Verse of the Day May 10th
Ezekiel 18:25
But you say, ‘The Lord’s way isn’t fair.’ Now listen, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair? Instead, isn’t it your ways that are unfair?
Meaning of the Verse:
Full passage:
The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel:
‘The fathers eat sour grapes,and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
3 As I live”—this is the declaration of the Lord God—“you will no longer use this proverb in Israel. 4 Look, every life belongs to me. The life of the father is like the life of the son—both belong to me. The person who sins is the one who will die.
5 “Suppose a man is righteous and does what is just and right: 6 He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman during her menstrual impurity. 7 He doesn’t oppress anyone but returns his collateral to the debtor. He does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing.
8 He doesn’t lend at interest or for profit but keeps his hand from injustice and carries out true justice between men. 9 He follows my statutes and keeps my ordinances, acting faithfully. Such a person is righteous; he will certainly live.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.
10 “But suppose the man has a violent son, who sheds blood and does any of these things, 11 though the father has done none of them. Indeed, when the son eats at the mountain shrines and defiles his neighbor’s wife, 12 and when he oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, and does not return collateral, and when he looks to the idols, commits detestable acts, 13 and lends at interest or for profit, will he live? He will not live! Since he has committed all these detestable acts, he will certainly die. His death will be his own fault.
14 “Now suppose he has a son who sees all the sins his father has committed, and though he sees them, he does not do likewise. 15 He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor’s wife. 16 He doesn’t oppress anyone, hold collateral, or commit robbery. He gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing. 17 He keeps his hand from harming the poor, not taking interest or profit on a loan. He practices my ordinances and follows my statutes. Such a person will not die for his father’s iniquity. He will certainly live.
18 “As for his father, he will die for his own iniquity because he practiced fraud, robbed his brother, and did among his people what was not good. 19 But you may ask, ‘Why doesn’t the son suffer punishment for the father’s iniquity?’ Since the son has done what is just and right, carefully observing all my statutes, he will certainly live. 20 The person who sins is the one who will die. A son won’t suffer punishment for the father’s iniquity, and a father won’t suffer punishment for the son’s iniquity. The righteousness of the righteous person will be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be on him.
21 “But if the wicked person turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all my statutes, and does what is just and right, he will certainly live; he will not die.
22 None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. He will live because of the righteousness he has practiced. 23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “Instead, don’t I take pleasure when he turns from his ways and lives? 24 But when a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, committing the same detestable acts that the wicked do, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. He will die because of the treachery he has engaged in and the sin he has committed.
25 “But you say, ‘The Lord’s way isn’t fair.’ Now listen, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair? Instead, isn’t it your ways that are unfair? 26 When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, he will die for this. He will die because of the injustice he has committed. 27 But if a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life. 28 He will certainly live because he thought it over and turned from all the transgressions he had committed; he will not die. 29 But the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s way isn’t fair.’ Is it my ways that are unfair, house of Israel? Instead, isn’t it your ways that are unfair?
30 “Therefore, house of Israel, I will judge each one of you according to his ways.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “Repent and turn from all your rebellious acts, so they will not become a sinful stumbling block to you. 31 Throw off all the transgressions you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “So repent and live!
Explanation:
This passage is about " Personal Responsibility for Sin" For more context in this chapter God is bringing judgment on the people of Isreal for the amount of sin and blasphemous things that have been detestable in the Lord's eyes. With God say to Ezekiel early in Ezekiel 5:12
“A third of your people will die by plague and be consumed by famine within you; a third will fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter a third to every direction of the wind, and I will draw a sword to chase after them.”
This again was for all the dishonorable and detestable things they have done in the sight of the Lord. But all that the Lord does is for a reason as said in the next chapter chapter God says in Ezekiel 6:10
“And they will know that I am the Lord; I did not threaten to bring this disaster on them without a reason.” Now why did I lay this all out like this? Because of the comments said in this day and age “God is UNFAIR!” “God is MEAN” “God does these things for no REASON”. Now you see that All Of God’s actions are for a reason. He is not a monster nor a tyrant. It’s us who needs to check ourselves. When we sin we believe that we should not be punished for our sins. Because without the love, wisdom, and understanding of Christ, we don’t see it as sinning against God we see it as “Justful” behavior because it's what we want to do contrary to the word and command of God.
God makes us accountable for all of our sins to listen to his commands. Just think about it, all of creations listen to him. The birds in the sky, the fish in the ocean, the winds that blow in all four 4 directions of the earth all listen to him. The mountains, even the stars to the outer universe, every living creation and thing listens to God. But Man, given the greatest welcome of becoming his adopted sons and daughters of God. Man, given a free gift to have eternal life and live with him in his present forever. Man, saved from all sin we have committed and saved from eternal damnation to Hell. All the planets and the stars he could focus on but us made in his image. Yet when he says come forth we say no.
God doesn’t need us, he is self-sufficient and find on his own. Some may see that and might be upset. But don’t you see that God not needing us makes his love even greater and deeper? He wants us to dwell with him. You ask God “Why Lord, why love me” he responds, “My love needs no reason, I love you because I love you”. Not because of what you did but because I WANT TO LOVE YOU, I chose you because I wanted to. That is far deeper than any love any man or woman can give you. That’s why when we repent and follow Christ we reign with him and when we reject Christ he rejects us and we are set apart from him because we chose not to be with him. Why would he force us to stay with him?
That is why there is a heaven and a hell, Heaven for those who want to be with God and love him. And Hell for those who chose to reject Christ and his ways and rules, just like satan. Just remember next time you are about to say “God Is Not Fair” first check yourself and see why it's unfair to you. Because, when you learn the truth. God is the only fair and just person, no one can compare. That's why we accept him as our fair and just King, our Lord and Savior that will reign and live forever.
Click this to read Ezekiel 18 : https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2018&version=CSB
Comments