Ezekiel 18 Study Notes
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18:14-17 This is the case of a son who learns wisdom from his father’s bad example.
18:18-20 God’s judgment does not recognize fathers and sons, only those who are righteous and those who are wicked.
18:21 True repentance involves confession, sorrow for sin, and a pledge to live an obedient life (Ps 51:1-12).
18:22-23 God will forgive and receive anyone who turns to him in repentance and faith, no matter the degree of his past rebellion (v. 21; Rm 5:6-11; Eph 2:1-8; Col 1:20-22; 2Pt 3:9). There is no reason for a person to live under condemnation for past sins if he is truly repentant and has experienced the new birth (Rm 8:1-17).
18:24 On turning from righteousness to acting unjustly, see Heb 2:3 and 2Pt 2:20-22. These verses contain warnings against those who knowingly and willfully turn from God. Those who are right with God will persevere to the end (Mt 10:22; 22:13; Mk 4:1-20).
18:25-29 The people charge that God does not measure his actions but acts arbitrarily. God’s response is that they are the ones who do not measure their actions (see Lamar Cooper, Ezekiel, NAC).
18:30 Every person will face a final judgment in which obedience to God’s commands will be fairly and justly evaluated.
18:31 What had been promised earlier in the book (11:19) is viewed now as attainable but not inevitable. Later in the book of Ezekiel (36:26-27) the people of Israel are promised a new heart and a new spirit. In this verse the people are commanded to obtain these new qualities. In similar fashion, Dt 10:16 commands God’s people to circumcise the whole heart, which Dt 30:6 says is accomplished by the Lord. This same tension between human obligation and divine grant is also found in the NT (Php 2:12-13).
18:32 In every generation the church must be warned of a coming future judgment. This warning is meant to affect how we live (Rm 14:10,12; 2Co 5:10; Gl 6:7-8). Though believers are spared from eternal punishment, there are consequences for ongoing disobedience (Rm 11:22; 1Co 15:2; Col 1:23; Heb 3:14).