Chapter 18

1 God reproveth the unjust parable of sour grapes. 5 He sheweth how he dealeth with a just father: 10 with a wicked son of a just father: 14 with a just son of a wicked father: 19 with a wicked man repenting: 24 with a just man revolting. 25 He defendeth his justice, 31 and exhorteth to repentance.

1. The word of the Lord. A new section opens, which deals with the responsibility of the individual. Ezekiel had repeatedly emphasized the certainty of the coming judgments, hoping thereby to lead the people to repentance. But this salutary purpose was frustrated by the manner in which these judgments were interpreted. The people considered that they were innocent children suffering for the iniquity of their fathers and that consequently repentance was needless and useless. They were not inclined to acknowledge their personal guilt or recognize their individual responsibility.

2. Ye use this proverb. The fact that it was termed a “proverb” indicates that the saying was popular. The tense of the Hebrew verb shows that the words were oft repeated. Jeremiah referred to and condemned the same proverb (Jer. 31:29, 30). The sour grapes the fathers ate represented their own personal sins. The setting of the children’s teeth on edge represented the suffering the Jews felt came upon them in consequence of their fathers’ sins. On the surface it may appear that this proverb is in harmony with what is expressly stated in the second commandment, that the iniquities of the fathers are visited upon the children (Ex. 20:5; Ex. 34:7; Deut. 5:9). Then why should Ezekiel so strongly condemn it? Ezekiel’s statement and the statement in the law deal with two different aspects of the problem. Ezekiel’s contemporaries insisted that they suffered for their fathers’ guilt. The law deals with the handing down of depravity. “It is inevitable that children should suffer from the consequences of parental wrong-doing, but they are not punished for the parents’ guilt, except as they participate in their sins” (PP 306).

Sin depraved and degraded the nature of Adam and Eve. It was impossible for the parents of the human race to pass on to their posterity that which they themselves did not possess (see GC 533). Hence, we, as their offspring, suffer the result of the transgression of our forefathers, but not through any arbitrary imputation of their guilt. If the latter were true, the charge of unfairness could be sustained. But in the former case, the element of unfairness is eliminated by the observation that the only alternative course would have been the annihilation of the human family at the time of the first sin. The setting into operation of the plan of salvation involved the necessity of perpetuating the lives of our first parents even though such a perpetuation would permit the working out of the law of heredity. However, the situation was fair in view of the fact that the plan of salvation was instituted, for it provided for ultimate freedom from perverted appetites, debased morals, physical disease and degeneracy, which are transmitted as a legacy from father to son. It provided also victory in this life over hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil. The ultimate salutary effect will be not only the salvation of untold multitudes but eternal immunity against future transgression. Ezekiel’s countrymen failed to comprehend this truth and falsely charged God with inflicting upon them the punishment for sin for which they in no wise were responsible.

4. All souls are mine. They are God’s by right of creation. All are equally His creatures, and His dealings with them are without prejudice or partiality. He loves and would save all, and punishment ensues only when it is deserved.

The soul that sinneth. Though Ezekiel was speaking primarily of the immediately impending judgments, his words have a wider application. They are equally true of the final, irrevocable second death (Rev. 20:14; cf. Matt. 10:28). God’s restored universe verse will have every vestige of sin removed. No reminders of the curse will remain, such as eternally burning souls in an ever-existing hell. God’s triumph over evil will be complete. The idea that the wicked will be granted eternal life, though in torment, is entirely contrary to the Scriptures. This doctrine rests upon the false premise that the soul is a separate entity and is indestructible. But this idea is derived, not from the Scriptures, but from false philosophical concepts that early found their way into Jewish and Christian thinking. The word translated “soul” (nephesh) does not refer to any immortal part of man nor even to an animating principle in man. It is equivalent to “man,” or “person,” or “self.” Nephesh refers to man as a unique individual, different from every other individual. When this peculiar identity is emphasized, the Scriptures designate man as a “soul.” Ezekiel is here declaring, “the person who sins shall die.” For a more extended discussion of nephesh see on Ps. 16:10.

5. Lawful and right. Compare Micah 6:8.

6. Eaten upon the mountains. That is, eaten sacrificial meals to heathen deities. God severely condemned such participation in heathen feasts (Eze. 16:16; 22:9; cf. Deut. 12:2).

