If you ask anyone of any age, if they want to die, most people would answer, no. Yes, we do hear tragic stories of people taking their own lives in suicide, or terminally ill people who are suffering great pain and discomfort, with seemingly no quality of life, who wish to die. Elijah, when running away from Queen Jezebel, was so exhausted and discouraged, he wished to die. He said, “O LORD, take away my life.” 1 Kings 19:4. Job also, in the midst of his suffering, did not wish to live. “Even that it would please God to destroy me; that He would let loose His hand, and cut me off!” Job 6:9. However, for the vast majority of people, they prefer to live. There is a strong desire to fight for life as long as possible.
When people get older, they get more feeble, and thus seek medical assistance so that their lives can be prolonged. The rich pay a lot of money for the best doctors so that they can get a few more days of life, but no amount of money can save a person from the inevitable—death.
Death comes upon all, both man and animal. None can avoid it. “For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.“ Ecclesiastes 3:19–20. No one can escape death. No man or no animal. In death, all are equal, whether rich or poor, weak or strong, famous or homeless, man or animal. They have no influence on anything that is happening on earth—nothing.
Many fear death because they do not know what is in the hereafter. What will happen next? Will they end up in heaven? Or will they end up in hell fire? Some know that they have departed from God and death is terrifying. “The sting of death is sin.” 1 Corinthians 15:56. But, the truth is that all people die. You and I will all die one day unless we are faithful enough to be spared death by still being alive when Jesus returns a second time to receive His own into heaven.
Yet, we read in the Bible of God asking the question, “for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” Ezekiel 33:11. Is not this a strange question to ask? We all will die one day. We have no choice—we will die. There is nothing we can do about it. “For we must needs die, and are as water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again.” 2 Samuel 14:14
The day Adam and Eve sinned, they were told, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Genesis 3:19
Clearly, as many already know, two deaths are being spoken of. The first death, we all experience, both good and evil. None can avoid it. There is nothing we can do to escape it. It is, in reality, only a sleep because all will awake out of it. Some to be received into heaven, and some to receive the punishment of the second death, which is eternal.
This second death, not the first, is the one that the Lord is speaking of through Ezekiel.
The first death, we have no choice in, but the second death we do have a choice. The decisions we make today decide if we will experience the second death or not. God is appealing to man in Ezekiel 33 to turn from his evil ways and then He ends up asking, “why will you die?”
Clearly the choice of the second death is not on God. It is on us. Although the final act of the destruction of the wicked comes as fire from heaven—from God, the decision as to whether we will be a part of that destruction or be in the New Jerusalem is ours to make, and ours alone.
You may ask every Christian on this earth if they want to go to heaven, and of course you will receive an affirmative response. However, when it comes to the conditions to obtaining eternal life, there is a variety of opinions as to the expectations. They go from one extreme to the other—from 100% work righteousness, that we can work our way to heaven, to 100% Jesus does it all, and we can keep on sinning because we are helpless to overcome our sin while living on this earth. And then there are a variety of standards in between. Even in God’s church, there can be a variety of standards in situations we call “grey areas.” Some feel strongly that we should adopt a vegan diet because that will be the diet in heaven and we are on the brink of eternity now, and it is very possible to be healthy and get all the nutrients you need from a vegan diet. Others are not so strict. As long as it is not literal flesh, they feel animal products can be, and will be, consumed with much safety today until the Lord returns. There are minor variances also on dress reform, sabbath keeping, and other areas with different people. The reality is that, with God, there are no grey areas. “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” Matthew 5:37
Where do you stand in your personal life? How challenging is your daily struggle to live a righteous life? What choice are you making today? What is your response to the Lord when He comes and points out your sins and shortcomings and asks you, “Why will you die?”
What is the solution? It is to repent here and now—today. You must be willing to change your ways and choose to follow the Lord in every detail of your life. “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life.” Deuteronomy 30:19. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.” Joshua 24:15. Even the smallest decisions we make every day shows what direction we are headed. The smallest deviations from the correct way are not viewed as so minor in the eyes of God. Each decision is building our character, whether for heaven, or for annihilation. “Can we not understand that the most costly thing in the world is sin? It is at the expense of purity of conscience, at the cost of losing the favor of God and separating the soul from Him, and at last losing heaven. The sin of grieving the Holy Spirit of God and walking contrary to Him has cost many a one the loss of his soul.” –Faith and Works, p. 17. Why will you die?
“Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.” Isaiah 59:1–2. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Psalm 66:18
Say like King David, “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” Psalm 51:13. And, “I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.” Psalm 32:5. For some it is so very hard to repent and acknowledge their sin when brought to them, especially if it is brought by another person, and perhaps someone younger than them, or newer in the faith.
We do know that God is fair, although sometimes we may not understand what He does. Sometimes we do not know what happened beforehand, what thoughts and motives were going on in a person’s mind and at what time they grieved the Holy Spirit. Only God knows those details as He is the only one that can read the heart. Let us look at two examples.
