Not all letters from lawyers contain bad news. Several times the Kingston Standard Church has received a letter from a lawyer announcing that we are the beneficiaries of a stated amount of money coming from an individual’s will. Such letters are received with extreme gratitude.
I imagine that if you were to receive a letter that stated you were the beneficiary of a relative’s will in the amount of one million dollars you would rejoice. (Am I correct in that assumption?) You might describe the letter as good news.
Now let’s suppose that you received a letter that explained that you owed a million dollars because of the debt of your relative. Instead of receiving a million dollars, you were required to pay a debt of a million dollars. The response would be different. There would be no smiles. No expressions of joyful gratitude.
What do you think would be your first words? “Unfair!” “No Way!” “You’ve got to be kidding me! I am not responsible for my relative’s debt. That is his/her business. It has nothing to do with me. Leave me out of this. I am going to hire my own lawyer...”
Interesting, isn’t it? We love receiving the positive benefits from our relatives. But inherit responsibility for a relative’s debt? Forget it!
Ezekiel the prophet, an exiled captive of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, heard a word from God about a complaint that had become popular with his fellow captives. It was a proverb about the land of Israel: “The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”
In essence, the saying means “our fathers (and mothers) got in debt and we have to pay the bill.” Or we could state the complaint this way: “Our parents sinned and we have to suffer. It is not fair.”
The people who quoted the proverb had been uprooted from their homes and family, marched hundreds of miles as captives into a strange country with a different language and customs. It was life shattering. The captives were not happy with their situation.
The people taken into captivity did not represent all the people. The Babylonian king had left many other Israelites in Jerusalem. He did not destroy the city. He did not destroy the temple; nor did he destroy the economy. So the captives were not only saying “We are suffering unfairly for the sins of our fathers” but asking “Why us? What about the people who were left in Jerusalem? They are no better than we are. Why are we the ones facing such a major disruption in our lives?”
Behind this complaint was anger and despair. The people were separated from Jerusalem and the temple. From their perspective, all was lost. Separated from the land of Israel, they felt as if they had no future.
The anger of the people was directed at God. Through the complaint the people were saying: “God is not just.” “It is not fair that God makes us suffer for the sins of our ancestors.”
God heard the complaint and responded. First of all, he asserts his sovereignty, that is, his right to deal with the different generations as he pleases. He is God. “Every living soul (or every living person) belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me.” Because each generation belongs to him, he as the sovereign God can and will decide what is just or unjust.
Seeing that all belong to him and that he has the right to decide as He pleases, this is what he has decided: “The soul who sins is the one who will die.”
God’s declaration that the soul who sins is the one who will die is clarified by three examples. The first example is man who keeps a selection of laws from God’s agreement with Israel. This selection also illustrates the laws that would enable the captives to build a new community while in captivity. The person who follows his decrees and faithfully keeps his laws “is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
The next example represents the second generation or the man’s son. If the righteous man has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things (although the father has done none of them): “Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head.”
The next example takes us to the third generation. Ezekiel 18:14-15: “But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and through he sees them, he does not do such things: He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbour’s wife. He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. He withholds his hand from sin and takes no usury or excessive interest. He keeps my laws and follows my decrees.”
What will result? God’s word is clear. “He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live. But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.”
Ezekiel 18:20 sums up God’s response to the complaint “The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” It is: “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.” The teaching is clear. Each person can break from either the blessings or the curses of the generation before him/her. The blessings are scratched if the child of a righteous person turns his/her back on God. God’s visitation of wrath on the generations of the wicked will not take place if a person turns to God and chooses what is right. No one is locked into generational guilt or righteousness.
After illustrating freedom from generational guilt, God also states that as individuals we can change our destiny. A person who spends a great deal of their life ignoring God and doing what is evil does not have a fixed destiny. Verses 21 and 22 come as a breath of fresh air. “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 offences he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live.”
But then God reveals the other side of the coin. “If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live?” The answer comes as a warning and is disturbing. “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.”
God anticipates protest from the people. “Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is not just? God responds with a question. Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? (Ezekiel 18:26)”
God’s concludes with a clear message: “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 offences; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourself of all the offences 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!”
Those who complained about suffering the consequences of their father’s choices believed that their captivity meant they had no hope. Life was over. What God makes clear is that their captivity did not mean the end of hope. Even in captivity they could discover life.
The life that is meant is more than mere existence. It is a life in communion with God. It is life which finds meaning and purpose in relationship with God. It is a life where one discovers reasons for thankfulness and joy. It is a quality of life that can be experienced now and last forever. The Psalmist put it this way: “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands, (Psalm 63: 3-4).”
The choices of previous generations do affect us. Many times their choices can have devastating consequences on our circumstances. We also may find ourselves struggling with some of the same issues our parents or grandparents struggled with. The weaknesses and the strengths we observed in them we see playing out in our own lives and in our families.
As you look at your life, you may find yourself struggling to survive. You can, at some level, relate to the despair of the captives in Babylon. With the captives you may be crying out, “It is not fair!” or even “God, you are not fair. I should not have to suffer like this because of someone else’s failure.”
God’s word to the captives comes to us as a challenge—and a comfort. We may not be able to change our circumstances but we are not trapped. There is no situation we face that cannot be transformed by the presence and power of God. The challenge is to stop complaining, stop despairing, and realize that we can choose to open our hearts and lives to God and follow him. When we choose to open our lives to God we choose life.
God made it possible for us to choose life by taking upon himself, in the person of Jesus, the consequences of our actions. The apostle Peter puts it this way: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls, (1 Peter 2: 24, 25)”.
God does not fix everything in life the way we may want, but in the midst of captivity, in the middle of difficult circumstances, he is present to give life. His desire is that everyone will choose life. Why choose death when you can choose life?
God has sent you a letter through his Son, Jesus Christ. The letter states, “Through Jesus my Son, you have a rich inheritance. You are a joint heir with Jesus of all that is mine.”
How do you receive your inheritance? Believe that the offer is true. Choose to receive the inheritance by repenting – acknowledging before God that you have failed. Choose life through Jesus Christ. You can make that decision right now.
If you have already made the decision, ask yourself if there are any areas in your life where you are choosing death rather than life. What are they? What changes do you need to make in order to choose life? Will you right now respond to God’s call to choose life? God wants each person to turn away from what brings death and allow his Spirit to lead us into life. “For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!”