If you were born in a time or a place where hygiene was not well understood, you would likely not be as healthy as you are (no matter what your current state of health). You may not even have survived. Bugs that are invisible (to the naked eye) will do their thing, whether you can see them or not, and whether you believe in them or not. It is interesting to note that many of the Old Testament ceremonial laws advocated things which would protect those who obeyed them from such things. I am thinking about such things as the washing of hands, about regulations concerning touching the dead and of the disposal of human waste. These things sound very modern in terms of hygiene. In fact God promised Israel that if they followed these regulations, they would have “none of the diseases” of the surrounding cultures (Exodus 15:26). Israel did not understand of course, but if they obeyed they were provided for and protected.
I said last day “As in the physical, so it is in the spiritual”. A major principle of application of the Bible is that the physical truths in the Old Testament are intended to teach us spiritual truths in the New (Romans 15:4). As a particular example of this, when we trust the Lord and obey His commandments, even when we don't understand why, we are protected and provided for in spirit and soul and body and mind (see also 26th and 29th of November 2010).
In Isaiah 61:4 from the primary reference for this series of posts passage (see April 8th), the “dessolations of many generations” was a reference mainly to the physical. Commentators agree that Jerusalem and the temple lay in ruins at the time this passage was written. Protection of villages towns and cities in Old Testament times relied on the walls and gates that surrounded them. If these structures were broken down there was no defense, and the enemy would rush in, with devastating results. Appropriate structures gave protection and provided security. Today the spiritual structures of our society have either crumbled or are crumbling – we have cast off restraint, we dismiss Biblical principles and Biblical morality and integrity also with devastating results on our mental emotional spiritual and yes even spilling over to our physical well being. The decline has been taking place over time, and the “dessolations” we are experiencing (especially in the West) have deep spiritual causes, and have been “many generations” in the making. The enemy of our souls is having his way, which is to kill and to steal and to destroy (John 10:10a).
There are two interrelated points I want to start to draw our attention to today. Both find their Scriptural warrant within the context of the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). The first point relates to the “sins of the father's”, and second to the commandment to “honour your father and mother”. It is no coincidence either that these two things occur together, nor that there are promises attached to each part.
The “sins of the father's” part comes in verses 5, and 6, “.. you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Some translations put “punish the children for” rather than “visit the iniquities on the children”. My Hebrew lexicon tells me that the Hebrew word translated 'visit” above, means “to attend to, to visit, to muster, to appoint”. These verses are difficult to understand at the best of times (well it seems so unfair), but “punish” seems to me to be a wrong translation. It seems better to understand that the faults and the deficiencies (- iniquities which can be thought of as absence of moral or spiritual values, as well as an unjust act) have profound influence on the children, and the children's children. These things form a kind of pressure to conform to the values and actions of those who came before us. It is well known for example, that children of alcoholics are far more likely to be alcoholics than those in the general population.
The quotation the “sins of the Fathers are visited on the children” seems to be well known even outside of Christian circles. What is not so well known is the verse that follows (verse 6 quoted above). It starts with a “But”, "but steadfast love and mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me, and obey my commandments" (Exodus 20:6). This is the promise of this first part that I was talking about above. I thank God for the “buts” of the Bible. A “but” changes everything. For example “I had the winning ticket in the lottery, but I lost it”! The 'but' in our passage changes a curse into a blessing! There are however, two conditions that need to be fulfilled, in order to claim God's favour, and His hand in the reversal of our family dysfunctions and difficulties. They are first of all to love God (verse 6 - “those who love me”) and second of all to obey Him (“those who … obey my commandments”).
This is where things can get difficult, especially when we have felt deeply hurt or even betrayed by our parents. I say this because in the very same context we are told to “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). The promise of a long life is expanded to include “that it may go well with you and your children after you” in a parallel promise in Deuteronomy 4:40. In particular we cannot expect it to go well with us, if we are not willing to honour our father and mother, no matter how hard this may seem.
I have said earlier that when God gives a commandment, He does so for our provision and protection (see more on these thoughts in last November's posts). We may not understand well why this is the case, but then as I implied above in the physical, bugs will do their thing whether we understand the mechanism or not, and Israel escaped the diseases if they obeyed.
Actually modern research into the brain has uncovered some very interesting things. In particular that both positive and negative thoughts impact the brain in a profound way, and the impact correlates well with the nature of the thoughts. Thus negative thoughts impact the brain negatively, and positive thoughts impact the brain positively. There is an interesting book I can recommend that explains much of this in layman's terms (and I am certainly a layman in this field). It is “The Brain That Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge. This book in fact gives scientific evidence for what I said in my post “Don't get mad, get even and poison yourself and those you love” (January 2011). It is of course also confirmed by the admonition to think on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable" (Philippians 4:9). We can do this. We need His help of course, but "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (see March posts!).
To say what I have said over and over and to say it again “His commandments are not only good and right and proper, they are smart”. I said more about generational sins in my post of 15th of August, 2010, and we will continue next day.
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