The Sins of the Fathers

I have always been puzzled by such verses in scripture as:


Exodus 20:5: "...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 a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."


Exodus 34:7: "...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."


This is repeated several times.  I have heard commentators and pastors try to explain these verses away, but I was never convinced, and it left me with an unsettled feeling about God's character.


Now, I am reading the book of Ezekiel in my daily devotions, and I was thrilled to find this yesterday:


Ezekiel 18;14 - 20:

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.

 ¹⁶ He 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.

 ¹⁷ He withholds his hand from sin ^[a]
       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. ¹⁸ But 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. ²⁰ 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. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him."

Now this makes sense!  This describes God's just judgement in the way that I understand it.  All those pastors and commentators were right all along, when they interpreted the previous verses to mean that our bad actions can have long-lasting and far-reaching consequences that affect many others, whether we chose to believe it or not. I praise God that he clears up the misconceptions and confusing ideas within the entirety of his word.  One more reason to continue daily study!

Fog

This morning I woke up to a gorgeous day!  By the time I left  home, the sun was shining in a cloudless sky, and the nearly full moon was still visible.  As I drove to town, I noticed how the leaves of the trees were turning various shades of red and yellow, showing that fall is indeed here.  As I drove down out of the mountains and into town, however, everything changed.  I drove into a thick fog bank.  Now the only sunlight I could find was scattered beams that broke through the mist every now and then.  You could tell it was daytime, but the light was muted and greyish to amber in color.  The bright fall colors were even drab.  I knew that the fog was only a temporary condition, and soon the bright sunlight that I had seen above the fog would reach the valley.

This made me think of my experience with God.  In reality, he is everything I know he is and more.  His brilliance is more than many suns.  His goodness, tenderness, love, and mercy are deeper than anything I have experienced on earth.  But all of his glory and goodness are hidden from us, much like the sunlight is hidden by the fog.  We know it is there, we can see glimpses of it now and then, and there is a constant, muted glow around us that reveals his presence in our lives all the time.

But imagine the glory, when we finally get to see him as he is!  When the fog of sin is lifted from between us and we can know true love for what it is.  1 Corinthians 13:12 says, "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (KJV).