Let’s take a look at Ezekiel chapter 18 and see if it provides any proof for the idea that God has a universal salvific love for mankind, since this will be necessary to challenge the Reformed position.
The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.
5 “If a man is righteous and does what is just and right— 6 if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman in her time of menstrual impurity, 7 does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, 8does not lend at interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man, 9 walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord God.
10 “If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things 11 (though he himself did none of these things), who even eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor’s wife, 12oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, 13 lends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.
14 “Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise: 15 he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, 16 does not oppress anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, 17withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father’s iniquity; he shall surely live. 18 As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity.
19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. 20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
21 “But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? 24 But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.
25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 26 When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. 27 Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. 28 Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?
30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” (ESV)
An analysis of this text will show the Arminian interpretation of verses 23 and 32 (as well as 33:11) to be severely problematic. Notice first of all that in this chapter the Lord is speaking of the personification of the nation of Israel. He is not addressing individual people or mankind in general. Notice the use of singular personal pronouns when referring to “the house of Israel” (i.e. “he” and “you”). Even when He speaks of the Israelites, He addresses them as a national unit, and not individuals (cf. “O house of Israel” following the “yourselves” in v. 31). So not only is mankind in general not who is in view in this text, but God actually seems to be speaking of the national or corporate death of the Israelite nation by judgment. It is the nation of Israel that God desires would turn from “his” wicked ways and live.
But what then is all of this discussion regarding the “righteous person” and the “wicked person”? When we understand what is happening in this chapter we’ll see that the Lord is only using an illustration here in order to demonstrate the point of an argument.
The whole argument of this chapter is that the Lord is rebuking the current generation of the people of Israel because of a false understanding regarding their moral relationship with past generations. Notice the second verse: “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?” This question sets the stage for the entire chapter. The people of Israel were misusing this proverb. You’ll notice when reading the text that it seems there were some who believed that children were to suffer the consequences of the sins of their fathers (cf. v. 19a). The proverb says that children are born with “bad teeth” because their fathers had “eaten sour grapes.” And the people understood this to mean that they were being judged by God, not because of their own unrighteousness, but because of the unrighteousness of their fathers.
So instead of recognizing the consequences of their own disobedience, the current generation believed, according to the proverb in verse 2, that God’s threats of judgment were due to the disobedience of former generations, and not their own. And because of this belief, the current generation saw no need to repent. In their eyes it would have been a hopeless plea. “Why should we bother to repent? Why should we bother to do what is right if God is judging us because of what ourfathers have done? We had no control over the disobedience of our fathers, and yet we are condemned for it, so what is the point?” This attitude is further evidenced when we see twice toward the end of the chapter the claim that there is iniquity in the Lord’s ways (vv. 25, 29). The current generation believed that the Lord’s threats of judgment upon them were actually due to the sins of their fathers, and hence they felt the Lord was being unfair. And obviously there would have been little use in repenting of their own sins if they were to be judged anyway according to the sins of others.
So this sets the stage for this chapter. God is presenting an argument through the prophet in Ezekiel 18 in order to rebuke the people of Israel in their false understanding. He is explaining to them that His threats of judgment are not due to the former generation’s sins, but rather because of their own. In verses 6 – 9 the Lord declares how people should be living, and then in verses 10 – 17 He is clear in explaining that the son who disobeys the Law of God will die for his iniquity (vv. 10 – 13), while the son who obeys the Law, even though he is born of a father who did not, is righteous and will live (14 – 17). So the Lord sets the people of Israel straight by declaring that they were misusing the proverb, and that they therefore have no excuse not to repent.
“As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die. … The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” (vv. 3-4, 20; ESV)
The words “soul,” “son,” and “father,” should be taken in a figurative sense. As we’ve seen that it is the personification of the nation of Israel that the Lord is addressing in this chapter, the best way to understand the usage of these words is that they are figurative or metaphorical terms for the present and former generations. These are not individual people that the Lord is making reference to. So when we read that “the son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father,” what the Lord is saying is that the current generation, that is, Ezekiel’s generation (the “son”), should suffer for their (i.e. his) own sinfulness, and not because of the sins of former generations (the “father”).
Of course, in some sense Ezekiel’s generation was living with the consequences of the sinfulness of former generations. Even when we look at modern America we can see the impact that a godless culture has upon the lives of present and future generations. Sin will impact all who live in a sinful society. As we grow up in an immoral and unbiblical society, we naturally become accustomed to living in a way that is dishonoring toward God. And the same was true of those in Ezekiel’s time. The former generations (the father) had practiced in idolatry and were unwilling to follow the Law. Consequently, the present generation (the son) would have had the same tendencies. Additionally, we even read in Exodus 34:7 that God will “[visit] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children.” So the teaching made reference to in verse 2 does in fact come from the Scriptures. But the point that the Lord is making in Ezekiel 18 is that this statement was not intended to mean that the children are unjustly held guilty for what their fathers did, and hence the people of Israel have no excuse for their refusal to repent of their own sin. Just because the former generations were sinful does not mean that all hope is lost for the present generation, even though they may in life still suffer the consequences of those sins. Each will be judged according to their own wickedness.
