The Gospel According to Ezekiel, Chapters 17-18 (Part 1 of 2)

Recap: God's Forgiveness of His Bride

A little recap from last week: we looked into the shock and awe of Ezekiel. The immense truth wasn't just the graphic language referring to the bride of God, but seeing the reality of her spiritual state. In the midst of that, we concluded with God's forgiveness of His bride. The weight of the sin's gravity is immense, yet God responds: He will not tolerate sin, He will judge it, but He will also forgive by providing atonement—Himself as atonement—to restore the bride to right standing.

God preached the gospel at the end of last week, and we'll see something similar in Ezekiel 17. The outline is simple: God presents a parable, explains it, and preaches the gospel.

The Parable of the Eagles (Ezekiel 17:1-10)

Thus says the Lord God: “A great eagle with great wings, long pinions, and full plumage of many colors came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar. He plucked off the topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants. He set it in the city of traders. He also took some of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow. Then it sprouted and became a low spreading vine, with its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and yielded shoots and sent out branches. But there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him from the beds where it was planted, that he might water it. It was planted in good soil beside abundant waters, that it might yield branches and bear fruit and become a splendid vine.” Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit so that it withers, so that all its sprouting leaves wither? Neither by great strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again. Behold, though it is planted, will it thrive? Will it not completely wither as soon as the east wind strikes it—wither on the beds where it grew?

The Explanation: Zedekiah's Betrayal (Ezekiel 17:11-21)

Say now to the rebellious house: Do you not know what these things mean? Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and princes and brought them to him in Babylon. It took one of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land, that the kingdom might be in subjection, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant that it might continue. But he rebelled against him by sending his envoys to Egypt that they might give him horses and many troops. Will he succeed? Will he do such things and escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape? As I live, declares the Lord God, surely in the country of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, in Babylon he shall die. Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in the war, when they cast up ramps and build siege walls to cut off many lives. Now he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he pledged his allegiance, yet did all these things; he shall not escape. Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely my oath, which he despised, and my covenant, which he broke, I will inflict on his head. I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare, then I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against me. All the choice men and all his troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind, and you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.

This parable describes a great eagle—Nebuchadnezzar—coming to Lebanon (Jerusalem), plucking the top of the cedar (King Jehoiachin and his officials), and taking them to Babylon. He then takes seed from the land—Zedekiah—plants him back in Jerusalem as a vassal king, eyes and ears for Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar even forces Zedekiah into an oath, a covenant involving God Himself.

But the vine bends toward a second eagle: Pharaoh of Egypt. Zedekiah rebels, seeking horses and troops from Egypt instead of submitting to God's decree through Babylon. This betrayal breaks God's covenant. Egypt's aid—under Pharaoh Psammetichus II and his son Hophra—does nothing but enrage Nebuchadnezzar, who destroys Jerusalem anyway. God installed Zedekiah to judge and purge sin, preserving His covenant people separated unto Him. Reaching to Egypt—former enslavers—shows refusal to trust God.

Immediate application: If God's word contradicts your perception, God's word trumps it. Jeremiah advised submission to Babylon for the nation's good, but they refused.

God's Gospel Promise (Ezekiel 17:22-24)

Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear boughs and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. All the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.

After the parable and explanation comes one of the most explicit gospels amid judgment. Combining this with chapters 16 and 18 reveals God's character: justice for apostasy, yet salvation as His work alone. Pride is brought low; humility exalted. High trees wither; low, dry trees flourish. If you're self-thriving, you're against God. But if humble, trampled like Isaiah 53, God looks to you.

No neutral ground: salvation or judgment. God says, "I will perform it." That's the gospel: God will do it. Relieving for the needy; disaster for the self-willed. Embrace it, and experience life with holiness—your greatest advantage.

Personal Responsibility Before God (Ezekiel 18:1-4)

The soul who sins shall die. The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.

No neutrality: every soul belongs to God, under His sovereign jurisdiction—Christian or not. The soul who sins will die.

The Righteous, the Wicked, and Repentance (Ezekiel 18:5-32)

But if a man is righteous and does what is just and right... he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord God... Yet the children are not condemned for the iniquity of the father... The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins... he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him... Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?

But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice... all his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered... Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.

