Judah Needed To Change
Robert Meredith
The southern kingdom of Judah had received many warnings from God concerning their ungodly life style. Jeremiah and others had pleaded with them to repent, and return to God, but unfortunately these pleas went unheeded. Ezekiel exhorted the people of God to change when he wrote, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all My statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? Saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that
he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die” (Ezekiel 18:20-24). And again the prophet proclaimed, “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye” (Ezekiel 18:30-32). Judah had a choice. They could persist in their evil ways and perish, or they could turn toward God and live. They needed to repent of their wrongs.
The Apostle Paul proudly penned, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). Christians are to study the Old Testament, not because we are under it (Colossians 2:14), but so that we might learn the valuable lessons of how God deals with His followers. Could it be that you are like those of Ezekiel’s day? God pleaded with them to “make you a new heart and a new spirit.” They needed to repent. Notice, it was not that God directly changed them. God gave His message to them through the prophet, and it was their choice to repent, follow God and live, or reject Him, through the rejection of His message and messenger, and die.
Do you need a new heart and a new spirit? Do you need to change? Repentance is brought about by godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10). One prominent definition of repentance is that it is a change of heart, brought about by godly sorrow, which leads to a changed life. Every New Year’s Eve millions of people make New Year’s resolutions. Many of them are trivial in comparison to eternity. Why not resolve to return to God. The choice is yours. God desires that you return to Him, but if you choose to remain apart from His grace, remember the above text.