Uzzah. He seemingly had no time to repent. He committed a serious sin, and dropped dead. “The fate of Uzzah was a divine judgment upon the violation of a most explicit command. Through Moses the Lord had given special instruction concerning the transportation of the ark. None but the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were to touch it, or even to look upon it uncovered.
“The priests were to cover the ark, and then the Kohathites must lift it by the staves, which were placed in rings upon each side of the ark and were never removed. To the Gershonites and Merarites, who had in charge the curtains and boards and pillars of the tabernacle, Moses gave carts and oxen for the transportation of that which was committed to them. ‘But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders’ (Numbers 7:9). Thus in the bringing of the ark from Kirjathjearim there had been a direct and inexcusable disregard of the Lord’s directions.” –Conflict and Courage, p. 176
Was God fair? This was not only a momentary error. It was preceded by a direct violation of a command of God. We do not know, because it is not written, but perhaps Uzzah was instrumental and influential in insisting the ark be carried on the cart, as all the other parts of the sanctuary were carried in the wilderness. Perhaps he decided to make himself the one who watches over the cart as the ark was being carried since it could have been his idea. We can only speculate because we do not know any more details than was is revealed. What we do know is that one direct violation, leads to another and thus the voice of the Holy Spirit is withdrawn. Uzzah unthinkingly was led to make that fatal mistake at a key juncture of the journey. Had things been done things correctly initially, he would have been spared from making this fatal mistake. Only God knows. But what we do know is that God is fair and patient.
Ananias and Sapphira: They were given only a brief moment to repent. Just one moment. When Peter asked each of them separately if the money they gave was the entire amount, they each lied, stating that it was. They were then immediately struck dead. No time to contemplate and reconsider. Was God fair? They did have plenty of time to reconsider prior to giving the donations. They knew they were doing wrong. This was a willful sin. Sin against a clear understanding of what the will of God was. It is very dangerous to plot to sin wilfully. “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” Hebrews 10:26–27. Yes, God has been merciful, it seems, to some who have done similar sins as they did not die immediately. But why not in this case? The greater the light and experience, the more grievous the sin. They sinned against the Holy Spirit. “In the case of Ananias and Sapphira, the sin of fraud against God was speedily punished. The same sin was often repeated in the after history of the church and is committed by many in our time. But though it may not be attended by the visible manifestation of God’s displeasure, it is no less heinous in His sight now than in the apostles’ time. The warning has been given; God has clearly manifested His abhorrence of this sin; and all who give themselves up to hypocrisy and covetousness may be sure that they are destroying their own souls.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 76
The sad part is that they gain nothing. Even if Ananias and Sapphira had lived, as some others have, “they are destroying their own souls.” After death, they have no hope—nothing. The Lord could read their hearts and had they lived, they likely would have continued in their selfish course and added greater sin to their already guilty lives. If you think about it, in reality, in mercy the Lord put an end to their lives.
“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Ecclesiastes 8:11. To live longer in sin for one who refuses to repent, will only increase their punishment. It is in mercy sometimes that they are laid to rest sooner. God reads the heart and knows what path one will choose should they continue to live. Yet He still asks in dismay, “why will you die?”
Thousands go to the grave every day—some from natural causes, some from natural disasters and others from violence. Some, it seems, have no time to repent. For example, when a plane crashes, with no warning, the passengers have all sealed their destiny. Yet, God is fair. The Apostle Paul writes, “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” Romans 14:11. This verse depicts a universal acceptance of God’s final judgement, by both good and evil, saved and unsaved. No one will say, “God you were not fair, my plane crashed before I was ready.”
Thus, we are encouraged to live today as though it was our last. Making all choices, small or great, in light of eternity. Choose life so you do not have to hear the Lord asking you, “Why will you die?”
Pray, pray, pray like never before. “Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17. “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:19. Every song is a prayer. “Our heavenly Father
waits to bestow upon us the fullness of His blessing. It is our privilege to drink largely at the fountain of boundless love. What a wonder it is that we pray so little! God is ready and willing to hear the sincere prayer of the humblest of His children, and yet there is much manifest reluctance on our part to make known our wants to God. What can the angels of heaven think of poor helpless human beings, who are subject to temptation, when God’s heart of infinite love yearns toward them, ready to give them more than they can ask or think, and yet they pray so little and have so little faith? The angels love to bow before God; they love to be near Him. They regard communion with God as their highest joy; and yet the children of earth, who need so much the help that God only can give, seem satisfied to walk without the light of His Spirit, the companionship of His presence.” –Prayer p. 24. Why will you die?
Let us go back to Ezekiel and read the whole verse in chapter 33. “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” Ezekiel 33:11
If we read in Ezekiel 18, we read almost the same entreaty. “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? 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 18:23,31–32
Apparently this was a very important message that the Lord asked Ezekiel at two different times to share with His people. When the Lord repeats a message, He wants to make sure that we understand it as it is a very important message.
