“The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (Ezek. 18:2).[1]
Bite into a sour grape and then as the acidic juice fills the mouth comes a stinging sensation that goes right into the jaw. The eyes squint and lips pucker. “Blah!” It is a most unpleasant experience. Yet, this is the experience of the eater and the sensation is never shared by the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of the eater. Only the eater of the sour grape tastes the sour grape.
What the one uttering the proverb means to communicate is this: “The sour grapes which the fathers eat are the sins which they commit; the setting of the children’s teeth on edge is the consequence thereof, i.e., the suffering which the children have to endure.”[2] As it is silly to suppose the sour grape eaten by a father will be tasted by his children, so too there is something amiss in children being punished for the wrongdoings of the father.
Sour Grapes: Members of Ezekiel’s audience had a gripe to pick with the Lord. They were among the Jewish people taken into the Babylonian captivity (2 Kgs. 24:10-17; cf. Ezek. 1:1; 3:1-15) and they counted themselves as those being punished for the sins of their parents. So, they got into the habit of uttering the proverb: “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” The complainers had misunderstood Lord’s way of dealing with the sin that had infested their community.
Yahweh thus responded, “As I live…this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 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” and “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” (Ezek. 18:3-4, 20).
The example of a righteous father, an unrighteous son and a repentant grandson is presented to illustrates the way each individual is accountable for their own actions. The father who forsakes sinful ways and pursues righteousness and forsakes sinful ways shall live and not die (Ezek. 18:5-9). The son who forsakes the righteous ways of his father and pursues sinful ways shall die and not live (Ezek. 18:10-13). But the grandson who forsakes the sinful ways of his father and pursues righteousness shall live and not die (Ezek. 18:14-18).[3] Only the one who sins is punished but nobody else is punished for the wrongdoings of the offender. Simply put: “Everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge” (Jer. 31:30).
Babylonian captivity came as the result of the Jewish people abandoning their covenant with the Lord. Moses taught that those faithful to their covenant with the Lord will experience blessings and life in the promise land, but the unfaithful to their covenant with the Lord will experience curses and death in exile, and all ought to choose life over death (Deut. 11:26-32; 27:1-30:20). Those who forsook their covenant with the Lord were taken into exile. Exile called for lamentation over depravity and confession of sin.
Daniel understood that he was living through the times of Jerusalem’s desolation prophesied by Jeremiah (Dan. 9:1-2; cf. Jer. 25:1-14), thus he prayed and fasted in sackcloth and ashes, lamenting and confessing the sins of his generation to the Lord (Dan. 9:1-19). Rather than uttering complaints about suffering on account of the sins of the fathers, the moment called for lamentation and repentance over the depravity that had infested their community and brought them to ruin.
Generational Sin? The idea of children being punished for the sins of their fathers stemmed from the misapprehension of the declaration within the second commandment: “I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation” (Exod. 20:5; see also Exod. 34:7, Num. 14:18 and Deut. 5:9).
The third and fourth generation is “the greatest probable extent of the range of any one family actually living together in one household.”[4] But this has to do with each member of the family participating in the idolatry. Here is how it works:
Parents model for their children. The sinful behavior of parents is readily followed by their children. Regrettably, therefore, children frequently found themselves practicing the same sinful acts as their father. Likewise, they must accept the same just punishment for such actions. However, each child is still individually responsible. He can abort the ‘sin-punishment-inheritance’ progression at any time. But he must repent and do what is right.[5]
But Moses unambiguously decrees, “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin” (Deut. 24:16). Idolaters are condemned for their idolatry, but those keep themselves from idols, even if it means forsaking the wishes of their own family, are commended.
Moses says nothing about one’s personal sin being an entry point for Satan or demons to form a stronghold upon the person, which becomes root cause of all sorts of social and psychological maladies that gets passed down from one generation until the next or at least until the malevolent spirts are exorcised. But such is an illegitimate teaching imposed upon the biblical text which can hardly be drawn from the reading and interpreting the passage using sound hermeneutical principles.
