12/06/2025 – Week 6 of 13 – Ezekiel study (Nov 1st thru Jan. 24th) – Chapters 18 – 21 /- Post 1 of 2// Nov 1st thru Jan 24th / For introduction – See 10/14/2025 post / Post 1 of 2
Three sources for my quoted commentary excerpts this week:
(*A) – Apologetics Study Bible
(*B) – My personal standby for this study: “Be Reverent – Bowing Before Our Awesome God – OT Commentary Ezekiel” Warren W. Wiersbe / ISBN 978-1-4347-0050-6
(*C) – The Daily Study Guide Series (DSB) – “Ezekiel” by Peter C. Craigie / ISBM 0-664-21807-5
Let’s Get Started!:
“God Is Just!: (Ezekiel 18 – 21) – Chapter Six (*B)
(*B):
“Responsibility is one of the major themes of these four chapters. The Jewish exiles were blaming their ancestors for the terrible judgment that had befallen them, so Ezekiel explained that God’s judges people individually for their own sins and not for somebody else’s sins (Chap. 18). He then pointed out that the Jewish leaders were responsible for foolish decisions they had made (Chap. 19), and the nation itself had a long history of irresponsibility (chapter 20). Finally the prophet reminded his listeners that the Lord Jehovah also had a responsibility to be faithful to Himself and His covenant with the Jews, and this was why He had chastened them (chapter 21). By dealing with the subject of personal and national responsibility, Ezekiel was able to answer the frequent complaints of the people that the Lord was treating them unfairly.
Responsibility and accountability are needed themes in our own day. Irresponsibility is rampant, and very few people are willing to take the blame for wrongs committed or mistakes mades…
INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY (18: 1-32)
“As you read this chapter , you find the prophet answering the erroneous statements the Jewish exiles were making about God and their difficult situation (vv. 2, 19,25, 29)… Ignoring the inspired Word of God, the people were building their case on a popular proverb: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set o edge.’ (*Z) In other words, “Our fathers have sinned and we, their children, are being punished for it.” Their philosophy was a king of irresponsible fatalism. “No matter what we do,” they argued, “we will have to suffer because of the older generation did.” (Jeremiah 31: 29-30). He is a just and righteous God who shows no partiality (Deuteronomy 10:17; 32:4). If He withholds punishment, it’s only because of His grace and merciful long-suffering.”
(*Z): “This philosophy cam from two sources (1) a misinterpretation of what the Lord had said in His law, that he visited the sins of the fathers upon the children (Exodus 20:5; 34: 6-7; Numbers 14-18; Deuteronomy 7: 9-10), and (2) the Jewish idea of the oneness of the nation.”
“Whether the people lived under the old covenant or the new covenant, before or since the cross, the way of salvation is the same: faith in the Lord that is evidenced by a new life of obedience (Hebrews 11:6; Habakkuk 2:4; see Romans 4)…
People determine their own character and destiny by the decisions that they make… In Ezekiel 18:24, Ezekiel isn’t dealing with what theologians call ‘the security of the believer,’ because the issue is physical life or death, as stated in God’s covenant (Deuteronomy 30: 15-20; Jeremiah 21:8)… But from Adam to the end of time, people are saved only by faith in what God revealed to them, and their faith is demonstrated in a consistently godly life…
Nowhere does Scripture say that we’re saved from our sins by God’s love, because salvation is by the grace of God (Ephesians 2: 8-10); and grace is love that pays a price…
The conclusion of this message was an invitation from the Lord for the people to repent (change their minds), turn from their sins, cast away their transgressions like filthy garments, and seek a new heart and a new spirit. God promised them a new heart if only they would seek Him by faith (Ezekiel 11:19; see 36:26). This was one of the key themes in the letter Jeremiah had sent to the captives in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:10-14), but the people hadn’t taken it to heart. God made it clear that He found no delight in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18: 23,32), but if the wicket found delight in their sinful ways and would not repent, there was nothing the Lord could do but obey His own covenant and punish them. Ezekiel will develop this theme further in Chapter 21.
