Wednesday, August 13: 2Kings 13- Generational sins.

I have read and heard the phrase before but today something in the phrase grabbed hold of me and launched me into my meditations. Verse 2: He did evil in the eyes of the LORD by following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit, and he did not turn away from them.

Many times I have read that the kings of Israel persisted in the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat. Jeroboam’s sins seemed to stay alive in each succeeding generation. Israel was never able to shake the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat. They haunted and controlled Israel until God sent His judgment through Assyria.

Some sins seem to live in a family or generational line and a phrase I have heard and used to describe this type of sin is ‘generational sin’. Some generational sins seem to have hereditary linkages… alcoholism and addictive issues often seem to have generational links.  Many of us know a family who generation after generation struggle with alcoholism or substance abuse. Hereditary or genetic link, possibly?

Then other family sin traits like abusive males or women who choose abusive men seem to perpetuate father to son to son or mother to daughter to daughter. These may not be hereditary but one generation seems to pass it on to the next…

It seems to me that this is what could be going on in Israel… the sin of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, seems to be passed on to the kings that follow.

We are complex people and many of our complexities are not good!

Are we stuck suffering with any generational issues in our family line? Is there anything we can do?

I cannot point to a particular scripture –maybe the binding and loosing words by Jesus (see Matthew 18:18 for example), but I have prayed with people and in the power of the Spirit and through Jesus’ name, we have cut ties with their generational sins. And by God’s grace, healing has come to those areas in their life.

Prayer is a powerful gift and there are many ways we can take advantage of God’s gift of prayer!

If you have questions about this, drop me an email….

Lord, God, thank You for the gift and power of prayer. You tell us to pray for our ‘daily bread.’ You instruct us to seek forgiveness from our sins and You offer to set the captives free. Thank You… I trust and believe in You and I believe You answer our prayers…

Praise be to You, Lord, God –Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.