Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Ezekiel 18:21 - 18:32
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
God's Merciful call to Repentance
v. 21. But if the wicked, no matter where or what he may be, or in what relation he may stand to others, will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, by an act of true repentance, and keep all My statutes, in particular those given to the children of Israel, and do that which is lawful and right, what God expects all men to observe, as evidence and proof of the faith of his heart: he shall surely live, he shall not die. God, in His great mercy, is ready to deal with him according to his new obedience, not according to his former sins.
v. 22. All his transgressions that he hath committed, by which he brought guilt upon himself, they shall not be mentioned unto him, the Lord's forgiveness being essentially a complete forgetting of the former sins; in his righteousness that he hath done, by virtue of the new life which followed his repentance, he shall live.
v. 23. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God, an inherent delight, as it were, in cruel punishment of the wicked, and not that he should return from His ways and live? this being much preferable in the sight of the Lord, since He delights in showing mercy. This is the one side of the question, by which the Lord intends to call the wicked to repentance. On the other hand, however, He just as earnestly warns against backsliding and apostasy.
v. 24. But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness and committeth iniquity, in the foolish notion that he may do so with impunity, since his good record will serve to excuse him, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? Will he be able to escape from the punishment which threatens sinners? The Lord's answer is: All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned, not be taken into account so as to save him; in his trespass that he hath trespassed and in his sin that he hath sinned, by which he nullified all his former good conduct, in them shall he die. Thus the justice of the Lord weighed the acts of men, as expressive of their inner life, and dealt with them accordingly.
v. 25. Yet ye say, in a statement which lacked all foundation, The way of the Lord is not equal, not in agreement with true equity. Hear now, O house of Israel, Is not My way equal? Did He really treat different classes of men in a different way? Are not your ways unequal? since they, although living in sin, expected the Lord to treat them as if they were righteous. That surely was not fair and just. The Lord therefore states the two cases once more, in inverse order, to impress their significance upon His hearers.
v. 26. When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness and committeth iniquity and dieth in them, or "on account of this wickedness"; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
v. 27. Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, by a true repentance, not from a mere aesthetic loathing, and doeth that which is lawful and right, in agreement with God's holy will, he shall save his soul alive, the mercy of God being put into operation in his case.
v. 28. Because he considereth, observing carefully and thereby, under the guidance of the Lord, obtaining the right understanding, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Thus the divine procedure was justified, and the complaint of the people proved to be unfounded. But since the object of the Lord was to effect the deliverance of his people from corruption and perdition, he closes this section of the prophecy with an earnest appeal.
v. 29. Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal, right and just. O house of Israel, are not My ways equal? Are not your ways unequal?
v. 30. Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, thereby bringing their whining and caviling to an end, every one according to his ways, according to his manner of living and acting, saith the Lord God. The Lord's way was right and good, and those who were not in agreement with His way and order would be unfortunate indeed. Repent and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin, the cause of their damnation. This admonition is now repeated in a still more emphatic vein.
v. 31. Cast away from you all your transgressions whereby ye have transgressed, the expression referring especially to the utter removal of all idols and idolatrous ways, and make you a new heart and a new spirit, not in their own strength, indeed, but by the gracious gift of God; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? The way of death and damnation is ever a matter of man's deliberate choice, and he has no one but himself to blame in that event.
v. 32. For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, a victim of perdition by his own fault, saith the Lord God; wherefore turn yourselves and live ye. Every sinner is a victim of spiritual death, and this will eventually lead to eternal death, unless the way of repentance is followed at the Lord's urgent invitation. The readiness of the divine grace is the outstanding feature of the Gospel-message.