Day 4 – Exodus 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. ⁵ You 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, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. ^[1]

In the second commandment God warns His people against the practice of idolatry. God so serious about this warning that it takes three verses to explain. But our concern today is not so much with the waning about idolatry as the consequences of breaking this commandment. The consequences delineate God’s judgment against those who disobey Him. That judgment, “punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,” extends to family. God judges families that disobey Him.

If it is true that God cares for the families of those that honor Him, then the reverse must also be true. It may be hard to imagine and harder yet for many who may not want to accept it, but generations that have yet to be born will suffer the judgment of God because of the sin of their great-great grandfathers. Consider the condition of many families today. How did they become the way they are? How did they become so entrenched in their behavior? Why can they not seem to get it together? Do all struggle and suffer as a result of the sin of their fathers? Of course not, but it is a struggle for all to rise above their condition. Some make it, some do not, and the point is that they did not have to struggle at all if only their fathers had obeyed God.

The good news is contained in the sixth verse, God shows “love to a thousand generations of those who obey [Him] and keep [His] commands.” Our faithful obedience to God results in demonstrations of God’s love for a thousand generations. Imagine that, if a generation is thirty-five years, then 3,500 years after we have been long and gone our children’s children are still being shown love. Therefore, it is imperative that some of us consciously break the cycle of disobedience that we either repeat or that began in our generation. I want those who follow me to know that the reason they experience the awesome love of God is because I was obedient to God. What about you?

Lord, it is absolutely incredible that my family could experience Your judgment 280 years after I am gone. It is even more incredible that that same family could experience Your love 3,500 years after I am gone. I prefer the latter, so please show me where I am walking in disobedience so I can take corrective action. I don’t want my family to suffer, so I repent of anything that may be causing them to suffer Your judgment now. Forgive me of my sin and allow me a new beginning. May my life ever give You praise and glory beginning today, and then may my children see and know Your love for a thousand generations. Amen.