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(*A):
RESPONSIBILITY & REPENTENCE (18: 21-32)
“… The man who has been evil, turned to good, is forgiven and accepted by God, who has no desire that nay should die. But the one who for years has done good, but suddenly switches to evil, immediately forfeits the blessing of God. “But surely that is unjust!” Some of the people complained. Indeed it precisely at this point that the barrack-room lawyers and weekend theologians begin to apply their minds to a knotty problem. “Consider,” they argue, “the case of John Doe. For sixty-five years, he has led a totally blameless life. But suddenly, for whatever reason, he turns bad. And for his last few years on this earth, he abdicates responsibility and pursues evil. Surely you are not stating that sixty-five years of good and honest living are wiped out by a little weakness at the end?” But that seems to be precisely what Ezekiel is saying.
So the barrack-room lawyers reverse their case. “Consider the life of John Snoop,” they argue. “For sixty-five years, he has been a villain of the darkest dye. He has ignored God. He has exploited his fellow human beings. He has become rich at the expense of the poor and needy. Are you claiming that if, on his death bed, he turns from evil and repents, all will be forgiven? Surely that would be unjust.” Yet, for all their complaints, that seems to be precisely what Ezekiel is sayin in the divine oracle he declares.
What is wrong with the arguments of the barrack-room lawyers and the half-baked theologians? They do seem to have a point, don’t they? Yes — but only because they have misunderstood some of the fundamentals. First, they make the mistake of thinking that God’s justice is a simple tally sheet: sixty five years of good deeds outweigh a few years of bad deeds, so John Doe should be ok. But sixty-five years of villainy totally outbalance a few final moments of repentance, so John Snoop is done for! Yet justice is not a simple weighing of deeds; the knowledge of of divine justice must be balanced with a knowledge of divine forgiveness. And the crux of the matter is not deeds, but the relationship of a person to God. That is primary. The good person who acknowledges God accepts responsibility for actions and pursues the good, albeit imperfectly. The evil person who turns from God, shuns (or at least tries to shun) responsibility, and lives in evil. The good person may turn from the good and the evil person may turn form the evil. But at the end of the day, all must know God if they are to know life. And to know God, one must pursue good, but most of all, one must seek forgiveness. For whatever the past life has been, there will be need of forgiveness, and repentance is the spring that releases the flood of divine forgiveness. Saint Paul takes it further and shows the need of all mankind, for all have sinned, in the last analysis, and so all need the forgiveness of God that is in Jesus Christ (Romans 3: 23-24). But if we have truly recognized the boon that is forgiveness, we will also shoulder the burden that is responsibility. For failure in responsibility, we may be forgiven, but we are not absolved from remaining responsible.”
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(*B):
Israel is like a vine (19: 10-14)
“Had the nation of Israel obeyed the Lord, it would have become and remained a might lion and a fruitful vine that would have brought glory to the name of the Lord, Israel would have been a ‘light unto the Gentiles’ (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6), and many would have trusted in the true and living God. Israel didn’t keep the terms of the covenant, but the Lord did, and that’s why He chastened them and scattered them. God’s chosen people have no temple, priesthood, sacrifice, or king (Hosea 3: 4-5). Jesus Christ, Israel’s Messiah, came as the lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5) and the true Vine (John 15:1), ‘ a light for revelation to the Gentiles (Luke 2:32 NIV) and the rightful heir to the throne of David (Luke 1: 68-69, and His own people rejected Him. One day they shall see Him and receive Him, and God’s gracious covenant with David will be completely fulfilled (2 Samuel 7) when Jesus reigns in His kingdom (Ezekiel 34: 23-24; 37: 24-25; Matthew 1:1).”