Now what is especially interesting about this text in light of our intentions for discussing it is that really the whole purpose of Ezekiel chapter 18 is to demonstrate the danger that exists in isolating a statement of Scripture from its context. The people of Israel were perverting the Scripture in the proverb mentioned in verse 2. God is rebuking them in order to correct their misunderstanding, which existed because they would not understand the statement within the context in which it was originally given. But how ironic is it that we should see this lesson taught in the very chapter of a proof-text that is so often cited in isolation from its own context, and hence runs the same risk of perverting Scripture. When these verses are interpreted in isolation from the context of a chapter that actually discusses the danger of isolating statements of Scripture, I’d say that’s a pretty good indication that the text is simply not being read, at least not critically. And this is a problem, because let’s consider what the favorite verses of this chapter would mean in light of the argument we have just looked at:
“Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” (Ezek. 18:23; ESV, repeated in verse 32 and 33:11)
Again, the irony is that this statement is often cited without any consideration of the context. And what’s even more devastating to the text is that sometimes the verse is not even cited in full. Usually we might encounter simply the phrase, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” But the little phrase “rather that” is an important part of this verse. Read properly and in context, we’ll see that this statement is not speaking of a general desire for every individual to be saved, but rather it is simply declaring little more than the fact that God is not diabolical. That is, God does not take pleasure in death as a thing in itself. He does not sit around and enjoy watching the unjust suffering and death of people.
Remember that the idea being presented which the Lord is rebuking in this chapter is this belief that God is simply out to get people. Because the people of Israel wrongly believed that the Lord’s threats of judgment upon them were due to what their fathers had done, they believed that God desired to judge them, not according to their unrighteousness, but rather according to some sick desire to watch them die. The people of Israel thought that God simply had it in for them. This is why they were declaring that there is iniquity in the Lord’s ways, because they felt the threats of judgment were unfair.
We must understand that it is this perverted idea of God’s judgment that He is responding to in verses 23 and 32. Notice where in the context these statements are made:
19 “<span>Yet you [i.e. the people of </span><span>Israel</span><span>] say</span>, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ …
21 <span>[The Lord responding]</span>: “But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? (Ezek. 18:19-23; ESV)
29 <span>Yet the house of </span><span>Israel</span><span> says</span>, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ <span>[The Lord responding]</span>: O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?
30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” (Ezek. 18:29-32; ESV)
The statements the Lord makes in verses 23 and 32 are part of a response He is making in sort of a debate that is going on here. Again, the people of Israel are saying that the Lord’s ways are not just, because they believed that God desired to judge them without reference to their own sin, and hence His desire merely for their destruction. But the Lord responds by telling the people of Israel that this is not so. He does not simply have it in for them. He does not judge unjustly. He does not simply take pleasure in their death, as if to say that God would still have them destroyed regardless of whether they repented. That is what He is saying here. This is why God says, in verse 26 for example, that the wicked man will be judged according to his own sin, and not according to the sins of the people who came before him. He is explaining to the people of Israel that His judgment is cast against sinners for their unrighteousness, and not because He diabolically enjoys watching people suffer, as one might assume to be the case if they believed God was judging them unfairly. And might I also remind us that mankind in general is not who is being addressed in Ezekiel 18 anyway. God is addressing His chosen people Israel. They had become a perverse people, but they were still His people. So it would make sense for Him not to desire their death, even if He is indeed still pleased to destroy other nations.
When understood in this way there can be no claim that these verses are alluding to a universal salvific love for mankind. This faulty interpretation arises out of the tradition and emotionally-driven tendency to take verses 23 and 32 out of this argument and treat them as an isolated proverb that is then expanded into an entire biblical concept. People ignore the fact that God is specifically responding here to a perverted understanding of His justice. They isolate the statement from the argument that it is actually in (much like the people of Israel did with the proverb in verse 2), and through an unconscious tendency to read the text in light of philosophical presuppositions they make it to say something that they want to believe about God: that God never desires, in any way, the punishment (which is what death is) of the wicked.
Now we can further prove that this concept of God in no way ever desiring the death or punishment of the wicked is a man-made idea that is not actually found in Scripture, because there is no way that such a notion can be reconciled with the rest of the Old Testament. Our brief consideration of only a few passages should prove this point beyond dispute.
