loving the clarification

What I learned today in Bible study made it worth every dime I spent, as well as all of the time I have spent studying so far. If I didn't learn anything else, I would be totally satisfied.

I had always been confused and troubled when I read Exodus 20:5-6 which says, "You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."

It has never seemed fair that God would punish me for my parents' sin and the sins of my grandparents and great-grandparents. For the record, mine were all gone before I was old enough to know them and I have no recollection of any of them. I know, it's kind of sad, but that's a whole other blog post. Anyway, doesn't that bother you too?

Apparently, the word "punish" in this verse does not mean God will punish me. I know what that word meant to me as a child and it certainly has nothing to do with what I learned today. I am going to trust Beth's explanation and I have no desire to do my own word study (especially because I like how she explained it). I guess its meanings are "inspect, review, number." It was the Hebrew word "paqadh" and was used for taking a census. He can count the people in our family line who have been affected by the sins of our parents and grandparents etc. By sins, I mean instead of relying on God when life got hard, they may have used _____. I can't even pinpoint what those might have been for mine, but I think I may have an idea and it makes total sense to me. I'm not bashing my parents by any means, just taking a closer look to make sure I don't get tempted to do the same, by putting anything above Him, especially when the going gets tough! I also want to teach my kids (and grandchildren) to rely on Him. I need anyone reading this to know that my parents influenced my life in a very positive way, so I am thanking God for them right now.

I am also very glad that His Word tells me that He is not jealous of me, but He is jealous for me. And, it really makes me feel loved.