Pipeline Torah Gem #897, 2025-09-22: Prophecy's Judgement
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Vaughn Seward
Sep 28, 2025, 6:54:18 PM9/28/25
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Prophecy's Judgement
They asked Prophecy, "What is a sinner's punishment?" It told them, "The soul that sins - it shall die!" (Ezekiel 18:20).
Because he perceives the greatness of God with more clarity than even the wisest man, the prophet represents harsh judgment. He recognizes that life and faculties are gifts that are meant to be used in the service of the King. If a child is given a hammer and nails to hang bookshelves, and instead uses them to punch holes in windowpanes, the hammer and nails will be taken away. Can the child win his point by insisting that he will break only a few small windows but scrupulously refrain from smashing expensive crystal? Surely not. He can no longer be entrusted with the tools that he misuses. Why, then, should the sinner be permitted to hold on to life and use it to flout the will of its Giver? Prophecy is outraged by the suggestion that the sinner can escape with only a slap on the wrist or a promise for the future. For sin is as timeless as spirituality there is no yesterday, no tomorrow; the sin has been done and it burrows its way into the very soul of the sinner. Of one whose transgression is so grievous that his soul is cut off from the source of holiness, the Torah says, its [the soul's] sin is "in it." The impurity becomes part of him and it cannot be shed like yesterday's soiled suit of clothes. Prophecy answers, therefore, that there is no "punishment" for the sinner in the sense that he can be freed of the corrosive effects of his deeds. He must die.
They asked Torah, "What is the sinner's punishment." It told them, "Let him bring a guilt-offering and gain atonement."
Adapted from Artscroll's Milstein edition of "The Later Prophets; The Twelve Prophets" by Rabbi Nossom Scherman / Rabbi Meir Zlotowitcz, page xxxix.
Torah Gem Archives: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/torahtidbits
They asked Prophecy, "What is a sinner's punishment?" It told them, "The soul that sins - it shall die!" (Ezekiel 18:20).
Because he perceives the greatness of God with more clarity than even the wisest man, the prophet represents harsh judgment. He recognizes that life and faculties are gifts that are meant to be used in the service of the King. If a child is given a hammer and nails to hang bookshelves, and instead uses them to punch holes in windowpanes, the hammer and nails will be taken away. Can the child win his point by insisting that he will break only a few small windows but scrupulously refrain from smashing expensive crystal? Surely not. He can no longer be entrusted with the tools that he misuses. Why, then, should the sinner be permitted to hold on to life and use it to flout the will of its Giver? Prophecy is outraged by the suggestion that the sinner can escape with only a slap on the wrist or a promise for the future. For sin is as timeless as spirituality there is no yesterday, no tomorrow; the sin has been done and it burrows its way into the very soul of the sinner. Of one whose transgression is so grievous that his soul is cut off from the source of holiness, the Torah says, its [the soul's] sin is "in it." The impurity becomes part of him and it cannot be shed like yesterday's soiled suit of clothes. Prophecy answers, therefore, that there is no "punishment" for the sinner in the sense that he can be freed of the corrosive effects of his deeds. He must die.
They asked Torah, "What is the sinner's punishment." It told them, "Let him bring a guilt-offering and gain atonement."
Adapted from Artscroll's Milstein edition of "The Later Prophets; The Twelve Prophets" by Rabbi Nossom Scherman / Rabbi Meir Zlotowitcz, page xxxix.
Torah Gem Archives: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/torahtidbits
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