(This sermon is part of Dr. Manuel's sermon series: "What is Foremost?" Links to
each of the sermons in the series will be found here as they are posted.)
People are not always compassionate. They may find it too inconvenient or too time consuming. Such excuses are irrelevant, of course, in a marriage, which provides many opportunities to be compassionate.
When Moses led Israel out of Egypt, it marked the beginning of the people's national identity. It also marked the beginning of its official, recorded history, as Moses began to chronicle events from creation through their preparation to enter Canaan. He compiled what oral traditions the patriarchs transmitted as well as written records he had.1 His most important source, however, was his access to the author of history, God Himself, with whom Moses spoke "face to face."2 Not only could God offer details about the past that Moses lacked, more importantly, the Lord could provide information about Himself that would help the nation understand who it was that had delivered them.
The patriarchs discovered two important features about God, features they transferred to the next generation.3 Their experiences showed that He is faithful to His people and powerful for His people. Their experiences, however, portrayed only a partial picture, not nearly a full enough picture for the emerging nation, especially as that nation would be representing God to other nations. No longer a single family, even an extended family, the people of Israel had already begun to have international exposure. They needed to know more about this God who redeemed them and called them as His own. So, at Sinai, the Lord gives them a revelation of His commandments and, equally important, He gives them a revelation of His character, a description of...
* XI. The Foremost Compassion4
...which is embodied in...
The first and often more popular trait is that...
We take this description of God for granted because we have never known another deity. It was not so for Israel. People of the Ancient Near East had many gods that claimed to be powerful as well, yet their myths also depicted them as petty, spiteful, vain, and self-seeking, in short, much like man. None had the positive qualities the Lord possesses. When God describes Himself here, it is in sharp contrast to the gods of Canaan.9 For us, this distinction is of minimal (academic) interest, because we have little contact with cultures that worship other gods. For the Israelites, this distinction is of vital (actual) interest, because they will encounter cultures that worship many other gods, and it is essential they recognize the difference in their God, and that is comforting information.10
The second and often less popular trait is that...
Unlike the Lord, pagan deities were a reflection of their worshipers, replete with very human character flaws— gods made in man's image. Their chief claim to superior status, and their primary difference from mortals, was that they possessed supernatural power. They could not hold man to a higher standard of conduct, because they had no such standard themselves. Consequently, there was no concept of sin, and those who served these gods could live as they wanted. If for some reason the gods were displeased with their worshipers, the response might be angry, but it would not be holy.
In contrast, the Lord has no character flaws, no defects of any kind. He is holy, the epitome of perfection and expects His worshipers to emulate Him. To that end, He has revealed standards of conduct that apply to all areas of life, standards to which He holds His worshipers accountable. When they fail to meet those standards, that failure constitutes sin and is a violation of His holiness.11 His response may be angry, but it is also holy, and that is sobering information about God.
We dare not ignore the second point in this passage—about God's punishing descendants of the guilty12—and it raises a question. How do children suffer for the sins of their...parents?13 There are two ways:
the consequence. As the apostle Paul remarks...
Keep in mind that what God reveals about His judgment in v. 7 is not all He says on the matter. There are at least two other elements to consider, neither of which He addresses in this passage but does address elsewhere, such as in Ezek 18. The first element to bear in mind is that, while God may punish "children for the sin of the fathers," it does not mean children are doomed to repeat the mistakes of their parents.
The exodus from Egypt led to a significant advance in the people's understanding of God, including revelation of His commandments and His character. The new information distinguished the Lord from the pagan deities of Canaan and underscored the fact that, unlike the gods of the nations, the God of Israel has certain expectations of His people, expectations they ignore to their peril. All is not lost, however, if they fail to meet those expectations, because He is ready to demonstrate The Foremost Compassion, an attribute embodied in the personality of God, sorely need by His people in every generation.
Having considered The Foremost Compassion, we will look next at The Foremost Compression, as the biblical writer describes the perspective of God, in Ps 90:2, 4.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
At a family reunion, Fred was recalling all the events of his baby's birth. As he was excitedly describing the trip to the hospital, someone asked, "What would you have done if the expectant mother had developed complications during the car ride?" Fred had obviously thought about that possibility, because he answered right away. "I would have slid her over...and taken the wheel."People are not always compassionate, even in a marriage. God, however, is, because that attribute is an essential part of His nature. In fact, His is The Foremost Compassion.
When Moses led Israel out of Egypt, it marked the beginning of the people's national identity. It also marked the beginning of its official, recorded history, as Moses began to chronicle events from creation through their preparation to enter Canaan. He compiled what oral traditions the patriarchs transmitted as well as written records he had.1 His most important source, however, was his access to the author of history, God Himself, with whom Moses spoke "face to face."2 Not only could God offer details about the past that Moses lacked, more importantly, the Lord could provide information about Himself that would help the nation understand who it was that had delivered them.
The patriarchs discovered two important features about God, features they transferred to the next generation.3 Their experiences showed that He is faithful to His people and powerful for His people. Their experiences, however, portrayed only a partial picture, not nearly a full enough picture for the emerging nation, especially as that nation would be representing God to other nations. No longer a single family, even an extended family, the people of Israel had already begun to have international exposure. They needed to know more about this God who redeemed them and called them as His own. So, at Sinai, the Lord gives them a revelation of His commandments and, equally important, He gives them a revelation of His character, a description of...
* XI. The Foremost Compassion4
...which is embodied in...
The personality of God (Exod 34:6-7)Please turn to...
