Term Paper on "Exegesis of Ezekiel, Chapter 18"

Term Paper 4 pages (1284 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Exegesis of Chapter 18 of the Book Of Ezekiel

Chapter 18 of the Book of Ezekiel contains the fullest explanation of the theme of individual responsibility, the best known element in Ezekiel's teaching. As if to debate with his people, the prophet takes up a number of their sayings as he argues that God has acted toward them precisely as they have deserved. He concludes that the repentance of any individual will ensure that that person will nonetheless "live." The idea of men's individual responsibility before God should not be thought as Ezekiel's own invention, or even as having arisen in Ezekiel's period. The very early laws in the Book of the Covenant (NASB, Exodus. 20:22-23-23:33) take for granted the principle of individual responsibility for wrong behavior. But a saying that must have been current in the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel is quoted by both prophets:" the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge (NASB, Jer.321:29; Ezek. 18:2) it suggest that people had taken to heart the threat familiar to Israelites from the Ten Commandments, that God would punish the children for the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generations

(NASB, Exodus.20:5; Deut. 5:9). This may partly have been a means of shifting the blame for the tragedy of exile on previous generations. There was also a feeling that the whole community was caught up in a web of guilt which was deadly and inescapable

( vs. 33:10). In the face of resigned acceptance of inevitable punishment both Jeremiah and Ezekiel struck new notes of hopes. Ezekiel stressed that it was still possible for each individual to fulfill the conditions of his own righteousness. This, Ezekiel did in terms already familiar to the people. For all who went to worship at the temple, or at other sanctuaries, had heard at some stage the conditions such as found in Psalms 15; 24:3-6 and elsewhere. If the worshippers had observed the conditions then he priest would declare them righteous. From that point on, they where included in the community whose "life" was from God. "Life" in this sense was not merely continued physical existence, nor some kind of future existence. Life for the Israelite meant good health and material prosperity, which were only to be found in obedience to and fellowship with God. For the exiles, far from the temple and familiar patterns of worship the possibility of such life in a renewed relationship with God must have seemed beyond imagining.

The example of behavior within a single family continues. The wicked son of a righteous man is condemned (verses 10-13), while his son in turn by obeying the law, finds life (verses 14-17). The last point is strongly reinforced in verses 18-20.only eight on the laws mentions in verses 6-9 are to have been broken. They occur in a different order and the prohibition against idolatry now includes participation in abominable rites (verse 12). Characterized as "violent" and a "Shedder of blood" the son is excluded form the community of the faithful. The formula he shall die (verse 13) corresponds precisely to the phrase "he shall live" in verse 9.All in all, there is no advantage gained from the father's righteousness. The son is therefore responsible for himself. "His Blood will be on his own head." The point about freedom of the will is further emphasized in the middle section (vs. 21-24), which defines the situation of the individual as a moral agent, whatever his genealogical antecedents, and affirms the possibility of change. The English word "repent" is perhaps a less than adequate rendering of the original since it connotes overmuch a psychological process and looks at the past. The corresponding Hebrew word shub meaning return or turn, on the contrary, draws attention to the importance of action and orientation to a possible… READ MORE

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