"Generational sin" refers to the idea that God could, and sometimes would, punish us "for the sin of the father to the third and fourth generation." Though the idea is popular among tele-evangelists (especially those from north America) and lay-counselors involved in 'spiritual-counselling ministries,' it sometimes finds affirmation in serious biblical studies.1 The idea has a long and interesting history in the Old Testament. But, before we explore it, let us defined more specifically what we are discussing here.
In popular writings and preaching on the subject, the phrase "the sin/s of the father/s" often pops up in such a way that almost always it is never defined. This has, therefore, contributed to confusion about what is actually meant. The Bible is patently clear that the sin of one generation can affect—often decisively and dramatically—future generations. The rebellion of Adam and Eve, e.g., closed off the path to Eden forever to the human race (Gen 3). The refusal to go in and conquer the land by the generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt when they were at Kadesh Barnea delayed the fulfillment of the Promised Land for a whole generation (Num 13-14). Jeroboam's sinful establishment of the golden calves at the sacred sites of Dan and Bethel facilitated the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel slide into idolatry and eventual annihilation (1 Ki 12-13). It is perfectly valid in this sense to speak of "sins of the fathers." This use of the expression, however, attributes no responsibility to God for what befalls the future generations. It is implicitly understood in these examples that the future generations were not "punished" for the sins of the fathers; their fate was simply the result of the effects of the sin. If we climb out the window on the twenty-first floor and walk into empty space, God cannot be blamed for our children becoming fatherless.
The expression, however, is also used in such a way as to imply that the calamity endured by the future generation/s is divine punishment for the sin/s committed by the past generation. The author, e.g., has a friend—the national director of an international Christian organization—who for many years lived with the belief ('revealed' to him by a visiting "prophet") that he would find no success in his ministry because God was punishing the idolatry of his grandfather upon him.
The expression "the sin/s of the father/s," therefore, implies significantly different things depending on the context of our discussion. If you ever use the expression, please do clarify what exactly you mean by it. For the rest of this article, we will use the expression in the latter sense, i.e., God can, and sometimes does, punish the children "to the third and fourth generation" for the sin/s of their father or forefathers.
The idea of God punishing the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation first appears in the Second Commandment in Exo 20:4-6:
4"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them 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, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.2
The second half of v5 and v6 are taken by teachers of generational sin as a divine promise or warning that He would punish the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation. A more careful reading of the text quickly shows that is not the intent of the verses. As in all our readings of Scriptures, context must provide the essential key to understanding. So, what then is the context of these determinative words?
1) We are dealing specifically with the sin of idolatry here. Whether the expression "punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me" also applies to other sins is an open question. Teachers of generational sin often assume it does, but the fact that this expression is never ever associated with warnings against other sins in the rest of the Bible raises serious doubt about such a extension to other sins.
2) The expression is a part of the reason why Yahweh prohibits idolatry, and that reason is "because I, Yahweh your God, is a jealous God." This reason is then elaborated by what follows. The expression "punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me" is part of this elaboration of what it means to be a "jealous God," and appears not on its own but as part of a comparison: "punishing . . . to the third and fourth generation of those who . . . but showing love to a thousand generations of those . . ." The words "punishing" (poqed) and "showing" ('oseh) are participles. Participles describe the actor not the action; in this case they describe Yahweh as the jealous God. The one and a half verses is, therefore, neither a promise nor a warning of divine retribution, but a description of who Yahweh is in His jealousy.
3) Since the expressions 'to the third and fourth generation' and 'to a thousandth generation' occur in the context of a comparison, their meaning can only be elucidated from their function within such a figure of speech. What is significant in a comparison is not the specific figures used but the difference in the quality/magnitude connoted by what is compared. Straightway we see that the comparison is between 'three or four generations of those who hate me' and 'thousands of those who love me.'3 The following points are pertinent to our understanding here:
A) In the Old Testament 'three and four' is used in an idiomatic ways suggest the limit of reasonable expectation, something like 'three is plenty enough but four is simply beyond us!' as the following examples illustrate:
There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, 'Enough!': the grave, the barren womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, 'Enough!' (Prov 30:15-16)
There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden. (Prov 30:18-19)
Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up: a servant who becomes king, a fool who is full of food, an unloved woman who is married, and a maidservant who displaces her mistress. (Prov 30:21-23)
This is what the Lord says: "For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth, I will . . . (Amos 1:3)
This is what the Lord says: "For three sins of Gaza, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because she took captive whole communities and sold them to Edom, I will . . . (Amos 1:6)
B) Moreover, the third and fourth generation of one's descendants are as far as any person can reasonably hope to live to see (see, e.g., 2 Ki 10:30, 15: 12, Job 42:16). The term 'thousand' is used often in the Old Testament, as also in most cultures, in conjunction with many nouns to express the superlative. 1 Chron 16:15// Psm.105:8, for example, equates a thousand generation with 'forever.' In practical terms 'a thousand generation' is longer than recorded human history.4 By means of this figure, therefore, the jealousy of God is depicted as His passion to uphold what is true about Him, a passion that entertains no half measures. Bruce Waltke suggests another possible reading of "punishing the sin of the fathers to the third and fouth generation." He says:
The point of this is that the punishment is directed at the father who lives to see how his sin is worked out among his descendants. In other words, God's punishment is not immediately retributive, but he teaches the man a lesson in "reaping what you sow," allowing him to observe his wickedness worked out in multigenerations, ending his life in despair, for he knows that his life and seed will result in ruins. An example of this is Eli, who lived just long enough to see God's punishment upon his sons before his own death.5
C) Most important of all is the fact that comparisons always serves to emphasize a point. So, what is being emphasized here? Surely it is Yahweh's exceeding generosity of grace in His love rather than the limitedness of His wrath. The teaching of generational sin, on the other hand, focuses on the wrath and rather ignores the magnitude of God's grace. Instead of saying, "Your parents have sinned, therefore, God is now punishing you for their sins," these verses are rather saying, "God is a jealous God. He will not allow His glory to be slighted by the indifference of idolatry. Your parents may have sinned, but know that if you love Him, His jealousy, i.e., His zealousness in upholding what is true about Him, is such that He will cover you with His love to a thousand generations. Yahweh always limits His wrath but He is measureless in His grace."