(*A):
“False hopes spring up like weeds in a garden, but the prophet will allow his people no such false consolation. And his apparently ruthless attack on all false forms of hope, here the false hope God’s appointed royal family, is an act of charity in disguise. But we, like Ezekiel’s people, would prefer the comfort of a false hope that does not require us to face reality, rather than the horrifying truth beyond which true hope may lie. For in times of calamity, it is easier to think that the source of our calamities lies outside ourselves, rather than within . And it is comforting to think that our salvation comes from without, as some part of the grand purpose of God, rather than recognizing the necessity of a change within us before that salvation can be found. If only, we think — if only the impossible would happen, then everything would be all right. And with God, all things are possible! But such thinking is a delusion. When the fault lies within us, nothing but an inner change will make it right. And to think that somehow everything will be solved externally, even to the extent of hoping for a miracle, is a terrible form of blindness and conceit. For often, it is not a miracle that is required, but a simple act of repentance.”
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Subsequent text added to completion on Saturday, December 6th:
NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY (20: 1-44)
(*A)
“Ezekiel delivered this message on August 14, 591 BC, to some of the Jewish elders who came to his house to ‘inquire of the Lord.’ But the prophet know that their hearts were not right with God and that they had no right to ask the Lord for instruction (vv. 30-32; see 14: 1-3; 33: 30-33). A willingness to submit and obey is the mark of the person who can seek God’s guidance and expect to receive it. Ezekiel’s response to their request was to review the history of the nation of Israel and point out the repeated rebellion of the people and the gracious long-suffering of the Lord.” (pg. 107)
Israel in Egypt (vv. 5-8).
“… When Jacob’s family entered into Egypt, they numbered sixty-six people; Joseph’s family was already in Egypt and they brought the total to sent (Genesis 46). But when the Jews left Egypt at the Exodus, the fighting men alone numbered over six hundred thousand (Numbers 1:46), so there may well have been over two million people in the nation. In Egypt, God revealed Himself to the Jews through the ministry of Moses and Aaron as well as through the judgments He inflicted on the land of Egypt. He made it clear that to the gods of the Gentile nations were only myths and had no power to do either good or evil. God reminded them how He had judged these false gods in Egypt and proved them to be helpless nothings. (See Exodus 12:12; Numbers 33:4)
Israel’s Exodus from Egypt (vv. 9-10). (pg 110)
The Lord had every reason to pour out His wrath on Israel, but for His name’s sake, He rescued His people. God often worked on Israel’s behalf, not because they deserved it but for the glory of His own name (vv. 14, 22,44; See Isaiah 48:9; 66:5), just as He has saved His church today “to praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:6, 12,14). The account of the exodus did go before the Jews as they marched toward the Promised Land (Joshua 2:10), and it did bring glory to God’s name.”
I
(*B):
A HISTORY OF HORROR (Ezekiel 20: 21b – 31)
“…Ezekiel implies that one of the commandments of God was interpreted by Israel to establish the practice of child sacrifice. He is almost certainly referring to Exodus 22:29: “You shall give the firstborn of your sons to me”. Taken in context of course, the verse does not command child sacrifice; animals were sacrificed in place of children…
(ii) A further insight pertains to the sheer perversity of the human mind. The Israelites, in the course of their willful walk through life, could not only descend to the practice of child sacrifice, but could even identify their practice with the divine law. The mind can become so twisted that it loses the capacity to perceive truth and meaning; it can wrench words out of their context and mould them to an opposite intent…
Ezekiel turns back to his audience and speaks to them again. To paraphrase verse 31: “So, shall I accept any inquiries from you?” God says to the elders. “No. I cannot listen to a word that you say!” That is the point at which the history of human willfulness and perversity culminates.” (pages 149 – 150)
(*A) Biblical background:
“They even offered their children as sacrifices to the pagan gods (Ezekiel 20: 26,31) something that was expressly forbidden in the law of Moses (2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chronicles 28:3; Leviticus 18:21; Deuteronomy 12:31; 18:10). Children are a gift from God, and His precious gifts must not be used a heathen sacrifices!”
(*B):
Israel’s future kingdom (20: 33-44).
