The Third and Fourth Generations

God describes Himself as compassionate, gracious and eager to forgive. Then He talks about punishing guilty people to the third and fourth generations.

 “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 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 parents to the third and fourth generation.” Exodus 34:6b-7 NIV

Does this make sense to you? I remembered a conversation I had last week.

“Your life will change considerably as you follow God’s ways. You will have a husband who loves you, and children who love you. Your children will have a much better childhood than you did. They will grow up going with both parents who love them and encourage them to do what is right. And their children (your grandchildren) will have things even much better yet.” 

Luana is trying hard to live for God. The night before about 9:30 p.m. her younger sister came to our house. “Mom needs to go to the hospital. She is very sick.” When I drove over there her drunken boyfriend came over to the car yelling at me and saying he hoped she would die. Another drunk came around the other side. I got out and shook hands with these guys while they continued yelling at me. We are kind of friends. Annika locked the doors and stayed in the car while I went in the house. The Mom was passed out on an old chair. A neighbour lady followed us into the house. She started slapping the Mom on the face to wake her up so she could go to the hospital. While her 15 year old daughter tied back her hair to make her more presentable someone else went to get more help. This guy ripples with muscles, is full of tattoos and earrings, and he is a great neighbour. He was already asleep, but he got up out of bed, came over. When he saw what was going on he picked up Eliete and put her in our car. Luana, the oldest daughter, got in the car too, and we drove to the hospital. I went to get a wheelchair to help get Eliete to the emergency waiting room. When I turned around Iran was carrying her in like she was a little child. He plunked her on a chair. I gave Luana money to get a taxi home, and Iran came back with me. I heard later he went back to Eliete’s house and told all the drunks to scram. Eliete still have three children at home.


I know a Christian leader who had to leave home when he was eleven years old to go to boarding school. He told me, “When my own son turned eleven I felt like I hit a wall as a dad. Since I did not have a dad at that age, I did not know how to relate to my son.” This man comes from a long christian heritage and he had difficulty with this gap.


Do we have to worry that if we commit a bad sin we will now have a generational curse? No. God is hugely forgiving and compassionate. He wants our best. But if you have a friend who does not have generations of Christian heritage to stand on, cut them some slack. You do not know what walls they are hitting.

Eliete has four children, who she loves very much. When she is sober she goes on and on about how they are her life. “I will do anything for them. I will never abandon them.” She herself was abandoned by her mom. “All the rest of the kids got to stay. I had to leave. I will never abandon my children.” Eliete told me that she now prays and she wants to come to church. She wants to be transformed and to live a different life. She says her boyfriend talks the same way when he is not stoned or drunk. His name is Cesar.


Eliete is trying to give her children a better life than she had. She just doesn’t know how to do that too well at this time. If her children remain faithful to God, they will have an easier time raising their children well even though they come from a dysfunctional home. Their children will have an example of two Christian parents, and will themselves have an even easier time being good Christian parents.


We can see that after three or four generations, if all the parents are faithful in their relationship to God, families become increasingly blessed. Stay faithful. Pass on the blessing.