Lifted up his eyes. Probably denoting a hankering after idolatry (see Gen. 19:26; Matt. 5:28–30).

Hath defiled. See Ex. 20:14; Lev. 20:10.

Come near. See Lev. 18:19; 20:18.

7. His pledge. See Ex. 22:26; Deut. 24:6, 13.

Given his bread. A virtue frequently enjoined and extolled (see Job 31:16–22; Isa. 58:5–7; Matt. 25:34–46; James 1:27; 2:15, 16).

8. Usury. Interest, not only exorbitant, but any amount whatsoever. The Mosaic law prohibited the Jews from taking interest from their brethren who had “waxen poor,” but permitted them to take it from a foreigner (see on Ex. 22:25; see Deut. 23:19, 20).

Executed true judgment. See Isa. 33:15; Jer. 7:5; Zech. 7:9. God requires absolute fairness, truthfulness, and integrity of all his children.

9. He shall surely live. Ezekiel doubtless intended these words to apply primarily to temporal prosperity in this present world, but they are equally true of the future immortal life. Eternal life is received when the soul accepts Christ. Jesus said, “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47; cf. 1 John 5:11, 12). “Christ became one flesh with us, in order that we might become one spirit with Him. It is by virtue of this union that we are to come forth from the grave,—not merely as a manifestation of the power of Christ, but because, through faith, His life has become ours” (DA 388).

10. A robber. Verses 10–13 describe the case of a son who, instead of following the good example of his pious parent, adopts a course directly opposite, recklessly abandons virtue, and indulges in crime.

14. Doeth not such like. Verses 14–18 describe the case of a son who, shocked at his father’s sins, is influenced to shun the wickedness of his parent. Here the father has eaten “sour grapes,” and his son’s teeth were not set on edge (see v. 2). The parable is thus directly contradicted. Each man is to be judged according to his own individual character.

Nevertheless it is true that the son of a righteous man may have certain advantages, and the son of a wicked father certain hindrances, with respect to the formation of a righteous character. However, a man’s responsibility is directly proportioned to privilege (see Luke 12:48). But since the gospel contains the power to overcome hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, the effect of an unfavorable heredity can be canceled, at least so far as the attainment of the requisite character is concerned. And since all have the privilege of receiving the gospel, none can validly offer to the Judge in the last day the excuse implied in the parable of the “sour grapes.” The man who is lost will have but himself to blame for his exclusion from heaven.

19. Why? doth not the son bear? Or, “Why doth not the son bear?” The query probably has its source in the fact that the parable seemingly contradicts the teaching of the law, the operations of nature, and popular opinion. Ezekiel does not reason with the human objection, but repeats the law of individual responsibility. In Jewish thinking the individual was regarded as a part of a nation or family. Ezekiel’s new teaching was really a precursor of one of the basic concepts of the new covenant. Under the old covenant (see on ch. 16:60) men believed that salvation was based upon an external connection with the central system of worship. The priest was the interpreter of divine law, and the individual, instead of searching the Scriptures for himself, depended upon the interpretation of the religious leaders. Under the new covenant it is expressly stated, “And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest” (Heb. 8:11; cf. Jer. 31:34). All were to have direct access to God. No longer were they to worship at Jerusalem through external ceremony, but they would worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:21–24). God requires justice and mercy toward men and humility toward Him (Micah 6:8).

20. Soul. See on v. 4.

21. If the wicked will turn. The change in individual character is now considered, first, the case of a wicked man repenting and doing righteousness (vs. 21–23, 27, 28), and second, the case of a righteous man falling into wickedness (vs. 24–26).

22. Shall not be mentioned. Ezekiel now becomes a preacher of the gospel. His theme is justification by faith. Sins are no longer mentioned to the sinner, because through repentance and confession they have been completely forgiven. They have all been completely forgiven. They have all been placed upon Jesus, who has become the sinner’s substitute and surety. And the Lord, in return, “places the obedience of His Son to the sinner’s account. Christ’s righteousness is accepted in place of man’s failure, and God receives, pardons, justifies, the repentant, believing soul, treats him as though he were righteous, and loves him as He loves His Son” (EGW RH Nov. 4, 1890). Such are the marvelous provisions of Heaven’s plan. Man is accepted before God as if he had not sinned (see SC 67). Thus, wholly surrendered to God, he need no longer be anxious about what Christ and the Father think of him, but about what God thinks of Christ, man’s substitute (see EGW GCB April 23, 1901, pp. 419–422).

