The sins of the father

“Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.” (Exodus 34:6-7)

As God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, he also gave him this message. I have frequently been asked what it means when God says he will "lay the sins of the parents upon their children...", to the third and fourth generations. Does that mean God will make four generations 'pay for' the sins of their forefathers? Not exactly. It does mean that what one generation 'tolerates' or 'accepts as okay' that is clearly outside of what God commands would result in future generations accepting and engaging in actions even worse. Thus, it results in the 'sins of the forefathers' being visited upon future generations.

It isn't that God 'punishes' or 'penalizes' all those future generations. It simply means when we don't deal with sin now, it will result in a greater tolerance or acceptance of those sins and even worse ones to those who see the example set by the forefathers. Deal with sin now and it will not be replicated or evolve in a different, harsher, more extreme form in future generations. God judges each of us individually. Each person is able to make their own decision to follow and serve him. Each person is ultimately responsible for his or her own actions, but God doesn't want us to 'tolerate' or 'encourage' sinful attitudes or actions that may produce future sinful actions in future generations.

Just looking at the Israelites when Moses was receiving these commandments, we can see how the 'sins of the fathers' actually resulted in future generations doing more of the same things such as idol worship, embracing the culture of the sinful nations they were entering. Moses was on the Mount with God, hearing God speak to him with instructions on how his people were to live separated and holy lives, all while the Israelites were at the base of the mountain creating a golden calf! What started then was 'visited' time and time again in the lives of the Israelites. 

God asks us to deal with sin quickly and with finality. He doesn't want us to 'dabble' in any form of compromise because he knows the smallest compromise today will likely lead to the even greater compromises down the road. The 'sins of the fathers' snowball, leading to a 'tolerance' of evil, moving the children further and further away from the holiness God desires. Hope this helps answer that tough question. God desires us to serve him, love him, and live within his guidelines. In turn, he shelters, protects, and provides for each of us into future generations! Just sayin!