last night we entered into 2 samuel 15, 16, 17 & 18. it was an epic amount of text...however to creatively and deeply entered into that much text, we encountered it through a rather amazing (if i might say so myself) radio show.
you can listen to the entire teaching here...or you can download it on iTunes here.
we talked about how relationship was and is at the core foundational level of creation. and we looked at how this section in the life of david points to three specific pieces of this relational foundation.
to continue the thinking...here is another bit i have been kicking around about the relational core of creation.
exodus 34:6-7 says:
"And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, 'The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.'"
(the context for these verses is that moses is receiving the ten commandments from the Lord for a second time because, while he was receiving them the first time, the people built and started worshiping a golden calf, and in his anger and disbelief upon discovering their actions, he threw down and broke the original tablets.)
i think many people hear the final phrase of those two verses and think, "how could a loving God punish not only the person who has done wrong, but also the generations to follow".
i wonder if where this thinking gets skewed is we assume that the punishment that is falling on the future generations is some sort of a proactive punishment by God. i don't think it is proactive at all. rather, i think it is a testament, again, to the fact that relationship is at the core foundation of creation. it is in the dna of creation. and therefore God has chosen, and we should be thankful he has, to continue working within the confines of relationship.
it seems harsh to punish future generations. however, i firmly believe that God desires deeply to not punish future generations, but the reality is, if sin is allowed to go unaddressed, it will affect future generations, and that punishment will go on. it is nothing God directly does, it is simply a result of His relational creation. and we need His creation to be relational. however, we can't have our cake and eat it too. but sometimes we think we can...or at least we think we should be able to.
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