This much is true: “consequences — not curses — are passed on through the generation;” thus, “children of alcoholic fathers frequently suffer neglect and abuse as a direct consequence of their father’s sinful behavior,” and “the descendants of those who hate God are likely to follow in the footsteps of their forefathers.”[6]
Demons through mind-to-mind communication tempt us to sin. They can even spiritually cheer us on and give a “pat on the back” whenever we succumb to the temptations. However, the blame for the actual sin falls upon us alone (Jas. 1:13-15, 4:7-8; 1 Jn. 2:15-17). Spiritual warfare calls for the putting on the armor of God to resist the spiritual powers who wage war against God and the people of God (Eph. 6:11-20; 1 Pet. 5:8). But demonic possession and/or oppression is never hereditary.
Mercy and Repentance: Yes, the Lord is “a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation” but there is also a counterbalance within the second commandment about the same Lord “showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exod. 20:6). His love endures forever.
Ezekiel makes it abundantly clear that the one who turns from sins, keeps the statutes of the Lord, and does what is just and right shall receive life but not death, since the Lord takes no pleasure in destroying the wicked but in their repentance (Ezek. 18:21-22). Conversely, judgment falls upon the one who turns to evil. The one who turns away from righteousness, commit acts of injustice, and joins in the abomination of the wicked shall perish for treachery and will be forgotten (Ezek. 18:24). Each person will be judged according to their deeds.
Ezekiel’s audience had to come to grips with their sin. God thus implores them to: “Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. 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? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live” (Ezek. 18:30-32). The Lord never casts away the repentant. Yet, Ezekiel also finds Yahweh providing all that is needed for us to adequately deal with the sin problem. Thus says the Lord: “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezek. 36:26-27; see also Ezek. 11:19-20; 37:14; Joel 2:28-32). The indwelling of the Holy Spirit earnestly anticipated by Ezekiel is fully realized with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:1-41; 2 Cor. 3:1-6).
Conclusion: Ezekiel’s generation needed to move beyond complaints about children being punished for the sins of their fathers to the place of lamenting over the depravity that had infested their community. The same principle applies to the Christian. For example, James instructs us: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (Jas. 4:8-10).
James calls Christians to lament over the greed and injustice that infects the world (Jas. 5:1-5), and to observe true undefiled worship in the ministering to orphans and widows (Jas. 1:27), which are themselves conditions stemming from human depravity.
We live in a sinful and fallen world. Yes, we do experience the effects of sin committed by others. On the other hand, if our teeth are set on edge, it is because we have eaten sour grapes, as opposed to anybody else. We are never really just the morally neutral being punished for somebody else’s sin. Our problem is that we bent toward sin. Although we never sin in every way possible, we inevitably sin in one way or another. All sin and fall short of the glory of God.
Our situation goes beyond improving our environment so that our basic inner goodness will shine forth unimpeded. Right nurturing, education, social infrastructure, positive role models, and positive self-esteem are necessary but not sufficient for improving conditions in this world. The problem runs deeper. It is rooted in a sinful heart. We need a new heart from the Lord. But the Lord provides for us the new heart we so desperately need.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! | Try me and know my thoughts! | And see if there be any grievous way in me, | and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psa. 139:23-24).
—WGN
- All Scripture cited from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), unless noted.
- Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 9 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 142.
- The particular sins mentioned included: murder (“violent shedder of blood”), idolatry (“eats upon on the mountains;” “lift his eyes to idols”), sexual perversion (“defiles his neighbor’s wife”), theft (“commits robbery;” “does not restore the pledge”) and exploitation (“oppresses the poor and needy;” “lends at interest” — the extraordinary interest rates associated with usury). All these sins were explicitly condemned in the Torah (i.e., the Five Books of Moses).
- Robert P. Gordon, New International Bible Commentary, ed. F. F. Bruce (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979), 170.
- Ralph H. Alexander, “Ezekiel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 6 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), 823.
- Hank Hanegraaff, Complete Bible Answer Book: Collector’s Edition Revised and Updated (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2008, 2016) 485.
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