“..for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me” – Exodus 20:5-6.
Why is God a jealous God?
Adam and Eve had eternal life. In paradise. Made in the image of God. Walking with God. There was no slaughter. No beast killing another. In retrospective, paradise must have been ‘Loving God above all and our neighbour as myself’ in the way God truly meant this commandment. Yet, Adam and Eve committed one sin; they ate the forbidden fruit. This one sin broke the image of God, resulting in the death of mankind.
Why does one sin equal death, banishment from paradise, sweat, pain, work and thorns?
The Old Testament strikes me as a story where people either remain faithful to God, or wander away from Him. What about those who wander away from God? Those who turn away, turn many times into nations, whose children might never have heard from God. How could they obey Him? Could they repent, not knowing the commandments?
There are two scenarios where God seems unjust:
- Those who died and never heard about God and never heard about the will and commandments of God (if this scenario existed),
- Those who were slaughtered when the Israelites went to the promised land, and never had a chance to follow God. Like the children of Ai.
The main question about all slaughter in the Old Testamen seems to be:
Why is “punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me” righteous?
The only reason, and the one reason only, I can think of (despite the highly speculative matter of the reasonability of righteousness, due to its metaphysical nature) why next generation punishment is not unjust, is that mankind already deserved death. Adam and Eve had eaten, their fate was death. If any children were born, the cards of their reality were shuffled by the sin of Adam and Eve. There was no redemption (until God mentioned the seed of the woman who will kill the snake). Apparently, righteousness was death.
If this is true, then the idea of God not punishing children for the sin of their parents, becomes mercy. This mercy is written:
- “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents 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 20:4-6
- “The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.” – Ezekiel 18:20
- “However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you: You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.” – Deuteronomy 28:15-20
- “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” – Isaiah 1:18-20
Yet, it remains incredible hard matter. Especially due to the complex relationship between men’s own responsibility ‘versus’ the judgement of the generations. And hard as the result of our deep inner aversion against this version of human reality.
Explore similar topics:
Understanding religion and philosophy 
Plaats een reactie