and that doeth not any of those [duties], but also hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife,
A proverb was going round among the exiles: the fathers ate sour grapes and the children's teeth were set on edge. Verse 11 answers it with a test case. Here is the son of a righteous man who does none of his father's duties and turns instead to the hilltop shrine and his neighbour's wife.
The verse sits in a pair of portraits. First comes the righteous father, then the question of what becomes of his son:
The first case is a man who is himself just and does what is right, towards God and towards his neighbour — not only refusing impurity and unrighteousness, but also caring for those in distress, refusing selfish advantage, and walking in God's statutes: such a one shall surely live (verses 5-9). But what if his son should be a burglar, a shedder of blood, or the like — should he live? "If he fathers a son who is a robber, a shedder of blood... and does none of those duties, but even has eaten on the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife... shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him" (verses 10-13).
The first sin named in the verse is a religious one. Israel copied its hilltop worship from the nations around, and one writer explains why it appealed:
In Israel, turning away from God took the outward form of building "high places." It was only a heathen habit, playing on the imagination with a worship that has no heart... On the mountain tops a man could imagine himself nearer to God than in the valleys. The depths of groves and forests helped too. Their beauty made him think he was nearer to the God of nature than he was... Among the nations these high places and groves were bound to turn to evil instead of good, and the worst of their abominations attached themselves to them. The language used here is figurative, but it is drawn from the awful grossness of those abominations, in which the lusts and passions of men were let loose as homage to the God of nature, with the degradation that followed.
So the verse's two sins belong together. The worship itself bred the immorality.
Why spell out the wicked son of a righteous father? That was the escape the exiles were reaching for:
This was an important question for the Jew, and above all for the Jew of the captivity. The nation was under God's dealings and cut off from their land and temple, so they learned more and more to fall back on the merits of Abraham... The question is turned back on them. Here was a father who had not eaten sour grapes; did it stop his children having their teeth set on edge? God was dealing with them for their own sins. They forfeited all the privileges they had through Abraham if in their own character they were not the true seed of Abraham.
God answers the complaint with striking fairness. They wanted judgment on their own terms, and He gives it:
At the captivity God acts on the murmuring of His people and He stops governing them on the principle of Exodus 34:6-7. From now on He would take them on their own terms. They complained of the hardship of suffering for their fathers' failures, so He would now give them what they themselves deserved. It is clear that a sinner must suffer for sin. A man may challenge the justice of paying for a parent's evil. He still cannot deny that he deserves punishment for his own. All were God's, the souls of fathers and of sons alike; and the sinner must die. There was no relief or escape on any such pretext.
The death threatened here is often pressed further than it goes. One writer draws the line:
Another thing important to notice here is the misuse of the word "die"... But dying in its positive sense is never applied to the soul. So Ezekiel 18 is constantly quoted for this, and good people use it with good intentions. But it speaks only of death in this world — present judgment here, not for a father's sins, but for our own.
The verdict is not the last word. The same chapter that refuses inherited merit leaves a door open to a guilty man:
Each one of them was guilty, and God would judge them as such. Still, where a man showed repentance, God would pardon, for He had no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
- Own sins. The son in this verse dies for what he himself did, not for what his father ate. That cancels the proverb about sour grapes.
- Own worship. "Eating on the mountains" is hilltop religion. It flatters the imagination while the heart stays far from God, and the worst abominations follow it.
- Own record. They wanted judgment on their own conduct. God takes them at their word, and that leaves no escape route.
- Own generation. A good father's life is not currency. Anyone who lacks Abraham's character forfeits the privileges that came through Abraham.
- Own turning. The same rule that shuts out borrowed merit opens a door to repentance. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
hath oppressed the poor and needy, exercised robbery, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, committed abomination,
Ezekiel 18 answers a complaint. The exiles said they were suffering for their fathers' failures. Verse 12 describes a violent, greedy son born to a good father. Can the father's record save him?
When judgment came, the people leaned on their descent from Abraham.
Here we have the son of the righteous, or the son of the wicked, as he himself is righteous or wicked. Take first the son of the righteous. Suppose this righteous man "fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood" — shall that son live because of his father's righteousness? This was an important question for the Jew, and above all for the Jew of the captivity. The nation was under God's dealings, cut off from their land and temple, and they leaned more and more on the merits of Abraham. God was dealing with them for their own sins. They lost all the privileges they had through Abraham if in their own character they were not the true seed of Abraham.
God's reply was to change the basis on which He dealt with them.
At the captivity God acts on the murmuring of His people. He ends any further dealings with them as their Ruler on the ground of Exodus 34:6-7. From now on He would take them on their own terms. They complained that it was hard to suffer for the failures of their fathers, so He would now give them what they themselves deserved. It is clear that a sinner must suffer for sin. If he challenges the justice of paying the penalty for a parent's evil, he cannot deny that he ought to be punished for his own.
The verse opens with the poor and needy. God has much to say about how they are treated.
All through the Word of God we are told to remember the poor in kindness. He gives some most blessed promises to those who obey these gracious words. See Proverbs 19:17; 22:9; Psalm 41:1. Oppression of the poor is a sin God takes special note of. See Isaiah 3:14, 15; Ezekiel 18:11-13; Amos 2:6; James 2:6. When the Lord comes He will remember the poor and deliver them.
A pledge was the security a borrower handed over. One writer points to the law about a borrower's garment.
