Mercy > Wrath

"You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers' sins into the laps of their children after them."
Jeremiah 32:18

"For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."
Exodus 20:5

"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."
Exodus 34:7

     I imagine every parent has trouble with their kids now and then; I know I have. But is the Lord punishing them for something I or their father did? Or maybe something we failed to do? In 1 Samuel chapter 3, the Lord told Eli he would "judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about." (vs. 13) His sons were wicked but Eli did not restrain them. Also, King David's son, Adonijah, tried to usurp the throne. The scriptures say, "His father had never interfered with him by asking, 'Why do you behave as you do?'" (1 Kings 1:6)

     Proverbs 29:15 says, "The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother."

     As parents, it is our responsibility to "train up a child in the way he should go." I know I told my children about God's love, about Jesus' sacrifice. I prayed for them and with them. We made a birthday cake at Christmas time for baby Jesus. We spoke of his resurrection at Easter, not of bunnies and eggs. I'm sure I could have done more, though.

     I can honestly say I don't understand these verses about the father's sins being cast upon the next few generations. Our sins are placed on the shoulders of our Savior, are they not? I would cringe to think that punishment for my sins was thrown in the laps of my daughters. They should not be held accountable for what I have done.

     I do glean from Exodus 20:5 that God's mercy is greater than his wrath. I have never hated God so I would think he'd show his love to "a thousand generations of those who love me," even though I have failed to always keep his commandments.

     This is what I firmly believe: "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed...The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53: 5,6)

     Although I do not always understand what I read, I rely on God's wisdom and discernment to guide me and my descendants through this life into the next.