EXODUS 20:5b
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Exodus [MKJV] 20:3-7
You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make to yourselves any
graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that
is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not
bow yourself down to them, nor serve them. For I Jehovah your God am a jealous
God, visiting [H6485] the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third
and fourth generation of those that hate me, and showing mercy to thousands of
those that love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of
Jehovah your God in vain. For Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that takes
His name in vain.
In response to
yesterday’s DT that included the above Scripture, C.H. asked an intelligent
caring question, “Why
would God punish third and fourth generations for the sins of the parents?”
Being a questioner myself, I very much
appreciate provocative questions. In response I’m providing 4 items from my
researching. First of all Strong’s original language definition of “punish”, secondly,
Exodus 20:5 excerpt from Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible, thirdly an
applicable essay from GotQuestions.org. Lastly,
a question from me.
H6485
פּקד; pâqad; paw-kad' A primitive root; to visit (with
friendly or hostile intent); by analogy to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss,
deposit, etc.: - appoint, X at all, avenge, bestow, (appoint to have the, give
a) charge, commit, count, deliver to keep, be empty, enjoin, go see, hurt, do
judgment, lack, lay up look, make X by any means, miss, number, officer, (make)
overseer have (the) oversight, punish, reckon, (call to) remember (-brance),
set (over), sum, X surely, visit, want.
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Barnes
notes: Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children - (Compare
Exo_34:7; Jer_32:18). Sons and remote descendants inherit the consequences of
their fathers’ sins, in disease, poverty, captivity, with all the influences of
bad example and evil communications. (See Lev_26:39; Lam_5:7 following) The
“inherited curse” seems to fall often most heavily on the least guilty persons;
but such suffering must always be free from the sting of conscience; it is not
like the visitation for sin on the individual by whom the sin has been
committed. The suffering, or loss of advantages, entailed on the unoffending
son, is a condition under which he has to carry on the struggle of life, and,
like all other inevitable conditions imposed upon men, it cannot tend to his
ultimate disadvantage, if he struggles well and perseveres to the end. The
principle regulating the administration of justice by earthly tribunals Deu_24:16,
is carried out in spiritual matters by the Supreme Judge.
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Question: "Are children
punished for the sins of their parents?"
Answer: Children are not punished for the sins committed by their parents;
neither are parents punished for the sins of their children. Each of us is
responsible for our own sins. Ezekiel 18:20 tells us, “The soul who sins is the
one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the
father share the guilt of the son.” This verse clearly shows that punishment
for one’s sins is borne by that person.
There are verses that lead some to
believe in intergenerational punishment for sin, or a generational curse. One
of these verses is Exodus 20:5, “You shall not bow down to [idols] or worship
them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for
the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate
me.”
Keeping Exodus 20:5 in context, we
notice right away that God is referring to the sin of idolatry. God considered
idolatry to be an extremely treacherous betrayal of a sacred trust. Idolaters
were traitors to God’s theocracy. Besides the abhorrent practices which
accompanied idol worship in the Old Testament (see Deuteronomy 12:31), idolatry
had a way of ingraining itself in a culture. Children raised in such an
environment would keep the tradition going and practice similar idolatry, thus
falling into the established pattern of disobedience. The effect of one
disobedient generation was that wickedness would take root so deeply that it
took several generations to reverse.
The implication of Exodus 20:5 is that
children are akin to their parents. A new generation will tend to repeat the
sins of their forebears. Therefore, God “punishing the children” is simply
another way of saying that the children are repeating the fathers’ sins. The
tendency to repeat the mistakes of history is especially strong in an
idolatrous culture.
Another consideration is that the
warning of Exodus 20:5 was part of the Mosaic Law governing Israel in the Old
Testament. The generational curse should be seen as a collective punishment on
the nation, not as a personal curse on individual families.
So, if a man robs a bank, will God
punish that man’s son, even though the son had nothing to do with the robbery?
Absolutely not. However, it is quite possible that the father who robbed the
bank is making life more difficult for his son, through the natural
consequences of his crime. Also, if the man is training his son in the
techniques of bank robbing, then there is a good chance the son will follow the
same path of dishonesty. In that case, the sin is copied by the son, and the punishment
for the sin follows.
As Ezekiel 18:20 shows, each of us is
responsible for our own sins, and we must bear the punishment for them. We
cannot share our guilt with another, nor can another be held responsible for
our transgressions. There is, however, one exception to this rule, and it
applies to all mankind. One man bore the sins of others and paid the penalty
for them so sinners could become completely righteous and pure in the sight of
God. That man is Jesus Christ, who came into the world to exchange His
perfection for our sin. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that
in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus
was punished for us.
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www.GotQuestions.org
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Exactly who and what are these following “visited”
generations? Reading and studying related stories in God’s Word we see “visitation”
brought upon a following generation(s) by continuance in lifestyle worshipping
other than God. In my lifetime I’ve seen, grieved, and personally reacted
against much of such.
Your
fellow traveler,
EBB4