Jeremiah also had a similar message from the Lord. “Why will ye die, thou and thy people?” Jeremiah 27:13
The Lord has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He created them and loves them. He is very sad when people choose not to follow Him, as He has so many blessings to pour out upon makind. Yet, the fault is not God’s. It is ours. He has done all He can for our salvation. “Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching His vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And He fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and He looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt Me and My vineyard. What could have been done more to My vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?” Isaiah 5:1-4
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9. “God is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish; but His forbearance has a limit, and when the boundary is past, there is no second probation. His wrath will go forth and He will destroy without remedy.” –The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 946. He sadly asks you why you are choosing death.
Now, we have to make a choice. God has done His part and what is our part? We repent, as I already mentioned, but there is more—the Sanctification process, and thus we have to act. “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” 1 John 3:3. “Does this text mean that the human agent can remove one stain of sin from his soul? No. Then what does it mean to purify himself? It means to look upon the Lord’s great moral standard of righteousness, the holy law of God, and see that he is a sinner in the light of that law. ‘Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.’
“It is through faith in Jesus Christ that the truth is accepted in the heart, and the human agent is purified and cleansed. . . . He has an abiding principle in the soul, that enables him to overcome temptation. ‘Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not.’ God has power to keep the soul that is in Christ who is under temptation.” –The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 950–951
Grieve not the Holy Spirit. “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30. How do we grieve the Holy Spirit? By ignoring His voice when He brings us reproof and tries to guide our feet in the paths of righteousness. When we choose to travel our own path and make our own conditions for salvation we grieve the Holy Spirit.
“The Spirit of God keeps evil under the control of conscience. When man exalts himself above the influence of the Spirit, he reaps a harvest of iniquity. Over such a man the Spirit has less and less influence to restrain him from sowing seeds of disobedience. Warnings have less and less power over him. He gradually loses his fear of God. He sows to the flesh; he will reap corruption. The harvest of the seed that he himself has sown, is ripening. He has a contempt for God’s holy commandments. His heart of flesh becomes a heart of stone. Resistance to truth confirms him in iniquity. It is because men sowed seeds of evil, that lawlessness, crime, and violence prevailed in the antediluvian world.
“All should be intelligent in regard to the agency by which the soul is destroyed. It is not because of any decree that God has sent out against man. He does not make man spiritually blind. God gives sufficient light and evidence to enable man to distinguish truth from error. But He does not force man to receive truth. He leaves him free to choose the good or to choose the evil. If man resists evidence that is sufficient to guide his judgment in the right direction, and chooses evil once, he will do this more readily the second time. The third time he will still more eagerly withdraw himself from God and choose to stand on the side of Satan. And in this course he will continue until he is confirmed in evil, and believes the lie he has cherished as truth. His resistance has produced its harvest.”–The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1112. And the Lord is grieved, asking us why we are choosing death?
“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that He may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16. One of salvation’s requirements is to have the mind of Christ. If we have Christ dwelling in us, we will not sin. “Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not.” 1 John 3:6. Why do we sin? Even if for a moment we take our eyes off Jesus, as Peter did while walking on the water, we will sink. Satan is on hand, ready to tempt us to sin every moment of the day and night.
“The law of Ten Commandments is not to be looked upon as much from the prohibitory side as from the mercy side. Its prohibitions are the sure guarantee of happiness in obedience. As received in Christ, it works in us the purity of character that will bring joy to us through eternal ages. To the obedient it is a wall of protection. We behold in it the goodness of God, who by revealing to men the immutable principles of righteousness, seeks to shield them from the evils that result from transgression.
“We are not to regard God as waiting to punish the sinner for his sin. The sinner brings punishment upon himself. His own actions start a train of circumstances that bring the sure result. Every act of transgression reacts upon the sinner, works in him a change of character, and makes it more easy for him to transgress again. By choosing to sin, men separate themselves from God, cut themselves off from the channel of blessing, and the sure result is ruin and death.” –The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1085
The key word here is that “by choosing to sin.” It is a choice many make, and it only ends in ruin.
“The law is an expression of God’s idea. When we receive it in Christ, it becomes our idea. It lifts us above the power of natural desires and tendencies, above temptations that lead to sin.” –Ibid
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5. “Christ alone can help us and give us the victory. Christ must be all in all to us, He must dwell in the heart, His life must circulate through us as the blood circulates through the veins. His spirit must be a vitalizing power that will cause us to influence others to become Christlike and holy.” –The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1144. Jesus said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abidenth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5
Why will you die? Only you can answer the Lord should He ask this of you. There is no need to die the second death, if we have Christ living within us. We can overcome every sin and besetment. We will follow the Lord into the straight and narrow paths He leads us. We will trust in Him and not complain about the cross we have to bear. I hope we all choose life today. Amen.
Wendy Eaton