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.      

Ezekiel 18:18

Ezekiel 18:18 says, 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.  God continues to address the sins of the fathers, who were said to have oppressed their brothers, which did not mean just those who were born in the same family, but all the people around them.   

Verse nineteen adds, 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.  God then asked if the son who had done right and kept all of His commandments should bear the iniquity of his father.  This was what was being taught, but I believe that when God had said that the iniquities of the fathers would be borne by the children that He was talking about material consequences and not spiritual.  If children continue to live in disobedience to God, they will suffer for their own disobedience spiritually, but no matter what their parents may have done, anytime they repent and come to God, they will be forgiven of their sins and restored to a right relationship with God.  Every person will only be held accountable for their own sins.   

Verse twenty continues, 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.  This is just another statement that each individual is responsible for his or her own sins.  We cannot be condemned for the sins of others, nor can we bring forgiveness to them.    

Verse twenty-one states, But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.  Then God makes a promise that if anyone turns from their wicked ways and put their faith in Him and keep His laws and statutes, they will live.  Of course, since we have all sinned, we cannot justify ourselves by keeping God’s law, since any sin brings death.  For this reason, Jesus Christ had to come into the world and follow God’s law completely so that every person who puts their faith in Him will be spared from spiritual death.  Of course, once we become a follower of Christ, we are to do our best to follow God’s law, even though we will still fail at times.  

Verse twenty-two adds. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned to him: in the righteousness that he hath done he shall live.  This may seem to say that people will not have their sin mentioned because of the righteous things that they have done, but the righteous that He has done refers to Jesus Christ.  We will never have our sins washed away by our own righteousness.

Verse twenty-three continues, All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.   This might seem to say that people could be saved by repenting and then obeying God’s law, but we can never be saved by our own righteousness, because we all fall short living by God’s commandments, so we must rely on the righteousness of Jesus Christ to redeem us.  

Ezekiel 18:14

Ezekiel 18:14 says, 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,  God had been talking about sons, or children, who had seen the sins of their fathers and had followed their example by sinning themselves.  Now, He begins to speak about those who had seen the sins of their fathers and did not do as they did.  It doesn’t matter what our parents do, whether they put their faith in Him or they don’t, it is up to every person to decide whether or not to put their faith in God.  It may be harder for those whose parents don’t believe in God, but God will call them to belief and will give them the faith to do so if they accept His call to salvation.   

Verse fifteen adds, That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour's wife,  God then lists some of the ways that these sons, or children, had chosen not to follow the example of their parents who had.  He began by saying they had not worshipped idols, which would be having a relationship with God alone as the One they worshipped, and then once more moving on to their relationship with other people, starting with committing adultery with a neighbor’s wife.  Then, we need to remember that everyone is considered our neighbor and not just those who live close to us.   

Verse sixteen continues, Neither hath 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.  God once again speaks about how we are to treat those in need.  We are not to keep them indebted by charging them usury and taking what was theirs if they can’t repay.  He then says we are to feed the hungry and clothe the naked if Her has blessed us with the ability to do so.  Of course, we today too often dismiss this idea saying that it is socialism, but it also is what God calls us to do,   

Verse seventeen concludes, 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.