Exodus 20: 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or 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.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Generational curses, and blessings pertain to every human being, for all of us are affected, one way or the next by the doings of our progenitors. This fact is inescapable and should thus serve the purpose of causing persons to make wise choices, knowing that not only ourselves will be affected, but also those of our children who may come after us.
Choices and decisions made by parents are like unto throwing a pebble into a river with the ripple effects to be seen and felt far and wide. When parents may choose to do good, by loving and serving God, they set in motion a train of mercies and blessings which extend to thousands of generations, long after those parents are dead and buried.
God does not forget His tender mercy to those who love and obey Him, and even when the up-coming generations may forget, God’s mercies are still to be extended to their offspring for they are beneficiaries of God’s grace, in behalf of the faithful who went on before.
On the other hand, persons who despise and forget God, transmit that disposition to their offspring and even though the destiny of such persons are not set in stone, it is more likely than not, for them to walk in the footsteps of their parents.
In addition to this the practices, indulgences, habits and lifestyles, are all likely to be mimicked by those who come after, for by precept, example and also by inheritance and cultivation, the stage is often set for replications, in those who are born to such parents.
Persons do retain their freedom of choice, and they are never inevitably chained in a hell-bound destiny. However, history has proven the words of Scripture to be true, in the overwhelming majority of cases.
As Esau, and Jacob came out fighting against each other, just so, the after history has demonstrated a continued animosity from generation to generation. Even though there was a pause due to the forced reconciliation brokered by God, yet they were never at peace permanently.
That’s because the propensities, tendencies, habits, practices, and dispositions, were all transferred to the coming generations, and because of this the bad blood persisted between the two. Let’s read:
Genesis 36:1 Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.
2 Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite.
8 Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.
9 And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir:
12 And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son;
and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau's wife.
Genesis 36:6 And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 207] This separation was in accordance with the divine purpose, concerning Jacob. Since the brothers differed so greatly in regard to religious faith, it was better for them to dwell apart.
Esau and Jacob had alike been instructed in the knowledge of God, and both were free to walk in His commandments and to receive His favor; but they had not both chosen to do this. The two brothers had walked in different ways, and their paths would continue to diverge more and more widely.
There was no arbitrary choice on the part of God by which Esau was shut out from the blessings of salvation. The gifts of His grace through Christ are free to all. There is no election but one's own by which any may perish.
Exodus 3: 7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Now, there are a few passages of scripture written in the New Testament that must be addressed, for they are often misinterpreted to mean that God is arbitrary in His choices and decisions, which is not the case in anyway shape or form. Let’s read:
Romans 9: 11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16 So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shews mercy.
Be very careful when seeking to understand what is meant by the previous passages. Let’s repeat: Great care must be taken in trying to unpack the previous passages for persons can draw incorrect conclusions about the character and purposes of God, as it will pertain to generational blessings and curses.
Jacob’s household would have their own share of issues, and Jacob himself was not the best of fathers for any to conclude that just because he feared God, that he was free from errors. In fact, Jacob’s life was riddled with faults, from polygamy, to lying and from dissembling to cunning.
But in all and through it all, the general bent of his household was towards God, and for this reason he would impart to his offspring a disposition to love, and serve The God of heaven, imperfect though he and they may be. In other words, Jacob would set a tone in his household that would be to-God-ward.
But Esau was of an entirely different disposition, for even though both himself, and Jacob them grew up in the same house, going to the same church, and having the same religious instruction, Esau did not take to God as his brother did, and God’s laws, and instructions were considered burdensome and even irritating to him.
Thus, he would pass on this disposition to his kids, and even though they had retained their freedom of choice, as a general rule, Esau’s family would harbor and averseness to God and that general tendency to hate God would be cemented with each successive generation, until it became a natural characteristic. Let’s read:
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 178] Isaac made known to his sons these privileges and conditions, and plainly stated that Esau, as the eldest, was the one entitled to the birthright. But Esau had no love for devotion, no inclination to a religious life.
The requirements that accompanied the spiritual birthright were an unwelcome, and even a hateful restraint to him. The law of God, which was the condition of the divine covenant with Abraham, was regarded by Esau as a yoke of bondage. Bent on self-indulgence, he desired nothing so much as liberty to do as he pleased.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 178] Jacob had learned from his mother of the divine intimation that the birthright should fall to him, and he was filled with an unspeakable desire for the privileges which it would confer. It was not the possession of his father's wealth that he craved; the spiritual birthright was the object of his longing.
