Folks, my study of Scripture recently took me to the book of the prophet Ezekiel, Chapter 18. Its reading was exactly what I needed. Here it is, in plain informal English, according to The Message biblical translation:
Judged According to the Way You Live
1-2 God's Message to me: "What do you people mean by going around the country repeating the saying,
The parents ate green apples,
The children got the stomachache?3-4 "As sure as I'm the living God, you're not going to repeat this saying in Israel any longer. Every soul—man, woman, child—belongs to me, parent and child alike. You die for your own sin, not another's.
5-9 "Imagine a person who lives well, treating others fairly, keeping good relationships—
doesn't eat at the pagan shrines,
doesn't worship the idols so popular in Israel,
doesn't seduce a neighbor's spouse,
doesn't indulge in casual sex,
doesn't bully anyone,
doesn't pile up bad debts,
doesn't steal,
doesn't refuse food to the hungry,
doesn't refuse clothing to the ill-clad,
doesn't exploit the poor,
doesn't live by impulse and greed,
doesn't treat one person better than another,
But lives by my statutes and faithfully
honors and obeys my laws.
This person who lives upright and well
shall live a full and true life.
Decree of God, the Master.10-13 "But if this person has a child who turns violent and murders and goes off and does any of these things, even though the parent has done none of them—
eats at the pagan shrines,
seduces his neighbor's spouse,
bullies the weak,
steals,
piles up bad debts,
admires idols,
commits outrageous obscenities,
exploits the poor
"—do you think this person, the child, will live? Not a chance! Because he's done all these vile things, he'll die. And his death will be his own fault.14-17 "Now look: Suppose that this child has a child who sees all the sins done by his parent. The child sees them, but doesn't follow in the parent's footsteps—
doesn't eat at the pagan shrines,
doesn't worship the popular idols of Israel,
doesn't seduce his neighbor's spouse,
doesn't bully anyone,
doesn't refuse to loan money,
doesn't steal,
doesn't refuse food to the hungry,
doesn't refuse to give clothes to the ill-clad,
doesn't live by impulse and greed,
doesn't exploit the poor.
He does what I say;
he performs my laws and lives by my statutes.17-18 "This person will not die for the sins of the parent; he will live truly and well. But the parent will die for what the parent did, for the sins of—
oppressing the weak,
robbing brothers and sisters,
doing what is dead wrong in the community.19-20 "Do you need to ask, 'So why does the child not share the guilt of the parent?'
"Isn't it plain? It's because the child did what is fair and right. Since the child was careful to do what is lawful and right, the child will live truly and well. The soul that sins is the soul that dies. The child does not share the guilt of the parent, nor the parent the guilt of the child. If you live upright and well, you get the credit; if you live a wicked life, you're guilty as charged.
21-23 "But a wicked person who turns his back on that life of sin and keeps all my statutes, living a just and righteous life, he'll live, really live. He won't die. I won't keep a list of all the things he did wrong. He will live. Do you think I take any pleasure in the death of wicked men and women? Isn't it my pleasure that they turn around, no longer living wrong but living right—really living?
24 "The same thing goes for a good person who turns his back on an upright life and starts sinning, plunging into the same vile obscenities that the wicked person practices. Will this person live? I don't keep a list of all the things this person did right, like money in the bank he can draw on. Because of his defection, because he accumulates sin, he'll die.
25-28 "Do I hear you saying, 'That's not fair! God's not fair!'?
"Listen, Israel. I'm not fair? You're the ones who aren't fair! If a good person turns away from his good life and takes up sinning, he'll die for it. He'll die for his own sin. Likewise, if a bad person turns away from his bad life and starts living a good life, a fair life, he will save his life. Because he faces up to all the wrongs he's committed and puts them behind him, he will live, really live. He won't die.
29 "And yet Israel keeps on whining, 'That's not fair! God's not fair.'
"I'm not fair, Israel? You're the ones who aren't fair.
30-32 "The upshot is this, Israel: I'll judge each of you according to the way you live. So turn around! Turn your backs on your rebellious living so that sin won't drag you down. Clean house. No more rebellions, please. Get a new heart! Get a new spirit! Why would you choose to die, Israel? I take no pleasure in anyone's death. Decree of God, the Master.
"Make a clean break! Live!"
Exactly what the doctor ordered!
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4 comments:
How does this fit in with God visiting the sin's of the fathers upon the sons up to the 4th generation (as told in Deuteronomy)?
A fascinating question!
The easy answer would be: God changed his mind. Or so it would appear to us. A transition from collective guilt to individual responsibility has been crossed after the Exile. A new explanation as to why pious ancestors would spawn children that would go awry was needed. In a certain sense, this was the birth of Judaism and this new current of personal responsibility then fed into the Gospel, where you don't find that particular verse from Deuteronomy quoted, where the emphasis is also individual, as the Savior saw individual persons as the building stones of God's new collective, the Church.
That's my best explanation.
-Theo
I thought it was 3 generations, not 4?
I'm no expert in Judaism or the Old Testament, but I have seen the punishment to the Nth generation with my own experience. Alcoholics, adulterers, etc. Their children often tend to behave like their folks, even if they consciously reject their parent's behavior. I have inherited a lot of my father's bad behavior and I see some of it in my son. But my son doesn't have some of the behavior that my Grandfather, my father, and I have.
Perhaps it's not quite the literal sense of Deuteronomy, but it's the effective sense: the punishment (the effects of sin) are indeed visited on the 2nd and 3rd generations.
I agree with what you say, Chad. The consequences of sin, even the inclination to sin a certain way are felt through the generations. That's why it's so important for the healing of one's family tree.
Ezekiel's "change" marks the beginning of a new emphasis on personal responsibility and also the beginning of Judaeo-Christian ethics. From then on, persons, individuals, would bear the consequences of their actions and not the entire people. As a consequence, Israel would survive through the ages despite the infidelities of some. Punishment would not be generational, but individual.
I think the change was momentous.
-Theo
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