Key Verse:
Ezekiel 18:4 NASB
4 Behold, all [a]souls are Mine; the [b]soul of the father as well as the [c]soul of the son is Mine. The [d]soul who sins will die.
Get the setting….
2 Kings 24: 12-14 NASB
12 Then Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials. And the king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign. 13 He also brought out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and he smashed all the articles of gold that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, just as the Lord had said. 14 Then he led into exile all the people of Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the valiant warriors, ten thousand exiles, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None were left except the poorest people of the land.
King Jehoiachin and his household were carried away into Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC in the first exile. During that time Ezekiel, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and about ten thousand others were carried away into exile as well. That group was considered to be the cream of the crop in Jerusalem, the very best of the citizenry of Judah. Ezekiel is recognized as the significant prophet of that period. His ministry was unique, in that it occurred during the time of exile and it occurred in Babylon.
Ezekiel 1:1 NASB
1 Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw [a]visions of God.
Ezekiel’s ministry started around five years into the period of captivity in 592 BC. Interestingly, it began in his thirtieth year, the very year he would have been ordained as a priest, had he still resided in Judah. Born a Levite, tradition stated that the ministry of a priest could not begin until the age of thirty. Some six hundred-odd years later, a young Jewish carpenter would begin his ministry at the age of thirty.
Psalms 137:1-2 NASB
1
By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2
Upon the [a]willows in the midst of it
We hung our [b]harps.
Ezekiel’s visions began with God appearing to him in the heavens as he faced Jerusalem from the banks of the river Chebar, in Babylon. This was the location of the Jewish settlement in Babylon, and it is where Ezekiel’s entire ministry would take place. The state of mind of the Jewish captives was one of despair. They longed for Jerusalem. They longed for the Temple. They longed for the Presence of God. God heard their prayers. While they would not see Jerusalem or her Temple again in their lifetimes, God would abide with them. He would do so through His Prophet, Ezekiel.
Matthew 2:1-2 NASB
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, [a]magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
There is one more thing to mention before proceeding. Zedekiah, who succeeded Jehoiachin as King of Judah, would be the last King of ancient Judah, born of the House of David until the Messiah, Jesus Christ some six hundred-odd years into the future.
Let’s begin…
Ezekiel 18:1-3 NASB
1 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “What do you people mean by using this proverb about the land of Israel, saying,
‘The fathers eat sour grapes,
[a]But it is the children’s teeth that have become blunt’?
3 As I live,” declares the Lord [b]God, “you certainly are not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore.
Stop. Meditate. Listen.
God is putting a hand of warning up. No longer will this proverb be used among the people of Israel. Why not? Was it untrue? Many theologians say so, but I would refer them to the Prophet, Jeremiah who used a similar proverb twice before, once in Lamentations, where he grieved over the destruction of Jerusalem during Nebuchadnezzar’s final siege.
Lamentations 5:7 NASB
7
Our fathers sinned, and are gone;
It is we who have been burdened with the punishment for their wrongdoings.
What was meant by this proverb? The implication was that exiles in Babylon were being punished for the sins of prior generations. At some level, that was true. Israel, then Judah had both descended into decadence since the days of Solomon. Israel had been dispersed over one hundred years earlier during the time of Isaiah. Now Judah had been carried into exile as a result of God’s judgment for the sins of prior generations of evil kings, particularly Manasseh, the great-grandfather of Zedekiah. Manasseh’s sin was so great that God would not let it pass without judging all of Judah for his sin, though Josiah, his grandson, and Zedekiah’s father would lead a revival in Judah that would delay God’s judgment. However, the kings following Josiah did evil in God’s eyes and God’s promised judgment was unfurled against them.
4 Behold, all [c]souls are Mine; the [d]soul of the father as well as the [e]soul of the son is Mine. The [f]soul who sins will die.
From the time of Moses until the time of the exile, the worship of God had a national or corporate management style. Beginning with the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt, there was only supposed to be one Tabernacle, later to become one Temple. In essence, one place of centralized worship. Additionally, there were several special days where Israel’s men were commanded to gather at the Temple to worship but, there was only one ‘Day of Atonement' where, once a year, all of Israel’s sins were forgiven corporately. Just once a year. It must be noted, that though the Temple would be rebuilt after the Jews were released, God would move in a different direction over time. God was changing His requirement for accountability for sin from a corporate platform to a platform that held each individual, man or woman, accountable before Him.
