Ezekiel 19:1

Ezekiel 19:1 says, Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,  God said that Ezekiel was to take up lamentations against the princes of the house of Israel,  They would not listen to God’s call to repentance that He proclaimed by Ezekiel, so now he was to lament for them.  They were princes of the house of Israel because of God’s covenant with David, who became great in the sight of other nations because of his covenant relationship with God, but the people of Judah had turned their back on that covenant.  We may call ourselves a Christian nation because of what our ancestors may have been, but if we have turned away from God, then He will lament our decision even if we never do.   

Verse two adds, And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions. God compared the people of Judah with a lioness.  When they had been faithful to Him and kept themselves dedicated to Him by obeying His commandments, they had been as powerful as a lioness in protecting her young.  Instead of remaining true to Him though, they began mix with other people instead of remaining set apart for God.  We have undefeatable spiritual strength when we put our faith in God and live by His commandments, but if we start to mix in the teachings of the world, we lose that strength.   

Verse three continues, And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.  Matthew Henry says this is a reference to Jehoahaz, who may have been of the house of David, but he wasn’t in that covenant relationship with God.  We cannot just appoint people to be preachers and teachers in the church today if they are not called by God to be so.  Though we may not rule over people today, we still have that same power of God to keep us spiritually safe in the world today.   

Verse four concludes, The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.  Then God begins to speak about how the nation of Israel fell from being a mighty nation to being enslaved in Egypt because they had turned away from God.  Since they were no longer obedient to God, from the king on down, they were taken captive once more.  If we fail to put our faith in God, we are in danger of being taken captive by sin once more, even if we are forever saved as followers of Christ. 

Ezekiel 18:29

Verse 18:29 says, Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?  God asked the people of Israel if His ways were not equal to all people and if their ways were not unequal.  God treats everyone the same as He calls them to salvation, and He expects us to treat everyone the same once we have accepted His gift of salvation as we call on them to put their faith in Jesus Christ.  Then, if we do become a follower of Christ, we are to acknowledge that we are no better than anyone else or more deserving of God’s forgiveness by our own merit. 

Verse thirty adds, Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.  God said that everyone would be judged according to their ways and not by where they were born or what ethnic group they were.  Since we will all be judged by our own sins, we need to repent and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, which is the only way to have our sins forgiven.  It is never because we are somehow more valuable than anyone else.   

Verse thirty-one continues, 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 Israel?  God said that the people of Israel needed to throw away their transgressions and make a new heart and spirit in their lives.  The only way that we can have a new heart and spirit is by accepting God’s gift of salvation, then He will give us a new heart, one that is dedicated to Him, and we will be filled with the Holy Spirit.   

Verse thirty-two concludes, For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.  God said that He had no pleasure in anyone dying, and I believe this means spiritual death, or dying spiritually separated from God.  People may ask how God can send anyone to hell, but He doesn’t.  He just allows them to go of their own will if they refuse to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, and even then, it gives Him no pleasure. 

Ezekiel 18:23

Ezekiel 18:23 says, 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?  God asked if He should have ant pleasure in the fact that the wicked would die unredeemed, and the implied answer is no.  God said that He would much rather they repent and return to His ways. The only way to do this was by putting their faith in the coming Messiah then, or in the Messiah Who has come now.  God never sends someone to hell because it brings Him pleasure, but He will allow them to go if they choose not to accept His gift of salvation.   

Verse twenty-four adds, 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.  God then said that nothing we do in life, even if it is a good thing, is going to save us from paying the penalty for our sins.  Only Jesus Christ is qualified to do this, and if we don’t put our faith in Him, we are forever cut off from God.   

Verse twenty-five continues, Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?  God said that the people of Israel accused Him of not treating everyone as equals.  Matthew Henry points out that the God Who created everything would do nothing but treat all of His creation as equal, but it was up to them to acknowledge that He is the only God.  God does not love people of one nation more than He loves the people of another, since He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die to redeem everyone who puts their faith in Him.  If we view other people as anything less than being of the same value to God as we are, then we are not obeying God’s word.   

Verse twenty-six states, When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and commiteth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.  God said that those who thought themselves to be righteous, but who turned away from what God taught were to die.  I don’t believe this will ever apply to those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord since they are forever saved, but it will apply to those who rely on self-righteousness to save them.   

Verse twenty-seven adds, 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.  God then said that when the wicked turned away from their wickedness that they would save their soul.  I don’t believe that this means we are capable of saving ourselves, but that turning away from iniquity means that we have turned to Jesus Christ to make us acceptable to God by dying for our sins.  We cannot pay the penalty for our sins by just starting to live more righteously.  

Verse twenty-eight continues,  Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.  As just stated in the last verse, I don’t believe that this means we can save our soul by just starting to be a better person.  The wages of sin is always death, which means spiritual death and not physical death, and we either pay that penalty for ourselves or accept God’s gift of salvation.