Ezekiel 18 shows responses to judgment—and the gospel. Old proverbs die hard: blaming fathers' sins (like Exodus 20:5) excuses personal irresponsibility. It's pride avoiding repentance. God desires you to live—repent and live.

God uses impenetrable logic: the person who sins dies. Yet He extends grace: "I would rather you turn and live." Sin violates God's holiness, demanding justice—a cross. Jesus, sinless, bears wrath freely, making God just and justifier.

Two responses: Rebel, calling God's ways "not right"—misleading to your self-made God who overlooks sin. Or tremble at judgment, mesmerized by grace. God counters: "Are your ways not right?" Rejecting responsibility is pompous against God's word.

Responding to Judgment with Repentance

The second issue is that instead of responding to judgment with rebellion—if God is like that, then I want nothing to do with him—you've missed the true pronouncement of judgment. The message of God in Ezekiel 18 contains one aspect of judgment and a second aspect of forgiveness. That's the problem in how people perceive judgment: either rebellion against it or complete obliviousness to the real issue, which is to turn.

I can tell you how many times it bothers me when atheists or news media respond to true Christian messages by saying, "You guys are just preaching damnation and judgment." We preach Christ and Him crucified. Because of that, there is a way of escaping judgment. But that reality of judgment still exists for those who reject God. It's not to respond with pompous, arrogant lack of personal responsibility for sin and rebel against judgment. You're in rebellion. You hear judgment and then you rebel against it.

It's not to be that way, but to respond with an attitude of repentance every time the Bible teaches on judgment. The elect should respond with attitudes of repentance every single time. That's the message of judgment: repent.

So you might ask yourself, what does that look like? If I've been living in rebellion and in a position of sin, and God's message to me is to repent, how do I do that? God gives a description of what this looks like in the midst of his rebuttal to this false proverb. There are so many tools in Ezekiel 18 for understanding what repentance looks like and what a life acceptable to God looks like. Don't you want to know what it's like to live a life worthy of eternal life? God is saying, here's a way to live. Don't you want to know how to do that? Embrace and accept and live that life which is worthy of eternal life and escaping judgment.

Well, if that's the case, listen to the description of a righteous person.

The Description of the Righteous Person

Ezekiel 18:5 – "If a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness."

It's interesting that the justice of God, one of the most offensive aspects of God, is one that the righteous practice. If a man is righteous, righteous is the default position of a man whereby his life aligns with the standard of righteousness given by God. There's a matching, a coexistence of the reality of what you're doing and how you're living with what God says should be the case. This is righteous, the position that a man would hold.

If a person is righteous, then their life aligns with the standard that God has given in Scripture. And if a person practices justice—now this isn't everybody start running for the position of judge or become a lawyer. The word here for justice is giving proper recognition to one's rights. It's ultimately when a person who is practicing justice is a person who is making a conscious effort in their lives to acknowledge and give proper recognition to God's rights over your life.

That's what it's like for a person who practices justice. It's that mankind would not be as they constantly are, concerned about their rights: "I have feelings that I should be able to carry out. I have thoughts that I should be able to think. I have a lifestyle that I should be able to live. Me, me, me, and I. I have the right to live this certain way." Practicing justice means to acknowledge the rights of God against your own.

If you've been purchased out of slavery to sin into slavery to righteousness, you do not have rights of your own. You've surrendered those rights; you've forfeited those rights. You exist in a position whereby God's rights—the feelings that God has, the thoughts that He has, the lifestyle that He has for you—these are what matters most. You're the righteous person. Practicing justice means to acknowledge the rights of God against your own. That is the epitome of the term for justice. It's the epitome of fairness that God would have total rights. That's what's fair. God having His way—that's what's fair.

When you go through life and a travesty happens or a tragedy happens or somebody is imposing the word of God on your life, enforcing you to change your circumstances, and the response is "that's not fair"—words uttered by somebody not righteous. Righteousness exists in a person's life when they see God's way as the only fair and equitable way. Then of course, they're practicing righteousness as well.

Practicing Righteousness Despite Being Equipped

There's an appeal that is normally made in Christian circles: "I already have salvation. I already have all things necessary for life and godliness." If you read through Joel Osteen's page or a lot of these motivational speaking pages, it's all about making you feel better about yourself. Scripture is thrown out to try to liberate you to live as you're intended to live. "I've got everything already. I've got the Holy Spirit even already. I've gotten saved and now I have the Holy Spirit and I have need of nothing else. I don't have a need of church, I don't have a need of preaching. I've reached the apex by just simply being saved."

