Author: Dahsom
July 4, 2022
Declare unto them their abominations; That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them. Ezekiel 23:36
So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister. Ezekiel 23:18
For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated: 29 And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. Ezekiel 23:28-29
I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols. Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand. Ezekiel 23:30-31
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. Ezekiel 23:35
The Lord said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them. Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. Ezekiel 23:36-38
Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 23:48,49
⇒ A famous allegory portrays the twin nations of Israel and Judah. They are adulterous sisters, whose lewdness led them to pursue their lovers in every grove and tree. Despite seeing the fate of the first sister (Israel, carried captive in 722 B.C.), the other continues to sin.
Free Will / Human Responsibility: OT
There is no theological debate in the OT between “predestination” and “free will.” No OT writer suggests that, since God is sovereign, he must choose an individual for salvation. No OT writer suggests that for a person to have “free will” his salvation must rest on his own completely free choice. But we do find a movement among God’s OT people to deny personal responsibility.
In the days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, such people argued that God deals only in national terms, with the whole community of Israel. They said that God’s attitude toward them was based on what earlier generations bring judgment, and called for repentance, these people simply shrugged and complained that it was all their forefathers’ fault! It was unfair, but if they must suffer for what others have done, there was nothing they could do.
In this atmosphere the idea that any individual had personal responsibility, or that anything an individual could do made difference, was simply rejected.
The later prophets, and particularly Ezekiel, speak out against this form of determinism. National repentance could change the course of history and stay the hand of judgment (Jer. 18:7-10). By the time of Ezekiel, the nation as a whole was committed to the pursue of evil. So this prophet stresses another aspect of the message of personal responsibility. God does deal with individuals as well as the nation! If an individual in a corrupt society chooses righteousness, God will mark him out (9:3-6) and preserve his life. This preservation is based on the individual’s personal response to God, not what his father has done (Ezek. 18:5-20). Even a wicked person can turn to God, begin to live righteously, and will be forgiven. The message of the prophets, then stresses the fact that a person is responsible for his choices, and that if he chooses God, then God will exercise his power on the individual’s behalf.
Looking ahead to the end times, the prophet says of the nation, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you” (Ezek. 36:26). And in chapter 18 Ezekiel reports God’s exhortation: “Get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit” (18:31). The role God plays in the transformation of an individual is one of those hidden things we can safely leave to him. What is revealed in Scripture is that the philosophy of determinism, which suggests you and I are not responsible for our choices is wrong! We do choose. And our loving God invites us to choose him.