Breaking the Chains: How to Pass Down Freedom Instead of Generational Curses

Pass It Down
Abraham was following the will of God.  He had left Haran and began to travel to the places God was about to show Him.  God wanted to give him a glimpse of what He was going to do through Abraham’s lineage.  God wanted to show Abraham something which would be fulfilled in the future and not necessarily in his day.  Abraham was to become the father of nations, a piece in the genealogical puzzle to the messiah of Jesus Christ.
During this time there was a famine in the land Abraham was living in, so he decided to travel around Egypt for a bit.  He had one problem, fear.  He was overcome with a sensation because of his wife’s beauty.  “They’ll surely kill me and take her for themselves.”  So he concocted a plan and told Sarai to let the Egyptians know she was his sister thus deceiving them and keeping him safe.  I don’t know if culturally the Egyptians did this sort of thing or why Abraham would be specifically concerned.  Maybe she was so beautiful there were men who already were trying to take her from Abraham but whatever the case he chose to give into a fear.
This fear then drives him to give a false-truth or in other words he articulated his relationship in such a way which stayed truthful but was deceiving others to conclude they had no deeper relationship.  The Egyptian Pharaoh, bereft of this knowledge, pursues Sarai.  He and his household become plagued by God because of this.  Pharoah confronts Abraham because of an interaction he has with God and Abraham relents Sarai is his wife.  Now there’s a lot of different things we could discuss about this story and passages but I wanted to discuss something I noticed with this story and a connection to another one, his son Isaac.
There’s a verse in the bible which talks about generational curses being passed down to the 3rd and 4th generations.
keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Exodus 34:7
If we go to chapter 26 of Genesis we see Isaac, Abraham’s son, having the same experience his father had when he went to Egypt.  There’s a famine and Isaac travels to Gerar, this time God tells Isaac not to go into Egypt but to settle in this land to fulfill the oath God made to Abraham.  Isaac listens but is faced with the same dilemma as Abraham.  He tells the Philistines Rebekah is his sister and is found out by King Abimalech.  God doesn’t bring any plagues we know of on his household but the king finds out Rebekah is Isaac’s wife and confronts him.  Two different generations, same situation, same outcome.
Most studies about abuse, fatherless homes, alcoholism, and other sins tell the same story, we repeat the paths of the generations before us.  It’s almost undeniable we will continue on in the legacy and choices of our fathers.  This may seem like an unbearable task to overcome but we have a God who is mighty and restores.  God is all about reconciliation and the point of these verses are to show us the depth of sin.  Sin is a powerful problem and causes irreparable damage not just to us but the people we interact with, our future generations, and our cultures.
It’s easy to see when not checked by the Holy Spirit societies tend to take things into their own hands and they can get out of control pretty quickly.  America today is in need of major repentance just as all the world if we want to see a move of God.  It’s no wonder we see the problems today when we turn our backs on the laws of a God, who created all of the universe, gave us.  People tend to complain to God about there being evil and death in the world but we only have to point the finger at ourselves for this.  If God is all knowing and He gives us instructions to obey and we decide not to then we have no right to be angry with Him.  Unfortunately, others’ sin affects us even if we have done no wrong.
Let this be an encouragement for us as fathers and mothers to live up to the standard God has called us to as best we can.  This doesn’t mean we won’t falter but we still need to get back up and try.  Walking in the Spirit takes work and surrender.  It takes discipline and crucifying the flesh.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.”
Galatians 3:13
There is power in Christ to overcome the evil in our lives.  He shared it with us on the cross.  He is all about the breaking of chains and restoring His original promises with us.  So let us repent, let us live a life following the commands of God loving Him first and foremost and loving others as we love ourselves.  Let us cling to the word of God and listen to His Spirit.  Let us choose blessings and grant the generations which follow us even greater blessings.