Exod 34:6 ...he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.This declaration of God's character follows the golden calf incident, an episode that almost spells the end for Israel.5 Although God ultimately spared the nation, He used this incident to expand Israel's understanding beyond what the patriarchs knew, that God is faithful and powerful. While their recent exodus from Egypt had confirmed those qualities,6 that event had not added much to their understanding of God's character. Here, following the golden calf incident, a grievous sin,7 He adds more. The Lord demonstrates and states, just in case they missed it, two additional traits, which Moses records.
The first and often more popular trait is that...
1. Your God is the epitome of goodness.
He is "the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin."8 Consequently, the Israelites did not perish. That is comforting information.
- The Lord is aware of your iniquity and will pardon you for it.
We take this description of God for granted because we have never known another deity. It was not so for Israel. People of the Ancient Near East had many gods that claimed to be powerful as well, yet their myths also depicted them as petty, spiteful, vain, and self-seeking, in short, much like man. None had the positive qualities the Lord possesses. When God describes Himself here, it is in sharp contrast to the gods of Canaan.9 For us, this distinction is of minimal (academic) interest, because we have little contact with cultures that worship other gods. For the Israelites, this distinction is of vital (actual) interest, because they will encounter cultures that worship many other gods, and it is essential they recognize the difference in their God, and that is comforting information.10
The second and often less popular trait is that...
2. Your God is the epitome of fairness.
He "does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." Consequently, the Israelites may still perish. That is sobering information about God.
- The Lord is aware of your iniquity and will punish you for it.
Unlike the Lord, pagan deities were a reflection of their worshipers, replete with very human character flaws— gods made in man's image. Their chief claim to superior status, and their primary difference from mortals, was that they possessed supernatural power. They could not hold man to a higher standard of conduct, because they had no such standard themselves. Consequently, there was no concept of sin, and those who served these gods could live as they wanted. If for some reason the gods were displeased with their worshipers, the response might be angry, but it would not be holy.
In contrast, the Lord has no character flaws, no defects of any kind. He is holy, the epitome of perfection and expects His worshipers to emulate Him. To that end, He has revealed standards of conduct that apply to all areas of life, standards to which He holds His worshipers accountable. When they fail to meet those standards, that failure constitutes sin and is a violation of His holiness.11 His response may be angry, but it is also holy, and that is sobering information about God.
We dare not ignore the second point in this passage—about God's punishing descendants of the guilty12—and it raises a question. How do children suffer for the sins of their...parents?13 There are two ways:
- Children may suffer for the continuation of their parents' sin.14 This is why Israel expelled the Canaanites.15 God told Abraham...
Gen 15:16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.
Children may suffer for the continuation of their parents' sin. In addition...
- Children may suffer as the consequence of their parents' sin (corporate solidarity).16 This what happened to the Israelites after they refused to enter the land.17 God said...
Num 14:33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert.
Children may suffer as the consequence of their parents' sin.We understand and accept the first reason children may suffer. If they follow their parents' sinful example, it becomes their own sinful activity for which they suffer
the consequence. As the apostle Paul remarks...
Gal 6:7 ...God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.What is troublesome is that some children would suffer not because they are guilty of wrong activity but because they have the misfortune of being part of the wrong family.18 This strikes us as unfair.
Keep in mind that what God reveals about His judgment in v. 7 is not all He says on the matter. There are at least two other elements to consider, neither of which He addresses in this passage but does address elsewhere, such as in Ezek 18. The first element to bear in mind is that, while God may punish "children for the sin of the fathers," it does not mean children are doomed to repeat the mistakes of their parents.
- A person's background does not determine his behavior.
The conduct of those children remains a matter of choice, which is why God can and does call people to change, to alter their activity and, so doing, alter their destiny.
Ezek 18:14 ...suppose...a son...sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things.... 17c He will not die for his father's sin; he will surely live.
The opportunity to plot a course away from one's unsavory heritage is always open. That may not obviate all the consequences of a parent's sin, but it will mitigate (reduce) the effects and may even eliminate (remove) them for future generations, because a person's background does not determine his behavior.The second element to bear in mind is that when God says, "he punishes...the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation," it describes His response in this life not the next life.
- The end of the next life may be different from the end of this life.
That outcome will certainly be different for the righteous than for the unrighteous, regardless of their parentage. In the biblical descriptions of man's post mortem debriefing, the question of one's background never arises.
Ezek 18:20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father.... The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.
The sole determinants are one's beliefs and their affect on one's behavior. Consequently, the righteous, even if they had bad parents, will end up in a far better place than the unrighteous, even if they had good parents, because the end of the next life may be different from the end of this life.One more observation: God's power to pardon or punish is equally strong, but His preference is to exercise them in different proportions. Notice what He says in this passage. While His wrath extends to three maybe four generations of the guilty, His love extends to "thousands" of those forgiven (Cassuto 1983:440). He states in...19
Ezek 33:1 la ...'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.This means no matter what you may have done to displease Him, even if you think it is beyond the pale of His pardon, when you turn to Him in repentance, He will forgive you. It is that simple and that certain.
The exodus from Egypt led to a significant advance in the people's understanding of God, including revelation of His commandments and His character. The new information distinguished the Lord from the pagan deities of Canaan and underscored the fact that, unlike the gods of the nations, the God of Israel has certain expectations of His people, expectations they ignore to their peril. All is not lost, however, if they fail to meet those expectations, because He is ready to demonstrate The Foremost Compassion, an attribute embodied in the personality of God, sorely need by His people in every generation.
Having considered The Foremost Compassion, we will look next at The Foremost Compression, as the biblical writer describes the perspective of God, in Ps 90:2, 4.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
(This sermon is part of Dr. Manuel's sermon series: "What is Foremost?" Links to each of the sermons in the series will be found here as they are posted)
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Jim Skaggs