To commune with God as did righteous Abraham, to offer the sacrifice of atonement for his family, to be the progenitor of the chosen people and of the promised Messiah, and to inherit the immortal possessions embraced in the blessings of the covenant. Here were the privileges and honors that kindled his most ardent desires. His mind was ever reaching forward to the future, and seeking to grasp its unseen blessings.
Thus, Esau and Jacob would go their separate ways, one, to receive the blessings, and favors of God for many generations, the other to reap all the natural results that come with an averseness toward God.
The generational blessings and curses are never an arbitrary act on the part of God, but instead are the natural outworking of cause and effect, sowing and reaping, which determine the outcomes. Therefore, there very serious and pertinent questions we need to ask ourselves, in the context of what we’ve seen so far:
[1] Is the destiny of an individual inevitably set in stone, depending on the course of action pursued by one’s progenitors?
[2] Can the generational blessings and curses be reversed?
[3] What about those genetic factors which may be beyond a person’s control? Is there hope in such situations?
[4] Let’s say a person’s progenitors have a history of cancer, because of habitual violations of laws which pertain to diets and foods; is it then inevitable for the coming generations to come down with cancers, or would they have the ability to track an entirely different course?
[5] When The Lord says He will visit the iniquity of the fathers unto the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him, what does God mean by that statement?
[6] Can the generations of the wicked buck the downward trend, through freedom of choice, and could they be saved in God’s kingdom?
There are two statements in our first passage which need to be clarified, once and for all, because there are persons who study the Bible one-sidedly instead of line upon line, and precept upon precept, and if this is the case, wrong conclusions of God and of the passage in question will certainly be drawn.
Here are the two statements of interest which need clarity:
[1] “Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me.”
The word “Visiting” is too often interpreted to mean that God would directly place the sins of the fathers, and results thereof upon future generations, in ways that cannot be averted by the children. Nothing can be further from the truth, for that interpretation is quite contrary to other passages of Scripture.
There are laws of cause and effect, and there are laws of sowing and reaping that are, in many cases, allowed to run their natural course, without direct interference from God, and which bring to maturity the pertinent fruit, either for good, or for evil.
If one’s parents and grandparents, going back many years were to cultivate a love for smoking and a love for drinking, their children would be born with such tendencies, and by example, the habit can become set in stone, in the offspring of such, especially if the children were to now cultivate and practice the very same patterns of behavior.
The adverse results are not anything that God will be doing to the offspring. That word “Visiting”, for the most part refers to God allowing the natural law of action and consequence to run unimpeded.
In fact, what God does is to set in motion, ways, and means whereby persons who have been adversely affected, either genetically, or by the habitual wrong doing of one’s progenitors can make a U-Turn, and if such persons were to take hold of Christ, the only remedy, they can stop the downward trend in most cases. The following scriptures will confirm what is being said. Let’s read:
Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Mark 2: 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eats and drinks with publicans and sinners?
17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
God does not arbitrarily visit the iniquities of one’s parents upon the children, if the children will track a different, and right course. God gives much grace to the wicked, so that they can have equal opportunity just like the offspring of the righteous. This sacred truth must now be set in stone in our minds, once and for all.
Let’s pay very close attention to the following sacred records, so as to confirm, that the downward trend, initiated, and promulgated by one’s progenitors can be stopped, slowed or even reversed, for it all has to do with the choices the individual makes.
1st Kings 21: 25 But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
1st Kings 22: 40 So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel.
52 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
53 For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the Lord God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
2nd Kings 11:1 And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.
2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.
21 Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.
2nd Kings 12:2 And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.
4 And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the Lord, even the money of every one that passes the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that comes into any man's heart to bring into the house of the Lord,
5 Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found.
11 And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the Lord: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the Lord,
12 And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the Lord, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.
19 And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
So, let’s recap what took place here. Ahab, and the infamous Athaliah were the progenitors of Ahaziah, who followed in the footsteps of Ahab, and Ahaziah has a son, namely Josiah, who chooses to track an entirely different course.
It's worthy of note that the training Josiah got from an early age at the hands of the priest Jehoiada, had a profound effect upon his mind, and according to the Scriptures, those early instructions played a vital role in overriding whatsoever genetic, and inherited tendencies to evil Joash’s progenitors bequeathed.
Thus, even though this is the exception rather than the rule, yet, it is possible, by the grace of God for a person to buck that downward trend, set in motion by one’s parents and grandparents. If it were not a possibility, then the grace of God would have limits on its ability to save to the gutter-most.
[2] The other statement from our first passage that needs to be addressed is that of “Keeping mercy for thousands of generations that love me and keep my commandments”
The generations of the righteous are promised grace and mercy, but this isn’t exclusively theirs, as we’ve seen in several previous passages. If the offspring of righteous do evil, in many cases they would reap the natural results just like the wicked because The Lord does not generally interfere with the laws of sowing and reaping.
