Ezekiel 18:25

Ezekiel 18:25

It seems that the Jews complained of the law under which they lived as unjust, because it spoke of the sins of fathers being visited upon their children. The proverb of the sour grapes was one which had a very direct bearing upon the conduct of the people; if the proverb generally found favour in their eyes, and spoke the thoughts of their hearts, then it was of no use that Ezekiel should talk of sin and its punishment, and the need of repentance and amendment. Therefore, Ezekiel protested against the proverb as wicked and profane, and he lays down as the great truth which should destroy the effect of the lying proverb, that of the necessary punishment of sin; "the soul that sinneth, it shall die."

I. Ezekiel was not bringing in any new principle of government, but was only asserting a principle as old as the creation; and what he wished the people to believe was this, that although it had been held out as a warning against disobedience and an encouragement to obedience, that those who sinned were bringing in a curse which would affect others besides themselves, and that contrariwise, those who were holy and good were bringing a blessing down upon their children; still this was not to be supposed to be in opposition to the great law of every man standing or falling by his own deeds, being "judged by the things done in the body, whether good or bad.." And so he would urge them to repentance; he would urge them not to speculate about their fathers' sins, but to leave their own.

II. There is still something repugnant to our idea of justice in the law, that the sins of the fathers should be visited upon the children, as the second commandment states that in some cases they are. But the principle of the children suffering for the fathers' sin was not at all peculiar to the Jewish law; it is a principle which, whether just or no, is manifestly the principle upon which the world is governed. It is the Lord's doing, however wonderful it may be in our eyes. God did not put us here to explain difficulties, but to work out our salvation; God does not require us to show how all His doings are the best and wisest that could be; but He requires of us to do His will. "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth." Here is argument enough for a holy life; argument enough for all works of mercy, of patience, of faith, and love.

Bishop Harvey Goodwin, Parish Sermons,3rd series, p. 1.

References: Ezekiel 18:27. R. D. B. Rawnsley, Village Sermons,1st series, p. 91.Ezekiel 18:29. F. Wagstaff, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xvi., p. 136. Ezekiel 18:30. S. Cox, Expositions,3rd series, p. 43.