MALEVOLENCE IN PLAIN
AUTHORITATIVE WORDS. “Have
I any pleasure in the death of the
wicked? saith the
Lord God.” It is indeed condescension
in the Supreme
Ruler thus to remove the
misunderstandings and difficulties which men
create for themselves by their
own ignorance and sin. Again and again he
represents himself as merciful
and delighting in mercy, but nowhere does
he give the least ground for a
suspicion that he delights in, or even is
indifferent to, the sufferings
of the children of men. Since all his words are
faithful and true, we can but
rest and rejoice in such an assurance as that of
the text.
·
GOD’S PROOF IN HIS DEEDS OF THE BENEVOLENCE OF HIS
NATURE.
kindness and long suffering of
him who chose the people as his own,
trained them for his service,
instructed them in his Law, bore with their
frequent disobedience and
rebellion, and ever addressed to them promises
of compassion and of help. But
all proofs of the Divine benevolence pale
before that glorious exhibition
of God’s love and kindness which we
Christians have received in him
who is the unspeakable Gift of Heaven.
Had the Almighty felt any pleasure
in the death of the wicked, he would
not have given his own Son,
while we were yet sinners, to die for us. He
took pleasure, not in the
condemnation and death, but in the salvation of
men. In Christ his love and
kindness appeared; for Christ came, not to
condemn the world, but that the
world through him might be saved.
·
THE ENCOURAGEMENT THUS AFFORDED TO PENITENT
SINNERS TO HOPE FOR ACCEPTANCE AND LIFE. The pleasure of
God is that the wicked “should
return from his way, and should live.” Thus
there is coincidence between the
good pleasure of the Omnipotent upon
the one hand, and the best
desires and truest interests of penitent sinners on
the other. He wire repents of
his evil deed, who looks upwards for
forgiveness, and who resolves
upon. a new and better life, has not to
encounter Divine displeasure or
ill will; on the contrary, he is assured of a
gracious reception, of immediate
pardon, of kindest consideration, and of
help and guidance in the
carrying out of holler purpose and endeavour. The
demeanour and the language of
God are those of the compassionate
Father, who welcomes the
returning prodigal, accords him a benign
reception, and proffers him all
those blessings, now and hereafter, which
alone can answer to the glorious
and comprehensive gift of Divine love —
eternal life!
The
Divine Equity (vs. 1-4)
The unbounded compassion of God is seen in his patience
under human
provocation, and in his repeated messages to rebellious
men. There is “line
upon line, precept upon precept.” Every style of
expostulation is adopted;
every complaint silenced; for his “love is stronger than
death,” mightier
than sin.
·
GOD HAS SUPREME PROPRIETORSHIP IN MEN. “All souls are
mine.” This statement is
prefaced by a “Behold!” for this was a fact
overlooked by querulous men. As
undisputed and irresponsible Proprietor
of souls, God need give no
account of his doings. Every lip of complaint
ought to be dumb. And this truth
has also an encouraging aspect; for as
God accounts a human soul his
precious property, he will provide for its
security. Nowhere can we be so
safe as in the hands of this Proprietor.
·
GOD’S SOLEMN ATTESTATION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. God’s
glory is his righteousness, and
he deigns to make that righteousness
understood and acknowledged by
men. He loves to dwell in the esteem and
admiration of his creatures;
therefore he condescends to speak after the
manner of men. He comes down to
our level; and as in judicial cases we
accept the testimony of men,
given under the sanction of an oath; God
attempts to scatter our doubts
by speaking in a similar manner. That he is
immaculately righteous, all the
unsinning hosts of heaven affirm; and this
shall all mankind ultimately
confess.
·
SINNING MEN ALWAYS ATTEMPT SELF-JUSTIFICATION.
These murmurers in
not feel the gravity of their
sin. They imagined that it must have been their
fathers’ sins which were being
avenged in them. This state of mind has
always been a characteristic of
the sinner. “My punishment,” he argues, “is
in excess of my sin.” Now, a
part of the penalty of sin is the blinding of the
mind, the perversion of the
judging faculty. The man fastens his attention
on his suffering — loses sight
of his secret sin.
