June 25, 2024

Passage Read: Ezekiel 16-19
Meditation Verses: 18:19-22

Thought

Why would anyone be upset that the son does not bear the consequences of the father's sin? Why would Israel say that the Lord is unjust because he doesn't bring punishment on the son, who did no evil, for the sin of his father? It makes no sense! Unless the sons want to believe they are innocent, and the only reason they suffer at present is because of the sins of their fathers. If God punishes a man for his own sin and not the sins of his father or of his son, then it means the man himself has sinned against the Lord and He is bringing discipline on him for his own wickedness. God removes the excuse from men that they are suffering for the sins of another. They may have learned their sin from a father, but they themselves have walked in it. They are responsible for their own sin; they are punished for no one's sin but their own.

Application

God doesn't punish me for the sin of my father or of my sons; He punishes me for my own sins. I may sin in the likeness of my father or of my sons, but God punishes me for the evil deeds I myself have committed. I may have inherited a sin nature, I may have learned my sins from my father, but I don't suffer for things my father or forefather did; I suffer for what I personally have done. So if I identify those sins and turn away from them, the Lord will forgive and free me from His discipline. No man is punished for sins he did not personally commit. He may live in a household under judgment or in a nation suffering God's discipline; he is suffering as collateral damage, but he is innocent before the Lord. The only way to know the difference is to know the Lord and to practice what He commands.