Who is responsible before God? (Hint: It’s in your hands) Ezekiel 18

Recently, the son of an NFL coach made a prank call to an anxious college player pretending he had been drafted by a team when he hadn’t. It was a cruel joke. There was talk that the father of the prankster should be fired. One generation responsible for another generation’s action is nothing new.

Back in the day (the Prophet Ezekiel’s day) the above proverb was on everyone’s lips. In this case, the onus was on the son for the silly actions of the father. Not because grapes were so popular as a snack, but because sin was so rampant as a way of life. So much so, the people of God were in serious time-out—exile in Babylon. They used this clever witticism to excuse their responsibility for their shortcomings with God.

The proverb means this: the penalty of the father is on the son. The future generation would pay. To put it in the colloquial language of today’s sons and daughters, “Daddy’s bad.” Ezekiel, in Chapter 18, had to put to rest this notion of transferrable guilt/punishment in response to a question for all men of all generations: Who is responsible before God?

First, the individual is responsible before God. In verses 2-20, Ezekiel proclaims a word from God that there needs to be a shift in focus of the people of God when it comes to moral responsibility. God’s governance is to deal with man based on individual responsibility, that guilt is not transferable. He is not responsible for past generational sins. The key verse is Eze. 18:4:

Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul that sins will die. 

In the past, the people viewed punishment for sin as God viewing Israel as one moral unit—the nation. If the king or tribe leaders of the nation sinned, the whole nation, even future generations, sinned and would have to pay. Their teeth would be on edge for the grapes the father ate. This focus led to fatalism and excuse-shifting. “It’s not my sin, so why do I have to change.” But now, with God’s declaration that every soul or individual belongs to Him, the one who sins is punished. In other words, “The one who does the crime does the time.”

Ezekiel then sets forth several “what if” illustrations to show what this individual responsibility in God’s governance looks like (vs. 5-9). If a man does right when it comes to idolatry, adultery, purity, benevolence, etc., he is right before God and lives. If a son of a wicked father, does what is right, he is not held responsible for his daddy’s dirty deeds. The son is responsible for his own obedience (vs. 19-20).  It’s about individual responsibility, not that of the community, state or nation.

Second, God will deal with man based on individual repentance, that he can change his moral standing (vs. 21-32). In verse 32, God clearly affirms repentance as a path to a God-approved life:

For I take no delight in the death of anyone, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and live. Eze. 18:32

In verses 21-22, Ezekiel again illustrates in “what if” scenarios that God desires repentance rather than death. If a sinful son turns from wickedness to godliness, he will live. Conversely, if a righteous father turns from rightness to evil, he will die. God is equal handed in meting out judgment.  

This is not to mitigate the consequences of an evil father rearing a son. Life is made more difficult for the children of bad parents. But, the ultimate punishment, in the end, belongs to Big Pappi, not Junior.

 So, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, consider carefully how you are living. Your sour grapes are your grapes.