23. Have I any pleasure? Compare 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9. The charge that the way of the Lord in His dealings with men is not just and right is answered in the assertion that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but desires that men be converted and live. He has furthermore provided an opportunity for all. It is with the strongest appeal that He pleads with every sinner to disconnect himself from sin, lest he be destroyed with it at last.

24. Shall not be mentioned. In the event the righteous man falls away, the book of remembrance, in which all his good deeds were recorded, is not taken into account in the judgment. He is rewarded according to his long category of sins. Not only are sins he has not repented of charged against him, but all those also for which he had earlier obtained pardon. When a man separates himself from God he rejects His pardoning love, and is consequently “in the same condition as before he was forgiven. He has denied his repentance, and his sins are upon him as if he had not repented” (COL 251). It is sometimes erroneously held that when a sin is forgiven it is immediately blotted out. As in the type the blood “removed the sin from the penitent” but left it in “the sanctuary until the Day of Atonement,” so the sins of the penitent “will be blotted from the books of heaven” in the day of judgment (PP 357, 358; see also GC 483–485).

25. Equal. Heb. takan, “to test,” in the form here found “to be approved,” “to be in order,” “to be right.” The people still insist that God does not work by uniform laws and that His ways are marked by caprice. In reply the prophet reaffirms the equity of the divine judgments (vs. 25–29).

30. Repent, and turn. Verses 30–32 constitute an appeal based on the principles of the justice of God’s dealings. When the counsel is given, “Make you a new heart and a new spirit” (v. 31), the prophet does not mean that man can save himself by his own power. But there is a part that man just act in the work of salvation. God can do nothing for man without man’s consent and cooperation (see DA 466). The meaning of repentance is not so clearly expressed by the Hebrew root, shub, as it is by the Greek, metonia. Nor does the English word always convey all that is bound up in this spiritual experience. The basic idea of shub is “to turn.” According to this definition, men turn from their sins (see SC 26). Metanoia is built on two words, the first, meta, which means “after,” and the second, nous, which means “mind.” The resultant meaning is to have a different mind afterward.

Sin has its seat in the mind. The soul must purpose the sinful act before passion can dominate over reason. The root of sin, then, is a bent of mind that causes man to choose the evil course. The solution to the problem is to correct this basic disposition. This is what repentance is intended to accomplish. A change must take place in the thinking of the individual. Since God never coerces the will, this act must be voluntary, but the Holy Spirit is given to aid the soul. It is quite impossible for the individual of himself to accomplish the transformation. But when he chooses to make the change and in his great need cries out to God, the powers of the soul are imbued with power from above and the propensity of the mind is corrected.

True repentance, then, is a function of the mind. It includes a thorough scrutinizing of the situation to discover what factors led to the defection, and also a study as to how similar errors can be avoided in the future. Repentance is the process whereby sin is expelled from the life. Once repented of, it can be confessed, and it will be forgiven. But confession without repentance is meaningless. God cannot forgive sins that are still active in the heart. This is the reason why the basic emphasis of the Scriptures is upon repentance rather than confession. Jesus’ fundamental teaching was, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:15). Peter’s counsel was, “Repent, and be baptized” (Acts 2:38).

A proper grasp of the true meaning of repentance in its relationship to confession is essential to a successful spiritual experience. The reason many Christians fall so repeatedly into the same error is that they have never truly permitted the Holy Spirit to change their basic thinking with regard to that sin; they have never taken their sins to heart, to discover how, by the enabling grace of God, they might have complete victory over those sins.

Shall not be your ruin. Israel charged that God was unjust and caused their ruin. God declared that sin itself, which the sinner voluntarily chose, was their ruin (see 5T 120). He may not acknowledge the justice of God’s ways now; but in that awful moment, when he conforms the Judge of all the earth, there will be heard from his lips the acknowledgment that God’s ways are just (see GC 668, 669).

Ellen G. White comments

4, 20   EW 51; FE 197; GC 533; LS 48; SR 388; 1T 39, 530

23   PK 127; 5T 631

24   GC 483

25   5T 631

25, 26  COL 251

30–325T 631

31   2T 225

31, 32  PK 127

32   SC 58