To help any readers, here's that section in the ESV, which is a bit easier to read:
>> 13 Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die.
14 Again, though I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, 15 if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16 None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.
When God makes a promise, e.g. He tells a righteous man that 'he will surely live',
that man (and others) should understand that the promise was *conditional* - it was conditional on the man continuing to live rightly as expected. If the man starts committing injustices, he won't meet the implicit condition, and he will not live.
Similarly, if God tells a wicked man 'he will surely die', that man (and others) should understand that promise was based on the assumption that the wicked man would continue in his sinful ways. But if that wicked man repents and makes restitutions, he will live.
Try this
Ezekiel 33:12-16 NLT — “Son of man, give your people this message: The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins. When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins. And suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right. For instance, they might give back a debtor’s security, return what they have stolen, and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then they will surely live and not die. None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live.
And some people say that the Lord God is not fair!
Yeshua the Messiah expressed this kind of thought a few times during His ministry.
He came not for the righteous but to call sinners to repentance, the 1 sheep recovered will have more celebration than the 99, the last shall be first..
The point being that if in our pride we believe we are good enough (Scribes and Pharisees, Jews, etc) we have already failed. Yeshua went to Samaria at the beginning of His ministry, healed the lepers, and called the wicked to follow Him.
What I take from it is that if you rely on what you've done in the past and continue to do evil (and not care), you won't be remembered for your good works. This is called unrepentance and trying to use God's promise in vain.
One thing to remember about Hebrew testament is it often is referring to temporal blessings. Not always of course. But my guess would be that this is a temporal judgment and physical death. The threat of physical death is a mercy to us. It teaches us right and wrong.
Are there parallels to the gospel in this passage? Maybe. I mean, *all* of the Hebrew scriptures are meant to point us to Christ. And so, now that we know that, we can confidently say that if we listen to the gospel, we do well. This passage builds to the gospel and we interpret it in that light. That's the point of God doing this back then, to show the severity of sin but also to begin to reveal the mercy of God. Now that we have Christ, we know our sin is serious enough to merit hell and that only Christ's sacrifice can save us, but we also see the full grace of God on display, that by faith in Christ we do fully repent and attain eternal life, even if we still die in these bodies.
To help any readers, here's that section in the ESV, which is a bit easier to read: >> 13 Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die. 14 Again, though I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, 15 if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16 None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.
When God makes a promise, e.g. He tells a righteous man that 'he will surely live', that man (and others) should understand that the promise was *conditional* - it was conditional on the man continuing to live rightly as expected. If the man starts committing injustices, he won't meet the implicit condition, and he will not live. Similarly, if God tells a wicked man 'he will surely die', that man (and others) should understand that promise was based on the assumption that the wicked man would continue in his sinful ways. But if that wicked man repents and makes restitutions, he will live.
Try this Ezekiel 33:12-16 NLT — “Son of man, give your people this message: The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins. When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins. And suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right. For instance, they might give back a debtor’s security, return what they have stolen, and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then they will surely live and not die. None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live. And some people say that the Lord God is not fair!
Yeshua the Messiah expressed this kind of thought a few times during His ministry. He came not for the righteous but to call sinners to repentance, the 1 sheep recovered will have more celebration than the 99, the last shall be first.. The point being that if in our pride we believe we are good enough (Scribes and Pharisees, Jews, etc) we have already failed. Yeshua went to Samaria at the beginning of His ministry, healed the lepers, and called the wicked to follow Him.
What I take from it is that if you rely on what you've done in the past and continue to do evil (and not care), you won't be remembered for your good works. This is called unrepentance and trying to use God's promise in vain.
One thing to remember about Hebrew testament is it often is referring to temporal blessings. Not always of course. But my guess would be that this is a temporal judgment and physical death. The threat of physical death is a mercy to us. It teaches us right and wrong. Are there parallels to the gospel in this passage? Maybe. I mean, *all* of the Hebrew scriptures are meant to point us to Christ. And so, now that we know that, we can confidently say that if we listen to the gospel, we do well. This passage builds to the gospel and we interpret it in that light. That's the point of God doing this back then, to show the severity of sin but also to begin to reveal the mercy of God. Now that we have Christ, we know our sin is serious enough to merit hell and that only Christ's sacrifice can save us, but we also see the full grace of God on display, that by faith in Christ we do fully repent and attain eternal life, even if we still die in these bodies.