I’ve had a neon yellow sticky note stuck to the top of my printer since January. It reads, “The power of generational sin: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.”
All three men were pillars of the Old Testament and foundational to God's plan for Israel. God personally interacted with each one: he formed an eternal covenant with Abraham and reaffirmed it with Isaac and Jacob. They all needed a reminder of God’s promises, but they also desperately needed to remember the sins of their fathers.
You see, Abraham was guilty of passing his wife off as his sister and favoring his son, Isaac, over his illegitimate son, Ishmael. And then Isaac did the exact same things! His wife Rebekah could have been taken as another man’s wife, and the conflict between Isaac’s sons due to his favoritism nearly resulted in murder.
Jacob resorted to deceit to steal his father’s blessing from his older twin, Esau. Jacob continued the pattern of favoritism, loving his wife Rachel and despising his other wife, Leah. Out of his eleven sons, he adored Joseph the most. You know what happened? The jealous brothers sold Joseph into slavery and told their father that an animal killed him. Jacob, the deceiver, became the deceived.
We naturally don’t enjoy reflecting on the ugly sins of previous generations. The angry words of an aunt or uncle, addiction of a cousin, a parent’s favoritism - they aren’t things we want to think about, but they can affect and even form us. Working through our past isn’t just reserved for therapy sessions - it’s an important spiritual practice. Remembering the sins of our families shows us pitfalls to avoid, behaviors to modify, and areas where we might be withholding forgiveness.
Ask yourself these questions:
Am I exhibiting the same behavior as X? How did that affect their life and relationships? How did that behavior affect me? Do I risk passing it down to my children?
Are there any addictions, sexual sins, or patterns of abuse in my family tree? What steps can I take to avoid those?
How do the sins of others inform my decisions? Am I at risk of making the same mistakes, or do I use the past to guide my future for the better?
Am I withholding forgiveness from a family member because of what their sin did to me or someone else?
It’s good to meditate on the promises of God. His Word lights our path (Psalm 119:105) and guides us. But we must also remember (not dwell on or obsess over) the sins of our families so we don’t perpetuate them like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did.