Ezekiel 18:1 - Meaning and Application

Evil habits often lead to good laws, and unfair charges sometimes call for fair answers. In the same way, wicked sayings can draw out true prophecy. Here Ezekiel gives another common proverb used by the Jews in captivity. They had used one before, in (Ezekiel 12:22), and God answered it there too.

This proverb challenged God’s justice. People said, “The days go by, and every vision comes to nothing.” In other words, they treated God’s warnings as empty talk. Here they went further and blamed God for their suffering: “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” They meant, “We are being punished for our ancestors’ sins.” That was as unreasonable as saying children suffer because their fathers ate sour grapes.

There was some cause for the saying. God had often warned that he would visit the fathers’ sins on the children, especially idolatry, that is, the worship of false gods. He meant to show how evil sin is, how much he hates it, and how serious its punishment can be. He also wanted parents to think of their children before they sinned, and children to respect their parents without copying their wickedness.

God’s prophets had also said that Judah and Jerusalem were being judged for the sins of earlier kings, especially Manasseh. Since God was dealing with the nation as a whole, it was not unjust for him to call them to account for old national sins. In that sense, a later generation could suffer for the nation’s past guilt, just as a man may bear the shame of sins from his youth in old age (Job 13:26). There is no unfairness in God when he does this.

But the people used the proverb in a worse way. They were not humbling themselves under God’s hand. Instead of saying, “We have sinned,” they said, “God is unfair.” The proverb was partly true in this sense, that sinners do eat sour grapes, because wilful sin always brings bitter results. The sin may look sweet at first, but later it leaves pain and regret. It sets the sinner’s teeth on edge when conscience wakes up and brings the sin to mind.

Even so, the people used the saying to mean that children should suffer for their fathers’ foolishness, even though they had not shared the pleasure of the sin. That was a bold insult to God’s rule. It was also clever and hidden, which made it more dangerous. Many people can be sharp in their mockery while still speaking in a way that sounds harmless. So the poison of unbelief spreads through witty words and familiar sayings.

God answers this proverb with a sharp rebuke. “What do you mean by repeating it?” he asks. Do you mean to argue with God? Do you think this is the way to make peace with him after he has already judged you? God then says that this proverb will be taken away. “You shall no longer use this proverb” (Ezekiel 18:3). In one place, God promises to remove such a saying in mercy (Jeremiah 31:29). Here he threatens to remove it in judgment. He will deal with them so clearly that they will no longer dare to say it.

He will also show them, and everyone around them, that their own sins are enough to explain the coming ruin. Their own consciences will accuse them. Their neighbors will agree. Then they will know that they themselves have eaten the sour grapes, or else their teeth would not be set on edge.

God then makes the truth plain. He does not punish children for their fathers’ sins unless the children follow the same evil path and fill up the measure of their own guilt (Matthew 23:32). When that happens, they have no reason to complain, because whatever they suffer is still less than their own sins deserve. When God says he visits the fathers’ iniquity on the children, he is not treating the children unfairly. He is also showing patience with the fathers, since he often delays punishment and lets guilt build up for later judgment (Job 21:19).

This warning is mainly about outward troubles in this life. In such cases, children, even innocent ones, may suffer because of their parents’ wickedness. Still, God can turn those troubles for good for those who are affected by them. But when it comes to spiritual and lasting ruin, the death spoken of here, children do not bear their parents’ sins in that way. God is very gracious to reason through this with such stubborn people. He did not strike them down at once, but explained the matter so that he would be clear when judged.

God then states his right over all people: “All souls are mine” (Ezekiel 18:4). He claims every human soul as his own. He made them all, and in a special sense he is the Father of spirits, because his image is stamped on the soul. That was true in creation, and it is true again in renewal, when he changes and restores a person’s heart. He forms the spirit within each person, and so he is rightly called the God of the spirits of all flesh.

Secondly, all souls belong to God. He created them, he made them for himself, and they are answerable to him. “As the soul of the father, so the soul of the son is mine.” Earthly parents are only the fathers of our bodies; our souls are not theirs, they belong to God.

From this, two things follow. First, God is free to do what he wills with fathers and children, and no one has the right to question him. The one who gave us life does us no wrong if he takes it away, and he does no wrong when he only removes some of life’s supports and comforts. It is just as unreasonable to argue with him as for a creature to ask its maker, “Why did you make me like this?” (Romans 9:20).

Second, God certainly has goodwill toward both father and son, and he will not deal unfairly with either. We know that God hates nothing he has made. So, speaking of adults who can act for themselves, none die except through their own fault. All souls belong to him, so he is not partial in judging them. Let us agree with his claim on us and his rule over us. He says, “All souls are mine,” and we should answer, “Lord, my soul is yours. I give it to you to use for you and to make happy in you.” God says with good reason, “My son, give me your heart, for it is already mine,” and we should reply, “Father, take my heart, it is yours.”

