Comments on Ezekiel 18 This chapter addresses what appears to have been a popular saying among the Jews at that time, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge" (KJV), or "Parents eat sour grapes and their children's teeth are blunted" (JPS). The apparent popularity of this saying indicates it was a prevailing notion among the people. Had it not been a widely accepted idea, then the Lord wouldn't have bothered to address it in such a fashion. The phrase means the people of Judah are of the opinion they are unfairly suffering for the deeds of their predecessors, unjustly punished for other people's actions. They have gone into exile in Babylon when they didn't deserve it, as far as they are concerned anyway. They are saying their parents have "eaten sour grapes" and their "teeth are blunted" as a result of it. While they may never actually say "The Lord is unjust", that is what they are implying. Hence the Lord's line of questioning in v. 24-29. What is the proof-text for this doctrine? Passages like Jer. 15:4 which superficially seems to be saying the children are being punished for the sins of those who precede them. And passages from the Law which say the Lord will punish the wicked to the third and fourth generation, cf. Exod. 20:5-6, Exod. 34:7, Num. 14:8, Deut. 5:9-10. However, when taken in context it is clear the issue is not the punishment of a just child for a sinful father's actions, but the sinful child being punished just as the sinful father was for continuing in his father's ways. Why do the people adhere to such a doctrine? Because it is easy to point to someone else and say they are wicked, but not so easy to point at yourself and admit you are a sinner. And this is the core issue: fault-finding. The people are blaming their predecessors for their predicament without really considering they are no better than their predecessors, and hence the continuation of the curses upon them. The result is the Lord comes out and tells them they are in fact sinners, will be punished for their own sins, and need to repent as He doesn't want to have to condemn them. Another issue probably in the undercurrents is self- righteousness at the individual level. In a situation where the entire nation is being sent into exile, the self-righteous person feels he has to suffer unjustly as a result of the sins of the masses. Thus, according to this line of thinking, the Lord is being just in dealing with the masses, which are wicked, but unjust to the righteous individual who has to suffer along with the masses who go into exile. "Why do I have to suffer when I haven't done anything wrong?" they ask. "I'm not like them, why should I have to suffer like them?" This would be a case of more immediate fault-finding as opposed to laying the blame on the previous generation or two. So, what it boils down to is the people, at both the group and individual levels, are feeling sorry for themselves and blaming others rather than repenting. However, the question still arises, do people inherit conditions and situations that are unpleasant or undesirable as the result of the actions of others? Of course this is the case, and has ever been so from the Fall. But, we also inherit the pleasant and good things as well. And in neither case are we judged sinful or righteous for the actions of others. We are only put into a certain set of circumstances, both bad and good, and then we are judged for our actions and reactions to those circumstances. Are the Jews suffering in exile? Of course, but will they be condemned individually as a result of the sins of others? Absolutely not. And do not the Jews also enjoy the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant? Or course, but at this particular point in history they are more focused on complaining about the negative rather than letting it humble them and chasten their souls. The questions is, "Do we today do the same thing?" v2 This apparently popular saying is first addressed in Jer. 31:29. The Lord tells them to stop it there, yet it persists. Here the Lord vehemently attacks it making it unequivocally clear what the true doctrine is. V5-17 present a hypothetical case of a righteous grandfather, wicked father, and righteous son to examine the matter of sin and punishment. v5-9 The righteous grandfather described. v6 The practices outlined here are prohibited in the Law. The reference to the menstruous woman is an allusion to Canaanite fertility ritual. v7-9 This is the spirit of the Law. This is the type of behavior the Law should cultivate in a person. If a person does these things naturally, then they are just and will not be punished by the Lord. v10-13 The wicked father is described. He violates the letter and the spirit of the Law. v14-17 The righteous son. Despite the bad example of his father he keeps the Law in word and deed. v18 The father is punished for his own sins. The death spoken of here appears to be a spiritual one as opposed to a physical one as a result of a capital offense given v. 23. This is the summary judgement on the father spoken of in v. 10-13. It emphasizes he is punished and not the son. v19-20 contrast the carnal view of justice with the spiritual view. The sinner suffers for his own actions, and no others. Something of an exception to this is when parents fail to teach their children, then additional sin is heaped upon the parent's head when the children sin in ignorance of the Law, cp. 2 Ne. 4:5, D&C 68:25. The children are still responsible for the sins they commit themselves, but the parents are liable for leaving their children in ignorance and sin. v21-23 If a sinner repents and walks justly the Lord will forgive him and he will live (v. 21-22). The Lord takes no pleasure in condemning a sinner and is therefore in no rush to do so. He wants all men to repent and live (v. 23). v24-29 contrast the righteous man who sins (v. 24) with the sinner who repents and becomes righteous (v. 26-28). The Lord also emphatically questions their judgement in saying He is not just by repeating the question twice (v. 25, 29). The line of questioning seems to be along the lines of "How can you possibly say I am not just?" v30-32 This last bit of text distills the chapter to the main thesis: the Lord will judge each individual according to their actions (v. 30). Thus, they should each repent (v. 31), because He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (v. 32). This is the real issue, they need to repent and stop faultfinding. Also, note v. 31 forwards a blatant "born again" theme which most Christians would equate with an NT setting. Not so, as the idea of being spiritually renewed is very much present in the OT, cp. Deut. 10:16, Deut. 30:6, Isa. 44:3, Isa. 53:8-10, Isa. 66:7, Jer. 4:4, Jer. 24:7. Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.