First Post! Are Children Punished for the Sins of Their Fathers?

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Hello everyone. This is my first post here. And due to past events, it’s only been a few months since I returned my gaze on God.

Since then, I’ve been reading the Bible, and one issue currently stands out as most puzzling: Does God punish children, even their children’s children, for their fathers’ sins?(I’ve searched the Forums but couldn’t find exacly what I’m looking for.) I am not specifically talking about Adam and Eve, but more on the personal sins of the generations which followed. My confusion arose in reading Exodus 34:7:

“Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”

And I know that there are accounts written in the Bible where children are punished for the sins of their fathers. I’ve searched the net for possible answers, with others showing Scriptures speaking of the opposite. But that has just made things more confusing, as various Scriptures seem to be in direct opposition, leaving me even more confused. It would be great to hear thoughts and positions from anyone, especially those who have discussed the issue before and have found some kind of resolution. Thanks.
 
dapperdon said:
My confusion arose in reading Exodus 34:7:

“Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”

And I know that there are accounts written in the Bible where children are punished for the sins of their fathers. I’ve searched the net for possible answers, with others showing Scriptures speaking of the opposite. But that has just made things more confusing, as various Scriptures seem to be in direct opposition, leaving me even more confused. It would be great to hear thoughts and positions from anyone, especially those who have discussed the issue before and have found some kind of resolution. Thanks.
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Yes, since we are all connected to the Body of Christ, all our sins affect each other. In a stronger sense, the sins of you father can affect you personally. But if I recall, in Sirach somewhere, it gives the opposite of of the Exodus case and it says one thousand generations.

But God still curses this way. In the most abundant example is when parents contracept, the first fruits of that is disobediant children, fighting, etc.

Another verse to consider is:
Rev 2:21 And I gave her a time that she might do penance, and she will not repent of her fornication. 22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed: and they that commit adultery with her shall be in very great tribulation, except they do penance from their deeds. 23And I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts, and I will give to every one of you according to your works. But to you I say,
Clearly, this was a curse for the children that died.
 
Although I,m not a biblical expert,Sin not only damages our personl relationship with our heavenly FatherIt can and does damage uor earthly relationships and even the natural world(pollution etc).The sins of the fathers being "visited"on their children,One example is fetal alachol syndrome.Although the child is not guity of the sin,the effects of sin has far reaching affects.God is not trying to keep "good things"from us but rather,is trying to protect us and our children.Another example is Aids being transmitted through a promiscuious life style can be trasmitted to our children.The child is not guilty of the sin,but we cause the sin to be visited upon our children.Hope this helps.Peace,Ward
 
HailMary said:
Another verse to consider is:

Rev 2:21 And I gave her a time that she might do penance, and she will not repent of her fornication. 22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed: and they that commit adultery with her shall be in very great tribulation, except they do penance from their deeds. 23And I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts, and I will give to every one of you according to your works. But to you I say, Clearly, this was a curse for the children that died.
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The woman in this letter to the church in Thyatira is Jezabel, who calls herself a prophetess and is mis leading Church members . It is my understanding that the “children” are spiritual desendents and not biological children. 🤷

To the angel of the church in Thyatira, 17 write this: " 'The Son of God, whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like polished brass, says this:
19 "I know your works, your love, faith, service, and endurance, and that your last works are greater than the first. 20 Yet I hold this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, who teaches and misleads my servants to play the harlot and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 18 21 I have given her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her harlotry. 22 So I will cast her on a sickbed and plunge those who commit adultery with her into intense suffering unless they repent of her works. 23 I will also put her children 19 to death. Thus shall all the churches come to know that I am the searcher of hearts and minds and that I will give each of you what your works deserve. 24 But I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not uphold this teaching and know nothing of the so-called deep secrets of Satan: 20 on you I will place no further burden, 25 except that you must hold fast to what you have until I come.
 
canne said:
The woman in this letter to the church in Thyatira is Jezabel, who calls herself a prophetess and is mis leading Church members . It is my undestanding that the “children” are spiritual desendents and not biological children. 🤷

To the angel of the church in Thyatira, 17 write this: " 'The Son of God, whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like polished brass, says this:
19 "I know your works, your love, faith, service, and endurance, and that your last works are greater than the first. 20 Yet I hold this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, who teaches and misleads my servants to play the harlot and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 18 21 I have given her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her harlotry. 22 So I will cast her on a sickbed and plunge those who commit adultery with her into intense suffering unless they repent of her works. 23 I will also put her children 19 to death. Thus shall all the churches come to know that I am the searcher of hearts and minds and that I will give each of you what your works deserve. 24 But I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not uphold this teaching and know nothing of the so-called deep secrets of Satan: 20 on you I will place no further burden, 25 except that you must hold fast to what you have until I come.
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Whether its a spiritual death or a physical one, the point is that those “children” are cursed because of the woman.
 
dapperdon said:
Hello everyone. This is my first post here. And due to past events, it’s only been a few months since I returned my gaze on God.

