No Pleasure in Death - Ezekiel 33:7-11

We like to talk about others being violent. We discuss urban violence as an issue of another’s sin. We discuss the seemingly endless conflict in the Middle East as a moral blight based on the otherness of the actors in that far away place. We discuss corruption and oppression in other nations and cultures as though our own hands and history bear none of the stains. When Jesus talked about seeing the speck in the eye of another while there is a log in one’s own eye, he reminds us that we often rush to make ourselves feel better by tearing another down. That is an act of violence that dissociates us from those we cast as “other.” Meanwhile, we are called to love one another without distinction. Why, then, do we seek to tear others down, taking pleasure in the suffering of others? Such is not of God.

I repeatedly hear claims that God is presented in the Hebrew Scriptures as wrathful and vengeful. As I read those Scriptures, however, I find something very different. Sure, they tell of wars, torture, and revenge killings. This does not mean those stories reflect the character and will of Yahweh in every instance. Often as not, they are a call for our reflection. The Scriptures call us to follow a different path of living that eschews violence. The prophets spoke repeatedly of Yahweh being long-suffering and merciful with a people in desperate need of repentance. Should it really be any surprise to find Ezekiel telling us that Yahweh has no pleasure in bringing about death?

Today’s passage presents one of those passages we often read from the perspective of Yahweh as a violent deity. We read Ezekiel’s words from our echo chamber, expecting Yahweh to have violent attitudes toward the wicked, ungodly, and all those we deem unworthy of grace. Those who in our eyes deserve punishment are the target of Yahweh’s words. They are the ones who have sinned and we greet with eagerness the concept that they will die in their sin. The fact that Ezekiel portrays Yahweh with a much more extensive message is something we tend to brush aside.

Sure, we recognize pretty clearly that Yahweh was charging Ezekiel as Yahweh’s mouthpiece with responsibility to warn the wicked of their sin. When Ezekiel had a message to evildoers, he would be held to account for communicating Yahweh’s message in warning to those who were straying from the path Yahweh had for them.

We do okay with that concept. We may even relish interpreting that as long as we fulfill our responsibility to call out the sins of the wicked, we can expect to see them condemned for not turning from their sin. As long as we fulfill Jonah’s task of telling Nineveh they were living under Yahweh’s condemnation, we can rest feeling superior to those wicked people who are not like us. We can rest in our sense that not only is God justified in their condemnation, we can claim superiority to them as those who by contrast are following God’s plan for humanity. Yahweh’s words to Ezekiel, however, do not stop there. They do not allow for this sense of even the prophet’s superiority over those to whom we are charged to speak. The whole purpose of sending the prophet to speak a word of warning to the wicked is at stake in such a gross misrepresentation of Yahweh and Yahweh’s purposes toward those we so heartily decry as evil and wicked. Rather than seeking some justification for condemning the wicked for their errant ways, Yahweh’s word of warning has as its very design a word of redemption, restoration, and rescue.

The prophet was accountable not to justify punishment or condemnation. The prophetic warning was to avoid condemnation and punishment. Yahweh never needed any justification to condemn, punish, or kill any human being for misdeeds. The prophetic history of Israel is filled with stories that counter just such a notion. Instead of being hungry for violent outcomes and seeking some excuse to justify executing justice, Yahweh is revealed time after time as the one who yearns to restore all of creation to the original purposes of living in fellowship, harmony, and peace with one another and with God.

From the story of Cain’s murder of Abel, we find Yahweh warning people of the error of their ways, then seeking to redeem those who have refused to heed warnings for their redirection and rescue. We find the Hebrew people complaining in the wilderness while Yahweh still intercedes to meet their needs. We find Yahweh working in mercy and compassion through David towards Saul who unjustly tries to kill David time and again. We find Yahweh demonstrating superiority over Baal, then standing down from destroying Israel with its king and queen when they refuse to honor Yahweh appropriately. We find Yahweh declaring acceptance of Nineveh’s repentance, even while Jonah remains incensed over it all. We find Yahweh full of grace and compassion, rather than violent, condemning anger.

No, it is not condemnation, destruction, and punishment that Yahweh holds near and dear. That is much more the issue of fallen humanity. We are the ones who are malicious, angry, vindictive, violent, and desirous of condemning others that we might feel somehow superior and more worthy. That is also a theme developed from the Genesis narratives and extending through the writings of Paul. No matter how much we might project our violent tendencies upon God, they simply do not match up with how the Hebrew Scriptures present the character and design of Yahweh.

Most unfortunately, we have needed this reminder generation after generation. The sons of Isaac and Jacob did not grasp the lesson any better than the servants of David. Elijah had to be prodded toward understanding the concept. Elisha struggled to instill the concepts of grace and mercy as consistent with Yahweh’s design. John and Jesus had to repeat the lesson, reminding their followers to do good to those who desired nothing better than to oppress and harm them.

No, violent retribution is not near and dear to the heart of Yahweh. It never has been. It has ever been Yahweh’s plan to turn humanity from our penchant for violence and condemnation. Just as Ezekiel, we consistently need a reminder that so many atrocities committed in the name of protecting God and in defense of the gospel were never in concert with the God we claimed to protect.

The word of Yahweh here to Ezekiel is very clear for any who would wish to listen. “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” None. It’s not even a case of, “Well, that is my second choice will for them if they won’t play by the rules.” No, like John writes after pondering Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” That is what Yahweh was already telling Ezekiel generations before the coming of Jesus as Messiah. It’s what Genesis already told us in the story of Cain’s redemption.

No, God is not the violent monster so many have portrayed in a false Christianity. That is the caricature of Greek, Roman, and Palestinian mythologies. We project that onto Yahweh and Jesus because that is who we are. While we might seek pleasure in the death or misfortune of others we consider evil, wicked, or simply “other,” that is not the character of Yahweh. When will we quit pretending it is? When will we finally say with Yahweh to Ezekiel, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked?”

— ©Copyright 2020, Christopher B. Harbin

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