Generational Non-Curses
Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who observed My commandments and My statutes; 1 Kings 11:34 NASB
For the sake of – Let’s see now. The usual reading of Exodus 34:7 suggests that God deliberately punishes the children of wicked fathers. That’s problematic enough – and subject to quite a bit of misunderstanding. But here we have just the opposite. God spares the child for the sake of the father. There is no misunderstanding about the Hebrew words here. God declares that because of David He will not bring total ruin upon Solomon. The faithfulness of the father is accounted to the child.
The Hebrew is lema’an, derived from the root ‘ana which means “to answer, to respond, to speak, to testify.” In other words, God is saying something like, “as a response to My servant David, as a testimony to his faithfulness, as an answer to the statement of his life.” David’s faith reached well beyond his own lifetime. It affected God’s decision about his son, and in fact, about many of the kings who followed Solomon. The expected outcome of Solomon’s disobedience was mitigated because of David.
This should help us to see that the usual reading of Exodus 34:7 (“visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children”) cannot be correct. God demonstrates restraint over children because of the fathers. In fact, He demonstrates restraint even when the fathers sin. Certainly David is not the picture of a completely righteous man, yet Solomon’s punishment is lessened because of David. Are we to assume that God indiscriminately punishes children for the wicked deeds of the fathers? David was an adulterer, a murderer and a conspirator, yet Solomon was sheltered. Does God violate His own pronouncement in Deuteronomy 24:16?
How are we to understand the consequences of this peek into the character of God? First, we realize that we alone are accountable to Him. We do not suffer His wrath because of something our ancestors did. The doctrine of sinful nature is not correct! Secondly, we realize that our acts of obedience and righteousness have long-term effects. We are not living simply for ourselves. Our obedience alters the way that God treats our children, and perhaps ever others. One of the benefits of following God’s instructions is that He oversees the effects on our children. This is the true meaning of “visiting” (paqad – Exodus 34:7) and it is a very good thing. Finally, we see that the God of grace is also a God who remembers and because He remembers, we have every incentive to do now what will come true later. You may think that your life is just about you, but clearly that is not the case. You leave a legacy with God that He acts upon. Your investment in righteousness pays dividends to your children – and He shows that to be true.
Inheritance is a biblical idea. And it’s not always about money.
Topical Index: for the sake of, lema’an, righteousness, generations, paqad, visiting, 1 Kings 11:34, Exodus 34:7
I like to know according to Talmud, David is not an adulterer they called it Agunah.All the wife’s receives a get if their husband should die on the War front, and also he could not be a murdere because Urai death was an act of War.
According to the Rabi’s David miss use his position to his advantage and therefore he received punishment.
andre venter
House of Bread
South Africa
Thoughts:
The consequence of sin will be delivered only to that person who sinned. However, the influence of sin is strong enough to contaminate others and lead them into sins of their own.
The reverse of that: the blessing/righteousness of one can be poured out on many, even those undeserving of it. Yet the influence of righteousness/blessing does not seem as strong to influence another’s choices and actions; to drive them to be righteous.
I see the role of the intercessor being crucial to righteousness. Moses pleaded for Yisrael. The High Priest intercedes on Yom Kippur. David’s righteousness affects his sons. Yeshua’s sacrifice restores His chosen ones. But in that, I see the role of God’s choosing being imperative. And we do see in Scripture that Abba YHWH does make choices based upon the influence of certain individuals. Please correct me if I am wrong. Maybe I am mixing up righteousness with atonement?
I think Romans 5:12-21 is the next step of the analysis.
Skip, you said “Are we to assume God indiscriminately punishes children for the wicked deeds of the fathers?”
I think the operative word here is “indiscriminately.” God certainly reserves the RIGHT to punish children for the deeds of their fathers but He doesn’t necessarily exercise that right on every occasion. In 2 Samuel 12:13-18 we learn that David’s firstborn child with Bathsheba dies because of David’s sin. And, in Joshua 7:24-26 we see an example of Achan and his entire family, (even his animals) being punished for his deeds after he stole gold and silver from the ruins of Jericho. There are other examples in Scripture as well.
