← Grace in Focus
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The following is a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society.
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In Exodus 20, when the Ten Commandments are given, it talks about the sins of the fathers being passed to the third and fourth generation. What does this mean and how does it happen? That is our topic today on Grace in Focus. Thank you friend for joining us. Grace in Focus is a radio broadcast and podcast ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. We have a website, faithalone.org and we also have a YouTube channel, YouTube Grace Evangelical Society. There we release short videos each week for your viewing. Please go there, sign up and like our videos and share them with others. YouTube Grace Evangelical Society and our website once again, faithalone.org and now with today's question and answer discussion, here are Philippe Sterling and Sam Maher.
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C
Hi, I'm Sam Marr and I'm here with Philippe Sterling. Today Bob is not feeling well, so we are the reinforcements. Filling in, Philippe, we have a question from Charles and it's about Exodus, which you're writing about for the, for the Grace New Testament commentary.
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I'm editing, editing, sorry.
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So this question is on Exodus 20, verses 5 and 6. He asks if the iniquities of the fathers can be transferred to the children. Can blessings also be transferred from faithful fathers to their children, as in verse six? And how does that square with the doctrine of grace transference?
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Yes. Well, let's consider Exodus chapter 20, which is a listing of the Ten Commandments. And this one is the commandment about not making any carved images about the whole matter of idolatry and the things that also carry on with idolatry. We go into Romans 1, for example. It talks about the gross immorality that can eventually be involved in idolatrous types of worship. So that's part of what we see going on here and what is being contrasted between God's judgment and God's mercy. So let me read beginning of the second part of verse five and then verse six. Yahweh is speaking. The Lord is speaking, says, for I, the Lord, you, God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. So here's a contrast between God's judgment and God's mercy to individuals and to the generations that may follow them. So to those who are involved in idolatry and gross immorality, that does call forth the wrath of God upon the individual and upon the group, even in general, that are particularly identified Weft at so understanding God's wrath and God's judgment upon cultures. It's how infectious this type of behavior really is and easily transmitted in terms of belief and practice generation to generation. So as that occurs, and we're told that God's wrath is continuously expressed against that, and the judgments might involve even that continuing downward spiral where it becomes worse and worse. Whereas, you know, to those who are responding to God, those who believe and those who begin to order their lives in accordance with God's call, God's purposes, God's commandments. Here for the Israelites is the law of Moses, you know, for us it's the law of Christ. That itself also brings forth the blessing of, of God. And the blessing of God has a generational influence as well, you know, particularly for groups of people. Now that doesn't mean that individuals within those groups can, can go astray and bring forth, you know, God's temporal judgments upon themselves as well. But the thing is God longs to be merciful and where they're ever, you know, there's a response to him, then his mercy takes precedence over, over judgment. Mercy trumps judgment basically too. And that cares across its influence, you know, generation to, to generation. But that doesn't mean that the children or the grandchildren of an idolatrous family, you know, cannot also come to individually believe and come into the experience of, of blessing as well. But generally it holds true. We know that, you know, we, the sins of the father tends to carry on sometimes generation to generation, especially where there has been gross immorality and in this case idolatry. You know, that is being talked about here.
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C
Right? But I think even just in the two verses here, because verse six starts with him saying, but showing mercy to the thousands. And he doesn't say mercy to the thousands of fathers and their generations, it just says mercy to the thousands.
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Yes.
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So I think even within here we see if your, you know, father, your grandfather or your culture is rebellious against God, they're idolatrous. And that incur that brings God's judgment on that group of people or that family, that doesn't mean that the individuals can't repent and be spared that judgment. Now maybe if you live in a country or for them, if they were in a society or city or civilization or whatever that had incurred God's judgment, judgment or God's wrath, then that does affect the entire group of people to an extent. But that doesn't mean individuals like Rahab was sparing.
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Well, that's a perfect example because we're dealing with Israel, you know, just a generation later, you know, as they about to enter into the land. And Rahab had heard about all the judgment had had occurred by Yahweh in Egypt and was already responsive and drawn to that and wanted to identify herself with the people right of God. So she and the people were spared the judgment that occurred at Jericho. Her family and also all whom she invited and who responded to that invitation, who took refuge in her house on the wall and everything. That portion of the wall did not fall out too. But she and all her household and all of those that came were spared from that judgment and became incorporated into the people of God eventually. Whereas Rahab even becomes an ancestress of Christ, right?
