Turn Around

An Inaccurate Narrative, verses 1-18

Ezekiel 18:1–2 KJV 1900

1 The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying, 2 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?

Or, we could also say it like this:

Ezekiel 18:2 NLT

2 “Why do you quote this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste’?

Understandable…but what does it mean?

Two things:

Children are affected by their parents’ life choices (which is true)

Children are controlled by their parents’ life choices (which is not true)

The Jews in Ezekiel’s day had come to understand it in only the second sense, so God said

Ezekiel 18:3 KJV 1900

3 As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.

And He tells them why

Ezekiel 18:4 KJV 1900

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.

Anticipating some push back, He then gives a few scenarios

A Just Person Shall Live, verses 5-9

An Unjust Son Shall not Live, regardless of who his father was and what his father did, verses 10-13

A Just Son Shall Live, again regardless of who his father was and what his father did, verses 14-18

The narrative that our lives are dictated by our parent’s choices is a lie and must be defied at every turn. It leaves us with no agency whatsoever and limits any potential that we might have.

The truth is that we each stand or fall before God and in life based on our own choices. We each have agency and we each have a very important capacity: repentance. No matter who we are, what we have done (or not done) at this point in our lives, we can turn around and do what we should.That is freeing.

Having defied their narrative, God anticipates push back. There are two sections that begin with a variation of “Yet you say” where God anticipates and addresses their bad thinking.

Why Not? Verses 19-24

Reality Redefined

Ezekiel 18:19–20 KJV 1900

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.

The Israelites had redefined their theology by their experience.

They observed that children suffer consequences from their parents’ life choices.

They decided that must be God’s doing and how He wanted it to be.

They had thought this for long enough that God’s thoughts on the matter were foreign to them.

And what is God’s thought? Every person stands before me as an individual.

Repentance Recommended

Ezekiel 18:21–23 KJV 1900

21 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. 22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. 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?

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard someone say something to the effect of “I’m so bad, even God could not forgive me.” That is simply not true.

This gets back to why we were created: to be in fellowship with God. He gets nothing out of judging us; it’s not what He wants. When we repent, He is only too anxious to forgive and restore.

Righteousness Remembered

Ezekiel 18:24 KJV 1900

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.

There is potential for abuse to this: if we can just repent, can’t we do anything we want? The answer is NO!!! If we turn away and embrace sin, any goodness that we had done is soon forgotten, even by God.

Because we are believers, we should strive to live right. Living right respects God’s grace rather than presumes upon it. The Apostle Paul had to wrestle with the same question:

Romans 6:1–2 KJV 1900

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Having addressed the question, Why not? God moved to a challenge that was far more insidious.

God’s Not Fair, verse 25-32

Challenging God’s Fairness

Ezekiel 18:25 KJV 1900

25 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?

What is Equal?

The word translated equal, refers to a fair or equal weight.

In the ancient world, money was measured by weight on a scale that compared the weight in one side to the weight on the other. In theory, a seller would put a known weight on one side and a buyer would add metal (gold, silver, copper) to the other side until the two side were equal.

In theory because some people didn’t use honest weights...

Who is Fair?

By accusing God of not being equal, the Israelites were literally accusing God of being unfair to the point of cheating.

But who was really cheating? God turned the accusation right back on them.

Challenging Man’s Awareness

Ezekiel 18:26–29 KJV 1900

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 Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?

People confirm God’s fairness

God draws on two observable reactions:

When a good man turns bad, we remember the bad and hold them up as an example of what not to do

When a bad man turns good, we remember the good and hold them up as an example of what to do

So as long as people react in this way (and we have for thousands of years), we demonstrate that God is fair in his handling of people.

People deny God’s fairness

And yet, we still deny God’s fairness. We want what we want, regardless of whether is it right or wrong.Because God is interested in what is right, we don’t think He is fair.

Judging Man’s Foolishness

Ezekiel 18:30–32 NKJV

30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!”

A Verdict of Judgment

We will each be judged based on our own behaviors.

An Opportunity for Repentance

Though God could rightfully judge everyone, He instead extends the opportunity to turn around.

Repentance just means to turn around

We can turn around from our bad behaviors

We can turn around from our bad ideas

Ultimately, we can turn around from our own sinfulness and self-sufficiency and receive His free gift of salvation.

Conclusion

There are three conclusions we need to draw from this text.

First, We all stand or fall before God as individuals. The people around us, regardless of their influence on it will not be judged with us.

Second, popular culture’s perception that God exists to smite, is simply false. God created mankind to be in relationship with Him and this is what He wants more than anything, so He literally begs them to turn around and live in open, honest, mutually beneficial relationship with Him.

Third, our responsibility as followers of God is to follow God. We sometimes, like the children of Israel, find ourselves disagreeing with God. When we do, we overstep the boundaries of our relationship with Him. Our goal should be to understand what He has said and align our lives with it, remembering that when we disagree it is we who are wrong.

End

“Yes, I love you. And no, you can’t have your own way.” Turn Around.

We all have a tendency to want to go our own way, and even to want God to go our way. But He is already going the right way and it is we who need to turn around.