Since then, I’ve been reading the Bible, and one issue currently stands out as most puzzling: Does God punish children, even their children’s children, for their fathers’ sins?(I’ve searched the Forums but couldn’t find exacly what I’m looking for.) I am not specifically talking about Adam and Eve, but more on the personal sins of the generations which followed. My confusion arose in reading Exodus 34:7:

“Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”

And I know that there are accounts written in the Bible where children are punished for the sins of their fathers. I’ve searched the net for possible answers, with others showing Scriptures speaking of the opposite. But that has just made things more confusing, as various Scriptures seem to be in direct opposition, leaving me even more confused. It would be great to hear thoughts and positions from anyone, especially those who have discussed the issue before and have found some kind of resolution. Thanks.
Click to expand...
No.

Read Ezekial 18.

Ezekial 18:19-20
“Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?’ Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. 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.
 
HailMary said:
Whether its a spiritual death or a physical one, the point is that those “children” are cursed because of the woman.
Click to expand...
I believe that “children” in this sense means followers of Jezebel.I am not certain it means children as in “a child”. But rather spiritual desendents-those who followed in her pagan ways.

[20] The scheming and treacherous Jezebel of old (cf 1 Kings 19:1-2; 21:1-14; 2 Kings 9:22, 30-34) introduced pagan customs into the religion of Israel; this new Jezebel was doing the same to Christianity.
 
👍 A Priest explained to me that the “consequences” of sin/s carry effects to our present life from our ancestors to our present parents and we ourselves carry them to our children. These consequences can be mild to severe. Usually, someone in the family wises up and becomes prayerful and practice their religious convictions and makes sacrifices for their family’s conversion and reconciliation to God and one’s Faith and to his/her family members. God is Merciful and Just.
God Bless you and yours.👍
 
To answer the OP 's question.I believe that sinful behavior (and divine punishment) can be and often is passed down to descendants. When a father has a sinful lifestyle, his children are likely to have the same sinful lifestyle as well. That is why it is not unjust for God to punish sin to the third or fourth generation – because they are committing the same sins their ancestors did. :twocents:
 
Eze 18 rules out children being punished for the sins of the fathers on a spiritual level.

Fathers can influnce children to make poor decisions. But, the children are held accountable for their own decisions.

John 9, indicates that there was a belief in Jesus’ day that children were punished for the sins of their parents.
 
Scanning this I did not notice anyone quoting one of my favorite verses from Jeremiah which is certianly relevant to the discusssion:

29 In those days they shall no longer say:
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’

:confused: …and Jeremiah continues…

30 But every one shall die for his own sin; each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
(Je 31:29-30, RSVCE)
 
All sins affect the whole world. We are all interconnected whether members of the Body of Christ, or not. The sins of the father are more potent because of proximity and failure to live up to the responsibility. Children are not culpable for the sins of the father but they are in the way of the fall out.
 
Thanks Truarchs for the Jeremiah #29. The affects and consequences of sins are inherited—that is what i get from the Jeremiah verse–thanks for bringing it to our attention.
cilla:thumbsup:
 
I have often wondered about this as well. One example comes to mind, a fellow that I know had a long problem with porn. Now, he has it mostly under control. He discovered that his daughter’s boyfriend/fiance has a porn problem as well and is convinced that this is a punishment being visited on his daughter (and himself) for his prior sins. I didn’t know how to respond to such a notion.
 
Thanks for the replies, they helped a lot.

This is the way I see it now. Since each one of us, as members of the same Church, are parts of the Body of Christ, each person’s sin would affect the whole. A broken ankle could stop the whole person from getting out of bed.

I also thought about it another way. Children are punished in the sense that the sins of the fathers create a worse environment for their children (and I’m not just talking about global warming, though that can be included). If the sins of the fathers consists of doing nothing to stop internet pornography or even advocate it, then, those fathers’ children would be living in a dirtier, thornier world, making it much more difficult to be righteous as a result of the massive amounts of temptation their fathers helped create.

Guess that’s all for now. I also came across an article which might be of interest to some.

infidels.org/library/magazines/tsr/1997/4/4sins97.html
(Just don’t mind the name of the host site. :D)
 
A biblical example I usually think of in understanding how children end up being “punished” for the sins of their fathers is to recall the destruction of the two kingdoms of the Jews. They were taken captive and sent into exile. It was the parents who sinned, but their children had to accompany them. Future children were born in captivity.

In regards to the blessings, I think of how I was blessed to be born into a Catholic family - because of a choice made many generations ago by my ancestors.

Nita
 
dapperdon said:
Hello everyone. This is my first post here. And due to past events, it’s only been a few months since I returned my gaze on God.
Click to expand...
*Hi, dapperdon!

I think that we miss much of the Scriptural teaching that Yahweh seeks to convey… notice how Yahweh promises to punish the sins of the fathers on up to the fourth generation of the children? Our human nature focuses our thoughts on this “punishment;” but we ignore, almost completely, the other part… yeah, that part that talks about God’s mercy and forgiveness… imagine being merciful for a thousand generations?

Yahweh is warning Israel to believe and obey Him. He pronounces a direct consequence to sin and a direct reward to those who are in fellowship with Him, as in Romans 6:23.

We must also understand that when those words were spoken Israel lived in a different economy… it was the pre-Messianic times when Israel associated sin with death, decease, or physical deformity.

But when we read this passage in light of others (i.e.: Ezekiel 18) Yahweh, unequivocally, states that He does not desire to punish us; rather, He wants us to turn back to Him and live in fellowship with Him (Isaiah 1:16-20).

God Bless!

Angel
*
 
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