1 The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,
2 "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?'"
The Mosaic Law teaches that each human is responsible to God for their own sins. They were not allowed to punish the child for his father’s sins as the pagans did. God doesn’t work that way.
Yet the people of Israel/Judah were claiming that their current problems were the result of their parent’s sin, not their own. They claimed innocence. God knew better of course. He was punishing them for their own bad attitudes and direct sins.
3 "As I live, says the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
4 "Behold, all souls are Mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine: the soul that sins, it shall die.'"
God has no grandkids. We must all come to Him for ourselves. We are all responsible to Him for ourselves, no matter what our bloodlines are.
5 "'But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
6 "'And has not eaten upon the mountains, neither has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither has defiled his neighbor’s wife, neither has come near to a menstruous woman,
7 "'And has not oppressed any, but has restored to the debtor his pledge, has spoiled none by violence, has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment;
8 "'He that has not given forth upon usury, neither has taken any increase, that has withdrawn his hand from iniquity, has executed true judgment between man and man,
9 "'Has walked in My statutes, and has kept My judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, says the Lord God.'"
No matter a person’s nationality or ethnic origins, if he is a righteous, godly man, loving God more than anything or anyone else, and loving his neighbor as himself, he is a child of God. God will protect and provide for him and take him to heaven.
10 "'If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that does the like to any one of these things,'"
Now if this person has a son who chooses to be evil, who chooses to worship the god Self…
11 "'And that does not any of those duties, but even has eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbor’s wife,
12 "'Has oppressed the poor and needy, has spoiled by violence, has not restored the pledge, and has lifted up his eyes to the idols, has committed abomination,
13 "'Has given forth upon usury, and has taken increase: shall he then live? He shall not live: he has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.'"
That son will go to hell. It won’t matter who his dad is.
14 "'Now, lo, if he beget a son, that sees all his father’s sins which he has done, and considers, and does not such like,
15 "'That has not eaten upon the mountains, neither has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, has not defiled his neighbor’s wife,
16 "'Neither has oppressed any, has not withholden the pledge, neither has spoiled by violence, but has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment,
17 "'That has taken off his hand from the poor, that has not received usury nor increase, has executed My judgments, has walked in My statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.'"
They were teaching in Israel that the child of an evil man would be punished for his father’s sins and the child of the righteous would be rewarded. In fact, this was standard practice in the surrounding nations, and in many countries today (i.e. the Indian caste system, the European belief in royal or noble bloodlines). Here, God clearly says this is not true.
18 "'As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.'"
Could God have made this any clearer? You will stand before Him and answer for the deeds of your own life and your own heart, not your parent’s, not your grandparent’s, not your child’s.
Today, many are caught up in hunting out generational curses. In a way these are true. We all suffer for the curse of sin from our ancestor Adam. We all follow in his footsteps.
However, we each fall in our own unique way. Oh, because of the environment we are raised in we might have a tendency to the same sins as our parents. But we are in no way punished for our parent’s sins. We are all quite capable of committing our own, unique sins.
19 "'Yet say ye, "Why? Doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father?" When the son has done that which is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes, and has done them, he shall surely live.'"
God is the God of justice and He only punishes people for their own sins.
20 "'The soul that sins it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.'"
I am thankful God won’t punish me for the sins of my parents and, especially, won’t punish my children for my sins. It’s hard enough dealing with my own!
21 "'But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he has committed, and keep all My statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.'"
Though our God is the God of justice, He is also the God of Mercy and Love. Anyone, no matter how bad a sinner, who repents (turns from) his sins and follows God will be forgiven and will be saved.
22 "'All his transgressions that he has committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he has done he shall live.'"
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalms 103:12.
23 "'Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?' says the Lord God: 'and not that he should return from his ways, and live?'"
“The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” 2 Peter 3:9 New Living Translation
God doesn’t like to punish the evil. He wishes it wasn’t necessary. But justice demands it. That is why He robed Himself in flesh and died for our sins; so evil will be paid for. Anyone who turns from their evil, who accepts this payment, will be cleansed and saved.
24 "'But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All his righteousness that he has done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die.'"
How much clearer could God possibly say it? We do NOT have Eternal Security. If we choose to turn our backs on God and His ways, no matter how righteous we were to start with, we WILL BE LOST. It IS possible to backslide.
25 "Yet ye say, 'The way of the Lord is not equal.' Hear now, O house of Israel; 'Is not My way equal? Are not your ways unequal?'"
Israel thought they knew better than God what justice was. We all have a tendency to this.
26 "'When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and dies in them; for his iniquity that he has done shall he die.'"
The second Death mentioned here is Eternal Death; Hell. Those who die not serving God will spend eternity separated from Him and in the throes of death. It doesn’t matter how much good he did before turning away from God; it will all be erased.
27 "'Again, when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.'"
And likewise, when a sinner repents of his sins and follows God, all his evil is forgotten, washed away, and he will live eternally in the presence of God.
28 "'Because he considers, and turns away from all his transgressions that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.'"
“Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power…” Revelation 20:6, New Living Translation
The First Death is when we sin by disobeying God. The First Resurrection is when God raises our souls from spiritual death at our Repentance.
The second Death is when this ole body quits functioning and we are placed in the grave. This death holds no power whatsoever over the followers of God. Though their physical "body-houses" will decay and rot away, they will go on living with God for Eternity.
29 "Yet says the house of Israel, 'The way of the Lord is not equal.' O house of Israel, are not My ways equal? Are not your ways unequal?"
Those in Israel in those days were saying that a man who lived for seventy years as a righteous man but for the last ten as a sinner should go to heaven. God says it matters the state of your heart at your death. It doesn’t matter where you are on the road to Heaven, but the direction you are traveling.
30 "'Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,' says the Lord God. 'Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.'"
God so wants us to all repent! He loves us and wants to spend Eternity with us. Here is the formula for winning Heaven;
31 "'Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
32 "'For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies,' says the Lord God: 'wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye'".