These exegetical considerations raise serious questions about the validity of the idea of God punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation as taught by preachers of generational sin, when it is based upon these verses of the Second Commandment. More serious questions arise when we consider the events in the aftermath of the revelation of this commandment. Even before Moses had time to bring the tablets down and to explain the commandments to the people they had turned to idolatrous orgy with the golden calf, the very sin that the Second Commandment forbids. One would expect that, if the doctrine of generational sin was intended by the commandment, the generation of Israelites born to these who were gathered at Sinai would be made to suffer the consequences of their parents' idolatry. Yet they were not; indeed, they were eventually blessed with the gift of conquest and landedness. As J. G. McConville observes, there is 'no clear biblical example of a punishment deliberately exacted because of the sins of a previous generation.'6
These questions about the validity of the teaching as founded in the Second Commandment would gel into solid doubt as we trace the development of the idea in the rest of the Old Testament.
The next place where the idea may find ground to sprout is Exo 34:7. To appreciate what is happening here, let us set out the context of the present passage. Moses had gone up to the mountain at Sinai for forty days and nights. In his absence the people had made a golden calf and bowed in worship to it. Now, in the aftermath of that incident Moses has come back to God, pleading for His forgiveness for the people as well as to show him His glory. God grants Moses his plea and then commands him to bring up two new stone tablets so that He might inscribe on them the words on the tablets that had been broken. Moses comes up to the mountain:
5Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." (NIV)
Here Yahweh's own declaration about Himself that "he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation" cannot, it seems, be understood as anything other than asserting categorically what teachers of generational sin asserts. Unfortunately, the NIV provides us here with a rather poor translation of the Hebrew text, because the language here is identical to what is found in the Second Commandment. Poqed is not the finite verb "he punishes" but "punishing," a participle. The sense is better captured in translations such as RSV, NRS, NKJ, "visiting the iniquity of the parents . . ." Just as the phrase in the Second Commandment serves to clarify the character of God as the "jealous God," so here the entire phrase clarifies the character of Yahweh as one who does not "clear the guilty" mentioned in the previous half of the verse. Here, again, we find no ground for the idea of generational sin.
Here the reference to Yahweh "punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation" is found in Moses' parley with God in the aftermath of Israel's rebellion at Kadesh-Barnea recorded in Num 14:18:
13Moses said to the Lord, "Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. 14And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, O Lord, are with these people and that you, O Lord, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 15If you put these people to death all at one time, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16'The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert.' 17"Now may the Lord's strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18'The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.' 19In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now." 20The Lord replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked.
There is, however, nothing new to add to the discussion here, since Moses' reference to the punishing of the children is an almost verbatim repetition of Exo 34:7. Here again we are tripped by NIV's inconsistent translation of a participle by a finite verb, "he punishes . . ." instead of "punishing . . ."
A last passage that might possibly be understood as giving grounds for the idea of generational sin is Jeremiah's prayer recorded in Jer 32:18:
17"Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. 18You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers' sins into the laps of their children after them. O great and powerful God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, 19great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to all the ways of men; you reward everyone according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve. 20You performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, both in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours.
The difficulty with this passage has to do with the fact that Jeremiah uses language quite different from what we have already met with in the previous passages. The verbal root used in the previous passages is pqd which is used variously to mean 'to attend to,' 'to appoint,''to visit upon,' 'to call to account,' 'to punish.' The verbal root underlining Jeremiah's participle is shlm, from which we get such words as 'peace,' 'peace-offering,' 'complete/completion,' but also 'recompense,' 'requite,' and 'reward'; hence the NKJ's "but repay the guilt of fathers." Jeremiah does not speak of the third and fourth generation, but uses the interesting expression "into the bosom of their children after them." The important question is whether Jeremiah was speaking here with the idea of generational sin in mind. It seems likely that he did.
