To A Thousand Generations (DD - 23 June 25)
“This is as full a description of God’s attributes, as any in all the Scripture. The Hebrew doctors note that there are thirteen attributes, and but one that speaks of judgment (that He will punish the sins of fathers upon their children); all the other twelve are merely, wholly mercy, and His justice is mentioned to invite men to lay hold on mercy.” - Edward Leigh, A System or Body of Divinity
Today’s Reading: Exodus 34
Having broken the original tablets bearing God’s Law (the Ten Commandments), Moses is instructed to make new ones. The Lord descends to meet Him on the mountain, and there proclaims the name of the Lord in one of the most beautiful passages in all of Scripture, where God passes before Moses and describes His own attributes (v. 6-7):
The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.
Merciful; gracious; slow to anger; abounding in steadfast love; faithful; forgiving; just.
As Edward Leigh notes in the quote at the top of the page, only one of these attributes denotes judgment, while all of the others speak to God’s mercy. He will by no means clear the guilty, for this would violate the perfect justice required for sin; but He remains ever ready to forgive those who repent and come to Him by faith, knowing their debt has been paid by another.
There is great significance to the generational language used here.
At first glance, it’s easy to conclude from this chapter that God punishes His people for the sins of their forefathers, to the third and fourth generation, but this is not the case. God prohibits such punishments in various parts of Scripture:
Deuteronomy 24:16: Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.
Ezekiel 18:20: The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
John 9:1-3: As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
God does not punish us for our parents’ sins, nor will He punish our children for ours. This is only true in the case of Adam, our first father, in whom, as mankind’s representative, or “federal head,” we all died (1 Cor 15:22). Adam’s sin is imputed to His descendants, for his “one trespass led to condemnation for all men” (Romans 5:18). Man now bears both Adam’s imputed (original) sin, and their own (actual) sin.
Just to be crystal clear: God will not punish you for your Dad’s drunkenness, anger, or infidelity.
But there is a very real sense in which sin, especially of an idolatrous nature, can take root in a household or community, and take generations to reverse. Knowing that God’s blessing is upon the obedient and His judgment upon the wicked, and that those who hate God often raise their children to do the same, it’s easy to see how one man’s wickedness can have downstream, intergenerational consequences.
We’ve seen this language before, just a few chapters back in Exodus 20:5. When God first gives the law to Moses, He attaches this same phrase to the Second Commandment, the prohibition against making a carved image, or idol. There is a unique sense in which this idea of generational iniquity is tied to the sin of idolatry.
We should note that when we see Israel falling into idolatry at various points in its history, that these were not NPCs or zombies without brains, but living, breathing, thinking people who had witnessed God’s glory, miracles, and fulfilled prophecies. And yet they were still led astray by the allure of false gods.
Idolatry, with its learned values, traditions, and priorities, has a way of firmly entrenching itself in a culture (and family), hence why children often fall into the exact same patterns of dysfunction and rebellion as their parents. This is perhaps why God repeatedly warns against it so strongly; it’s less like an injury, and more like a metastasizing cancer, which can take generations to root out.
The fact that your Paw-paw worshipped Baal doesn’t mean God is going to strike you down for his sin; but it certainly will make your life much more difficult and disordered than if he had followed Christ, practically speaking.
But, according to Peter, there’s hope, for we have been “ransomed from the futile ways inherited from our forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
Any wickedness, disobedience, or idolatry that our ancestors committed has been washed away by the blood of Christ. We are now God’s people, “the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” In Him, generational disorder becomes generational blessing, love, and faithfulness.
Each of us now stands at a crossroads.
We don’t get to pick the legacy of faith that we inherit, in our earthly families at least. Relationships are complicated; every generation is the product of the hundreds that came before it. There’s really no such thing as a “clean slate” in our worldly affairs. We’re born into a family of real people, each with their own unique issues.
But the Lord will not hold them against us. Regardless of what’s upstream, we can decide today, for ourselves and our posterity, whether we will seek God’s blessing through our obedience or invite His judgment through our rebellion.
Countless are the idols of our day which threaten to lead our families astray and sow disorder down the line. The greatest legacy we can possibly leave, far beyond any retirement fund, real estate portfolio, or fancy watch collection, is one of steady, enduring, Biblical faithfulness; to stay the course.
Remember that we serve, “the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations.”
No earthly investment will ever compare to the return of generational faithfulness.
“If God be the saints’ portion, oh then let the saints still think of God, and look upon God under this notion. A man that has God for his portion should always have very high, noble, sweet, and precious thoughts of God. It becomes not those that have God for their portion to be always looking upon God as an angry God, or as a displeased Father, or as an incensed judge, or as an enraged enemy, or as a bitter friend. When God would make known His name, His nature, His glory to Moses, He proclaims Himself to be ‘The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercies for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.’” - Thomas Brooks, An Ark for All God’s Noahs
Prayer: “Heavenly Father, thank You for being a God of enduring faithfulness and love. Please strengthen my faith, that I might serve as an anchor in my family which invites God’s blessings for generations to come. In Christ’s name I pray, Amen.”
May God bless you.
Please keep my wife in prayer (baby coming real soon, maybe today). Thanks!
T