Deuteronomy 5: 9--10.
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,
but showing love to thousands who love me and keep my commandments.
NIV
In the name of the jealous God, amen.
Can it be that almighty God has such a human emotion as jealousy? He is
God, shouldn't He be above such things? These questions come from our
human judgment which does not see clearly. All human emotions have their
root in God. All of them: love, compassion, sympathy, jealousy, anger,
and even hate. The difference is that because of our sinful condition we
have perverted these things. God loves with a pure love. We love in a
selfish manner. God hates evil; we hate what prevents us from having
what we want. God is jealous when we give honor which belongs to Him to
someone or something else.
And so God punishes those who hate Him. He carries over the punishment
from generation to generation. If we raise our children to hate God,
then they are punished with the same punishment we are for hating God.
Two boys in Colorado murder at least 15 kids. Was it because the parents
hated the Lord and did not raise their children to love Him? Was their
sin passed on to the next generation and grew that much worse? I don't
know. Certainly they didn't raise them to be murderers, but did they
raise them to know and love God? In the end, they are a reflection of
our society.
Now make no mistake. God never gives the option, "Giving neither good
nor bad to those who are neutral toward me." There is no such thing as
being neutral toward God. We either love, serve, honor, and obey Him, or
we hate Him by default.
These are stern words of warning. We need to pass on the faith to the
next generation. We need to break the chain of unbelief wherever we can.
But take careful note that the blessing is greater than the punishment.
As soon as the chain is broken, there is blessing. If our parents did
not believe but we do, we are not punished because of their unbelief--the
chain has been broken.
Translators argue whether this passage carries the thought that God shows
love to thousands of generations or just to thousands of individuals who
love Him and keep His commandments,. Certainly thousands of generations
is exactly what it means. Far more than thousands of individuals are
loved by God. These are two contrasting thoughts. God limits the
punishment, but the blessing is without limit. If we are raised in a
home where the faith is taught, how blessed we are. Then if we pass it
on to our children, how much more they are blessed to have grandparents
as well as parents who believe in God, encourage, pray for, and bless
them! May the goodness of God reign in your family unto thousands of
generations. Amen.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, keep us in the true faith. Give us your Holy Spirit and the
many gifts He brings so that we may be a blessing to our children, and
they to theirs. Keep unbelief far from us so that we may praise and
glorify your name for many generations, amen.