What happens in so many circumstances, when you hear all Holy Spirit, all power, and no instruction and no discipleship and no practicing of righteousness and Christianity? You get 1 Corinthians chapter 1—actually the whole book.

Notice what it says in 2 Peter 1:

2 Peter 1:3-11 – "Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust... For this very reason, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind, short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you."

You've been given everything pertaining to life and godliness; you have the promises of God; you've been made a partaker of God's nature; you are fellowshipping with God's divine nature; you've escaped corruption that is in the world by lust. For this very reason—also applying all diligence—in your faith supply moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

If these qualities are yours and increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful. You want to be useful? You want to be fruitful? Do you want to be productive as a Christian? You want to be living a life that is satisfying, pleasing unto God? He who lacks these qualities is blind, short-sighted—you can't see the bigger picture; you can only see what's in front of you, focused on those things that are in front of your face. You can't get beyond your immediate satisfaction to the ultimate satisfaction of fulfilling God's will, enjoying Him, and Him being glorified in you forever.

You've forgotten your purification from former sins. Wasn't that chapter 16 we just read about? Forgetting that you were an infant wallowing in your own blood, choking on your own afterbirth, and God stepped in and saved you. Did you forget that washing? Did you forget that forgiveness? If you increase in these things, then you don't forget; you are not short-sighted. You see the bigger picture; you see the issues of living for the here and now; you see the future life as enjoyable.

Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you. For as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble. Have you wrestled with doubt in your salvation? Apply these things and be diligent to make sure that He has called you and elected you. It's one of the few times in Scripture where election is knowable—in the person's life who is diligent and responsible to live as God has called him. That's how you know election. In this way, the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

We've forgotten that Hebrews 12 says, with incredible implication, don't just pursue salvation, don't just pursue becoming a Christian, but pursue peace with all men and sanctification, and without such things nobody will see the Lord. The way you live your life as a Christian matters.

The Righteous Life in Action

Let's continue: notice verses 6 through 9.

Ezekiel 18:6-9 – "He does not eat at the mountain shrines or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period. If a man does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing, if he does not lend money on interest or take increase, if he keeps his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between man and man, if he walks in My statutes and My ordinances so as to deal faithfully—he is righteous and will surely live," declares the Lord God.

Here's a list of don'ts, and what's significant introduces a concept that will revolutionize your life. God is teaching you in Ezekiel 18 how to live eternally. Keep in mind Ezekiel 11, that He needs to put the heart of stone out of you, put a heart of flesh in you, give you a new spirit, and cause you to do this. You don't step out in your own strength.

But you'll notice tons of things that the righteous person is not doing. In the original text, it's not just that they're not doing these things, but there are two things so important in your attitude towards sin: the righteous person lives in reference to sin in either an indicative no or a double no.

The righteous person's attitude towards sin is either an indicative no or a double no. Indicative no means a statement of fact—it's a reality. With reference to sin, when you examine the life of a righteous person, their response to sin is, "No, I am not participating or performing that sin." That's a fact.

But it's not just the indicative no; there's also the double no—the double negative in the Greek translation that stresses the utter impossibility of ever committing a particular sin. Verse 6: he does not eat nor lift his eyes to the idols. He does not exist in a present tense action of idolatry; he's not continually participating. And he would certainly not lift his thoughts to the idols of the house of Israel or towards his neighbor's wife. It's a double negative; it stresses the utter impossibility.

Have you identified your indicative no's or your double no's towards sin? Or do you have indicative yeses or sins of possibility? You might be living in an indicative no—"No, I'm not doing that"—but that might be a possibility: "I might do that sometime." Or are you saying, "Yes, I am presently doing that; I am participating in sin"?

The righteous man: I'm not doing that sin; it's not even a possibility in that mind. "I will certainly not do that." I've resolved in my mind this attitude towards sin that I am not going to participate ongoingly or even right now, and I don't think about that sin as even the remotest possibility.

That's the challenge: careful examination of your life. Do you find the presence of indicative no's and double no's? If you do, that's righteousness.

Jonathan Edwards once said, "Resolved: never to do anything that I would ever be afraid to do if I were in my last hour." We should resolve with attitudes against sin that we view those not as possibilities but utter impossibilities.