Commentary - Ezekiel 18:24-29

Bird's-eye view

In this section of Ezekiel, the prophet is continuing a sustained argument from the Lord that counters a sour proverb circulating among the exiles: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." The people are blaming their calamitous circumstances on the sins of previous generations, thereby absolving themselves of their own direct culpability. God, through Ezekiel, demolishes this self-pitying excuse. The central theme is individual responsibility. God judges every man according to his own ways. This is not to contradict the biblical doctrine of covenantal and generational consequences, but rather to confront a generation that was abusing that doctrine in order to evade repentance.

The passage before us, verses 24-29, presents the sharp edges of this principle. God applies the logic of individual accountability in two directions. First, He addresses the hypothetical case of a righteous man who turns away from his righteousness and embraces wickedness. Second, He considers the wicked man who turns from his sin to righteousness. In both instances, the man's final state is what counts. Past righteousness will not save the apostate, and past wickedness will not condemn the penitent. The passage climaxes with God turning Israel's accusation back on them. They claim God's ways are not "right" or "just," but God reveals that it is their ways, and their distorted standards of fairness, that are crooked.

Outline

Context In Ezekiel

Ezekiel 18 is a crucial chapter for understanding the nature of God's covenant dealings. It does not introduce a new theology that contradicts the rest of Scripture, as some have supposed. The Pentateuch is clear about both generational blessings and curses (Ex. 20:5-6) and individual responsibility (Deut. 24:16). Ezekiel's task is to apply the latter principle with prophetic force to a people hiding behind the former. They had turned a true doctrine, that sin has corporate and historical consequences, into a fatalistic excuse for their own impenitence. God is therefore calling them to account for their own actions, right now.

This passage directly follows a series of case studies: a righteous father, a wicked son, and a righteous grandson (Ezek. 18:5-18). The conclusion was that "the soul who sins shall die" (Ezek. 18:20). Our text serves as a summary and intensification of this principle, anticipating and refuting the people's objections before concluding with a final, passionate call to repentance (Ezek. 18:30-32).

Key Issues

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 24 “But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, does injustice, and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his unfaithfulness which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die.”

The Lord begins with a stark hypothetical, the case of the apostate. Notice the language. This is a "righteous man" who "turns away." This isn't about someone who was a hypocrite all along, a wolf in sheep's clothing. The text speaks of his "righteousness" and his "righteous deeds which he has done." In the context of the covenant community, this man was externally righteous. He was a branch in the vine. But he turns. This possibility of real apostasy is a sober warning throughout Scripture. It is not a denial of the perseverance of the saints, but rather one of the means by which God ensures it. The warnings are potent because they are real. He doesn't just stumble; he turns, he "does injustice," and he embraces "all the abominations that a wicked man does." This is a complete reversal of his life's trajectory.

The question is rhetorical: "will he live?" The answer is a resounding no. And here is the hard part for us to swallow, the part that grates against our sentimentalism. "All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered." God does not grade on a curve. He does not weigh the good against the bad on some cosmic scale. A life of covenant faithfulness, if repudiated, counts for nothing. The end of the matter is the matter. His final state is one of unfaithfulness and sin, and "for them he will die." This is a spiritual and physical death, an ultimate separation from the life that is found in God.

v. 25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Hear now, O house of Israel! Is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right?”

Here is the heart of the controversy. The people of Israel hear God's declaration of justice and they lodge a complaint. Their accusation is that God's way is not "right," not equitable, not fair. The Hebrew word is about being properly weighed or balanced. They are, in essence, putting God in the dock and judging Him by their own fallen standards of what seems fair. This is the primordial sin of pride, the creature telling the Creator how the universe ought to be run.

God's response is a sharp, interrogative rebuke. He summons the "house of Israel" to a hearing. "Is My way not right?" The question is designed to expose the absurdity of their claim. The standard of all that is right and just is God Himself. His ways don't conform to an abstract standard of justice; they are the standard. He then turns the accusation back on them: "Is it not your ways that are not right?" Their perception is skewed. Their ways are crooked, inconsistent, and self-serving. They complain that God won't credit the apostate for his past righteousness, while at the same time insisting that they shouldn't be held accountable for their present wickedness because of their fathers' sins. Their standard of "fairness" is whatever gets them off the hook.

v. 26 “When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, does injustice, and dies because of it, for his injustice which he has done he will die.”