Let’s look first at Isaiah 43:3-4:
For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. 4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. (ESV)
The Lord plainly shows favor over the nation of Israel here. God providentially spares Israel from the threat of invaders, and gladly destroys these north African nations for their sake. The Lord was pleasedto sacrifice these other nations in order to preserve His own chosen people. And the people of Israel, by the way, were no more deserving of salvation than those of these other nations. In fact in the very previous chapter it is said that Jacob and Israel would not walk in the Lord’s ways. And yet immediately afterward we see God declaring that He destroys other nations for the sake of this people.
Psalm 135:10-12:
Who struck down many nations and killed mighty kings, 11 Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan, 12 and gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to his people Israel. (ESV)
Again, God causes some to perish in order to preserve His own. Obviously there are times when God does take pleasure in the death of the wicked (after all, it is only righteous judgment).
But if that isn’t enough to convince the reader, consider a few more direct passages, such as Isaiah 46:9-11:
Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My <span>good pleasure’</span>; 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it. (NAB)
God is decreeing the destruction of Babylon here. He describes it as His “good pleasure” (or purpose) that Babylon would be destroyed. “Good pleasure” comes from the same Hebrew word (haphez) for “pleasure” in Ezekiel 18:23 and 32. God will end up restoring the remnant (i.e. His elect) among the people of Israel, but before doing so He must bring about a great judgment. And it is His good pleasurethat this judgment will come to pass. He does not judge because He merely has to, while wishing that He could simply show mercy alone. No, this is His will. It is what He has chosen to do. God will destroy many evil men in a great judgment, and it is His good pleasure that it will be done.
Isaiah 48:13-14:
Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together. 14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; <span>he will carry out His good pleasure on </span><span>Babylon</span>, And His arm will be against the Chaldeans. (NAB)
Once again, God is pleased to bring about the destruction of a sinful people. He is not made to do this against His will. It is His good pleasure that Babylon be destroyed, so that His chosen people Israel will be delivered. If the Arminian who misuses Ezekiel 18:23, 32; 33:11 were to stop for a moment and seriously consider what he is suggesting, he could not in good conscience continue in his belief. How can anyone say that God, who is holy, righteous and just, would not be pleased when He satisfies justice by bringing judgment upon sinners? Is God really a God of justice if He desires never to cast judgment upon guilty sinners, but rather does so with regret only because He must? If a murderer stands before a judge and the judge declares that he desperately wishes he could let the murderer go, but is unable to do so because justice requires him to punish, would you really call that person a right and just judge? I would suggest that anyone who feels that God hates to cast judgment upon sinners fails to recognize the true state of his own sin, and ultimately misunderstands what sin is. We cannot say that God is truly righteous and just if He is not pleased to satisfy justice.
Ezekiel 39:21:
And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them. (ESV)
Here we have in the same book as Ezekiel 18:23, 32; 33:11 the declaration that God will set His gloryamong the nations through judgment. This is but another way of saying that God is pleased to do this. The glorification of God certainly brings Him pleasure! And He is glorified, not only when He shows mercy, but also when He demonstrates His righteousness, through the judgment of wickedness. It shows that He is the holy, right, and just God that He claims to be, that He is pleased to uphold justice.
1 Samuel 2:25:
“If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the Lord desired to put them to death. (NAB)
In this passage Eli is rebuking his wicked sons. But his sons would not listen to him, because Goddesired to put them to death. Yet again, the word for “desired” in this verse is the same Hebrew word used for “pleasure” in Ezekiel 18:23, 32; 33:11. It means to delight in something. God was pleased to put to death these wicked men; He chose to do it. And for that reason they would not listen to their father.
So God desired to put to death the wicked sons of Eli (1 Sam. 2:25), yet He does not desire the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:23). This would appear to be an obvious contradiction. But should we simply settle the matter by saying that Scripture contradicts itself? Such a conclusion would involve rejecting orthodox Christianity. Yet if we are to take our Ezekiel verses to mean what our friends want them to mean – that in no way does God ever desire the death of any particular wicked person, but instead wishes that every single person would be saved – that is the only conclusion we could make. This is a strong warning of the danger involved in taking any statement of Scripture in isolation and expanding it into an entire biblical concept. The Arminian who refuses to retract his understanding of the Ezekiel verses can have no argument against the accusation that his theology implies that Scripture is contradictory, and thus not inerrant.
Any diligent student of the Word should know that the meaning of Ezekiel 18:23, 32; 33:11 cannot be “obvious” as it is often asserted to be, given what we read about the judgment of God everywhere else in Scripture and especially the Old Testament. We must understand the Ezekiel verses to be speaking in a different sense than these other citations we have looked at. And in fact, as we have seen, the context of Ezekiel 18 demonstrates precisely that to be the case. In no sense whatsoever can we understand Ezekiel 18 or 33 to be telling us that God is reluctant or displeased to bring about the death and destruction of guilty sinners.
