August 26
Ezekiel 18 & 1Thessalonians 4
Go To Today
Hide/Show Verse Numbers

Ezekiel 18

Chapter 18

18:1The word of the Lord came to me: 2"What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel:
The fathers eat sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are set on edge?
3As I live"-this is the declaration of the Lord God-"you will no longer use this proverb in Israel. 4Look, every life belongs to Me. The life of the father is like the life of the son-both belong to Me. The person who sins is the one who will die.
5"Now suppose a man is righteous and does what is just and right: 6He does not eat at the mountain shrines or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife or come near a woman during her menstrual impurity. 7He doesn't oppress anyone but returns his collateral to the debtor. He does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing. 8He doesn't lend at interest or for profit but keeps his hand from wrongdoing and carries out true justice between men. 9He follows My statutes and keeps My ordinances, acting faithfully. Such a person is righteous; he will certainly live." This is the declaration of the Lord God.
10"Now suppose the man has a violent son, who sheds blood and does any of these things, 11though the father has done none of them. Indeed, when the son eats at the mountain shrines and defiles his neighbor's wife, 12and when he oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, and does not return collateral, and when he raises his eyes to the idols, commits detestable acts, 13and lends at interest or for profit, will he live? He will not live! Since he has committed all these detestable acts, he will certainly die. His blood will be on him.
14"Now suppose he has a son who sees all the sins his father has committed, and though he sees them, he does not do likewise. 15He does not eat at the mountain shrines or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife. 16He doesn't oppress anyone, hold collateral, or commit robbery. He gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing. 17He keeps his hand from harming the poor, not taking interest or profit on a loan. He practices My ordinances and follows My statutes. Such a person will not die for his father's iniquity. He will certainly live.
18"As for his father, he will die for his own iniquity because he practiced fraud, robbed his brother, and did what was wrong among his people. 19But you may ask, 'Why doesn't the son suffer punishment for the father's iniquity?' Since the son has done what is just and right, carefully observing all My statutes, he will certainly live. 20The person who sins is the one who will die. A son won't suffer punishment for the father's iniquity, and a father won't suffer punishment for the son's iniquity. The righteousness of the righteous person will be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be on him.
21"Now if the wicked person turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is just and right, he will certainly live; he will not die. 22None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. He will live because of the righteousness he has practiced. 23Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?" This is the declaration of the Lord God. "Instead, don't I take pleasure when he turns from his ways and lives? 24But when a righteous person turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same detestable acts that the wicked do, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. He will die because of the treachery he has engaged in and the sin he has committed.
25"But you say, 'The Lord's way isn't fair.' Now listen, house of Israel: Is it My way that is unfair? Instead, isn't it your ways that are unfair? 26When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, he will die for this. He will die because of the iniquity he has practiced. 27But if a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life. 28He will certainly live because he thought it over and turned from all the transgressions he had committed; he will not die. 29But the house of Israel says, 'The Lord's way isn't fair.' Is it My ways that are unfair, house of Israel? Instead, isn't it your ways that are unfair?
30"Therefore, house of Israel, I will judge each one of you according to his ways." This is the declaration of the Lord God. "Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so they will not be a stumbling block that causes your punishment. 31Throw off all the transgressions you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel? 32For I take no pleasure in anyone's death." This is the declaration of the Lord God. "So repent and live!

1Thessalonians 4

Chapter 4

4:1Finally then, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received from us how you must walk and please God-as you are doing-do so even more. 2For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
3For this is God's will, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality, 4so that each of you knows how to control his own body in sanctification and honor, 5not with lustful desires, like the Gentiles who don't know God. 6This means one must not transgress against and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger of all these offenses, as we also previously told and warned you. 7For God has not called us to impurity but to sanctification. 8Therefore, the person who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who also gives you His Holy Spirit.
9About brotherly love: You don't need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. 10In fact, you are doing this toward all the brothers in the entire region of Macedonia. But we encourage you, brothers, to do so even more, 11to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12so that you may walk properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone.
13We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. 14Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. 15For we say this to you by a revelation from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord's coming will certainly have no advantage over those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel's voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Daily Comments