God does not back down. He simply repeats the principle from verse 24, driving the point home. Repetition in Hebrew narrative is for emphasis. Listen up, God is saying, you didn't seem to get it the first time. The connection is causal and direct. He "dies because of it." Why? "For his injustice which he has done he will die." There is no ambiguity. The responsibility lies squarely with the man and his actions. His final, defining state is one of injustice, and that is the state in which he is judged.

v. 27 “Again, when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has done and does justice and righteousness, he will preserve his life.”

Now the coin is flipped. This is the glorious, gospel side of the principle. Just as past righteousness does not save the apostate, past wickedness does not condemn the repentant. The logic is perfectly symmetrical, which demonstrates that God's way is indeed "right" and balanced. A man steeped in wickedness can "turn away from his wickedness." This is repentance. And it is not just a feeling of remorse. It is a turning from sin and a turning to something else. He "does justice and righteousness." True repentance bears fruit. It results in a changed life.

And the result? "He will preserve his life." The Hebrew is literally "he will make his soul live." This is the promise of the gospel in miniature. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God, received through repentance and faith, is life. His past is washed away, not because it didn't happen, but because in turning to God, he has come under God's provision for dealing with that past.

v. 28 “Again, he considered and turned away from all his transgressions which he had done; he shall surely live; he shall not die.”

This verse elaborates on the internal process of repentance. It begins with consideration. "He considered." He saw his sin for what it was. He reflected on his ways and came to a right understanding. This is not a flippant or emotional decision. It is a thoughtful, sober assessment of his condition before a holy God. And this consideration leads to action: he "turned away from all his transgressions." The turning is comprehensive. It's not about trimming a few bad habits from the edges of his life. It is a repudiation of his entire former life of rebellion.

The promise is then stated with the strongest possible certainty. "He shall surely live; he shall not die." The Hebrew construction is emphatic. Living, he shall live. This is the sure and certain hope for every sinner who turns to God. God's delight is not in judgment, but in granting life.

v. 29 “But the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Are My ways not right, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not right?”

The chapter comes full circle, returning to the central dispute. Despite the perfect symmetry and profound grace displayed in God's principle of judgment, the people persist in their complaint. "But the house of Israel says..." Their hearts are hard, their necks are stiff. They are committed to their grievance. They prefer the role of the victim to the role of the penitent.

And so God repeats His devastating rebuttal one last time. He poses the same two questions. The problem is not with God's character or His methods of accounting. The problem is with the crooked, self-justifying ways of sinful men. We want a god who conforms to our sensibilities, who will overlook our pet sins, and who will grade us on a curve that we get to design. But the God of the Bible is the holy, righteous, and just Judge of all the earth, and His ways are perfect. The only sane response is to abandon our own crooked ways and submit to His.

Application

The first and most obvious application is a call to radical self-examination. It is perilously easy to coast on the fumes of past spiritual experiences or a reputation for righteousness. This passage warns us that there is no such thing as spiritual tenure. Our walk with God is a present-tense reality. We are either walking toward Him or away from Him, right now. Past righteousness is no excuse for present sin. We must take the warnings against apostasy with the utmost seriousness, not as a cause for neurotic anxiety, but as a spur to cling ever more tightly to Christ, in whom alone our perseverance is secure.

Second, this passage is a glorious declaration of hope for those burdened by past sins. No matter how wicked a man's life has been, the gate of repentance is wide open. God does not hold our past against us when we turn to Him in faith. He remembers our sin no more. This is not because He is forgetful, but because He is just, and the penalty for that sin has been fully paid by His Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we must never despair. We must never think our sin is too great for His grace. The call is to "consider and turn."

Finally, we must be very careful about judging God. When we face trials, or when we observe the seeming injustices of the world, our first instinct, like that of Israel, is often to question God's fairness. "The way of the Lord is not right." We must repent of this pride. God is God. His ways are not our ways. He is the standard of justice, and we are the ones whose ways are crooked. The proper posture of the creature before the Creator is one of humble trust, confessing that He is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works, even when we cannot trace His hand.