August 20th~The Blame Game

Ezekiel 17:1-19:14

God used Ezekiel to confront a deceitful doctrine promoted among His people. The doctrine was passed along in this proverb, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste” (18:2). Simply put, they were blaming the judgment that they were experiencing on the sins of preceding generations.

This blame game hearkened back to the days of Moses and the Ten Commandments. The Lord told the people, “I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations” (Exodus 20:5). So were the people correct in their assumption? Were they being judged for the sins of previous generations?

On one hand, the people were correct in their assessment. The judgment of Judah was a cumulative punishment for the nation. Many generations had chosen to do what was evil in God’s sight; He could not allow the nation to survive, much less succeed.

Is it not true that what one generation chooses to do will affect future generations? Think of the choices our nation’s forefathers have made. Has the practice of slavery (1619-1865) had any long-lasting effects on our country? What about our national decision to embrace evolution, welfare, or abortion? Will our promotion of political correctness, same-sex marriage, or transgenderism influence our descendants? Absolutely. God’s warning is legitimate. The sins of one generation, in this case idolatry (Exodus 20:5), have consequences in the next.

On the other hand, Ezekiel’s contemporaries were using this truth — that the sins of one generation affect another — to justify their innocence. In other words, they were not taking responsibility for their own sins but, instead, shifting the blame and the focus on others. Sadly, as they blamed others for their situation, they also blamed God for being unjust, for punishing them for something they did not do. Here, then, is the dangerous deception Ezekiel confronted.

The Lord made it clear, even in the days of Moses, that a person dies on account of his own sins, not because of the sins of his fathers (Deut. 24:16; Ezekiel 18:4). While national judgment is based on national sin, personal judgment is based on personal sin. No one but Christ is without sin; therefore, God is just in His judgment of both men and nations.

Daily Reflection

Have you ever played the blame game, pointing fingers at what others have done while ignoring your own depravity? Why do we do that?

How do the words of Jesus relate to this issue? “The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. Why worry about the speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye, then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5).

Your judgment is based on your sin, period. The good news is that those in Christ have had their sins exchanged for His righteousness.

BiAY.org | Day 232 — 133 Days to Go