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Exodus 20:4-6-4 “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; 5 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, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Throughout the Old Testament, God declares that children will not be held guilty for the sins of their parents.
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.
Ezekiel 18:20-The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
So if children aren’t held accountable by God for their parents sins, then what does it mean that God visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children of the third and fourth generations of those who hate Him?
Is this a Bible contradiction?
Let’s study.
First, notice from this text in Exodus that the “children” being referred to are not cute little kids running around playing a game of hide and seek or kickball. Instead, they are adult children who have chosen to follow in their parents footsteps to oppose God. Notice the text says that the ones being punished are those who “hate” God. As pointed out by Geisler and Howe:
“Further, even if the Exodus passage implied that moral guilt was somehow also visited on the children, it would only be because they too, like their fathers, had sinned against God. Noteworthy is the fact that God only visits the iniquities of “those who hate” Him (Ex. 20:5), not those who do not.” (Norman L. Geisler & Thomas Howe, The Big Book of Bible Difficulties: Clear and Concise Answers from Genesis to Revelation, 3426 (Kindle Edition): Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books)
The inspired Prophet Jeremiah himself points out that this is the correct identification of the “children” in this Scripture:
Jeremiah 32:18-19-You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts. 19 You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.
The pagan gods were notorious for punishing one person for a deed, and then rewarding another person for the exact same act. They were as unpredictable as they were capricious. God is not saying here that He is going to take an innocent baby and somehow impute his parents sins to him. Instead, the Lord is letting us know here in Exodus that if when children grow up, they choose to follow in the same rebellious footsteps as their parents, then they will face negative consequences (just like their parents did).
There is no partiality with God.
His holiness demands consistency.
“All of which leads me to the last layer, where we hit bedrock. I would argue, it’s the main idea: because Yahweh is just, he will continue to punish sin in each and every generation until it’s completely gone. Put another way, don’t think that because God punished your daddy for idolatry, you’re off the hook for your own idolatry. God will punish you, the same way he punished your father. The same way he punished your grandfather. The same way he punished your great-grandfather. Because his end goal is a world free from evil, and he won’t stop until the eradication of sin in your family line is complete.” (John Mark Comer, God Has A Name, 231 (Kindle Edition): Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan)
But second, think about this. Comer points something else out about the grammar of this passage that is truly beautiful.
“If this is unnerving for you, keep reading. The last phrase is my favorite part: “to the third and fourth generation.” The ending is a twist, a surprise. And it’s incredibly cool. The word generation isn’t there in Hebrew. It was added for English readers to make sense of an awkward Hebrew idiom. Scholars point out that Exodus 34v6–7 has a poetic rhythm to it, 11 and whatever word comes after “thousands” may also come after “to the third and fourth.” So it could read: “maintaining love to thousands of generations . . . and he punishes the children to the third and fourth generation.” But more literally, we could translate it: “maintaining love to thousands . . . and he punishes the children to the third and fourth.” You see the picture? Imagine a scale in your mind’s eye. Not the one in your bathroom that makes you feel guilty for the pizza you ate last night. The one in Washington, D.C., of Lady Justice, with a fulcrum point in the middle and a weight on either side. Now imagine it uneven. On one side is Yahweh’s mercy. On the other is God’s justice. But they are way out of balance. The imagery here is of a scale that’s weighted to the side of mercy. He punishes to the third and fourth, yes, but he’s “maintaining love to thousands.” As one New Testament writer later put it, “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” 12 Yahweh is just. And that’s good news. That’s why we can look forward to a better tomorrow. But he’s also forgiving. He can’t help but show mercy; it’s who he is. And when his justice and mercy bump up against each other—when they conflict and bang heads and square off—mercy wins every time.” (John Mark Comer, God Has A Name, 231-233 (Kindle Edition): Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan)
When we understand who the “children” in Exodus 20:4-6 are, we see there is no Bible contradiction. This also help us to see that there is also no stain upon the Character of God from these words!
God is just, and will not impute the guilt of parents to their children. Instead, each person will be held accountable for his own actions. Yet even with this knowledge, there is the beautiful reality of God’s mercy that triumphs over His judgment!
Lord, thank You for Your kindness and mercy. Help us to share this knowledge with others. Amen.