Ezekiel 33:11 “Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’”
Commentary says of verse 11, “God is not sadistic and cruel, making repentance impossible because He loves to see humanity suffer.” I think that’s one of the most foundational understandings I’ve gotten from my three-year reading of the Old Testament. My child’s understanding of the Old Testament was that God was cruel and vengeful. You didn’t cross Him or He’d get you. My adult study has shown me again and again His love, patience, and compassion and man’s utter foolishness.
Ezekiel 33:17 “Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just.”
This revelation brings to mind Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is alive and active.” Why go back and study a text I learned as a child? Because I’m not the same person I was then and my capacity to understand God’s word has grown, too. Why do I need to sit down each morning and spend time in God’s word? Because I’m certain the specious idea of a vengeful God who delights in punishment isn’t the only thing I’ve gotten wrong over the years.
Ezekiel 33:18-19 “If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so.”
Precious Savior, Thank You for helping me recognize and correct my misunderstandings of Your character. Thank You for Your word, which is active and alive. Thank You for the opportunity to know You more, to know You better, every day. Amen.
Ezekiel 33:20 “Yet you Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to your own ways.”
Have a blessed day.