Sacrifice and Ezekiel 18
Some people insist that Ezekiel 18 states that each person must take the punishment for their own sin; no-one else can take the punishment for the sin of another. Their purpose is to convince people that God could not have purposed that Jesus Christ could die for the sins of humans.
The Holy Bible states that " . . .all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) It also states that " . . . the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) The result of sin is eternal spiritual separation from God. Physical death is a sign that God has given us to remind us of the spiritual death that is irreversible once we die physically. In the Law of Moses God had commanded that people be put to death for certain sins that showed great wickedness that was premeditated and the result of a consistently rebellious heart. For these people the reminder of death at the end of life was not enough to shake them into their senses. Therefore God determined that a more vivid reminder was needed not only to stop the wickedness of that individual through immediate death but also as a reminder to those around of the seriousness of sin and the reality of the second death, spiritual death--eternal separation apart from God in hell.
Death in Ezekiel 18 refers to a premature physical death as a result of being punished for breaking the law; it is not referring to natural physical death. Everyone dies but not everyone dies a premature death as a result of punishment from fellow humans. This passage says in verse 17 and 21 that the son who does not do the sins of his father will not die a premature death of punishment. In the Law of Moses there were certain sins that were punishable by death. It had been rumored that among the "bani Israel" that the sons were taking the brunt of the fathers' sins. God made it clear to the "bani Israel" that they were to punish the one who had committed the crime. (Ezekiel 18:19-20) Yet even if someone truly is sorry for their sin and repents, there is mercy. (Ezekiel 18:21-22) Yet that mercy was there because of daily and yearly sacrifices that God had commanded to Moses.
In helping us to understand this we can ask the question, "Can the command of God be reversed?" We see that even when God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, God provided a ransom (fidi'a). God had commanded the son to die. When God saw Abraham's heart, he provided a sheep to die in his place. Now there was no sin involved here, but there was definitely a command of God involved. At first glance it may seem like God broke his command. But in actuality it is simply the outworking of his mercy. Yet the son who was commanded to die, lived. And the sheep died so that the son could live. That's exactly what a ransom is--something given in place of another or someone dying in place of another. The important thing is that it needs to be by the permission of God.
God commanded Moses that every year there was to be a sheep sacrificed to cover the sins of the people on the Day of Atonement. When the sheep died, the sins of the people were covered and the people were spared. (Leviticus 16) God also said, "For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life." (Leviticus 17:11)
When God brought the "bani Israel" out of Egypt, God commanded the people to offer a year-old lamb without spot or blemish and to put the blood on the doorposts of their house. If they were in that house at midnight when the death angel passed over, the firstborn of that house would not die. (Exodus 11:4-12:30)
So how does this apply to us today? Well, the Holy Bible tells me that you and I deserve to die because of our sin. If I don't think God means what he says, I'll keep on sinning unless there is a severe enough punishment for that sin. One way to remind people with weak faith is to punish them here in this life. But if I believe God about the seriousness of my sin and about the real punishment (eternal death) that is the result of my sin, then I will repent and change my mind about my sinful ways and begin to obey God. Part of the reason why Jesus Christ died a disgraceful death of extreme torture was to show us how wicked our sin is. The reminder of the account of Jesus Christ's death on the cross has a sobering affect on people's lives. This is why God has declared that this true story be communicated to all people, so that those who don't realize the seriousness of their sin will be brought up short and required to consider the seriousness of the sin in their lives so they won't be brought to a premature death of punishment at the hands of society.
True repentance can only happen when God's Spirit comes into our lives. But what do I do about the sin I have already committed? God says that I deserve to die as a result of it. The reason why God could give mercy in Ezekiel 18 was because of the sacrifices God commanded Moses to offer every year. When Jesus Christ came, he put an end to the sacrifices done every year, because they had to be done year after year. They were only good for one year. But Jesus Christ's sacrifice of his own life is forever. It does not allow people to keep on sinning. People who truly believe in that sacrifice realise the serious results of their sin. This allows people who have truly repented of their sin to receive the
mercy of God and escape the punishment they deserved. It also reminds them of their need to love others. When God sees that we take sin seriously and sees a heart of repentance in us, he will apply the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to our lives to save us from spiritual death, just like he sent a sheep to die in place of Abraham's son to save him from physical death. So even though we deserve to die, we will be spared. This is a sobering and humbling thought, causing us to praise God with our lips and hearts.The reason why Jesus Christ was required to atone for the lives of others was because God purposed this right from the beginning when he told the serpent, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will stike his heel." (Genesis 3:15) A perfect man was required to make proper atonement for men; the sacrifices of animals was not sufficient. A sacrifice better than the sacrifices of Moses was needed because the sacrifices of Moses had to be done year after year after year after year, only dealing with one year's sin at a time. A better high priest was also needed. This was because the value and effectiveness of the sacrifice was also dependent on the one who offered the sacrifice, the high priest. In the time of Moses the high priest could only offer a sacrifice to cover the sins of the people for the previous year because he could only guarantee that he was alive for the past year. He could not guarantee that he would be alive for the next year. But since Jesus Christ, who is the high priest that God has appointed, is eternal; he has guaranteed that he will be alive forever by rising from the dead--victory,
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NIV®
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