Aholah and Aholibah

Dear class,

Today's readings are taken from Ezekiel 21-23.

In today's reading, we come across an interesting chapter (23) which is a parable about 2 women, Aholah and Aholibah.
The names are telling - basically means "her tent" and "my tent is in her". According to Strongs' this "tent" refers to an idolatrous sanctuary.

The passage leaves no room to speculation as to who the 2 women represented (v.4).
It is interesting to note that the infidelity of Israel went as early as their days in Egypt. (v.3) That's a thousand years before! What a long suffering God is He! From the pattern we have seen, especially prominently in the time of the judges, it seems to suggest that the bondage which the Israelites fell under in Egypt, was as least in part, a consequence of their own infidelity.

It is interesting to note, although it seems that the Northern Kingdom is more "sinful" than the South, if we judge by the kings that ruled, v.11 tells us that the latter was indeed worse! This illustrates again the concept as we've seen earlier in chpt 18 - it does not matter how much "good" one has done; we will still be judged by our current status.
Judah could be demanding, "the Lord is not equal! Why are we compared to our sister who has not a shred of good in her. We at least have the likes of Asa, Hezekiah, Josiah in our midst! How can we be judged worse than Isarel???"
The question is, then why have you fallen IN SPITE of the goodly examples before you??

For us today, it certainly brings to mind 2Pe 2:20-22 and Heb 10:29. This is a stern and sobering warning for us. We, who have committed ourselves to God, who have tasted the graciousness of God should above all remain ever faithful to Him. If we ever harden ourselves yet again, we can expect our punishment to be worse than those outside Christ. Let us NEVER EVER fall into the same ranks as Israel and Judah, but continue steadfastly in our race, helping one another along the way, that we might all finally obtain the crown of life.

The Lord bless our day ahead.

in Him
Paul


--
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ~ Hebrews 3:13

The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. ~ Ezekiel 18:20

The Soul that Sinneth, It Shall Die

Dear Class,

Today's readings are taken from Ezekiel 17-20.

Ezekiel 18 presents one of the most important, backbone concepts of the commandments of God, aptly summed up in these 7 words - The soul that sinneth, it shall die. We are personally accountable to our own sins! And this is a concept that resounds throughout the New Testament, in one from or another, from Jesus (c.f. Mat 12:36,37; Luk 13:3,5) to the apostles (Rom 2:5-10; Gal 6:7,8; 1Pe 4:1-5). Observe what follows:

1) One does not inherit sin
As clearly illustrated by Ezekiel's account. The soul, be it father or son that sinned and passed on without repentance would be personally responsible. Posterity shall not inherit the sins of their forefathers! And if we were to trace all the way back, this is a plain and simple refutation of the erroneous doctrine of "original sin". HOWEVER, it does not mean that the subsequent generations do not suffer the physical CONSEQUENCES of the sins of the forefathers! And yes at times even after they (the forefathers) have repented. A child may have to struggle with congenital heart disease because his/her mother chose to smoke throughout her pregnancy. We all understand the rationale. And to misunderstand the concept is to misunderstand the very nature of sin.

2) Sin is the transgression of law
John says is no clear in 1Jn 3:4. That is the very reason why the soul that sins, dies (since the wages of sin is death, Rom 6:23), and the reason why we cannot inherit sin. How can the righteous God hold a soul accountable for something which he had not yet done? God forbid! But the soul that is at an age that is able to discern, that subsequently transgresses law in spite of being discerning, sins and is accountable.

3) No amount of good can save us
Here's where the audience have the greatest issue. What? Why,God? Why are you so unfair? Why would you treat a person who has done good all his life like a heinous sinner all his life just because of one mistake? And why would one evil doer who repents at the last moment have the same forgiveness as one who has faithfully followed you his entire life? And over to the New Testament, why would Jesus encourage us to lay up treasures in heaven when they will come to nought if only we make a mistake? (Mat 6:19-21)
You see, again, we go back to the same concept God is emphasizing - the soul that sins, dies. Notice God's answer:
Eze 18:26  When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
Eze 18:27  Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.

We need to remember that man is lost not because of not obeying the gospel but because of sin. The righteous can be lost if he sins! Conversely, the sinner who repents and turns over a new leaf will be saved.

Then again comes the protest as the audience perceives God's non-answer. And God replies:
Eze 18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
Eze 18:31  Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Eze 18:32  For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

Another non-answer perhaps? Some might say? But to Israel, they know better. When we observe the history of the Israelites, which was in fact summarised by Ezekiel in chpt 20, we see how long suffering God was with them. In contrast, we saw how the unrighteous pagan nations were swiftly brought to justice. What good will our good do? It will not earn our salvation, but it will buy us time. And it seems that, since Jesus had advised us to invest in heaven above, he has guaranteed that whatever we put in would not come to nought, unless we chose to forfeit it altogether!

We are reminded of the parable of the prodigal son. Notice how bitter and angry the elder son was when he saw how his father had celebrated the return of the unfilial younger son. You see, we need to be reminded that being in a position (and continuing to be that is!) of a faithful elder son has all the benefits cast in stone for him! Why then should he be jealous of the return of his unfaithful brother? Would that have taken away his part? Nay! But as a true filial son, he would rejoice with the father seeing the joy of his father, at the very least. And it would be a great tragedy if the elder son decided he should do the same to "gain favour" of his father.

And again, Paul encourages us "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (1Co 10:13) And Peter takes the same tack, "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:" (2Pe 2:9)

I have no doubt that the faithful Christian who spends his life in patient labour for the Lord, laying up great treasures in heaven, if not being watched over equally vigilantly by the Lord and be delivered swiftly from sin, in that he is able to quickly make right himself should he fall, will at least be accorded with a comparatively, "longer"-suffering mercy of God. A noted example is that of King David and his sins in the case of Bathsheba.
On the flip side, one who has tasted the grace of God and yet choose to turn away not because of a moment's folly but by deliberate, haughty, disobedience, has only a worser outcome in store if he will not repent (2Pe 2:20-22)

Finally, God is merciful! He has NO PLEASURE in the destruction of the wicked! (Eze 18:23,32) He is long suffering even toward the sinner and would that all come to repentance and salvation (2Pe 3:9). Wherefore, we need to be careful not to develop an attitude of "serves him right" but that of compassion and mercy even as our Lord Jesus has patterned for us.

Let us all be reminded of God's grace and mercy and of His long-suffering warnings, that we be constantly on our toes, to shun evil, do that which is right and be swift and ready to repent and turn back when we fall, even as we help one another to reach our heavenly goal.

The Lord bless our day ahead.

in Him
Paul


--
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ~ Hebrews 3:13

The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. ~ Ezekiel 18:20