Though God could defend himself by pointing to his sovereignty, his full right to rule, he chooses instead to set out a fair rule for judgment in dealing with each person. The sinner who keeps on sinning will surely die, and his sin will ruin him. “The soul that sins shall die.” This means death in the sense that a soul can die, cut off from God’s favor, which is the soul’s life and joy, and left under his wrath, which is the soul’s death and misery. Sin is an act of the soul, even though the body is used as its tool, and so the punishment of sin is the distress and anguish of the soul (Romans 2:9).

By contrast, the righteous man who goes on in righteousness will surely live. If a man is truly just, with a good heart and a right spirit, and if he shows that by doing what is right and fair (Ezekiel 18:5), he will surely live, says the Lord God (Ezekiel 18:9). The person who makes it his care to follow God’s will in all things, who serves God as his business and aims at God’s glory, will certainly be happy here and forever in God’s love and favor. Whatever he falls short in duty will be forgiven through a Mediator, one who brings us to God.

Here is part of the character of this just man. He is careful to keep himself clean from sin and to stay away from even the appearance of evil. First, he avoids sins against the second commandment, which forbids false worship. In matters of God’s worship, he is watchful, because he knows God is watchful. He has not only refused to sacrifice in the high places to the idols there, but has not even eaten on the mountains, meaning he has not shared in fellowship with idolaters by eating food offered to idols (1 Corinthians 10:20). He would not kneel with them at their altars, and he would not sit with them at their tables in those places. He hates not only the idols of the nations, but also the idols of the house of Israel, which were often approved and honored by people who claimed to be God’s people. He has not only refused to worship them, he has not even looked at them with approval. He has given them no favor, wanted no blessing from them, and feared no threat from them. He has seen many people trapped by them, so he has not dared even to look, lest he be caught in the same snare. Idolaters are said to let their eyes “go whoring” after idols (Ezekiel 6:9; Deuteronomy 4:19).

Second, he avoids sins against the seventh commandment, which protects marriage purity. He is careful to control the body with holiness and honor, not with lustful desire. So he has not dared to defile his neighbor’s wife, or to say or do anything that could lead her astray. He will not even make improper advances to his own wife when she is apart because of ceremonial uncleanness, for that was forbidden by the law (Leviticus 18:19; Leviticus 20:18). This shows that it is a necessary part of wisdom and justice to keep bodily desires under the rule of reason and virtue.

Third, he avoids sins against the eighth commandment, which forbids stealing and dishonest gain. He is a just man, so he has not oppressed others by fraud while pretending to act by law and right. He has not robbed anyone by force, and has certainly not taken their goods, property, freedom, or life (Ezekiel 18:7). Oppression and violence were sins of the old world that brought on the flood, and God still avenges such sins. He has also not lent money for profit, nor taken extra gain from his brother (Ezekiel 18:8). Even if this is done by agreement and may seem free from injustice, he still refuses it because the law forbids it. They were allowed a moderate interest from strangers, but not from their own people. A just man will not take advantage of a neighbor’s need to profit from him. He will not live in ease and idleness by feeding on the sweat of others. So he will not take extra from those who cannot make the borrowed money produce gain, and he will not press hard for payment from those whom God has made unable to pay. He is willing to share in loss as well as profit, for whoever receives the benefit should also bear the burden.

He also makes conscience of doing the duties of his position. He has returned the poor man’s pledge, as the law required (Exodus 22:26). If he took a neighbor’s clothing as security, he must give it back so the man can sleep in his own covering. And he has done more than return what belonged to the poor. He has given bread to the hungry. It is called his bread because it was honestly gained, yet even what a man owns is not only for himself, because God hates robbery even when it is dressed up as religion. Worldly people often insist that their bread is their own, like Nabal, who refused to give any to David (1 Samuel 25:11). But they should know it is not so much theirs that they are free from the duty to do good with it. Clothing is needed as well as food, so this just man is generous enough to cover the naked with a garment (Ezekiel 18:7). The coats Dorcas made for the poor were evidence of her charity (Acts 9:39). This just man has also kept his hands from wrongdoing (Ezekiel 18:8).

If he has ever been pulled, even by carelessness, into something that later seemed wrong, he does not stay there just because he started it. He pulls back from what he now sees is sin. He deals fairly between person and person whenever he has the chance, as a judge, witness, juror, or referee. In every kind of business, he wants justice done, no one cheated, the injured person made whole, and each person given what belongs to them.

That is his character toward his neighbors. But it is not enough for him to be honest and fair to other people. To complete his character, he must also be faithful to God (Ezekiel 18:9). He walks in God’s statutes, meaning the laws that govern his worship of God, and he keeps those and all God’s other judgments. He treats them all with care and makes it his steady aim to live by them.

He seeks to be truthful so that he may prove faithful to his covenant, his binding promise, with God. He has joined himself to God, so he does not turn away from him in betrayal or pretend to obey while hiding disloyalty. This is a righteous man, and he will surely live. He will have life, and more of it, real life, peaceful life, and life forever. Keep the commandments, and you will enter into life (Matthew 19:17).