OvercomingGenerational Sins

In TheChristmas Carol, the ghost of Jacob Marley, a former business partner ofScrooge, says this:

“I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.”

Jacob Marley

Does Scriptureteach that there is such a thing as generational “chains”? Do grandparents andparents pass on specific sin habits and personal weaknesses to their childrenand grandchildren? In one way, the answer is ‘yes.’

The Example ofSimeon, Levi, and Moses

By way ofexample, you may recall how Jacob blessed (or rather didn’t bless) hissons Simeon and Levi (Gen 49:5-6). Why did he speak unfavorably about theirfuture? Because they had responded to an incident of wrongdoing with rash angerand violence.

When some non-Jewishmen (one in particular) from a nearby city mistreated their sister, theyhatched a plan to kill all the men of that city in a cruel and violent way (Gen34:25-31). Their father Jacob condemned their impulsive behavior and projectedhis displeasure onto their future descendants (Gen 49:7).

It is fascinatingto observe that Moses was a descendant of the tribe of Levi (Exo 2:1). Perhapsthat partly explains why he displayed violent behavior (resembling his great,great grandfather Levi) when he killed an Egyptian leader in an angry,impulsive, and violent way. This rash act of vengeance against injustice resembledthe way that Levi had wrongly responded to the men of the city who mistreatedhis sister (Gen 34:25-31).

So then, howdid Jacob’s forecast of Simeon and Levi’s future generations play out? Mosesand Joshua gave the descendants of these two brothers divided and scattered realestate assignments. The tribe of Simeon received land that was nestled withinthe property boundaries of Judah to the far south of the country (Josh 19:1, 9).The tribe of Levi received no land at all but was given a network of citiesscattered throughout the country instead (Num 18:24; Josh. 21:1–42).

Why was this “division”and “scattering” necessary? To prevent the descendants of these children (andtheir violent tendencies) to form violent, future coalitions that would threatenthe peace of the nation.

Can you see howthis example illustrates what the second of the 10 Commandments teaches? “Thoushalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am ajealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto thethird and fourth generation of them that hate me” (Exo 20:5).

VisitingIniquity on Future Generations

What does the“visiting the iniquity” statement mean? Perhaps you have mistakenly thought, assome Israelites apparently did, that God coldly punishes children andgrandchildren for the sins committed by their parents and grandparents, givingsucceeding generations no opportunity to change their ways. This is a mistakenconclusion. To affirm this, consider the following verses:

“Fathers shallnot be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death fortheir fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin” (Deut 24:16).

“The childrenof the murderers he did not execute, according to what is written in the Bookof the Law of Moses [citing Deut 24:16], in which the LORD commanded, saying, ‘Fathersshall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put todeath for their fathers; but a person shall be put to death for his own sin’”(2 Kings 14:6).

“The soul thatsinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father,neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of therighteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him”Ezekiel 18:20).

The Hebrew wordtranslated visiting features several layers of meaning. On one hand, itexpresses ideas such as ‘to inspect, review or number’ and can be used fortaking a census. How is this relevant?

It appears thatGod numbers or reviews sin by tracing it through generational lines. Forinstance, if a genealogy specialist counted how many people in a specificfamily tree struggle with stealing, when an early father in the lineage was akleptomaniac, the total number of people in successive generations with atendency to steal would be likely be high. Why? Because stealing habits weredeposited in a concentrated way early in the family line and many descendantspicked it up. Does this happen? It does.

In addition tothis layer of meaning for the word visiting, you should know that it alsoconveys ideas such as ‘to inflict or punish.’ But because of passages like Deut24:16, 2 Kings 14:6 and Ezek 18:20, we know that God does not punish asuccessive generation for the sins of a previous generation.

So how should we understand Exodus 20:5? One commentator provides some perspective that clarifies what it means for God to “visit” the sins of the parents on the children.

“This oft-repeated theme speaks of God’s determination to punish successive generations for committing the same sins they learned from their parents … God will indeed punish generation after generation (“to the third and fourth generation”) if they keep doing the same sorts of sins that prior generations did. If the children continue to do the sins their parents did, they will receive the same punishments as their parents.”

Douglas Stuart (The New American Commentary, vol. 2, p. 454)

Taking Responsibilityfor Personal Change

What badhabits, personal struggles or sinful tendencies have lingered in your familyline for generations? Alcoholism, depression, verbal or physical abuse,immorality, racism, bitterness, dishonesty, fear, or something else? While anyperson may commit any sin, it seems apparent that children do tend to wrestlewith the same sins as their parents did in an especially distinct way.

So whether youhave inherited certain propensities genetically, or you have picked up sinfultendencies due to your exposure to them at home, the Lord is able to overcomethese battles and strongholds in your life as you choose to trust in him.

Consider Mosesonce again. Three times in his life we find him displaying outbursts of angeror violence.

• Thefirst instance occurred in Egypt when he killed an Egyptian taskmaster who wasbeating a fellow Israelites (Exo 2:11-14).
• Thesecond occurred when he came down from Mount Sinai with the 10 Commandments writtenon stone; seeing the Israelites worshipping the golden calf enraged him, so hethrew the Commandments on the ground (Exo 32:19).
• Thethird instance occurred in the wilderness at Meribah when he struck the rock inanger over his frustration with the people’s disobedience, yet disobeying Godhimself as a result because God had only told him to speak to the rock instead(Num 20:7-13).

That said, itis heartening to realize that God also called Moses the meekest, most humbleman on earth (Num 12:3). Indeed, on numerous occasions throughout the life andministry of Moses, you find him responding to difficult circumstances in humilityand prayer rather than in anger and violence.

God also saidthat there was no greater prophet than Moses, due to Moses’ very closerelationship with him (Deut 34:10). To find the prophet who outshines him, youneed to bypass all the prophets who would come after him and turn to the NewTestament to read about Christ (Deut 18:15, 18).

Moses’ exampleshould encourage you to realize that if a man like Moses, a descendant of Leviwith tendencies to anger and violence, can become a very humble man, then you canalso break away from the sinful tendencies that mark your family tree. Youshould not use your family’s sins as an excuse for your own – you shouldovercome them instead.