If Jeremiah did harbour ideas of generational sin, he was not, it seems, alone in his time to think like this, for in one of Yahweh's encounter with him, God foretold of better things to come, promising to "watch over them [Israel] to build and to plant" (31:27). Among other things that will also happen, God said:
"In those days people will no longer say, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' Instead, everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—his own teeth will be set on edge. (31:29-30)
We do not know in detail the background for the people's complaint. What may be reasonably surmised from this passage is that the people were saying—by means of the sarcastic sneer that "the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge"—that the suffering that they have had to endure was brought about not by their sin, but that they were being punished for the sins of their fathers. The days when such cynical snipes will end is coming, the Lord promises. Why? Because the truth will dawn that "everyone shall die for his own sin; every man who eats sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge."
From these two passages in Jeremiah, we conclude:
1. It is possible that Jeremiah may have entertained the idea of generational sin, though it was not expressed in his public preaching but in his private encounter with God,
2. Though expressed by means of a different symbol, the people in Jeremiah's time had complaint that God was punishing them for the sins of their forefathers.
3. Whatever may have been Jeremiah's or the people's conception of the matter, God promised that a day would dawn when such a thing shall cease to be true.
That day promised by God to Jeremiah, however, was still some time away. Meanwhile, the murmur about the children's teeth being set on edge because the fathers had eaten sour grapes would grow until God had to confront the problem head-on. The entire Chap 18 of Ezekiel is devoted to this issue; here is the entire text:
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2"What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: "'The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'?
3"As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. 4For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
5"Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right. 6He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife or lie with a woman during her period. 7He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. 8He does not lend at usury or take excessive interest. He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between man and man. 9He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign Lord.
10"Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things 11(though the father has done none of them):
"He eats at the mountain shrines. He defiles his neighbor's wife. 12He oppresses the poor and needy. He commits robbery. He does not return what he took in pledge. He looks to the idols. He does detestable things. 13He lends at usury and takes excessive interest.
Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head.
14"But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:
15"He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife. 16He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. 17He withholds his hand from sin and takes no usury or excessive interest. He keeps my laws and follows my decrees.
He will not die for his father's sin; he will surely live. 18But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.
19"Yet you ask, 'Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?' Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. 20The 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. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.
21"But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. 22None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. 23Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
24"But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.
25"Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? 26If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will die for it; because of the sin he has committed he will die. 27But if a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life. 28Because he considers all the offenses he has committed and turns away from them, he will surely live; he will not die. 29Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Are my ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
30"Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!
There really is nothing to say about the chapter's view of the idea that God punishes the children for the sins of the father apart from underlining the simple fact that, with this chapter God nails the teaching of generational sin packed-down in its lead coffin, for the idea of generational sin—that God would punish the children for the sins of the fathers—is such an unjust doctrine it contradicts the very character of Yahweh (vv25-29). In a very important sense, what is said here in Eze is nothing new. For, if we have actually been paying attention to Scriptures, we would have noticed that what is said here in Eze has already been clearly asserted centuries earlier in Deut 24:16 that:
Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.
Having reviewed every pertinent passage in the Old Testament on the subject, we can only conclude that, while there seems to be passages in the Old Testament that might be construed of as teaching the concept of generational sin, such a construe collapses on closer examination of those passages in their proper grammatical and historical contexts.
From a Christian theological point of view, perhaps the most serious flaw with the concept of generational sin is its failure to appreciate the full and final sufficiency of Jesus' death on the cross. Despite having confessed the Lordship of Jesus and accept the gift of his atoning blood, many of us continue—not unlike Joseph's brothers—to live daily in doubt about our Father's forgiveness of our sins, in uncertainty about the full measure of His love for us. Teachers of generational sin entertain the incredulous thought that the Father who would give up His only Son in death for us would still hold the sins of our fathers over our heads. James Denney's wise words about our sin and the finality of forgiveness in Christ makes a fitting conclusion to our consideration:
There is one . . . characteristic of the atonement which ought to be reflected in gospel preaching as determined by it, and which may for want of a better word be described as finality. Christ died for sins once for all, and the man who believes in Christ and in His death has his relation to God once for all determined not by sin but by the atonement. The sin for which a Christian has daily to seek forgiveness is not sin which annuls his acceptance with God and casts him back into the position of one who has never had the assurance of the pardoning mercy of God in Christ. On the contrary, that assurance ought to be the permanent element in his life. The forgiveness of sin has to be received again and again as sin emerges into act. But when the soul closes with Christ the propitiation, the assurance of God's love is laid at the foundation of its being once for all. It is not to isolated acts it refers, but to the personality; not to sins, but to the sinner; not to the past only, in which wrong has been done, but to time and eternity.7
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The Jealous God (opens here).
Low Chai Hok
©Alberith, 2014