Generational sins

There was another famine in the land,  And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. The Lord appeared to him confirming that the covenant he swore to his father Abraham would continue through Isaac (i.e. not the firstborn Esau). He tells  him not go down to Egypt, but to dwell there. So Isaac dwelt in Gerar, and when the people asked about Rebekah he said “She is my sister.” But  time,  Abimelech saw Isaac, caressing Rebekah. He said, “Quite obviously she's your wife; so how could you say, ‘She's my sister’?”  Isaac answers “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Abimelech rejoins that one of hi  people might have lain with her bringing guilt on all of them.  He charges  his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

Abimelech means “my daddy is King,” and this  Abimelech may have been the son,  or grandson of the one Abraham encountered (20:2). Abraham may not have told Isaac of his own similar deception to the former Abimelech. In fact Sara was Abraham's half sister, but Isaac's deception is an outright lie. The Bible is brutally honest about the character and mistakes of its heroes.  And the family histories recorded in the Bible are excellent material for the study of recurring family patterns of dysfunction.  They also give insight into the meaning of the Lord's  declaration that He visits  “the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation” (Exodus 20:5). The NKJV “visits” is to be preferred to the  “punish” of some translations,  as “punish” would contradict  Ezekiel 18:20.  

Thousands of years later, psychological research has noticed this phenomenon of repeated patterns of poor behaviour patterns in families. It notes that this repetition is often subconscious. It's not  always repeated, but it's often the default. The children of alcoholics, for example,  are at a much higher risk of being alcoholic than in the general population. “Visits” then can be thought of as a pressure to conform to family patterns. Abraham may not have told Isaac, for  it's rare for parent to share his or her faults with their children,  they tend to be hidden in guilt and shame. So it becomes a family secret,  it's the elephant in the room. In Abraham's family it seems to be a spirit of fear, that strangely unacknowledged or not, so often propels the repetition.

But the Bible does not leave us there. Scripture is profitable for helping us to put things right when they have gone wrong (2 Timothy 3:16). And what it involves is first of all loving God,  and secondly obeying His commandments (Exodus 20:6). For the New Testament believer,  an essential part is about  returning to the pre-fall condition of openness and transparency (Genesis 2:25). We do this  by confessing our faults one to another in humility at the foot of the cross. It is there supremely where we find healing  (James 5:16). We need safe places for this, and it needs to start with you and me being safe.

Father, this confessing of our faults one to another is the very opposite of what Adam and Eve did immediately after the fall where blame was the name of the game (Genesis 3). We also far too easily judge each other,  and we have difficulty forgiving. It's all very hard Lord, and we need Your help, Your Grace (Hebrews 12:15). Either lead us to, or help us create safe places Lord, and please heal us,  in Jesus Name Amen