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The judgment for Jericho was that all of the inhabitants were to be killed, right? And the livestock. And God was extremely strict and he was very clear all. And yet his mercy triumphed over his judgment for Rahab and her family.
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Just jumping in here to make you aware of our magazine Grace in Focus. It is a bi month, six issues per year, 48 page magazine, full color and we want you to subscribe by emailing your name and your snail mail address to gesaithalone.org the subscription is free, it can be accessed electronically or it can be actually physically sent to you. If you live in the lower 48 United States. That's our Grayson Focus magazine. Send your name and snail mail address to ges faithalone.org the judgment for Jericho.
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C
Was that all of the inhabitants were to be killed, right? God was extremely strict and he was very clear all and yet his mercy triumphed over his judgment for Rahab and her family. And so I think Charles, if the question here is about current day, your father, your family, someone you know, their father, their family is, I mean specifically in verse five and six it's talking about idolatry. But if we're saying in rebellion against God and they're incurring God's wrath or God's judgment, does that inherently affect children or descendants, then the answer would be yes. But that means that those individuals all have the opportunity to repent and receive God's mercy rather than God's judgment. Right?
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Now someone else could take this too far in talking about a gener curses that have to be identified and we painted off or and everything and God deals with people individually. Anyone in any generation, any setting who responds, who's seeking God will give them more light. They can come and hear the message of everlasting life and believe the promise of it and be regenerated and born again and not under the wrath of God, not under this temporal wrath of God. And as we say again, generally, mercy triumphs over judgment. Where does a. There's a turning to God in a.
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And God wants to be merciful because we have other examples like Nineveh, where Nineveh, their sins were filled up. God was ready to unleash his wrath upon them, ready for them to receive their judgment. But he wanted to extend, you know, one last opportunity through Jonah for them to repent and receive mercy. So I think if we're applying this to modern day examples or family examples, then I think it would be very unlikely that God is judging this particular family or this particular group extremely harshly. They're incurring his wrath and there's no opportunity for them to repent. God is just and he is merciful and he wants his mercy to triumph over his judgment. So I think that there are opportunities for individuals and families and people groups to repent and receive his mercy.
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Yes. And again we come even to second Peter, chapter three, saying that with the Lord days as a thousand years, a thousand years is as a day. So we're not to be concerned about even God's delay of his wrathful judgments, temporal judgments. He is willing to postpone that if there is repentance. And this concerns a temporal wrath of God.
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C
Yeah, you touched on a little bit at the beginning, I think. But does this have the same to the inverse, the same application to the inverse? If a family is righteous, they're God fearing, they, you know, live as best they can. For us it would be following the example of Christ. But then a son or a grandson or a great grandson is rebellious, doesn't believe, doesn't walk in the light, doesn't becomes prodigal or however you want to look at it, you know, does this go the other way? Is that son magically protected because his father's.
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No, no, not, not at all. You know, God's God's temple. Judgment follows, you know, the wages of sin is death. And here we're talking about probably physical death, ultimately a death type of experience that can lead to a premature death. So. So a person who grew up in a, and was properly instructed and had examples of a godly family, yet leaves that and goes to the far country as the prodigal son will eventually experience what the prodigal son experienced. You know, he wasted his wealth, you know, fell into poverty and had to take care of the pigs and long to even eat the food of the pigs, you know, the pods and and everything until he came to his senses and then went back home. But he experienced the temporal judgments on his life for doing that. But in his case, certainly he was a believer, as we look at Luke 15 contextually. And once he returned home, he experienced the blessings once again, even though there will be still consequences, other consequences that may have followed. But a matter of wrath, judgment and mercy is always there for individuals, I think for groups and for nations as well.
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All right, well, thank you for the question, Charles. Thank you Philippe for your expertise on it. And let's remember everybody Keep grace in focus.
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Be sure to check out our daily blogs@faithalone.org they are short and full of great teaching just like what you've heard today. Find them@faithalone.org resources blog. We would like to thank all of our financial partners who help us keep this show going. All gifts are tax deductible and very much appreciated. If you'd like to find out how you can be a financial partner, Visit us@faithalone.org on our next episode. Can someone's heart be so hard that they can never be saved? Please join us and until then, let's keep grace in focus.
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The proceeding has been a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society.