We might not “inherit” the sins of our fathers, but we certainly live with the consequences. Sin has a rippling (butterfly) affect that goes on and on and on affecting all of us…we’re a community. We ALL live with the consequences of Adam’s choice…that in itself is punishment. We ALL live with the consequences of the past sins of others as well as our own sins, just as we also enjoy blessings from the good deeds and obedience to the Lord (from others and ourselves.)
At the end of the day, only YHWH determines who will be blessed and who will be cursed based on the choices and actions of mankind.
And…I failed to mention the obvious…we are saved by the works and righteousness of Yeshua…not of ourselves or our good deeds.
I believe Achan’s family was destroyed not because of Achan himself but because of their part they played in helping him hide the what he stole.
What sin did Achan’s animals committed?
What sin did David and Bathesheba’s newborn child committ?
I completely agree – i also believe we should renounce this over our lives in prayer going back even 10 generations
Michael, I have spent a good deal of time in this place, once I realized that some areas of my life, where blessings were NOT abounding, were ‘stuck’ places for me. I could not for the life of me see why I was stuck there!
It became immensely helpful to realize that my life is not, actually, all about me(!), but that it represented a sum total of the choices and interactions of those around me, as well as those before me, on top of what I perceived as my choices. I was walking in an entire host of blessings AND curses that were the products of the choices of others! This infuriated the little Greek parts of me to no end! (Let us pause a short moment to acknowledge the demise of yet another Greek idea…) Ok, back to the subject.
What to do about personal accountability, then, if my life is not just about me, but about all those that came before me, not to mention those that come after? Thatsa lotsa accountability! What does this look like, um, personally speaking?
I began to realize that I was going to have to go back and start over in my thinking and in what I was doing about accountability. The geographical cure that I was attempting to achieve when it came to my past and the people of my past was obviously not working. Time to try something else.
In Nehemiah 9:2, I see the entire representation of the nation of Israel coming to a similar realization, that they are the sum product of a whole lot of choices made by those that came before them. This realization prompted what I decided to use as my model: they not only confessed (acknowledged) their own sins, but also the iniquities of those that came before. It was clear to them that the curse was going to have to be broken before the blessings could return to the land, and to their children, as well as to themselves, but how do you break a curse? Boil a pot of something and chant? Wave your arms around and yell at the devil? Invoke the Name?
If I am a sum of the choices of others, (in addition to my own), then part of that sum is going to be a generational alignment with; a tacit agreement with; a propensity to repeat (given the opportunity to), those previous choices. How does this happen? I think it is because of our hardwiring; the way we were made. If the Golden Rule (do as you WOULD be done by) was given to supersede this design, then it is obvious that the original design, made to work in the perfect world it originated in, of course, is to do as we ARE done by. I am going to walk in the choices and actions of my parents, in particular, for that is my design. I think it takes something supernatural, in fact, to overcome that design. I think part of that supernatural is the installment of the curses after the Fall as an added incentive to drop the generational baggage we get handed. Another part, of course, was what Yeshua came to give us. He was the other half of the curses: in fact, He was the answer TO those curses.
The curses make it easier to hate the choices of our forefathers, for we have to hate before we want to change. I am not going to want to repeat what I hate (even though the hatred is still not enough to accomplish that change). But, that hatred IS enough to get me to a point of recognition and repentance. THERE, at that point, is where I can be safely separated from the propensity, as well as the consequences, of those choices. Right there, after I have experienced the results of poor choices, is the place where I become willing to consider repenting for those choices, so it is there that what Yeshua did for me becomes not only possible for me to consider, but becomes attractive to me. Right there is where I have the best chance to actually want to be set free, and ask to be set free.
I am NOT going to continue to do it just because my mammy and my pappy did it if I have been set free from that Law of the flesh – which now represents sin and death – where I naturally keep up the trajectory of those that came before. How am I set free? By confession of sin and repentance! The new Law, given to me after the Fall, says that I have been given a way to recognize and overcome the results of the choices of others, as well as my own agreement with those choices. I can start over! Not by incantations or by imprecations of the devil, but by confession (“hey! that’s wrong and I don’t want it any more!”) and repentance, which is turning around and choosing a new choice: that other Way. Confession and repentance brings me to the cross, which is the place where Yeshua can become those curses for me. Halleluah!
Skip
Another great “Toady’s word” study.
I think your absolutely correct, that there is much misunderstanding of Ex 34:7. I believe a lot of it gets cleared up though when we examine it in context to Deut 5:9-10:
” You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
I think the key words are “of those who hate me” and “of those who love me”.
