Say unto them, as I live, saith the Lord ,.... The following is the answer returned from the Lord by the prophet to their above complaint and reasoning; to which is premised the oath of God, showing the certainty, reality, and sincerity of what is said, which might be depended on as true: I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked , &c.; See Gill on Ezekiel 18:23 , Ezekiel 18:31 , Ezekiel 18:32 , read more
Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people ,.... See Gill on Ezekiel 33:2 . The purport of what the prophet is bid to say in this and some following verses is, that the righteousness of a man that trusts in it, he sinning and not repenting, shall not save him; and that the wickedness of a repenting sinner shall not damn him: the righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression ; this must be understood, not of a truly righteous... read more
When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live ,.... A happy life, here and hereafter; an eternal life, and not die the second death: this must be understood, should he appear a truly righteous person; one that does not trust to his own righteousness, but to the righteousness of Christ, and lives by faith on that; looking for the hope of righteousness through it, and behaving agreeably to his character: but if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity ; as he... read more
Again, when I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die ,.... That is, provided he continues in the same course of life, impenitent and unbelieving: but if he turn from his sin ; repent of it, and forsake it: and do that which is lawful and right ; or "judgment and justice"; do that which is agreeably to the law of God, and what is right between man and man; lives soberly, righteously, and godly, as well as denies ungodliness and worldly lusts; whereby it appears that his repentance... read more
As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked - From this to the twentieth verse inclusive is nearly the same with Ezekiel 18, on which I wish the reader to consult the notes. read more
If he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity - If he trust in his acting according to the statutes and ordinances of religion, and according to the laws relative to rights and wrongs among men, and in other respects commit iniquity, he shall die for it. read more
The hope and the way of life. Taking these words apart from their immediate application, as we may do without departing from their spirit and inner meaning, we are invited to think of— I. HUMAN HOPELESSNESS . "Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them." The men into whose lips these words are put are very far from being the only ones to whom they apply. All men everywhere may say the same—all who live on in conscious departure from the will of God. 1.... read more
Men's misconception of God's government. Men are naturally prone to merge themselves in the nation. This was, perhaps, a stronger habit among the Jews than among us. They could not understand how that, while God punished the nation, he could protect the individual. Israel may be depressed in fortune, while yet Daniel and his companions are elevated. Sodom may be destroyed, but Lot shall be preserved. I. SUFFERING OFTEN BLINDS MEN 'S EYES TO GOD 'S EQUITABLENESS . It is... read more
Say unto them , etc. To meet that despair the prophet has to fall back on the truth which he had proclaimed once before ( Ezekiel 18:32 ). He must appear as uttering a message of pardon resting on the unchanging character of the great Absolver. Now, as ever, it is true that he willeth not the death of the wicked, that all punishment (in this world, at least) is meant to lead to repentance, and that for those who repent there is the hope of restoration and of life. No righteousness in the... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezekiel 33:10-20
These verses are the substance of what we had before (Ezek. 18:20) and they are so full and express a declaration of the terms on which people stand with God (as the former were of the terms on which ministers stand) that it is no wonder that they are here repeated, as those were, though we had the substance of them before. Observe here, I. The cavils of the people against God's proceedings with them. God was now in his providence contending with them, but their uncircumcised hearts were not... read more