Sour Grapes

In 2002, the African nation of Swaziland suffered a famine in which 250,000 people were on the brink of starvation. At the same time the UN asked for emergency funds to relieve the suffering, the king of Swaziland ordered a $55 million private luxury jet. The money was taken from a development fund for projects aimed at making Swaziland economically self-sufficient. In the meantime, a quarter of a million Swazis were starving to death. The injustice of so many suffering so much due to the corruption of a few is overwhelming.

This injustice gave Israel in the time of Ezekiel a bad case of "sour grapes." An entire generation of Jew grew up in Babylonian captivity due to Israel's rebellion against God. But this generation of captive had not rebelled; that was the sin of their fathers. They used the proverb, "The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge" (Ezek18:2). They were being held guilty of sin that was not theirs. They even saw in this a proof of God's injustice, "The way of the Lord is not just" (Ezek 18:25). God's gave a clear answer to their proverb--

For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die. (Ezekiel 18:4)

While sometimes the innocent must suffer the consequences of the sinful choices of others, only the soul that sins will be held accountable as guilty. Fathers will not be held guilty for the sins of their children; neither will children inherit the sins of their parents (see Ezek 18:19-20). Ezekiel here may not be giving a full treatment on the doctrine of "Original Sin," but what he says here is powerful. As is the fact that God ends the text with an invitation--

“Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live! (Ezekiel 18:30-32)