Rebellion vs. Repentance
- Feb 10, 2024
- 2 min read
From today's Bible Recap reading assignment:
Exodus 34:6-7 (NIV) “The Lord passed before him [Moses] and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.'”
"We want a God who punishes the guilty. No one would trust a judge who didn't. He would be impeached. God is both loving and just, and those two things are not at odds." Tara-Leigh Cobble, The Bible Recap Day 041 (https://youtu.be/6H476Kc25uA?si=u5sDKfKi06ZkKInr)
I think most of us struggle with Exodus 34:7, where it says, "visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation". On the surface, that sounds unfair, doesn't it? I found the following article helpful in explaining this: https://www.gotquestions.org/iniquity-of-the-fathers.html If you don't have time to read the whole article, here is the conclusion:
"It’s important to note that, even within the Mosaic Law, children were not required to suffer the penalty for their parents’ sins (see Deuteronomy 24:16). Nor was a child’s standing before God determined by the actions of his or her parents (see Ezekiel 18:1–32). However, there is no such thing as sin without consequence. When a parent sins, his or her children (and grandchildren) can expect to experience negative, earthly consequences for that sin. ...
Through Jesus and His death on the cross, all punishment for sin has been paid for once and for all and is not counted against those who have faith in Him (Romans 6:10; 1 Peter 3:18). In moments when we must deal with the consequences of other peoples’ sin, we can remember that God has given us the Holy Spirit as a comforter and helper (John 14:16–17) and that God has promised to work all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28)."
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