Page 91 - NOTES ON EZEKIEL

CHAPTER XVIII,

T h is and the following chapter conclude the portion o f
the prophecy which follows up the introductory vision of
the glory of God departing from Jerusalem after His
providential use of Nebuchadnezzar. It consists of a
moral judgment which proves the need of an external
judgment, wherein they should know that He who
speaks and acts is Jehovah*
“ The word of Jehovah came unto me again, saying,
What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the
land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour
grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? As I
live, saith the Lord Jehovah, ye shall not have occa­
sion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Behold,
all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also
the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth it
shall die. But if a man be just, and do that which is
lawful and right, and hath not eaten upon the moun­
tains, neither have lifted up his eyes to the house of
Israel,” &c. (Ver. 1—6.)
This is much to be weighed. At the captivity God
racts on the murmuring of His people and ends any
further governmental dealings on the ground of Exodus
xxxiv. 6, 7. Henceforth He would take them on their
own terms; and as they complained of the hardship
-of suffering for the delinquencies of their fathers, He
would now give them their own deserts. It is evident
that a sinner must suffer for sin; and if he challenge
4he justice of paying the penalty of a parent’s evil,
the cannot deny that he ought to be punished for his