Shall we rethink Exodus 34:5-7?

And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. Exodus 34:5‭-‬7 KJV‬‬


We have had theological discourses on this portion of Scriptures for a long time. It would appear that even those who use scriptures to back the law of karma, most times, use this as one of their scriptural backing. And here, it would seem, is the smoking gun: "...and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation." Exodus 34:7 KJV


As bible students that we are, what should be our first step to getting the truth from Scriptures? We understand the context! How? Through pre-text, post-text, paragraph and chapter reading. What is the context of this statement that God is being credited with? Moses had gone up the mountain, and God reveals Himself and declares His Name, that is, His identity and nature. See how He tells it. 


And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Exodus 34:6 KJV Merciful. Gracious. Longsuffering (patient). Abundant (extravagant) in goodness and truth. Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty. Exodus 34:7 KJV Keeping mercy. Forgiving iniquity and transgression. 


Now, let's interpret. One characteristic one of God’s nature is what we see here: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: Deuteronomy 6:4 KJV The Lord is one... Meaning, He is the same God. No changing, no evolving, always consistent. This is eternal. So, if God is reported as saying He is merciful and forgiving iniquity, will it not be inconsistent to say that He will hold the children responsible for their forefathers iniquity, even till the fourth generation (who are innocent of their ancestors' sins? Now, if we have established God's eternal nature and His incapacity for inconsistency, we can therefore deduce that if there is an inconsistency, it cannot be God, right? Yes! The inconsistency would therefore be in the reporting of what God said, and the interpretation thereof. 


So, let's return to the text. Reading from a Bible with Strongs and Concordance (available for download on Google play store) we would see that the part that has "the guilty" is in italics which is because it is not in the original writings. The translators put words in, so that it can make sense/make for better reading. What that means is that 'the guilty' is not even in the original text. Now, next thing is, the phrase 'and that will by no means clear' only has one Hebrew word attached to it, Naqah.  


H5352Hebrew: נָקָה

Transliteration: nâqâh

Pronunciation: naw-kaw' 

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Description: a primitive root; to be (or make) clean (literally or figuratively); by implication (in an adverse sense) to be bare, i.e. extirpated; acquit [idiom] at all, [idiom] altogether, be blameless, cleanse, (be) clear(-ing), cut off, be desolate, be free, be (hold) guiltless, be (hold) innocent, [idiom] by no means, be quit, be (leave) unpunished, [idiom] utterly, [idiom] wholly.


KJV usage: unpunished (11x), guiltless (5x), innocent (5x), clear (4x), cleanse (3x), free (2x), by no means (2x), acquit (2x), altogether (2x), cut off (2x), at all (1x), blameless (1x), desolate (1x), quit (1x), utterly (1x), wholly (1x).


God is saying what He does to sins and iniquity! The sinner and unclean, He cleanses, takes away their punishment.... He makes the guilty innocent! That's His plan from eternity to eternity. Which means that what comes after can only be an explanation of what we've seen so far. Next issue we have to deal with in rethinking this verse is the part of "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children..." Let's scrutinize the word 'visiting' 


H6485Hebrew: פָּקַד

Transliteration: pâqad

Pronunciation: paw-kad' 

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Description: a primitive root; to visit (with friendly or hostile intent); by analogy, to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss, deposit, etc.; appoint, [idiom] at all, avenge, bestow, (appoint to have the, give a) charge, commit, count, deliver to keep, be empty, enjoin, go see, hurt, do judgment, lack, lay up, look, make, [idiom] by any means, miss, number, officer, (make) overseer, have (the) oversight, punish, reckon, (call to) remember(-brance), set (over), sum, [idiom] surely, visit, want.


KJV usage: number (119x), visit (59x), punish (31x), appoint (14x), commit (6x), miss (6x), set (6x), charge (5x), governor (5x), lack (4x), oversight (4x), officers (4x), counted (3x), empty (3x), ruler (3x), overseer (3x), judgment (2x), misc (28x).


The word 'paqad' which is the Hebraic rendering of the word, 'visiting' is one of those words whose meanings are usually misinterpreted. But if we look at the first place it appeared in Scriptures, following what we've come to understand about the law of first mention (that the fundamental meaning of a doctrine or concept is found the first time it is mentioned in scripture), we would see it in Gen. 21:1. God visited Sarah and she bore Isaac. Paqad is a largely positive verb. The visitation of God is always for good! God is saying, what I have made available for the fathers - mercy, grace, forgiveness, etc - is available to everyone in the lineage.


Meaning I have looked even to the fourth generation, and whatever transgression or iniquity that can come up, I have made provision for forgiveness, grace, mercy. He is saying that I am watching over, overseeing you and your children and their children, and for whatever sin they may fall into, there is a remedy. This was not something to create fear so that people would serve God, so as not to incur His wrath on their generation. No, far from it.


This was a promise of salvation, a pointer to the Messaianic promise. 


Remember, the first person to communicate the Gospel was Moses in Gen. 1:1-3.


This was another communication of the Gospel. 


It would become much clearer when David would, by the Spirit, say


Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Psalms 32:1‭-‬2 KJV‬‬


It was never God's plan to count sins against man. From the first time sin came as a result of man's unbelief, God had  - in fact, He has already - come up with a solution. That for sins past, present and future, the Lamb of God would, through His death, burial and resurrection, blot them out, cancel them, expunge them from record, expiate them, leave no trace of them ever, anywhere. 


As I conclude, let's see what God tells Ezekiel about this subject.


"The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,  What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?  As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.  Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die". Ezekiel 18:1‭-‬4 KJV‬‬

Israelites had taken Exodus 34 and had spun a proverbial saying out of it. God tells Ezekiel to tell them that it is their misinterpretation; not what He really said. The person who sins will die, should die - but doesn't have to. Why? Because there is an offer of forgiveness from sins on the table.


That offer is open to all: father, children, even to the fourth generation


And those who receive this offer, in Christ, will enjoy it for as long as Christ lives... Which is forever!


Selah

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