·
VICE IS ENTAILED FROM FATHER TO SON; GUILT IS NOT
ENTAILED. It has for
ages been a knotty problem among thoughtful men,
whether children suffered for
the sins of their parents. Undoubtedly they
suffer — they suffer in
privation, in health, in reputation, in the tone of
moral feeling, in the loss of
high example and holy stimulus. But properly
speaking, this is not guile,
this is not punishment. A man’s vices are
entailed to his posterity. A
child follows in its father’s steps at first, until it
learns to reflect then often it
turns away in disgust. But guilt means sin in
the light of law, and a man does
not contract guilt until he understands the
law and can distinguish between
right and wrong. At this point, sin, if
persisted in, becomes guilt, and
suffering then becomes punishment.
·
THE LAST PENALTY OF LAW IS ALWAYS THE EFFECT OF
PERSONAL GUILT. “The soul that sinneth, it shall
die” — it, and not
another in its stead.
Other suffering — such as poverty, ill repute, a sickly
body, an ill-furnished mind —
all this is disciplinary; all this can be made
the means of higher good. This
is not penalty, though it is suffering. But
the culminating stroke of
punishment, viz. death, falls alone on him who is
personally guilty. No guilty man
shall escape. No innocent man shall suffer
final destruction. This is God’s
equity.
God’s Remonstrance with Man’s Reason (vs. 5-24)
It is an act of singular kindness that God should stoop to
reason with the
perverted mind of man. It had been a pleasure to instruct
the uncorrupted
mind; but now that the instrument is injured, it requires
infinitely more
patience and skill to deal with it. Yet God deigns to
explain his principles
of rule, and will eventually vindicate, as supremely just,
every secret act.
But sinful men are self-blinded.
·
WE ARE REMINDED OF MAN’S RESPONSIBILITY. God deals
with men as creatures capable of
discerning between right and wrong.
Man’s morality is, in God’s
sight, everything. To be righteous is his glory.
The final inquiry will be not —
Is he rich or poor? learned or unlearned?
but this only — Is he righteous
or unrighteous? Every man is undergoing
moral trial. He must give an
account of himself before God.
·
IDOLATRY IS A ROOT OF VARIOUS IMMORALITY. It is not
merely a creed, nor yet only a
form of worship. It indicates a state of heart,
a departure from the soul’s
anchorage. The living God is the Source of
human purity, human greatness,
and to wander from him is to drift into
darkness and vice and ruin.
Wherever idolatry has prevailed, there has
prevailed also unchastity,
licentiousness, violence, and cruelty.
·
PARENTAL INFLUENCE IS POTENT, YET NOT FATAL. A
father’s opinions and beliefs
will, in the first instance, he conveyed to his
child; yet soon the child wilt
gather opinions and teaching from other
sources, and often modifies or
reverses the beliefs of its parent. The evil
example of a parent moulds, more
or less, the character of a child. As a
parent is the channel of natural
life to the child, so too he may become the
channel of moral and spiritual
life. As a fact, the results of parental
influence are conspicuously
seen. Yet a son is not doomed to copy the
character of his parent, nor
fated to imitate his vices. He has the power to
consider, to ponder, to choose,
to resist. Strong influence is not fate.
·
REPENTANCE, AT ANY STAGE OF HUMAN PROBATION, IS
POSSIBLE. It is
recognized, throughout the Bible, that a man may turn
from evil ways. If, at any point
short of death, a man is disposed to turn
from a vicious course, all the
resources of God’s skill and power are on his
side. There is no hindrance to a
man’s reformation and restoration save his
own unwillingness, Incessantly,
God is inviting such repentance.
·
REPENTANCE LEADS TO COMPLETE AND PERFECT
RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Repentance is not merely a negation; it is a positive
good. It is the first link in a
golden chain that shall bind the soul in sweet
allegiance to God. It is the
first drop in a precious shower of blessing. It is
the foundationstone of a new
character. It is the seed of a magnificent
harvest. From true repentance
every virtue, every excellence, every noble
quality, shall spring. Give it
time, and it shall bear upon its branches all the
figurers and fruits of goodness.
It is the first ray of heaven struggling to
find entrance into man’s heart.
·
RIGHTEOUSNESS IS INCIPIENT LIFE. “In his righteousness that
he hath done, he shall live.”
Only that man who is righteous truly lives. The
life of a man must include the
life of conscience — the life of the soul. To
eat, drink, sleep, is the life
of an animal, not the life of an immortal. The
first activities of conscience
are the movements and signs of life. Therefore
penitence is nascent life.
Reformation is life. Reconciliation with God is life
— the budding of the heavenly
life. The limb of grace on earth is the dawn
of an eternal day. Such
righteousness brings peace, rest, joy, into the heart
— heaven begun below. These are
the first fruits of the coming harvest.
