Ezekiel 33:12 “And you, son of man, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins.
Ezekiel 33:13 Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die.
Ezekiel 33:14 Again, though I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right,
Ezekiel 33:15 if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
Last week we spent a short time in Ezekiel 18:24, where Ezekiel is addressing the people of God during the captivity regarding personal responsibility. A difficult teaching for ever since the fall, us humans have been very apt to shift the blame of our own decisions onto someone else.
Consider our original parents.
Adam blames God for the actions he took in eating the fruit of the tree.
Genesis 3:12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
Eve blamed the serpent for her decision.
Genesis 3:13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
It is a favored method of avoiding our responsibility, and as I have recognized in my own life, an automatic response, a response that I need no training in, nor any guidance in. It is a natural response, a common response, a routine response, yet it draws us away from a faithful life before God.
For the people of Ezekiel’s day, in this passage, it may seem to have a similar truth as in chapter 18. A good man slips into sin. A sinner repents and turns to God.
I am not so sure that it is as simple as that.
Consider a verse immediately prior to our passage.
Ezekiel 33:10 “And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’
Can you hear the fatalism, the determinism that the children of Israel is expressing to the Lord? There is no hope to do right Lord because of the sin laid on us. It is hopeless, and our condition will not allow us to live a righteous life.
God turns back and tells them He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Think about that. If He could provide an out for the wicked, would He not do that. He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked! But the problem lies in the attitude of the people in saying they are helpless, that their condition is their fate. Is there a hint that they may be blaming God for the state they are in? In my mind, this sounds very similar to those who claim that they were not chosen by God, and therefore are not able to trust in God.
Nevertheless, Ezekiel provides two situations.
Sinner turns
One known as a sinner, who is characterized by his sin, that has history of rebellion, and a past of disobedience, one who is under the judgement of God and has no hope, if he turns from his sin, restores that which he unjustly took, and walks properly before the Lord – He shall live.
His active obedience to the known will of God will provide life to him. He shall not die. He shall live
For a sinner in Ezekiel’s day to turn toward from God was to have the debt of his many years of wrong living thrown away.
Saint Turns
One known as a saint, who is characterized by his obedience, that has a history of doing right, and a past of righteousness, one who is under the blessing of God and has great hope, if he turns from his God, trusts in his righteousness and walks away from the Lord – He shall die.
His active disobedience to the known will of God will provide death to him. He shall not live. He shall die.
For a saint in Ezekiel’s day to turn away from God was to throw the benefit of his many years of right living away.
Past performance does not dictate current conditions!
Notice that Ezekiel is very strong in defining the responsible party in each of these situations. God reacts to the life decisions of each of Ezekiel’s audience.
If they hate God – that is they turn from Him – forget about their history – God lets them and they die. (Sounds somewhat like the truth of Romans 1!)
If they love God – that is they turn to Him – forget about their history – God accepts them and they live. (Sounds somewhat like the truth of Romans 3!)
In his message to saint or sinner, Ezekiel is trying to wake up the nation to a fatalistic belief, slapping them in the face with personal responsibility, and not allowing them to blame shift their condition onto anyone else, especially on to God.
You know, when I read a passage like this, I can hear my pretty wife talking, saying that what is past is past, and all we can do is look to the future. look to do the right thing today, and to throw the past in the back seat of life.
I like that girl. She speaks a good life lesson, for our past is sometimes an anchor we simply cannot bear! We have been given the blessing of one more day, and we have opportunity to do right and to love God.
Simple!
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