Ezekiel begins a new set of prophecies. Mackie discusses this chapter in session 13 of his class on Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 18:1-2, Eating sour grapes
The word of the LORD came to me:
"What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel:
"`The fathers eat sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are set on edge'?
A proverb claims that the acts of the father (eating sour grapes) is felt by the son (whose teeth react to the bad taste.) The point is that the son is punished for his father's sins. One reaction of the people of Judah might then be that the current and future disasters are due to their parents' sins and there is nothing that they, the children, can do to change things.
This proverb is in the air at this time -- Jeremiah, in Jerusalem, quotes it in Jeremiah 31:27-30.
Mackie sees echoes of Noah's sin in Genesis 9:20-25, in which Noah gets drunk, his son Ham looks on his nakedness and grandson, Canaan, is cursed.
Ezekiel 18:3-4, Stop saying this
"As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son--both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
The sour grapes proverb is wrong, says YHWH. The person who sins is the one who dies. Jeremiah repeats this statement when he discusses the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:27-30.
In Exodus 20:4-6, in the Second Commandment of the Ten, the Israelites are told not to worship idols and that YHWH is a jealous God who punishes the idolatry to the third and fourth generation that hate Him (while showing love to a thousand generations of those who worship Him in truth.) Mackie points out that that passage implies that each generation continues to "hate" YHWH while worshiping idols. (See also Exodus 34:6-7.)
This (new?) standard, that each person is responsible for their own sin, will now be demonstrated by three examples.
Ezekiel 18:5-9, A righteous man
"Suppose there is a righteous man
who does what is just and right.
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 lie with a woman during her period.
He does not oppress anyone,
but returns what he took in pledge for a loan.
He does not commit robbery
but gives his food to the hungry
and provides clothing for the naked.
He does not lend at usury or take excessive interest.
He withholds his hand from doing wrong
and judges fairly between man and man.
He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws.
That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign LORD.
The righteous man gets the fruit of righteousness, a good life. Examples of evil acts include worshiping at shrines or idols, adultery, sex during a woman's period (an "unclean" act described in Leviticus 15:19-24), robbery, oppression, and usury. Example of good actions include being honest with loans, giving to the hungry, providing clothing for the naked, judging fairly and, ultimately, follow the decrees of YHWH Adonai.
Ezekiel 18:10-13, A violent son
"Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things (though the father has done none of them):
"He eats at the mountain shrines.
He defiles his neighbor's wife.
He oppresses the poor and needy.
He commits robbery.
He does not return what he took in pledge.
He looks to the idols.
He does detestable things.
He lends at usury and takes excessive interest.
Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head.
On the other hand, a man might have a violent son, who worships at shrines, sleeps with various women, takes advantage of the poor, and so on. The son's sins will fall upon the son.
In all these example, righteousness leads to a good life and sin leads to physical death. There is not a discussion of an afterlife.
Ezekiel 18:14-18, A thoughtful grandson
"But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:
"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.
He does not oppress anyone
or require a pledge for a loan.
He does not commit robbery
but gives his food to the hungry
and provides clothing for the naked.
He withholds his hand from sin
and takes no usury or excessive interest.
He keeps my laws and follows my decrees.
He will not die for his father's sin; he will surely live. But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.
In this case, a man has a son and a grandson. The son, father of the younger boy, is sinful. But the the grandson acts righteously, despite his father's bad example. That father will pay for his own sin and the righteous, thoughtful son will prosper. (Duguid, p. 237, suggests that this might be a message for Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, grandson of Josiah.)
Ezekiel 18:19-20, Guilt is not shared
"Yet you ask, `Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?' Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.
The righteous son of a wicked man will prosper. Of course the son should not bear the guilt of his father.
Ezekiel 18:21-22, But even a wicked man can repent
"But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live.
A note is added -- indeed a wicked man can change! If he does, if he repents and begins to follow YHWH, he too will prosper.
Ezekiel 18:23, No pleasure in judgment
Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
The punishment for rejecting God is (physical) death. Yet God declares that He does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked. He would prefer that all people repent and change.
Ezekiel 18:24-28, A righteous man goes bad
"But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.
"Yet you say, `The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will die for it; because of the sin he has committed he will die. But if a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life. Because he considers all the offenses he has committed and turns away from them, he will surely live; he will not die.
Just as a wicked man can repent and live, so too a righteous man can become wicked and thus be punished and die. It is not God's ways that are unjust, but the ways of the people of Israel.
Ezekiel 18:29-32, Each according to his ways
Yet the house of Israel says, `The way of the Lord is not just.' Are my ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
"Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!
The earlier message is repeated and emphasized. The guilt is upon Israel but each person has an opportunity to change and to follow God.
Some Random Thoughts
Is this description of personal sin part of a new covenant? Or a clarification of the old? Duguid argues that this chapter develops a view of corporate sin, that the judgment coming to Judah includes judgment on the sins of the current generation, including (possibly) those listening to Ezekiel.
In the New Testament, the question of actions and suffering comes up in John 9:1-7, in which the disciples of Jesus want to attribute suffering to past sin.
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