The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: A Closer Look at the Weird and Wild Parts of the BibleSample

Commands and Consequences

The Bible is a unified story written by people and inspired by God that leads to Jesus and teaches us how to live like Jesus. It’s full of stories highlighting God’s goodness and our brokenness—some of which are fun and exciting, while others … not so much. But when we learn to read the Bible wisely, we can begin to see how God uses all of it, the good, the bad, and the ugly, to tell a beautiful story of His grace and our redemption.

Today, we’re going to look at three different occasions where God says something that, at first glance, can be a little shocking and disturbing.

In Exodus 20, as God is giving the freshly--freed--from--Egypt people of Israel the Ten Commandments, we read:

“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.” Exodus 20:2-6 NLT

If you’re like most people, then the piece of that passage that stuck out to you was this one:

“I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.”

This raises a question: If God is good and loving, then why would He punish kids and grandkids for sins they didn’t actually commit? Not only does that seem unloving, it seems downright unjust.

And this isn’t just something that shows up one time in Scripture. God makes this same statement two more times in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible): once in Exodus 34 and again in Deuteronomy 5. So this statement from God wasn’t some random, offhand remark. It’s something He doubled—and then tripled!—down on. On top of that, the three times God says this are three of the most important passages found in the Old Testament.

So, is God really an unjust jerk who punishes people for crimes they didn’t commit? Or is there more going on here that we’re missing?

To find out, let’s apply the lessons we’ve learned about Jesus being King and context being everything.

Because we know that Jesus is perfect love personified, we can approach these Scriptures trusting that they will, when interpreted wisely, point to the perfect love of God. Before we go any further though, we need to make sure we understand what love really is—and what it’s not. Love is not just thinking nice things or having positive feelings toward another person. Love is so much more than that. 1 John 3:16 tells us, “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. …”

Love is choosing to sacrifice yourself for the good of another.

Because real love, the kind Jesus embodied, holds justice, mercy, and grace together.

Now, let’s start looking at the context.

“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.” Exodus 20:2 NLT

Before God utters the first command, He reminds the people He’s speaking to of His grace. What is grace? Grace is the favor of God we can’t earn and don’t deserve. The Jewish people didn’t get rescued from Egypt because they won a competition or were wickedly brilliant. God rescued them because He loved d them and He wanted to.

Then, in verses 3 and 4, God gives them the first two commands:

1. You must not have any gods but Him.
2. You must not make idols or worship anything but God.

Here, God is telling the people, in no uncertain terms, what a relationship with Him requires. He is quite literally “defining the relationship.” He’s looking for absolute faithfulness. No “seeing other people,” “dating around,” or “keeping your options open.” God is inviting His people into a covenantal, committed partnership, which throughout the Bible is compared to a marriage. When we get to verse 5, God lays out the consequences of breaking His commands.

“You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.” Exodus 20:5-6 NLT

Once again, we’re back to the troubling part. And while you may not see it yet, because of what we know about Jesus, we can trust that every command God gives is an expression of His love, and it is always for our good.

So, to help us understand what’s going on here, we’re going to look at the ratio and the logic in these verses.

The Ratio: Notice the ratio of how God dishes out punishments compared to love. In verse 6, God tells us He lavishes unfailing love for a thousand generations. In verse 5, He tells us He lays the sins of the parents upon thethird and fourth generations. God’s unfailing love spreads across one thousand generations. The consequences of sin only extend to the fourth generation. Do not miss this. God is absolutely just, and He will punish sins. But His mercy and grace always go farther. How much farther? 250 times farther.

The Logic: Sin never just affects us. It always impacts the people around us. Which is why it’s a mistake to read this as God unfairly punishing people for crimes they didn’t commit. What He’s actually doing is clearly communicating the reality of our wrongdoing. Think about alcoholism. If someone is an alcoholic, it doesn’t mess up only their liver and ability to think wisely—it wreaks havoc on their entire family. Everyone suffers because they’re serving the idol of their addiction. And when a parent is an alcoholic, the chances of their kids growing up to become alcoholics rises dramatically. Which then affects their families, and on and on it goes. This is the point God is making. Our choices have consequences that damage us and the people around us.

For the Israelites hearing those words for the first time, they would know this to be true. Because their time as slaves in Egypt wasn’t a result of anything they had done. They were born into slavery because their ancestors got too comfortable eating from Pharaoh’s table.

God’s law is always an expression of His love, and it is always for our good.

The 250:1 ratio of God’s love to God’s justice shows up in three places. Exodus 20, Exodus 34, and Deuteronomy 5. In Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments are given for the first time. In Deuteronomy 5, the Ten Commandments are given for the second time. And both times, after God tells His people not to worship any gods but Him, He tells them that those who choose to be faithful will be blessed for a thousand generations, and those who aren’t will carry the consequences of their sins to the fourth generation. And in Exodus 34, God reveals Himself to Moses by describing Himself as “... ‘The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations’” (Exodus 34:6-7 NLT).

It’s not an accident or a coincidence that Exodus 34 falls almost exactly in the middle of Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. It’s just one more way God is showing us how closely connected His commands are to His character. Which brings us to the final lesson of today: When you trust God’s character, it’s much easier to obey His commands. And, on the flipside,if you doubt God’s character, it’s much easier to disobey His commands.

God, I want to trust You with my whole life. Help me to see how everything You do and everything You say is an expression of Your love and is for my good. Give me the faith to keep following You wherever You lead. In Jesus’ name, amen.