The sins of a father wouldn’t pass down to someone that loves Him and obeys Him. But, they may if the “hate” is continued on. In other words, the offspring of the father would themselves have to be hater’s, disobedient and committing they’re own sin.
The traditional interpretation is valid if the reader recognizes and understands that the curse is a fruit of being outside the covenant and the blessing is a fruit of being in the covenant. The purpose of the covenant is to give the life of Hashem to His children. Those who abandon this gift are left by default with its loss. This means that those who are raised apart must be led back to the fold. They can not teshuva because they inherited the seperation generationally as opposed to thru personal misdeed. If you are taught the wrong path how can you walk the straight path? Someone who knows the straight path must first guide you to its truth. The logic is simply and direct. It requires no sophistication to understand, merely a good heart. Genesis is filled with testimony of how the sins of the fathers are played out in their children.
“Secondly, we realize that our acts of obedience and righteousness have long-term effects. We are not living simply for ourselves. Our obedience alters the way that God treats our children, and perhaps even others.”
“..we have every incentive to do now what will come true later.”
“You leave a legacy with God (Elohim of Avarham, Itchak and Yaccov) that He acts upon. Your investment in righteousness pays dividends to your children …”
From the quoted verses above, I am further stirred to do what’s right with ABBA YHWH, not for my own sake, but the sakes of my children and future generations as well.
Being spiritual pillars and firstborns, it is our responsibility to uphold YHWH’s set-apart ways to ensure that legacy of inheritance/heritage of blessing/s to the generations, and even to all around us.
It is an environmental/communal situation.
Thank you for clarifying these verses, Skip. Shalom!
If I love my children, (and I do!), the absolute best thing I can do for them (I can do this!), is to obey God. ~ Obey God, and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man ~ (Ecclesiastes 12.13)
These are King Solomon’s own words, his “legacy” to those who would follow him. Leadership is influence. Each one of us influence someone, either for better or for worse.
~ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter ~ Solomon, Israel’s king and David’s successor, did a lot of “research and study..”- all in the name of “wisdom.” He even became a fool that he might be wise!(I gave my heart to wine and to mirth and to folly!- seeker out that which would be “good” for man).
Solomon (at the time) was purported to be a very wise man. The queen of Sheba marveled at his wisdom. Yes, Solomon was quite a guy..- the man who “had it all..” and yet..
And God said, ~ because you have asked for wisdom, I will (also) give you… and He did! God “blessed” Solomon. God was Solomon’s Benefactor and Source of every good gift and every perfect gift. Peace and prosperity were the order of the day. And yet.. Solomon wanted yet more… But the question is- More what? More “stuff and things?”
Remember this question, from “back in the day?” Sir, – how much money is “enough” money? And his answer? “just a little bit more..”
Ahh.. Solomon.. if only you knew.. (it’s not about you!) More power? More prowess? More prestige? More privilege? More possessions?
Friends, ~ behold, One greater than Solomon is here. ~ (Matthew 12.42) One who “owns it all!” He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, – the wealth in every mine! Now, when we say “greater than,” – how much greater? As the elephant is to the flea? No, greater. As the grain of sand is to the universes? Now we are getter closer, but “greater” still..
Solomon, as we know from 20/20 hindsight had a problem. He might have started well, but his finish wasn’t so spectacular! He did not “end well..” ” Vanity of vanities, – all is vanity!” Solomon, the man who “had it all”- yet, had nothing! Solomon, where are the fruits of the Spirit in your life? Love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance? Solomon, did you lose your focus? I wonder..
I wonder if Solomon, you and I don’t have a little of the same interior disease as did another king in Israel’s long history. His name was Nebuchadnezzar.
The cure for this disease (may I call it for what it is?) is repentance. The same sickness- the same solution- for each one of us. What happens “after” repentance? How does God, our Father, feel about this? ~ for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began ~ (Luke 15.24)
Now, how about repentance on a national scale? A large problem requires a large solution. Revival (to live again) begins with repentance. The solution to pollution of sin remains the same.
“If my people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
(2 Chronicles 7.14)
Now, why would we pray, “in the Name” of Jesus? – and for His sake?
What about Ezekiel 18?? I would have thought that got rid of generational curses for ever.