“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers’ sins into the laps of their children after them. O great and powerful God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to all the ways of men; you reward everyone according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 32:17-19, New International Version)
When I read this passage this morning, I was reminded of the worship song from this passage from back in the 80’s. It was upbeat and joyful. A real toe-tapper. But as I read these verses in context today, it seems that the circumstances were anything but upbeat.
Jeremiah prayed this prayer in a time of turmoil—even persecution. It was an affirmation that God is sovereign over the earth and can do anything. It is also a recognition that God is aware of the actions of people.
Here’s the part that stuck out for me this morning: You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers’ sins into the laps of their children after them.
I don’t think Jeremiah is saying that children are punished for the sins of their fathers. Here’s a case where I think looking at other Bible translations can be helpful. I think the New Living Translation is a little clearer on this verse: You show unfailing love to thousands, but you also bring the consequences of one generation’s sin upon the next.
The Message paraphrases it this way: You’re loyal in your steadfast love to thousands upon thousands — but you also make children live with the fallout from their parents’ sins.
Consequences … fallout … that’s what the next generation suffers. When I think of the inheritance I want to leave to my children, I don’t want it to be a mess to clean up, debts to pay, or consequences to suffer. I want to spend that part of my children’s inheritance. In other words, I want to cooperate with God and follow Jesus in such a way that my messes, debts, and consequences are settled in my lifetime. And the time to start on that is right now.
Question: If you were to die tomorrow, what inheritance would you leave to the next generation?
Leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your perspective.
