Tyndale Open Study NotesEzekiel 18

This section includes eight metaphors, each showing from a different angle the certainty of Jerusalem's upcoming judgment. The images are of:

1. a worthless vine (Ezekiel 15);

2. a faithless wife (Ezekiel 16);

3. a vine and two eagles (Ezekiel 17);

4. Sour grapes (Ezekiel 18);

5. a lion and her cubs (Ezekiel 19);

6. a sword (Ezekiel 21);

7. two corrupt sisters (Ezekiel 23); and

8. a cooking pot (Ezekiel 24).

The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge: The people were repeating a proverb. This meant that innocent children sometimes suffer for their parents’ actions.

In Ezekiel’s time, the people used this saying to make a complaint. They believed that their ancestors had committed the sins that caused the exile. They thought they were suffering for sins they did not commit (compare Lamentations 5:7).

The Lord's response to the proverb of Ezekiel 18:1–2 was to clearly state that it did not apply to this situation. Instead, the Lord always punishes only the guilty (Deuteronomy 24:16). God is always fair and just.

God's justice is shown through a case study of three imagined generations. In the first generation, a righteous man faithfully worships the Lord, stays sexually pure, and treats others fairly. A person who lives this way does not need to fear God's judgment.

does not … approach a woman during her period: See study note on Ezekiel 36:17; see also Leviticus 15.

Borrowers might need to provide objects as security to ensure loan repayment. However, if the object was an outer garment, which might be a poor man's only valuable possession, it had to be returned before nightfall so he could stay warm at night (see Exodus 22:26–27).

Lending money with interest to those in need was banned because it tempted lenders to exploit borrowers (see Exodus 22:25).

If the son of a righteous man (a man who lives in a right way before God) does not follow God’s ways or his father’s example, he is responsible for his own sin. If his life is completely different from what his father believed and practiced, he will bear his own guilt. He will face God’s judgment for his own actions.

The righteous son of an evil man will surely live. God will judge each person individually.

Ezekiel gives two more examples.

First, wicked people (those who do evil) who turn away from their sins can receive God’s forgiveness.

Second, righteous people (those who live in a right way before God) who begin to sin will face judgment.

God does not want wicked people to die. He made Ezekiel a watchman to guide the wicked toward a godly life and to warn the righteous not to stray (Ezekiel 3:16–19; 33:1–9).

Israel's issue was not that the Lord was unjust, but that they kept doing wrong. They fully deserved God's judgment.

This chapter ends with a strong appeal to the people of Israel. God calls them to turn back to him and live.

It was not too late for them to repent. They could turn from their sins and receive forgiveness. God promised to give them a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26).

A new heart and a new spirit mean an inner change. God would change their thoughts and desires. He would do this for all who turned from their rebellion and came to him with humility.