They will not die
Ezekiel 18:21 - God has always offered mankind the choice to turn away from sin and receive His grace and eternal life in return.
Turning away from all the sins they have committed… Image generated by ChatGPT Dall-E 3 AI
“But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die.”
Ezekiel 18:21 NIV
Ezekiel is another of the Old Testament prophets alive during the Babylonian exile. His writings, which revolve around six visions experienced by the prophet, were written over a span of 22 years from 593 to 571 BC.
As you can probably infer from this verse, one of the key messages from Ezekiel focused on the power of repentance. This short passage from Bible Hub describes just how important repentance is:
Repentance is a transformative act that can change the course of one's life. It is never too late to turn back to God and seek His forgiveness.
Barb and I have both experienced that transformative act in our lives, turning back to God after years in the figurative desert of disbelief, and feeling His love, grace, and forgiveness as a result of confession and repentance.
In Ezekiel’s time, the Israelites were exiled in Babylon for rebelling against God and sinning repeatedly. For the most part, these sins involved idolatry and sexual immorality as the Israelites worshipped false gods and took part in debauched ceremonies with temple prostitutes (both male and female).
God would rather have His people repent than punish them, and that’s what the first phrase of this verse is all about. The Hebrew word שׁוּב (šûḇ, pronounced “shoob”) means to turn back, completely turning away from a former path. God isn’t just asking His people to stop sinning, but to return to Him with all their hearts! This call is also found in the Gospels of Matthew (Matthew 3:2 - “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” and Mark (Mark 1:15 - ““The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!””
In addition to repenting, the Lord also implored the wicked to “keep all my decrees”. These decrees were the many laws that Jews lived under; moral, ceremonial, and civil was. If a person obeyed these laws, it showed their faithfulness and their relationship with God under the covenant. Did you noticed the word “all” in this phrase? That implies complete obedience, not just picking a few laws to follow and ignoring the rest.
Having read some of the past devotionals studying the prophets, you probably remember that doing “what is just and right” is what God wants of His people. True repentance and turning to God should also cause a change in a person’s behavior that leads them to uphold justice and righteousness. In our New Testament world, Jesus epitomizes these attributes, and as Christians we are called to emulate His behavior.
In Romans 6:23, we learn that “…the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In Ezekiel’s day, repentance, obedience, and righteousness also brought life - “that person will surely live; they will not die”. God uses the word “surely” here, assurance that He always fulfills His promises. That assurance occurs throughout the Bible, as far back as Deuteronomy 30:19-20:
“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
and repeated in the words of Jesus in John 5:24:
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”
God has always offered mankind the choice to turn away from sin and receive His grace and eternal life in return. It is our duty as Christians to invite others to learn about this decision that can change lives for the better, forever.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Heavenly Father, today I pray that more people in this world repent their sins, practice righteous living, seek justice for all, and be blessed with Your grace, bought for all who believe in Him with the blood of Jesus Christ. I ask in Jesus’ name for you to give me boldness in proclaiming the Gospel to those who need to hear it. AMEN.