Personal Accountability For Ones Own Actions (Jeremiah 31:29-30)
Paul MacDonald RN MA Dipl
Jeremiah 31:29-30 NASB | The Teeth of The Person Who Eats The Sour Grapes Will Themselves Grow Numb
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2031%3A29-30&version=NET
Jeremiah 31:29 Hebrew
https://biblehub.com/text/jeremiah/31-29.htm
This word only occurs here and in the parallel passage in Ezekiel 18:2 in the Qal stem, and in Ecclesiastes 10:10 in the Piel stem.
Ezekiel 18:2 Hebrew
https://biblehub.com/text/ezekiel/18-2.htm
Ecclesiastes 10:10 Hebrew
https://biblehub.com/text/ecclesiastes/10-10.htm
In the latter passage it refers to "the 'bluntness' of an axe" that has not been sharpened. Here the idea is of the 'bluntness' of the teeth, not from having ground them down due to the bitter taste of sour grapes, but from the fact that they have lost their “edge,” “bite,” or “sharpness”, because they are numb from the sour taste.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1041319247293360&id=100042458837772
This is a proverbial statement that is also found in Ezek 18:2. It served to articulate the complaint that "the present generation" was suffering for the accrued sins of their ancestors (Lamentations 5:7) and, that the Lord was hence unjust (Ezekiel 18:25, 29).
Jeremiah Repeatedly Warned His Own Generation
However, Jeremiah had repeatedly warned his own generation (the people of his own time) that they were as guilty, or even more so than their ancestors. The ancestors were indeed guilty of sin, for "the present generation" had compounded the problem "by their stubborn refusal to turn back to God" despite repeated warnings from the Prophets, and hence God would withhold Judgment no longer (Jeremiah 16:10-13 compare Jeremiah 7:24-34, 9:12-16 (9:11-15 ), 11:1-13).
Jeremiah 31:30
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2031%3A30&version=NASB
The Lord answers their charge by stating that each person is NOW responsible for his own sin, and will himself bear the full brunt of the consequences.
Ezekiel 18 has a more extended treatment of this, and highlights that it extends not just to the link between parents and children, but also to that between former and future behavior of the same individual.
Paul MacDonald RN MA Dipl ©
