The Sins of the Fathers

My dad—He was an example of good.

"As for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will be buried, because he is the only one in the house of Jeroboam in whom the Lord, the God of Israel, has found anything good" (1 Kings 14:12, 13, NIV).

This is one of the saddest verses of the Old Testament. God rescues a child because his father, and his father's house, are so evil that God will not allow the child to be contaminated further.

But the southern kingdom of Judah was no better. Solomon, touted to be the wisest man in the world, contributed to the ruin of his own family. He married pagan women and then indulged them by encouraging and participating in the worship of their gods. It only took a generation for his son, Rehoboam, and the people of Judah to abandon their God (1 Kings 14:22-24).

The beautiful temple that Solomon had built and filled with priceless treasures for the worship of the Lord was sacked (14:25ff).

One generation. The sins of the fathers visited on the children.

There are no guarantees that a child will follow the righteous path of his father. And just because a father is evil doesn't necessarily mean that his children will follow his example. But how much better it is that a father should be "guilty" of showing his children a righteous path than of being guilty of leading them down one that could end in their destruction.