“The just shall live by his
faith.”
The Just Man
Delineated (vs. 5-9)
“
But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and
right,” etc.
·
THE CHARACTER MENTIONED.
“If a man be just,” or righteous.
This justness or righteousness
is not merely a state of correct opinion; or of
becoming feeling on moral
questions; or of religious profession
(Matthew 7:21). It is a
condition of character. The just man “is marked
by this, that his settled
principles, his customary desire, is to do, not what is
pleasant, not what is advantageous
to self, but what is right.” “Little
children, let no man lead you
astray: he that doeth righteousness is
righteous.”
·
THE CONDUCT EXHIBITED.
The just man “does that which is
lawful and right.” Certain
features of his conduct are here plainly set forth.
Ø
Complete abstinence
from idolatrous practices. “Hath not eaten
upon
the mountains, neither hath
lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of
connection with the worship of
idols (compare I Corinthians 8:4-10; 10:7).
Idolatry had become so prevalent
and popular that certain idols were
regarded as belonging to the
people of
Lord Jehovah. But to these the
just man pays no deference: he neither
seeks their favour nor dreads
their displeasure; but he worships God alone.
Our idols today are pursuits,
possessions, persons, to whom we are
ianordinately attached. Anything
which we allow as a rival to God for the
affection of our heart or the
devotion of our life is an idol to us.
Ø
Scrupulous
maintenance of chastity. “Neither hath
defiled his
neighbour’s wife, neither hath
come near to a menstruous woman.” The
just man controls his carnal
appetites by his reason and conscience.
Ø Careful avoidance of oppression of any kind or degree.
o
Robbery
by violence. “Hath spoiled none by violence.”
o
Injustice
by peaceful means. “And hath not oppressed any, but hath
restored to the
debtor his pledge. The pledge referred to is some of the
necessaries of
life, as in Exodus 22:26, “If thou at all take the
neighbour’s
garment to pledge, thou shalt restore it unto him by that the
sun goeth down:
for that is his only covering, it is ‘his garment for his skin:
wherein shall
he sleep?”
o
Injustice
by making a man’s poverty the occasion of personal profit.
“He hath not
given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase.”
“Usury,” says
the ‘Speaker’s Commentary, “is the profit exacted for the
loan of money,
increase that which is taken for goods; both are alike
forbidden
(Leviticus 25:36; Deuteronomy 23:19). The placing out
of capitol at
interest for commercial purposes is not taken into
consideration
at all. The case is that of money lent to a brother in distress,
in which no
advantage is to be taken, nor profit required.”
Ø
Exercise of
practical philanthropy. “Hath given his
bread to the hungry,
and hath covered the naked with
a garment.” The just man as delineated by
the prophet not only refrains
from injuring any one, but also endeavours to
help those who need his aid. In
the Bible a high estimate is placed upon the
exhibition of practical kindness
to the poor and needy (compare Job
31:16-22; Isaiah 58:7; Matthew
25:35-36, 40). Our Lord reckons and will
reward such actions as done unto
Him.
Ø
Righteous dealings
with men. “That hath withdrawn his hand
from
iniquity, hath executed true
judgment between man and man.” The last
clause, perhaps, refers to the
duties of a judge. But in every capacity and in
all his conduct the truly just
man endeavors to do what is right and true,
and to promote the doing of the
same by others. And as Matthew Henry
expounds, “If at any time he has
been drawn in through inadvertency to
that which afterwards has
appeared to him to be a wrong thing, he does
not persist in it because he has
begun it, but withdraws his hand from that
which he now perceives to be
iniquity.”
Ø
Faithful obedience
to God. “Hath walked in my statutes, and
hath kept
my judgments, to deal truly.”
The just man renders positive and active
compliance with the holy will of
God. That will is his rule of action; and
he endeavors to be true to it
and true to the Author of it. The man whose
conduct is thus sketched by the
prophet is pronounced a just man, a
righteous man. “He is just,” not
only in profession, but in fact; not only
before man, but before God.
·
THE DESTINY ASSERTED. “He
shall surely live, saith the Lord
God” — “live in the fullest and deepest sense of the word.” This
life is the
antithesis of the death
predicated of the sinner: “The soul that sinneth, it
shall die.” The “just shall
surely live; .... The just shall live by his faith.”
The life of truth and
righteousness, of kindness towards man and reverence
towards God, is already his. And
its continuance is promised by God. “He
shall surely live,” spiritually,
progressively, eternally.