Essentially, God was holding his people, safe in Babylon until; 1. The land rested because of the failure of the Israelites to honor the practice of the seven-year Sabbath or, the Jubilee, which was to be observed every fifty years and, 2. God could unfold his plan for a new dispensation in the consciousness of His Creation and in the hearts of His people. The evidence of this line of thought lies in Jeremiah’s first use of the Proverb above, recorded in Jeremiah 31:
Jeremiah 31:27-34 NASB
27 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of mankind and the seed of animals. 28 And just as I have watched over them to uproot them, tear them down, ruin, destroy, and bring disaster on them, so I will watch over them to build and to plant them,” declares the Lord.
29
“In those days they will no longer say,
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
[m]But it is the children’s teeth that have become blunt.’
30 But everyone will die for his own wrongdoing; each person who eats the sour grapes, his own teeth will become blunt.
31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
That’s right beloved. God was about to do something new. When he warned the exiles away from this Proverb, he was essentially saying to them, “I’m about to do a new thing in you. I will remove your heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh. A tender heart that will hearken to my Spirit.” Had they listened to Jeremiah during his time in ministry, they would have more clearly understood that God’s mercy was being extended to them. That they were the first transition point to a new way. Before you can move in a new direction, you have to stop moving in the direction you were going. Ezekiel goes on to reveal something of how this new ‘relationship’ driven worship would look:
Jeremiah 18:5-6 NASB
5 “But if a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness, 6 if he does not eat at the mountain shrines or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period—
One who was righteous before God would be compelled to practice righteousness. He doesn’t worship false idols. He doesn’t follow horoscopes or burn sage. He doesn’t give in base desires, rather he allows himself to be led by the Spirit of God. He walks by faith, not by sight.
Jeremiah 18:7-8 NASB
7 and if a man does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing, 8 and if he does not [g]lend money at interest or take [h]interest, if he keeps his hand from injustice and executes true justice between one person and another,
Additionally, a righteous man will show concern for his neighbor. He will do justice. He will love mercy. He will recognize that if any are oppressed, then all suffer. I heard from a missionary a few years back that told us that during his time in ministry in Africa, he found that the African Christians no longer wanted donations of clothes from America. Why not? Because the American Church sent primarily used clothes. Very used. True righteousness sees others, not as ‘less than’ but, as ‘equals’, regardless of ethnos. So then, we see another facet of true righteousness. The truly righteous love unconditionally. They love their neighbors as they love themselves.
Romans 3:23 NASB
23 for all [a]have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Herein lies the conundrum. If we are each held responsible for our sins individually, then at some time or another, we will all find ourselves falling short of the very high standard that God has set forth. If that becomes the case, what hope do we have?
Ephesians 2:8 NASB
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and [l]this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast…
Ezekiel 18:9 NASB
9 if he walks in My statutes and keeps My ordinances so as to deal faithfully—he is righteous and will certainly live,” declares the Lord God.
John 3:16-17 NASB
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.
Ezekiel 18:30-32 NASB
30 “Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord God. “Repent and turn away from all your offenses, so that wrongdoing does not become a stumbling block to you. 31 Hurl away from you all your offenses which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why should you die, house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live!”
Acts 2:38 NASB
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 10:13 NASB
13 for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
What the Old Covenant foretold and what the New Covenant confirmed was that God would send a Savior, not just for the Jews but, for all mankind. Ultimately to obey all of God’s ordinances and all of His commands is to place your entire trust in the fact that He imparts righteousness, it cannot be earned. We receive righteousness when we receive His Son, Jesus Christ. That’s awfully Good News, is it not?
Romans 4:3-8 NASB
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, the wages are not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven,
And whose sins have been covered.
8
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.”
Beloved, in this week’s lesson, God provided the exiles in Babylon a foretaste of the Glory that He would reveal to and through the Church. We are the fulfillment of those precious promises he made to His people…
Selah,
wb
Luke 4:17-19 NASB
17 And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
19
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
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