Welcome To Dividing Word Generational Curse

 

 

 

 

  The Cursed Doctrine of "Generational Curses"

Jason Dulle

(Also See Original Sin)

 

 

 

 

There are four passages in the OT that speak of God "visiting the iniquity of the fathers unto the third and fourth generations of those who hate God": Exodus 20:5; 34:7; Numbers 14:8; Deuteronomy 5:9.

Deuteronomy 5:9 is probably the most familiar:

Many interpret these passages to teach "generational curses": curses on the children resulting from their fathers' sins. There are whole ministries dedicated to helping people break free from these generational curses over their lives, many of which they may have no knowledge of. Is this the point of the passage? Does it really mean to convey the idea that God punishes the children for the sins of their fathers? I think not. The context makes this abundantly clear. Let's look at Deuteronomy 5:9-10 as a case in point:

Whereas God's wrath would be visited to the third and fourth generations for those who hate God, His mercy would be visited on thousands of generations for those who love God. Notice the contrast. The point of this passage is not to communicate the number of generations who will be blessed versus the number who will be cursed, but rather to communicate that God's mercy far exceeds His wrath. Ironically we have used these passages to stress the severity of God's wrath over His mercy!

I do not suggest that this observation alone clears up the difficulty of this verse, for the point still seems to stand that the innocent could be punished for their fathers' sins. I would, therefore, like to make a few more observations that serve to more adequately address this notion, as well as the application of "generational curses" as it is often taught today.

First, notice that the curses are on those who hate God. It is not for those who love God, but make some mistakes in life. One might argue, however, that their father or grandfather might have hated God. This is irrelevant, but brings me to my next point.

Using a hyper-literalistic interpretation of this passage, if the Lord shows mercy for thousands of generations on the fathers who loved God, then all that would be necessary for us to be in the "mercy" rather than "cursed" category is to find one relative in the past thousand or so generations that loved and obeyed the Lord. Is it not probable that we have at least one distant relative in the last 1000 generations who loved the Lord and kept His commandments? The statistical probability is that we most certainly do. And if we do, then we are part of the 1000 generations the Lord promised to show mercy to, not curse.

The third point to consider is that God is the active agent behind these curses. This is in contradistinction to most interpretations of these passages in which it is assumed that God does not want us being cursed. Whereas the common interpretation assumes the origin of the curse is Satan, or even man himself, the text is clear that the origin of the curse is God. Why would God break the curse that He is responsible for giving? After all, He wouldn't have said He was going to curse the third and fourth generations if He did not want the sinner's third and fourth generations to be cursed. To invoke God's help in breaking His curse is to ask God to will something other than what He expressly wills. That is contradictory and absurd. This undermines all those ministries that attempt to break generational curses, for they are found to be fighting against God.

Fourthly, the empirical data contradicts the idea that children pay for their fathers' sins to the third and fourth generations, and that the children are destined to repeat the sins of their fathers. Consider David. David killed a man and committed adultery, but we don't read of Solomon doing the same. The outcome of their lives was quite different. Or consider the kings of Judah. King Hezekiah was Judah's most righteous king next to David (II Kings 18:4), but his son Manasseh was the most evil! Manasseh's grandson, Josiah, however, was a righteous king who brought a revival of Yahwism to the land! What happened to the mercies God promised to show on Hezekiah's progeny for thousands of generations? What happened to Manasseh's curse to the 3rd and 4th generation? They do not exist, which ought to clue us into the fact that Deuteronomy 5:9 et al is not about time limits on God's mercies and curses, but about the greatness of God's mercy over against His judgment.

The fifth point to consider is Jesus' statement in John 9:3. Upon seeing a man blind from birth the disciples asked Jesus, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus responded, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him." Contrary to the disciples' belief, he was not paying for his ancestors sins. In fact, his infirmity was unrelated to sin. It was for the glory of God.

Finally, Ezekiel 18:1-5 counters the idea that God punishes the children for the fathers' sins:

Ezekiel expands on this idea in the verses that follow in much more detail, pointedly declaring that if the son of an evil man does not repeat His father's sins (which contradicts the interpretation of the "generational curses" passages that the children are destined to repeat their fathers' sins) he will not be punished, but only the father. The same goes for the corollary in which a righteous man's son commits evil. The father will be blessed, but the son will be punished. Ezekiel summed up the matter by proclaiming:

In light of such clear teaching concerning personal responsibility for sin, any interpretation of Deuteronomy 5:9 et al that yields a contrary notion needs to reconsidered. [Also See Footnote]

Many understand these passages as referring to the cycle of psychologically and socially-influenced negative behavior patterns that tend to be repeated from one generation to the next (e.g. alcoholism, spousal abuse, uncontrolled anger). According to this interpretation one's upbringing, not God, is responsible for the curse.

But notice that this understanding of generational curses has nothing to do with God. While it is true that the human tendency is for children to repeat the sins of their parents, this is not due to the fact that God has cursed them so that they must repeat the same sins. There is nothing supernatural about it. It is a phenomenon of human nature. We learn from example and influence. We tend to do what we have learned to do by the example of others. We don't need a Bible verse to explain this social phenomenon. Scripture, however, claims the curse is supernatural in nature; it is attributed to the activity of God. If our understanding of "generational curses" does not depend on God, and yet whatever these texts are talking about depends on specific divine action, that ought to clue us into the fact that our understanding of "generational curses" has nothing to do with these passages, and therefore cannot serve as either an adequate interpretation or even application of these passages. While our observation that children tend to repeat the behavior pattern of their parents is true, that idea is not being taught in these specific passages (right idea, wrong Scriptural justification).