If a borrower gave his garment as security, the lender must not keep it even overnight. God's righteous demands must never come before proper compassion.
The older word "usury" misleads modern readers, who hear only excessive interest.
This word does not in Scripture mean, as it does now, unfair interest, but simply interest of any kind. The Israelites were forbidden to require interest from their brothers, always assuming that the person taking the loan was poor — otherwise he would not need to borrow; to foreigners, however, they were allowed to lend on interest.
The list now moves from cruelty to worship. Israel had its own places of worship up on the hills.
In Israel, turning away from God showed itself outwardly in the building of "high places." This was only a pagan habit. It played on the imagination with a worship that has no heart in it... On the mountain tops a man could imagine himself nearer to God than in the valleys... Among the pagans these high places and these groves were bound to turn to evil instead of good, and the worst abominations of the pagan world attached themselves to them.
Many readers take the death sentence in this chapter as a statement about eternity. One writer reads it another way.
Verses 1-4 give us the false accusation against God and God's answer. Verses 5-9 then set out the conditions of life... But sinful man cannot meet the conditions for having life and being just, and "eternal life" is not in view in these verses. These are not conditions for securing eternal life, but for escaping physical death in the judgment that was announced. Verses 10-13 give the conditions that bring death.
- Own life. A good father's record does not cover a violent son. God deals with each one for his own character, not his ancestry.
- Own terms. The people complained about inherited punishment. God set that ground aside and gave each one what he deserved.
- Own hands. The charges are concrete: the poor crushed, goods seized, the borrower's garment kept.
- Own eyes. Idolatry is the root, not a side item. Worship on the high places was imagination without heart, and the worst practices followed.
- Own judgment. The death threatened here falls in this life, in the judgment then announced. It is not a statement about eternal life.
given forth upon usury, and taken increase; shall he then live? He shall not live he hath done all these abominations; he shall certainly die; his blood shall be upon him.
The chapter answers a proverb the exiles kept repeating: the fathers ate sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge. Verse 13 closes the second of three test cases. A good man has a violent son, and the question "Shall he then live?" gets a flat answer — the guilt falls back on the son himself.
The verse ends the list of the son's crimes with lending at interest. That word is broader than it sounds today.
This word does not in Scripture mean, as it does now, unfair interest, but simply interest of any kind. The Israelites were forbidden to charge interest to their fellow Israelites. This always assumed that the person taking the loan was poor, since otherwise he would not need to borrow. To strangers, however, they were allowed to lend on interest. Ex. 22:25; Lev. 25:35-38; Deut. 23:19-20.
The exiles leaned on a real hope: descent from Abraham. One writer sees that hope turned back on them.
First, the son of the righteous man. If this righteous man "fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood … shall he live because of his father's righteousness?" This was an important question for the Jews, and especially for the Jews of the captivity. The nation was under God's dealings and cut off from their land and temple, so they fell back more and more on the merits of Abraham. The Rabbis pressed those merits so far as to include, in some sense, the acceptance of all Abraham's natural offspring. The question is turned back on them. Here was a father who had not eaten sour grapes; did that stop his children's teeth being set on edge? God was dealing with them for their own sins. They lost every privilege they had through Abraham if in their own character they were not the true seed of Abraham.
The closing clause puts the cost of his death on his own account. The verse is also pulled into debates about the death of the soul. One writer tests that use against the passage itself.
Turn to the passage in Ezekiel where this expression appears, and where it comes from. We shall see that it has nothing to do with the death of the soul as separate from the body. It means a man's death as living in this world. We use "soul" to mean "person" like this all the time. I say, "It is a town of fifteen thousand souls." Who misunderstands me? … A devout father had a wicked son: "Shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself."
God had once said He would visit the fathers' guilt on the children. Here He drops that ground and takes the complainers at their own word — which turns out to be no comfort at all.
At the captivity God acts on the murmuring of His people. He ends any further dealings with them on the ground of Exodus 34:6-7. From now on He would take them on their own terms. They complained of the hardship of suffering for the failures of their fathers, so He would now give them their own deserts. It is clear that a sinner must suffer for sin. If he challenges the justice of paying the penalty for a parent's evil, he cannot deny that he ought to be punished for his own. All were God's, the souls of fathers and of sons alike; and the sinner must die. There was no relief or escape on any such pretext.
So does this verse settle a man's eternity? One writer draws a careful line, and points to what stays open in the same chapter.
The individual would be dealt with by God according to his own conduct. It was not a question of what their fathers had been. Their own iniquities called for and would bring God's judgment… Still, where a person showed repentance, God would pardon, for He had no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:23). We must keep in mind that this passage speaks of judgment in this life — physical death because of sin now. It gives us no teaching about the eternal judgment of sin, which is taught elsewhere.
- His own deeds. The son is charged with violence, bloodshed, and lending at interest. That means interest of any kind, which Israel could take from a foreigner but never from a poor fellow Israelite.
- His own account. The answer to "Shall he then live?" is no. His blood is on himself: the guilt of his death is his own, not inherited.
- His own standing. A father's righteousness counts nothing for him. Anyone whose character was not Abraham's lost the privileges of descent from Abraham.
- His own terms. God set aside the older rule of visiting the fathers' guilt on the children. He gave the complainers what they asked for: judgment for themselves alone, with no escape.
- His own choice. The death threatened here is judgment in this life, not a statement about eternity. The same God who will not spare this man pardons anyone who repents. He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked.