NewDayvotional

From the pastor for the people

Does God Punish Children For The Sins Of Their Parents?

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Someone asked me recently: Does God punish children for the sins of their parents? In this post I’ll attempt to answer this question.

This idea (that God punishes children for the sins of their parents) comes from the Mosaic Law (the law God gave to the Israelites through Moses):

  • Exodus 20:4–6, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your 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.
  • Exodus 34:5–7, Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
  • Deuteronomy 5:8-10, ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your 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.

Admittedly, these verses, on their own, are a little confusing. So we need to turn to other Scriptures that speak to the question at hand to provide further clarity. For example:

  • Deuteronomy 24:16, “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin.” 
  • 2 Kings 14:1–6, In the second year of Joash…king of Israel, Amaziah…became king over Judah…he did what was right in the sight of the Lord…Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king. But the children of the murderers he did not execute, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, in which the Lord commanded, saying, “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall be put to death for his own sin.”
  • Jeremiah 31:29–30, In those days they shall say no more: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
  • Ezekiel 18:20, “The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.”

Clearly, the Bible teaches that each person rises or falls on their own merit. Therefore,  Exodus 20:4–6, Exodus 34:5–7, Deuteronomy 5:8-10 cannot mean that God punishes an innocent generation for the sins of a previous generation. What then do these verses mean?

  • In Exodus 20:4-6, “…the iniquities of the fathers upon the children…” refers to sins the parents committed that the children are now repeating.
  • And when Exodus 34:5-7 says “…by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children…” it’s clear that the children are guilty of sin themselves.

Therefore, we conclude that what these verses are affirming is God’s determination to punish successive generations for committing the same sins they learned from their parents. They do not teach that God punishes the children for the sins of their parents.

So in sum, the Bible teaches:

  1. If kids repeat the sins they learned from their parents, God will punish them just the same as the parents (Exodus 20:4–6, Exodus 34:5–7, Deuteronomy 5:8-10).
  2. But kids will not be punished by God for the sins of their parents, because each person will rise or fall before God based on their own merit, not someone else’s (Deuteronomy 24:16, 2 Kings 14:1-6, Jeremiah 31:29-30, Ezekiel 18:20).

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah brings these two truths together nicely in Jeremiah 32:18–19 when he wrote, “You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers’ sins into the laps of their children after them…Your eyes are open to all the ways of men; you reward everyone according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve.”

Note: Just because the Bible teaches that God will not punish kids for the sins of their parents, does not mean that kids won’t suffer for the sins of their parents. Many times they do. As they learn bad habits from the example their parents have set, they suffer the natural consequences of sin.

Five Time Management Tips Part 5

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The Bible gives us at least five tips for how we can manage our time in a God-honoring way. In this post we’ll at the fifth.

Tip #5: Observe a Sabbath Day’s rest. 

If you want to manage your time in a God-honoring way, taking a weekly Sabbath Day’s rest is a must! Now some people sadly have the wrong view of the Sabbath, which is why they don’t observe it. You see, some think the Sabbath is a duty instead of a delight. Some think it’s a burden, instead of a blessing. Some think it’s something they have to do instead of something they get to do. In case that’s you, let me help you out by sharing with you what the Sabbath was to those who originally were commanded to observe it.

Imagine with me how excited the Israelites must have been when they heard the news that they would get one day a week off to rest. When they got this command they were in the desert, having just left Egypt, where they were slaves, working about 16 hours a day 7 days a week.

  • Exodus 1:11 – They were oppressed with forced labor. Against their will they built cities for Pharaoh.
  • Exodus 1:13-14 – The Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
  • Exodus 2:11 – They were often beaten by their slave drivers.
  • Exodus 2:23 – The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out to God.
  • Exodus 3:7-9 – The Israelites work is described by God as misery, suffering and oppression.
  • And once Moses came and ordered Pharaoh to let God’s people go Pharaoh made the work even harder by ordering that the Israelites now collect their own straw to make the bricks, whereas before they were provided with it.

It was to this people, used to working these kinds of hours in these kinds of conditions that God said “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath (literally a cessation). On it you shall not do any work…” (Exodus 20:9)

You see, the Sabbath was given as a gift! This is why God said in Exodus 16:29, “Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath…” It’s a gift! So it’s not “Do I have to?”, rather “I get to!” This is what Jesus was getting at when he said in Mark 2:27 “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” In other words – the Sabbath wasn’t meant to be a duty, rather a delight. It wasn’t meant to be a burden, rather a blessing. So if the Sabbath is anything other than an absolute delight, you’re doing it wrong! It’s not an obligation, rather an opportunity to rest and relax and catch your breath and recharge and spend time with your family and friends, etc.

We’re so afraid that if we take a day off the world will fall apart – that we’ll fall behind – but quite the opposite is true. The Sabbath is a way to get ahead, not fall behind.

  • Did you know that when Google discovered the findings that 63 billion a year is lost in worker productivity due to workers being overtired they installed sleep pods throughout their offices so workers could take a 20 minute nap when needed? You see, when people don’t stop to rest (in order to be more productive), the exact opposite happens. Some think Google is advanced for taking this approach, but this concept of resting to be more productive is an ancient principle that’s been in the Bible for thousands of years. It’s called the Sabbath Day’s rest – and you ought to be observing one weekly!
  • Last year I was on vacation in PA when we stopped at a Cumberland Farm’s type place. While waiting in line to order a sandwich, I overheard the lady behind the counter apologizing to the man in front of me because she got his order wrong. While apologizing I heard her tell the man, “I haven’t had a day off in 9 days.” When it was my turn I placed my order with the same woman. When we got back in the car and started divided up the sandwiches my buffalo chicken grinder was labeled chicken salad…Well, that’s what happens when you don’t rest! Without rest the quality of your work suffers! God didn’t make us to go, go, go without taking a break. Friends – when all you do is go, go, go there’s this law of diminishing returns. That is, without rest, you yield less. Now personalize that and say it in your mind: Without rest, I yield less. 

Yes we need to budget our time and determine our priorities. Yes we need to learn to say no and regularly prune our schedules. But at the top of our list of ways to honor God with our time management needs to be the Sabbath. It’s the most important one, which is why I’ve saved this post for last!

God’s Name Depends on Your Circumstance

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God’s character is revealed to us through His various names that appear in the Bible. Since God’s character is multifaceted like a diamond, you can’t sum God up in just one name.

In Exodus 3:13-14 “Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’

When God said His name is “I Am” he was saying: I Am ____________. And what went in the blank space would depend upon the circumstance Moses found himself in. God was saying:

  • If you need guidance, I AM: Jehovah Rohi (The Lord Your Shepherd)
  • If you need provision, I AM: Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Your Provider)
  • If you need healing, I AM: Jehovah Rapha (The Lord Your Healer)
  • If you need peace, I AM: Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Your Peace)

Here’s what God wants us to take from His encounter with Moses: God’s name depends on your circumstance. God becomes whoever you need Him to be in your particular situation.

A Means to an End

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When you read the book of Exodus you learn that God saved and delivered the nation of Israel from their slavery and bondage in Egypt. Then He revealed to them the original purpose for which He created them through His prophets. He told them in Isaiah 49:3,6, “You are my servant, Israel, and you will bring me glory…I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” So we see that God’s salvation and deliverance and redemption was a means to an end – not an end in and of itself.

Well the same is true for us! God has saved us and delivered us from our slavery and bondage to sin. And through His Word (the Bible) He has revealed to us the original purposes for which He created us. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 “…go and make disciples of all nations…” In Mark 16:15 He said it this way “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” We are saved and delivered and redeemed asa  means to an end – not as an end in and of itself.

Whether you’re an Old Testament Israelite or a New Testament Christian, the purpose of salvation is the same: To partner with God and God’s people to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.

Freedom from Ungodly Attitudes

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Deliverance isn’t just for the demon possessed, the drug addict or the alcoholic. The Bible teaches we all need deliverance from at least three things: ungodly thinking, ungodly actions and ungodly attitudes. In this post we’ll cover how to find freedom from ungodly attitudes.

We all need deliverance from ungodly attitudes (Exodus 15:24, 16:2, Numbers 11:1,5).

Even once the Israelites were up and out of Egypt, the ungodly Egyptian attitude wasn’t up and out of them! They had such bad attitudes! They constantly grumbled and complained. And they were super ungrateful too! God not only saved them from Egypt, He also provided all their groceries free of charge. Every morning when they walked out of their tents, Panera bagels were all over the ground (back then they called it manna). Were the Israelites grateful? No! Instead, they began to complain that they preferred the food of Egypt more the food from God!

This reminds me of the time I served food at a homeless shelter with my kids. As we served the food some were grateful, but some were very ungrateful. Some of them were picky complaining about the ripeness of the fruit. Some didn’t even look at me but instead would shoo me away with their hand without looking up from their card game. Talk about ungrateful!

Well this is how the Israelites were treating God! The Israelites were slaves to the Egyptians and God set them free! They should’ve woke up everyday rejoicing, not complaining! And the same is true for us! Because God has saved us we should have an attitude of gratitude but instead we complain just like the Egyptians. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Paul wouldn’t have written this unless the Christians he was writing to needed deliverance from ungodly attitudes. Well they needed it and so do we!

So God gave us church to help us find freedom from ungodly attitudes (Exodus 25:8-9).

After saving the Israelites from Egypt, God first gave the nation His laws. Next God organized the nation by tribe. Finally, God gave the nation the Tabernacle – a place for corporate worship – to help them find freedom from ungodly attitudes. God’s cure for the Israelites’ complaining and grumbling and ungratefulness, was to have them gather together to worship. As they praised and thanked God for all He had done for them, they would be reminded of all they had to be thankful for, and this would take care of their complaining and ungratefulness.

When Kristin and I first got a home we were so thankful and thanked God every day for our home for probably the first year. But when things starting breaking our thankfulness turned to forgetfulness. We forgot how the landlord wouldn’t let us paint how we wanted, how the landlord would run over our kids toys as he mowed the lawn, how we would give our money away to someone else vs build equity in a place of our own, how the teenagers on the other side of the duplex would loudly run up and down the stairs late at night, etc. We started complaining so much we about talked ourselves into selling and moving somewhere else! But then we had a talk and we started to remember. We started talking about how bad it was before and how much better is was now. As we did this forgetfulness turned back into thankfulness.

Isn’t it true that it’s so easy to forget all the blessings in our lives? It’s so easy to focus on the two or three things going wrong in life to the point they totally eclipse all the good that’s happening at the same time. When this happens we start complaining. Well God has a solution to this tendency of ours to complain. To counter this tendency God gave us church – a weekly time to remember all we have to be grateful for. This is how we find freedom from an ungodly attitude of complaining, grumbling and ungratefulness. Ephesians 4:23 says that we need to be made new in the attitude of our mind. How does this happen? Well, it happens as we worship! When we worship we find freedom from an ungodly attitude of ingratitude. It’s so important that we’re faithful in church attendance – not because if we don’t we won’t go to heaven – rather because if we don’t we’ll slip back into old habits of having a bad attitude, being ungrateful, complaining and grumbling.