Why do God punished sons for their fathers' sin?

Some things are not understandable to us about God. We look at it from our flesh and know nothing of God's ways.
He said it, "My ways are not your ways."

Different times call for different situations and there are some things that needed to be done and I really don't know but I trust God with the why's.

Remember, this is God's creation and has all the rights to do what He will.

Even today many times the sin of one person causes a whole family to suffer. For example, a husband chooses to have an affair. This sin does not only affect the husband, it punishes the wife and children as well. There are many other examples of this.

It is not necessarily that God is punishing the whole family, but the sin is punishing the whole family.

if i had to think about it logicly. In that day eventoday the father of a household sets the standards and children follow in his (parents) path. If he does wrong they most likely will do wrong. BUT if you punish the entire family they now know it is wrong and would hopefully never do it again.

God is bound by His Word , if He said such and such will happen if you do something or not do something, especially in the OT, that is the way it was. He has good reasons in everything He does.
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We need to watch out for this one:Galatians 6:7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
ed

Originally posted by edjones
God is bound by His Word , if He said such and such will happen if you do something or not do something, especially in the OT, that is the way it was. He has good reasons in everything He does.
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We need to watch out for this one:Galatians 6:7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
ed

Click to expand...

but isn't that punishing the wrong person for the crime?

Hay Myjhongfist, Welcome to the Forum!
Good point, Its hard for us to understand, but.........


....they already had Gods warning.
ed

>>Also, why do God always command the israelities to kill every single one of their enemies, even the babies and the children?

One reason I can think of was that it was not the custom to wean a child from the mother before the age of 3. It was not like you could go to the local 7-11 and buy some formula.

Another reason is that they were all under a curse, and there would have been a problem of disease. Everything was to be destroyed and burned.

God commanded them to kill all of the enemy, so that they did not lead the children of Isreal astray with their false religions.

There is no referance in the Bible. But I am sure there people were warned that they were going to be destroyed. Those who wanted to repent could have left the area and moved to a place where they would have been safe. God does not ever do anything that He does not warn the people first.

We are under a warning today, that God's wrath is soon going to be poured out. Only our excape is the "rapture". Because He is going to pour out His wrath on the whole would and there is really no place we can go in the world to excape. Just like in the days of Noah. Jesus is our Arc of safety. Thanks, JohnR7

Deuteronomy 24:16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

2Kings 14:6 But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

2Chronicles 25:4 But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.

Psalms 4:4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

Thank you, Roger; I was going to post the same Scriptures <><

>>I was going to post the same Scriptures

I started off to answer the first question, then ended up dealing with the second question instead