For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die. – Ezekiel 18:4

Today's Scripture Reading (May 13, 2020): Ezekiel 18

We often seem to have the idea that the Bible is stable over time. God never changes, so neither does his written word. The problem with that idea is that a case can be made for a progressive revelation; God may not change, but how we see God does change over time. God seems to become more apparent as time passes, and we learn from those who went before. Older passages of the Bible are obscured by cultural expectations, and the two are often mixed to the point where they are impossible to separate. But as time goes on, we begin to be able to separate the cultural or secular expectations from the divine. The result is an apparent biblical movement on some edges. And as Christians, we believe that the fullest and clearest revelation is found in Jesus Christ.

One of my favorite illustrations of this progression is the biblical expectation of eunuchs. Deuteronomy 23 is clear – "No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 23:1). But this is not the final biblical word on the subject. Isaiah, hundreds of years later, has this comment about the Eunuchs who endeavor to follow God, even though they are excluded from the assembly:

To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose what pleases me
    and hold fast to my covenant—
to them I will give within my temple and its walls
    a memorial and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
    that will endure forever (Isaiah 56:4-5).

Suddenly, the eunuch, while not necessarily included in the assembly, is now at the very least honored. The final movement concerning eunuchs takes place in the book of Acts as Philip has his encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip explains the life and ministry of Jesus to the eunuch, and, as a result of Philip's words, the eunuch asks Philip, "Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized" (Acts 8:36)? The legalistic answer is that the eunuch could not be baptized because he is excluded from the assemble according to the words of Moses in Deuteronomy, but would, someday, be honored according to the prophecy of Isaiah. But, instead, Philip baptizes the eunuch (Acts 8:38). Something changed. I do not believe it was a change in God, but it was a clarification in our biblical understanding, and the full revelation that we received in Christ Jesus.

Ezekiel words are another example of what seems to be biblical movement on an issue. Again, if we go back to words of Deuteronomy, God, through Moses, makes this declaration with regard to the worship of Idols; "You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me …" (Deuteronomy 5:9). At issue here is a phenomenon known as 'generational sin.' And there is no doubt that generational sin is a serious issue, even for our contemporary society. It takes place in so many areas of our lives. Poor money habits doom children throughout the generations to lives of poverty as these bad habits are passed down from parent to child. The same is a reality with child abuse in our culture. We know that an abuser tends to raise sons and daughter who will one day abuse their own children. There are many cycles that are passed down from parent to child that doom us to a life that is less than what we deserve.

But her, Ezekiel raises a note of hope. The cycle can be broken. Generational sin might be a cultural reality, rather than a divine sentence. If my children can change their habits, they can become successful in areas where I have failed. God's promise, spoken through the ministry of Ezekiel, to a generation whose parents had failed them, is clear. "The one who sins is the one who will die." If you choose differently, your outcome can change from the result suffered by those who went before you. And as parents, we need to make changes in our lives, so that we can help our children to live differently, forever breaking the cycle which has doomed us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 19