“… Ezekiel described a future “exodus” of the Jewish people from the nations of the world, a return to their own land which God swore to give them. He even used the descriptive phrase Moses used when he spoke about the exodus — “a mighty hand… and outstretched arm”. (Ezekiel 20: 33-34; Deuteronomy 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2). The “I will statements of the Lord reveal both His mercy and His power…”
“… The experiences described in verses 33-44 cannot be applied to the return of the Jewish exiles to the land of Judah in 538 BC. This was not an exodus from many countries nor did it result in the glorious restoration of the Jewish nation. We have to apply this paragraph to that time in the future that Ezekiel describes in chapters 33 to 48, when Christ will return and the promised kingdom will be established.”
DIVINE RESPONSIBILITY (20:45 – 21:32).
“…Ezekiel has explained the individual responsibility of the people and their leaders and the national responsibility to punish His people when they rebel against Him. He must be true to His character and true to his covenant.”
God identifies the target (20:45 – 49)
“… during Israel’s wilderness wanderings, God didn’t serenely punish His people for their rebellion because He wanted to honor His name before the Gentiles (20:14, 22, 44), but now He would honor His name by burning their city and temple and sending them into exile.”
God draws the sword (21: 1-7).
“The word sword is used nineteen times in this chapter to represent the invasion and attack of the Babylonian army. God has His eye on three targets: the land of Judah, the city of Jerusalem, and the holy temple. Unfortunately, some of the righteous would suffer along with the wicked, but his is often the case in times of war. Note that God declared that it was “my sword,” because it was He who summoned the Babylonian army to punish His sinful people. If His own people won’t obey Him, at least the pagan nations will!
At this point, God commanded Ezekiel to perform another “action sermon” by groaning like a man experiencing great pain and grief. When the people asked him why he was groaning so, he would tell them, “Because of the bad news that is coming,” referring to the news of the fall of Jerusalem. The news didn’t come until January 8, 585 BC (33: 21-22), five months after the city burned, which was August 14, 586 BC, but he Lord told Ezekiel that the news was coming. The exiles nurtured the false hope that the Lord would spare the city and the temple, but everything the Lord had prophesied would come to pass… Perhaps some of the Jews recalled Ezekiel’s previous “action sermon” using the sword (5: 1-4). (pg. 114)
God directs the army (21: 18-27).
“…But once again, the Lord added a brief word of hope: The Messiah would one day come, the true Son of David and Israel’s King and would claim the Davidic crown and reign over His people (v. 27). The phrase “whose right it is” takes us back to Genesis 49; 8-12, a messianic promise that we met in Ezekiel 19 when we studied the images of the lion and the Vine.” (pg. 115 – 116)
(*A):
“… Though Ezekiel (or his disciple) conveys little by way of good cheer in this oracle of judgment, its substance is nevertheless something which, in another time and place, was a source of joy. Above all, the passage declares God’s sovereignty in the world of individuals and nations. His sovereignty was exercised, not according to favoritism, but according to principles of justice. if God’s people were eveil, he would bring judgment upon them, even employing a pagan people to that end. But the executioner would also be summoned for execution for crimes committed.
Centuries in the past, when the Hebrews were oppressed slaves in Egypt, God’s sovereignty and capacity to judge were a source of joy; because of that power, he had given them freedom in exodus. But in their history of ingratitude, the chosen people had forgotten that they too must live by righteousness, or bear the consequences of their actions. In all this, it was not God who had changed; the smile of love had not been changed for the frown of hatred. It was the same God, long-suffering and merciful, but the people had changed: they had abandoned that for which they were redeemed, and then they had joined the ranks of their former persecutors.
God’s favor is never a perpetual guarantee of sunny days and trouble-free decades. The favor of God was experienced by his people only insofar as they maintained their relationship with Him. And so it is with all who encounter the judgmental power of God’s sovereignty. In another time and another place, that sovereignty. In another time and another place, that sovereignty. In another time and another place, that soverereignty might be a source of hope, but when the relationship with God has lapsed, that same sovereignty offers no more bright horizons than do the dreary prophecies of doom declared by an exiled prophet in Babylon.”
Soli Deo Gloria indeed!
Join us on post 2 of this lesson for fellowship! You’ve heard the expression: “It takes a village of God’s people.”