God Is Just
Judging individuals
Ezekiel 18:1-2
Read the Bible through:
AM - Ecclesiastes 1-3 : PM - 1 Corinthians 10
"What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge'? (Ezek. 18:2).
Judging individuals
Ezekiel 18:1-2
Read the Bible through:
AM - Ecclesiastes 1-3 : PM - 1 Corinthians 10
"What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge'? (Ezek. 18:2).
I grew up in a small neighborhood in North Tulsa. It was a closed neighborhood surrounded by a steel manufacturing plant on the west, auto salvages on the north, small industrial businesses on the east, and a chemical plant on the south. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the sins of their neighbors and didn't mind saying so over the backyard fence.
The family that ranked highest on the gossip list lived in a shack around the block from us. They were so poor that the mother had to cook outside and make the kids' shirts out of flour sacks. When something came up missing around the community, they received the blame. My mother disagreed. "They may be poor, but they are not thieves," she said. Sadly, the rest of the neighborhood was not that trusting.
Our devotional passage relates God's disapproval of a certain proverb. The proverb was used by the Israelites to blame others rather than accepting personal responsibility for sin. Let us remember, "Judge not, that you be not judged."
Lord, forgive me for judging others
