Question:
Answer:
Noah’s cursing of his son Canaan (Gen. 9) means that the sins of the fathers (and mothers) can have negative effects on their children. Scripture elsewhere refers to this as the iniquity of fathers being visited upon their children to the third or fourth generation (e.g., Exod. 34:7, Num. 14:18, Deut. 5:9). We see this played out in when children who grow up fatherless because of a delinquent father, or who grow up with an abusive father, tend to suffer more than those who are spared such an upbringing. Ditto with children whose mothers are drug addicts, as they are more likely to be harmed by birth defects.
Scripture also says that the conduct of good parents redounds to the thousandth generation (Exod. 20:4-6).
In contrast, let us consider Ezekiel 18:19-20:
“Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is lawful and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. The soul that sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (see also Ezek. 18:14-20).
Here God distinguishes between the personal guilt for particular transgressions vs. the negative effects of those sins otherwise. Only those who commit transgressions will incur the personal guilt of those sins. In addition, God shows his justice in that if children lead a holy life in contrast to their ancestors, God will spare or limit the negative fallout from their ancestors’ bad actions (see Ezek. 18:14-20).
In this sense, we see that the iniquity of parents noted earlier in Scripture can be mitigated or removed altogether in succeeding generation if the descendants turn to the Lord and live holy lives.