We recognize that the bad behaviors we learned from our fathers should not be repeated, and indeed need not be repeated. That's why we try to help people change them. This task is only possible, however, if the psychological-sociological interpretation of these passages is the wrong interpretation. Ministries that help people break free from the "generational curses" of bad behavior patterns is the best evidence that bad behavior patterns are not the curse Scripture is speaking of. Ironically, then, the very success of these curse-breaking ministries serves to invalidate their entire theological basis!

For those who remain unconvinced, consider Christ. Jesus bore our curses by being made a curse for us, for it is written, "Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree" (Gal 3:13). If any such thing as a generational curse does exist, that curse over our life would have been broken by Christ. In Christ we receive the mercy of God, not a curse. We have the victory in Christ Jesus.

Excerpt from Breaking The Generational Curse
Pastor Terry J. Hallock --
A Sermon March 3, 2002

“Having grown up in homes where their fathers physically abused their mothers, why do some men repeat the same pattern in their marriages? Having been victims of abuse in their childhood, why do some women choose to marry men who continue the abuse? Having seen the effects of alcohol on a parent why do some become addicted to it themselves? Why do some of us remain chained to inherited ways of thinking and acting that we know are destructive but that we seem unable to change? After an episode of pain caused by our acting out in the same old broken way why do we say, "I'll never do that again" and yet turn around and do it again over and over and over?

It is the result of being chained to a generational curse. The baton of self-destructive behavior is passed down to each succeeding generation in an unbroken line. The abused becomes the abuser. The victim becomes the victimizer. Warped ways of thinking and self-destructive ways of acting literally become family heirlooms that are diligently preserved and religiously bequeathed to each successive branch of the family. Thus the brokenness and pain of the family continues to flow like a river of acid down through each generation.
 

InPlainsite.org Note: The Generational curse referred to in the preceding passage is not God cursing a person, but the negative behaviour patterns passed down to succeeding generations. We do not fully understand exactly how and why this is so common but the good news is that these patterns of destructive behavior can be broken. .
 

A wiser person than I once said that the definition of insanity is repeating the same old negative patterns believing that this time the results will be different. It is Charlie Brown believing that if he just keeps trying to kick the football this time Lucy won't pull it away at the last second and this time he won't find himself lying on the ground in pain. Yet he always does. A person's spirit carries uncounted numbers of scars that exist because of their family's self-destructive habits. Yet they repeat those exact self-destructive patterns believing they'll reap a different harvest. Of course they never do and so the pain continues unabated.

Please understand me here. I'm not talking about breaking a pattern of bad table manners. If your Daddy loudly slurped his soup you can decide not to do so simply by exercising your free will. What I'm speaking of are deep, inherent patterns of sin that are so ingrained in families they are accepted as truth without question. Those virulent patterns of self-destruction are only broken when our spirits are broken and reborn. Only Jesus has the power to do that because only Jesus has done that! ...

...JESUS HAS GIVEN US ANOTHER PATTERN!
Remember that 2nd Corinthians 5:17 says that when we are in Christ the old has and the new has come? The "new" that has come is a new pattern of thinking and living - a pattern that brings blessing and not a curse. Once we have become "sick and tired of being sick and tired" and have literally died to our old life, Jesus creates in us a new heart and a new mind. It is His heart and His mind. Yet when that new heart and new mind come to us they are in their infancy and must be nourished if they are to grow into a maturity that will keep us from being imprisoned in the old generational curse again.

That's why Philippians 4:8-9 teaches us this: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." To keep the liberty Jesus gives we must change the atmosphere in which we live. Then we must practice the pattern of blessing He has delivered not the pattern of curse where we used to exist. Alcoholics Anonymous says part of sobriety is changing one's play place and playmates.

Part of remaining free of the old generational curse is found in whom we associate with and emulate. Once we are in Christ we must seek out mature believers who live out the new life of Jesus. Then we must watch, learn, and copy. Think as they think. Act as they act. Learn how Jesus has helped them to kick the football. Then practice, practices, and practice some more and tell Lucy to take a hike.. “

 

Footnote

“Ezekiel 18:2 introduces a proverb that was being spoken by the Israelites, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge." God is deeply concerned about this proverb and the attitude that it reveals. He commands that this proverb is no longer to be used in Israel. In the next verses the Prophet Ezekiel refutes the false understanding that the Israelites had regarding the ancestral sin. It seems that at some point in Israel's history they had made a false inference from the verses like Exodus 20:5. They believed that the judgement that they were facing from God was a result of the sins of their parents and thus the proverb about the sour grapes. But God refutes this and states clearly that it is the soul that sins that shall die. Ezekiel puts forth the story of three generations of Israelites and demonstrates that the only the wicked son, not the father or the grandson, is guilty before God. Clearly God is correcting their false inference” ( Warning! Contaminated Water! By Tom Launder. Chapter Six.)

 

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