But the house of Israel say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? Is it not your ways that are unequal?
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord Jehovah. Return ye, and turn from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your snare.
God ends His argument with Israel here. They had claimed His way was unfair; He answers by promising to judge each person by his own conduct. In the same breath, He calls them to turn.
The people had accused God of being inconsistent. Instead of silencing them, He came down and argued the case. One writer notes how far God stooped in doing this:
James McBroomThe godless in Israel dared to challenge the consistency of God's ways in His dealings with the people. He took notice of this, and in grace came down to reason with them. By then their ways had got so bad that He left His own sanctuary.
The complaint itself exposed where they stood:
William KellyTheir complaints were nothing but empty objections… It is always likely to be so. Those who put God's ways on trial, whether in mercy or in judgment, have never seen themselves in His light. How humbling for Israel, or for anyone, that God should stoop to justify His own dealings, or to press home how sinful we are!
The word for "ruin" carries the weight of a penalty. One writer notes that the Greek Old Testament reads "so iniquity shall not be your punishment" (Frederick W. Grant). But commentators warn against pushing the chapter's talk of death too far:
J. N. DarbyAnother important thing to note here is the misuse of the word "die"… But dying in its positive sense is never applied to the soul. People constantly quote Ezekiel 18 for this, and good people do it with good intentions. Yet it speaks only of death in this world — present judgment here, not for a father's sins but for our own.
Read that way, the chapter is about how God governs people now, and the gospel's grace is not yet in view:
Numerical Bible NotesRemember through all this that God is not speaking of the final account in eternity. He is speaking of entering His favour now, or coming under His judgment now, in the way He governs. This passage says nothing at all about the grace of God's mercy, as the gospel has shown it to us. God's ways in government are before us, and this is the constant theme of the prophet. … Their ways, not His, were unequal, so judgment was at hand. Still, He would have them turn from all their transgressions, so that these would not become their destruction.
The command is about direction, not feeling:
J. T. MawsonBut what does repentance mean? Not fear of the consequences of sin, nor even sorrow for the sin itself, though that will surely go with it. Repentance is a complete turn. When God commands all men everywhere to repent, it is as though He said, "Right about turn!"
One writer points to this verse as the classic example of repentance under law. He sets it against the repentance the gospel preaches:
C. Stanley"Oh yes," I replied. "The repentance of the law was a man trying to forsake all sin and do all righteousness, and so be saved. But the repentance of the gospel gives up all claim to righteousness." … Sorrow for sin, forsaking sin, and living to God — if anything is works, these are. If you seek salvation by works this way, you can never have enough of this repentance to get saved.
Verse 31 goes on to tell Israel to make themselves a new heart. Elsewhere God promises to give it, and commentators note that the nation has not yet received it:
Numerical Bible NotesThey still remain under the condemnation of their sins. As a nation they have plainly never yet received the new heart and the new spirit that go with this… It is not mere reformation. It is no work that man can perform. David testifies that God must create in him a clean heart, and the promise here matches it: "I will give you a new heart." Only the new heart He gives can change their condition.
Yet the gift never cancels the choice. As one writer puts it, "the new heart given is a heart which chooses freely the service of its Master" (Frederick W. Grant).
- Charge — Israel said God's way was unequal. Their complaint was an empty objection, and those who put God's ways on trial have never seen themselves in His light.
- Verdict — Judgment falls on each person for his own conduct. The death in view is present judgment in this world, not the soul's fate in eternity.
- Command — "Repent" is not fear of consequences or even sorrow, but a complete turn: right about face.
- Caution — Repentance under law tries to forsake all sin and do all righteousness to be saved. You can never do enough of it. Gospel repentance gives up all claim to righteousness.
- Cure — God tells man to make himself a new heart, but no reformation can produce one. The heart God demands here is the heart God elsewhere promises to give — and it then serves Him freely.