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.   

Ezekiel 18:10

Ezekiel 18:10 says, If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,  God then begins to talk about children who are not living by God’s laws or in a covenant relationship with Him.  As parents, we can influence the way our children live by both our words and the way we live, but we cannot force them to live righteously.  It will always be their choice.   

Verse eleven adds, And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife,  God once again lists some of the sins that the children might commit, beginning with worshipping other gods and then coveting his neighbor's wife.  We are to be true to God’s word, and if we are, we will always want what is best of our neighbors and never covet what is theirs.   

Verse twelve continues, 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,   God said that the people of Israel had oppressed the poor instead of helping them, and it seems that we too often do the same thing today even while calling ourselves a Christian nation.  They did not restore things that were pledged to them to in order to secure a loan, I believe, maybe if they couldn’t repay it.  Of course, they were also not supposed to use usury if they gave a loan, and today, many timers those who lend to others, whether by credit card or even a bank loan often charge a high rate of interest and if the borrower doesn’t repay it or even falls too far behind in payment, the lender will try to take whatever they can from the one that the loaned it to.  The people of Israel were also worshipping false gods when they were doing this.  All of these things were considered an abomination to God.  They still are today, I believe.   

Verse thirteen concludes, 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.  God continued to speak about taking things from others because of usury, even taking the increase from it, and asked if those who did this would live.  We often think of worshipping physical idols as the way that people worship idols, but I believe that it can often be putting material things and the desire to increase our wealth ahead of helping those who are in need. 

Ezekiel 18:5

Ezekiel 18:5 says, But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,  God now speaks about the people who live justly and do what is lawful in God’s sight.  We know that just obeying God’s law will never save us, because we will always fail to keep it all at all times.   

Verse six adds, And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,  God then began to list some of the things that those who were considered just had not done, starting with worshipping other God’s and then moving on to relationships between them and other people.  God not only expects us as followers of Christ to not allow any other gods into our life, but He also expects us to treat our neighbors with respect.   

Verse seven continues, 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;  God told the people of Israel and He tells us today that we are to treat everyone with respect, are not to be violent toward anyone, and are to feed the hungry and clothed the naked.  This seems to be the opposite of what many people, even those who profess to be Christians, seem to believe today.   

Verse eight states, 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,  God then tells us that we are not to charge others with usury, or a very high interest, so that we might have our wealth increase while theirs decreases.  Once more, this seems to be the opposite of the way the world works today.   

Verse nine adds, Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God.  God then moved back to the relationship between people and Himself.  They were to keep His commandments and to deal truly with Him, and I believe other people as well, and if they did, they would live.  We today are to enter into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ if we are to live with God forever and then we are to keep His commandments and treat everyone fairly, but our actions after we become a follower of Christ are not what saves us, but our relationship with Him is all that does.

Ezekiel 18:1

Ezekiel 18:1 says. The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying, 

Verse two adds, What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?  God continued to speak to Ezekiel, He said that the fathers ate sour grapes and the children’s teeth were set on edge.  The people of Israel while in captivity were using this proverb to say that God was responsible for their situation because they were being punished because of the sins of their fathers instead of taking responsibility for their own sins.  I don’t believe that this means that children are responsible for the sins of their parents, but that parents can lead their children either toward God or away from Him.  The actions of parents can neither save nor condemn their children with God, but they will always be an influence on them.  Still, every person is accountable to God only for their own sins, no matter who or what their parents may have been.   

Verse three continues, As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.  God said as He lived, the people would no longer have an occasion to use this proverb.  The use of this proverb was to be taken away even if people may have used it in the past.  Matthew Henry says this goes back to God saying at one time that the sins of the fathers would be visited on their children for more than one generation.  I believe this was a reference to when the people of Israel were all considered the people of God and when the fathers failed to obey God that their actions might affect several generations in their worldly situation and not that the next generation would be spiritually responsible for the sins of their parents.   

Verse four concludes, 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.  God now plainly states that each person is responsible for their own sins, and the soul of those who do not repent and ask His forgiveness will die, spiritually I believe.  From what the Bible teaches us, we know that the soul of everyone will live forever and it is just a matter of where they will be, heaven or hell.