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Sins of the Fathers? YHWH made it
quite clear how He felt and how He would respond to any who choose to
rebel and worship the idolatrous mighty ones of the nations. When a man
did this, he set in action a circumstance that was likely to do harm to
his children, his grandchildren and on down His line. Children tend to
follow their parents in many ways and sadly they will follow us in our
rebellion. Shemot
(Exod) 20:5-6 5
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, YHWH your
Mighty One, am a jealous Mighty One, reckoning to the children for the
sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate
Me, 6
but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love Me
and keep My commandments. Shemot
(Exod) 34:6-7 6
And He passed in front of Moshe, proclaiming, "YHWH, YHWH,
the compassionate and gracious Mighty One, slow to anger, abounding in
love and faithfulness, 7
maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness,
rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He
reckons guilt to the children and their children for the sin of the
fathers to the third and fourth generation." Shlomoh
(Solomon) was king in Yisrael after ‘Beloved’ called Daviyd, his
father. He was warned by YHWH that if he was faithful and obedient to
Him, he would prosper and rule over Yisrael and his sons after him. One of the
first things Shlomoh did was go to Mitzrayim ( Melekhiym
Aleph (I Kings) 11:1-13, 28-35 1
Melekh Shlomoh (King Solomon), however, loved many foreign women
besides Paro's daughter-- Mowabiy, Ammowniy, Edowmiy, Tsidoniy and
Chittiy. 2
They were from nations about which YHWH had told B’nei Yisrael
(the sons of 3
He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred
concubines and his wives led him astray. 4
As Shlomoh (Solomon)
grew old, his wives turned his heart after their foreign mighty ones and
his heart was not fully devoted to YHWH his Mighty One, as the heart of
‘Beloved’ called Daviyd his father had been. 5
He followed the Phoenician deity ‘Star’ called Ashtoreth, the
mighty one of the Tsidoniy and ‘Great King’ called Molech the
detestable mighty one of the Ammoniy. 6
So Shlomoh (Solomon) did evil in the eyes of YHWH; he did not
follow YHWH completely, as ‘Beloved’ called Daviyd his father had
done. 7
On a hill east of Yerushalayim ( 8
He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and
offered sacrifices to their idolatrous mighty ones. 9
YHWH became angry with Shlomoh (Solomon) because his heart had
turned away from YHWH, the Mighty One of Yisrael, who had appeared to
him twice. 10
Although He had forbidden Shlomoh (Solomon) to follow other
mighty ones, Shlomoh (Solomon) did not keep YHWH's command. 11
So YHWH said to Shlomoh (Solomon), "Since this is your
attitude and you have not kept My covenant and My decrees, which I
commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and
give it to one of your subordinates. 12
Nevertheless, for the sake of ‘Beloved’ called Daviyd your
father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the
hand of your son. 13
Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him
one tribe for the sake of ‘Beloved’ called Daviyd my servant and for
the sake of Yerushalayim ( Just as
Shlomoh, son of Daviyd took over the kingdom in place of his father
Daviyd, Yarab’am took over for his father, Shlomoh. 28
Now ‘The People Will Contend’ called Yarab’am (Yeroboam)
(Son of Shlomoh) was a man of standing, and when saw how well the young
man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the
house of ‘YHWH has Added’ called Yowceph (Joseph). 29
About that time ‘The People Will Contend’ called Yarab’am
(Yeroboam) was going out of Yerushalayim ( 30
and AhiYah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it
into twelve pieces. 31
Then he said to ‘The People Will Contend’ called Yarab’am
(Yeroboam), "Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what YHWH
the Mighty One of Yisrael, says: 'See, I am going to tear the kingdom
out of Shlomoh (Solomon) 's hand and give you ten tribes. 32
But for the sake of my servant ‘Beloved’ called Daviyd and
the city of 33
I will do this because they have forsaken Me and worshiped the
Phoenician deity ‘Star’ called Ashtoreth, the mighty one of the
Tsidoniy and ‘Great King’ called Molech the detestable mighty one of
the Ammoniy and have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My
eyes, nor kept My statutes and laws as ‘Beloved’ called Daviyd,
Shlomoh's father, did. 34
" 'But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Shlomoh's
hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of
‘Beloved’ called Daviyd My servant, whom I chose and who observed My
commands and statutes. 35
I will take the kingdom from his son's hands … We notice
that although we read that each man is responsible for his own sins
before YHWH, we can set in motion, circumstances that affect our progeny
far in to the future. Many generations can be damaged by our actions
today. We look also
at Rechab’am who was King at the time Shishak, King of Mitzrayim
destroyed the We watch
Yisrael begin another downward spiral in the following statements: 1.
Rechab’am's position as king was established and he had become
strong 2.
He and all Yisrael with him abandoned the law of YHWH. 3.
Shishak king of Mitzrayim carried off the treasures of the 4.
He took everything, including the gold shields Shlomoh had made. 5.
So King Rechab’am made bronze shields to replace them 6.
In what, three generations, they went from gold to bronze, but
Rechab’am humbled
himself, YHWH's anger turned from him and he was not totally destroyed. Divrei Yamim
Bet (2 Chr) 12:1-1, 9-12 1
After Rechab’am's position as king was established and he had
became strong, he and all Yisrael with him abandoned the law of YHWH. 9
When Shishak king of Mitzrayim ( 10
So King Rechab’am, whose name means ‘a People Has Enlarged’
made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders
of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 11
Whenever the king went to YHWH's temple, the guards went with
him, bearing the shields, and afterward they returned them to the
guardroom. 12
Because Rechab’am humbled himself, YHWH's anger turned from him
and he was not totally destroyed. Indeed, there was some good in
‘Praised’ called Yahuwdah (Judah). May we leave
a legacy of obedience to YHWH and leave them gold rather than bronze. As
YeriYah often says, “Children cannot inherit the farm if their parents
have sold it.” I add to that if we carelessly squander what YHWH has
given us and follow rebellious ways; our children will suffer for our
deeds. Not because
YHWH wants to hurt them or us… it is simply the rule of cause and
affect. |