Sour Grapes; Ezekiel 18

May the mumbling commence!

Sour grapes will set out teeth on edge – the sour grapes of sin.  It is known that there are more pain receptors in the mouth than in many places in the human body.  Have you ever had pain in your mouth?  Then you know what all these pain receptors mean in layman’s terms.  Well, in ancient Israel there was a proverb.  Read it from Ezekiel 18:2b –

'The fathers eat sour grapes,

and the children's teeth are set on edge'?

The proverb boils down to this thought: The sins of the father will be set his children and grandchildren and…  For ancient Israel, this proverb was a profound truth.  Legacy had a tangible benefit or liability.  But the Lord said no longer would this be true.  Read from Ezekiel 18:3 –

"As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.”

The impending change was revolutionary to the thought of the community-minded Israelites.  They had known a God who would punish an entire nation for the sins of one among them.  The plumb line that God would now be using was foreign to them.  Each individual was to be judged on his or her own merit.  That form of judgment seems perfectly acceptable and reasonable to our mindset.  But our mindset is light years away from the Hebrew mindset of Ezekiel’s day.  So, the Lord defended His form of judgment.  Read from the end of Ezekiel chapter 18:

"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. 

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.  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? 

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.  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! (Verses 19-32)

The soul who sins is the one who will die.  It seems quite clear.  It is also quite clear that righteousness is never a deed completed.  If a righteous person begins to walk in the way of the wicked, the righteous acts of the person will no longer be remembered.  Likewise, if a wicked person repents and does righteous things, then the person’s wicked ways will be forgotten. 

God allows u-turns in either direction.  We have no one to blame expect for ourselves if we fall.  With the potential burden for blame, we need each other desperately – to keep one another on the straight and narrow.  It is also a fine reason to give thanks for the liberating work of Jesus. 

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out