God’s mercies are over the righteous, but they also are over the wicked, for if this were not the case, no one would be saved in God’s kingdom. The Hebrews struggled on this point of generational blessings and incorrectly concluded, that the favor of God would insulate and shield them from every departure from righteousness.
Furthermore, they had come to believe that those privileges, and blessings granted, and promised to Abraham would be theirs automatically, whether they did good or evil. And sadly, this thinking has seeped into the Christian psyche today, some more, some less.
Blessings and curses are generally dependent on the personal choices of the individuals in question, not merely some automatic bestowal regardless of one’s decisions and actions. This sacred truth must now be made crystal clear, since an overwhelming majority of contemporary Christians, erroneously believe that the Jews are still God’s chosen people. Let’s read:
John 8: 31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, whoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Luke 3: 8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Jews as well as Christians are under the same set of conditions laid forth for producing blessings and/or curses. In other words, any Jew in our day, who will accept the terms and conditions of salvation in and through Christ, will become a beneficiary of mercy promised to a thousand generations.
And conversely, a Christian who claims to believe in Jesus but yet walks contrary to the terms of the new covenant will be a recipient of the natural results of their choices, including generational curses.
However, because of His promises made to parents who love and obey Him, who have done their due diligence in planting the seeds of God’s word in the children’s hearts, God extends mercy, and grace to such, so that in the fullness of time, the seed sown may spring up and bear fruit.
In our day, erroneous concepts have seeped into the hearts, and minds of many persons, and distortions fostered by would be prophets stoke incorrect views and sentiments, that are given utterance by persons who may not know better.
For instance, if a person is really blessed, and highly favored of God, as a result of God’s mercies, which are promised to the generations of the righteous, he will not generally boast of this in the public square, but would rather maintain a humble spirit, knowing that it is because of God’s mercies, why we are not consumed. Let’s read:
Proverbs 27:1 Boast not thyself of tomorrow for you know not what a day may bring forth.
2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
Persons who are really loaded with The Spirit of God do not generally make a show of the fact. Instead, it may be the case that you could be sitting right next to such a person in church and have not a clue as to their true status. Let’s read:
Romans 8: 16 The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.
[5 Biography pp 355] I want you to read the books Patriarchs, and Prophets, Great Controversy, Desire of Ages, and Ministry of Healing. I am not, as I said yesterday, a prophet. I do not claim to be a leader; I claim to be simply a messenger of God, and that is all I have ever claimed.
Again, generational curses and blessings are not to be understood as God doing something unto one’s offspring that would trigger a chain of adversities or circumstances, from which he or she cannot escape.
In almost every situation, the choice is ours. God provides the opportunities, success is what persons make of them, and therefore, if a person’s family tree includes indulgences in cancerous foods, and drink, you can in most cases, take concrete steps to slow down, stop or even reverse a downward trend, by the decisions and actions taken.
The salvation God offers is holistic in nature, and it ought to be understood as being applicable to the entire man. God does not propose to save the mind and leave the body behind, hence the reason why it is written, that we should keep our bodies, soul, and spirit blameless, for the one affects the other. Let’s read:
3rd John 1: 2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.
And to those who might be withering under a load of generational curses, let us always remember that the grace of God through Christ was manifested for just such situations and if we so desire, the buck can stop at our doorstep.
In some cases, this will not be easy but grace as well as power is promised to all who would take the time to study their family tree, carefully observing where their progenitors went right or wrong, and thereby, purposing in the heart, to track an entirely different course.
[The D.A. pp 296] The apostles differed widely in habits and disposition. These were brought together with their different faults, all with inherited and cultivated tendencies to evil; but in and through Christ they were to dwell in the family of God, learning to become one in faith, in doctrine, in spirit.
Like them, we too have our individual struggles and issues to deal with. The elders, and deacons of our church aren’t exempt, for we all have cultivated and inherited tendencies to confront which strive for the mastery.
But like the disciples of Christ, mercy and grace are granted to one and all, so that we will be enabled to live victoriously in the here and now, and because of this fact, there is no need for any to be shackled to the habits and indulgences of bygone years.
Instead, let us grab the proverbial bull by the horns, and wherever it be the case, that one’s progenitors may have passed on down to us tendencies, habits or deficiencies, now we know that God’s grace and mercy can put these latent tendencies into reverse gear, for this is the very essence of salvation.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which will enable us to live strong, not groveling in failures or weakness, but rather taking hold of the grace and mercy promised to a thousand generations. Let’s read:
Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
God Bless!